MPs urge hate-attack clampdown

A parliamentary motion condemning attacks on the Jewish community as a result of the war in Gaza has been signed by more than 40 MPs - including critics of Israel. The MPs called on the government to stamp down on a wave of antisemitic incidents.

The motion, sponsored by Labour MP John Mann, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Antisemitism, also attacked the growing number of extremist websites, one of which calls for attacks against Jews around the world.

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Jewdas sorry over hoax email

The maverick group Jewdas has apologised to the Board of Deputies for trying to wreck last week’s pro-Israel Trafalgar Square rally.

Jewdas said that it would also transfer an internet domain name that it used to the Board and gave its “guarantee” that it would not impersonate the Board again.

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Public does not blame Israel for war, says survey

A majority of the British public does not single out Israel as the side responsible for the conflict in Gaza, according to a survey published this week.

Only 18 per cent of those polled put the blame largely on Israel, while 24 per cent laid the blame for the three-week long Operation Cast Lead squarely on Hamas.

Fifty-eight per cent either blamed both sides for the conflict or were unsure of whom to blame.

The poll, carried out by the research organisation YouGov, sampled the views of 2,077 people.

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MP bids to change royal marriage law

A Jewish MP is at the forefront of attempts to overturn a 308-year-old law banning British monarchs from marrying Catholics.

LibDem Evan Harris presented his Private Member’s Bill, aimed at amending the 1701 Act of Settlement, to Parliament on Wednesday.

If passed, the Bill would also end the practice of male heirs taking preference over older sisters, allowing Princess Anne to move above princes Andrew and Edward and their children in line to the throne.

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Lobby to stop 'hate-fest' at Durban II

Jewish campaigners this week lobbied internationally to stop a United Nations human rights conference being used as a platform to attack Israel.

Israel and Canada have already pulled out of April’s Geneva follow-up to the 2001 Durban conference, which turned into an anti-Zionist “hate-fest” according to critics.

But the Jewish Human Rights Coalition UK, co-founded by the Board of Deputies, was among Jewish non-governmental organisations that attended a five-day preliminary session in Geneva this week to debate a draft of the conference resolutions.

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Fraud-charge Chasid faces extradition

A court has recommended the extradition of a member of the US-based strictly Orthodox Skverer community who fled to Britain to avoid multi-million dollar fraud charges.

On Tuesday, City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court cleared the way for Avrum David Friesel, 56, to stand trial in the US.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith (who is due to be guest speaker at the Community Security Trust’s annual dinner in March) must now decide whether to rubber-stamp his extradition.

But Mr Friesel’s barrister, Jonathan Goldberg QC, said it could take up to a year to arrive at a final decision.

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'Smuggler' not guilty

A Charedi man was found not guilty of cocaine smuggling by a jury at Wood Green Crown Court last week.

Nachum Twersky had pleaded not guilty after two packages containing almost 2kg of cocaine, with a street value of £60,000, were tracked by police to his home in March last year.

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