Leader

Banning Hizbollah

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:21:16 +0100

In January we revealed that David Cameron had asked the Jewish community to "make a noise" over Hizbollah, to help him persuade the EU to ban the terrorist organization.

There was - to put it mildly - some disquiet from No 10 that some of the community leaders present had seen fit to make public the Prime Minister's request. Be that as it may, there has indeed been a lot of noise on the subject. And Mr Cameron has now done what he said he would and formally requested that the EU proscribes Hizbollah. Much as the Prime Minister should be praised, it is little of short of astonishing that Hizbollah has ever been allowed to operate within the EU.

Funded primarily by Iran, Hizbollah is a terrorist outfit pure and simple and those who argue otherwise are either fools or knaves. But its EU fundraising is far from negligible and a ban on its activities would be a welcome blow.

Stop the stoppers

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:19:56 +0100

Under its previous chairman, Dame Suzi Leather, the Charity Commission often behaved as if it was in thrall to whatever was the latest fashionable cause.

Its current chairman, William Shawcross, has stopped the politicisation and imposed some much-needed rigour on the commission's work. In that vein the commission has squashed the attempt by Stop The JNF to have the JNF stripped of its charitable status. Be in no doubt what the real agenda was here.

Stop The JNF is another of those organizations which just happens to focus exclusively on attacking Jewish causes. However great the human rights abuses in the Arab world may be, they are cannot rouse themselves into action to protest. But when the word Israel - or, in JNF's case, explicitly, Jewish - is involved, they suddenly develop a passion for campaigning.

Stop The JNF is a contemptible organization and the charity commission has done a service to the cause of justice in dismissing its demands.

LibDems and Jews

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:17:23 +0100

There will be few in the Labour Party sorry to see the back of Lord Ahmed, whose shaming of his party was long-standing and unpleasant.

He jumped before he was about to be pushed. Ed Miliband's handling of the issue was firm and just - and what a contrast with the LibDems. Even if we ignore the way Baroness Tonge was indulged for so long, the way the party has dealt with David Ward has been a disgrace.

Mr Ward, remember, condemned "the Jews" for their failure to learn from the Holocaust. The so-called disciplinary action against him consisted of requesting that he spent a few minutes with a Jew or two. Not only does he still hold the party whip, the LibDem chief whip refuses to comment on the matter. Why is it that the LibDems seem to have a problem with Jews?

Opening the skies

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:16:24 +0100

Last week, we highlighted the benefits to consumers that will flow from the injection of competition into the kosher meat market. This week's news is, if anything, even better. Flights to Israel have always been falsely high.

The Israeli government's internal subsidies and the tortuous process for gaining permission for flights have limited the supply and protected existing carriers - a double whammy for consumers. Even if you want to holiday in Eilat, the absence of regular, direct flights makes it more an expression of faith than a mundane decision about finding a place with good beaches.

But now, after eight years of planning, the Open Skies policy will transform Israeli airspace. Even with current fare prices, tourism is growing - a sign of how wonderful a destination Israel is. With more realistic fares, a boom is almost guaranteed; easyJet already fly to Tel Aviv and it seems certain Ryanair will join them. Not only will the other carriers who now fly have to reduce their fares; there will also be more flights, and to more destinations. Good news all round.

Hawking’s shame

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:48:46 +0100

Looked at overall, the BDS campaign is miserably unsuccessful. Trade between the UK and Israel is at record levels and growing ever higher. But, on an individual level, there are still those who are willing to single out the Jewish state for boycott.

Whatever sophistry is used by its proponents, the BDS campaign is fundamentally antisemitic. Despite the fact that Israel has by far the best human rights record in the Middle East, let alone compared with nations such as China and Sri Lanka, it is Jews on whom the boycotters focus their attack.

It is sad to have to add Stephen Hawking to the shameful list of boycotters. We had thought better of him.

Competition at last

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:51:26 +0100

The opening of a new kosher butcher in Golders Green might seem of parochial interest only. But it is far more than that. It offers the possibility of a revolution in kosher shopping. For too long, the meat trade has been able to use the cost of kosher supervision as an excuse for ripping off shoppers. Plainly, kosher meat is going to be more expensive than treif.

But the absence of real competition has feather-bedded kosher shops. The duopoly of licensing in London by the London Board of Shechita and Kedassia has meant a form of de facto - even if unintentional - collusion against the consumer. Now that a new butcher has opened, with meat licensed by the Manchester Beth Din, there is at last a dose of competition. All sorts of claims about the kosher status of this new shop are being bandied about. They are entirely irrelevant, because it is up to consumers, not competitors, to decide. If consumers are unhappy with licensing arrangements then a new shop will go bust.

If they are satisfied, and like what is on offer, it will prosper. That is the point of choice and competition. It might be unpopular with the existing providers but it should be anything but that for consumers.

Togetherness

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:48:27 +0100

If there is one point on which Jews everywhere agree, it is that we rarely agree. Occasionally, however, we put our inherent fractiousness aside and uncover a deep solidarity that reminds us we are part of something bigger.

This week, we report on a community initiative that found a bone marrow donor for Sharon Berger, a grandmother from Harrow who, in her words, has had "no immune system for six years". The four-month campaign, promoted via social media and community groups, may save not only Sharon's life, but the lives of others: the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register has seen more than 1,000 Jewish donors signing up since January.

In its report on community vitality, the JLC picks out the campaign as a shining example of how it is possible to mobilise Jews across the generations. Let's say that not one, but two families, have now found new hope. The Berger family, and the Jewish family.

Representing rabbi

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:21:44 +0100

Last January, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner became the Movement for Reform Judaism's first Movement Rabbi. The post is representative, described by the organisation as being its "rabbinic face in the national arena". In that capacity she was invited to the funeral of Baroness Thatcher.

Rabbi Janner-Klausner rejected the invitation because "I think that she was a cataclysm for the fabric of Britain". But the rabbi was invited as the national representative of Reform Judaism, not as Laura Janner-Klausner. So her views of Baroness Thatcher are, in this context, entirely irrelevant.

When, in 1996, Lord Sacks refused to attend the funeral of Rabbi Hugo Gryn, he was attacked by the Reform movement because he would not attend the funeral of someone with whom he disagreed. The wheel has now turned full circle.

What Israel is about

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:20:20 +0100

The name Stav Shaffir will not be familiar to that many readers outside Israel, although our interview with her this week will help change that. But in her own way, the newly elected Labour MK represents just what the 65 year old Jewish state stands for.

When the so-called Arab Spring began at the end of 2010, there was a wave of optimism that repressive regimes would give way to something better. Since then, reality has taken hold. The best that can be said is that one form of repression has given way to another.

Israel had its own version the following summer, a massive social protest on the streets. Ms Shaffir was one of the organisers, and on the back of that she was chosen by Labour to stand for the Knesset. Now, at 27, she is an elected politician. What a contrast.

In the Arab regimes surrounding Israel, protestors have either been ignored or have themselves imposed another tyranny. In Israel, protestors' and their concerns are part of the democratic process. As we celebrate Israel's latest anniversary, that is one of her proudest boasts.

Please, not again...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:58:19 +0100

Here we go again. The news that ITN is planning a reality show based on Jewish mothers "who have a desire to help people sort out their problems" makes the heart sink. Last year's Channel 4 series, Jewish Mum of the Year, was a tawdry affair which - to be charitable - did no credit to anyone involved. It was too much to hope that we had seen the back of schlock TV caricatures of Jews.