Freedom: the right to be unfair

A British newspaper recently ran a story focussed on the decision of the transport authorities in a certain capital city to introduce women-only buses. To which capital city did this story refer?

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Arab Spring turns to cruel winter

Did you, perchance, notice the Arab Spring? This singular phenomenon, like some deceptively beautiful carnivorous plant, lived but a very short time upon this earth, but then died a violent death, eagerly devouring many of its children in the process.

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Writer's historic Jewish words

Last month, in the district court of Tel Aviv, a blow was struck for common sense.

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Turkey should look to history

I've been reading the provocative history of the Crimean War published last year by Professor Orlando Figes. Subtitled The Last Crusade, the book retells a story in which fact and legend merged with astonishing rapidity, certainly in this country.

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The wrong LPO punishment

On September 1 a performance at the BBC Promenade Concerts was deliberately interrupted by persons who had bought tickets for that performance but whose real intention was not musical appreciation but musical disruption.

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Spying: a job for a Jewish boy?

As an Oxford undergraduate, required to be in residence for just three eight-week terms a year, I was reasonably well off. But as a research student I had to finance all my travel and other expenses, plus my year-round board and lodging, out of a modest quarterly subvention of £125 (around £600 per month at present values). My bank balance was never very healthy.

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Another ineffectual busybody

In 1985, the Jewish, national and indeed international media were fixated by the dispute between the late Rabbi Simche Bunim Lieberman and Jews' College, from which he had been dismissed. I had the honour of acting as Rabbi Lieberman's "amicus" and in that role I was present at and party to the back-room negotiations that eventually led to a settlement.

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An elected Chief Rabbi? If only

If I thought there was a cat in hell's chance of our being able to elect the next Chief Rabbi of "the United Hebrew Congregations", believe me I would hurry to don my second-best streimel and dance with a Sefer through the streets of St John's Wood, declaring as I went that not only do we all want Moshiach Now but that I would wager what, if anything, remains of my reputation that the Moshiach ha

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It's anti-Zionism that is racist

Here's a question for you: what do the cities of New York, Durban and St Andrews (technically a royal burgh, but please indulge me just this once) have in common? Answer: they're all places where anti-Zionism and antisemitism coalesce.

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And now for some good news

From time to time I'm accused of ignoring 'good news.' 'You're preoccupied with dirty linen,' a caller recently bawled at me down the telephone line. 'There's so much that's good about British Jewry; but all you're interested in are its shortcomings.' Well, it so happens that over the past fortnight a number of good news stories have come my way. I propose now to share three of them with you.

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Taking liberties with the law

In last week's JC, Daniel Greenberg considered a private member's bill currently before the House of Lords that seeks to address concerns emanating from reported practices of certain Sharia courts in the UK.

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Knesset is a democratic body

A month ago, the Knesset enacted a law to counter the harm being visited upon Israel - including the West Bank - by those who call for a boycott of its academic, economic and cultural institutions. The legislation does not "criminalise" boycotters - no such person will be guilty of a criminal offence, at least insofar as this particular enactment is concerned.

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Death that exposed ignorance

What does the sad death of Amy Winehouse (Aleha haShalom) tell us about the ways in which Judaism is perceived within British society?

The late Ms Winehouse and I inhabited different worlds. It's not simply that we came from distinct generations. She lived a lifestyle that I would never have lived and purveyed a musical genre of which I am ignorant. But she was Jewish and so am I.

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JLC cashes in on Board game

On July 17, members of the Board of Deputies were privileged to witness a PowerPoint presentation given by Mick Davis, chair of the United Jewish Israel Appeal and head of the trustees of the Jewish Leadership Council.

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Making sense of bad behaviour

As part of the South Bank Literature Festival on July 10 a debate took place between supporters and opponents of what was termed "cultural boycott". The discussion was billed as an event focused on cultural boycotts in general and whether such devices "can be an effective, indeed morally imperative, political strategy".

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Wilders serves freedom's cause

In the cause of freedom the interventions of Dutch politician Geert Wilders are both a blessing and a curse. They are a blessing not merely on account of Wilders' own support for Israel, but because he has been absolutely unrepentant – and unrelenting – in his insistence on telling the truth about militant Islam.

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Why I am still in the dire UCU

In common with other academics who have not yet resigned their membership of the University and College Union, I have come under a certain amount of pressure to resign mine. This I have no intention of doing.

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The excess that brings access

What are we to make of Vivian Wineman's blunt admission to the Board of Deputies about British Jews' lack of influence over government policy? What conclusions are we to draw from this public acknowledgement that British Jews - or rather the organisations that claim they represent British Jews - have "good access" to government ministers but apparently no influence over them?

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