The JC - Jewish News, Comment & Culture

The full story of George Michael and Wham!’s hidden Jewish identity

Careless obsession: Sathnam Sanghera and his new book

(Illustrative) Protesters outside Woolwich Crown Court, London, on June 12, 2026, ahead of a hearing where Palestine Action activists are due to be sentenced over a break-in at the UK base of an Israel-based defence firm, Elbit Systems (PA)

Court and Crime

Palestine Action activists will be sentenced as terrorists over Elbit raid

By JC Reporter

2 min read

The fire in Brent (Image: X/@yedisdroneshots)

Golders Green

Huge fire causes £3m of damage to Jewish-owned events company in Golders Green

By Ben Conway

2 min read

Dr Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Photo: courtesy)

United Nations

I documented the horrors of October 7 but colleagues watered it down, claims UN torture rapporteur

By Jane Prinsley

5 min read

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Iran

Trump calls off Iran strikes claiming peace deal approved

Iranian media denies that any agreement has been reached

By Jessica Russack-Hoffman

1 min read

US President Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on June 5, 2026 (Getty Images)

World Cup 2026

Could England face Iran at the 2026 World Cup?

There is a complicated and unlikely route which would see the two world powers face off in the knockout stages

By Ben Conway

2 min read

Donald Trump

US will ‘take Kharg Island’ in ‘not too distant future’, Trump claims

The island, which sits in the Strait of Hormuz, is home to the lion’s share of Iran’s oil processing infrastructure

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

US President Trump attends game three of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden on June 8, 2026 (Getty Images)

Summer camp

Major Jewish summer camp operator goes bust

Thirty camps owned by Simad Holdings will open as planned this summer despite a bankruptcy court ruling

By Daniel Ben-David

1 min read

Blue Star Camps, owned by Simad Holdings (YouTube/BlueStarCamps)

World news

Palestine flags among the Irish fans during a Euro 2024 qualifier match against Greece October 13, 2023 (photo: Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Ireland

Ireland v Israel to take place at neutral venue and without fans over pro-Palestine protest fears

By Ben Conway

2 min read

Yahya Sinwar, chief of the Hamas terrorist organisation in Gaza, waves to a crowd (Credit: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s handwritten October 7 invasion notes goes on display

By Daniel Ben-David

1 min read

Swiss defender Silvan Widmer high-fiving children from the San Diego Jewish Academy (photo: FIFA)

World Cup 2026

Swiss World Cup squad trains with 500 students at San Diego Jewish school

By Ben Conway

3 min read

Letter from Jerusalem

After that X-rated phone call, just what is the sworn truth about Trump and Netanyahu?

By Natalie Lisbona

6 min read

Ben Ladany by Big Ben last year (left) and standing in the same spot on his recent visit to London

Israel

IDF hero shares the seven lessons learnt for the seven bullets that almost claimed his life in Gaza

By Alma Green

4 min read

Clockwise from top left: Ivor Baddiel, David Bernstein CBE, Joe Jacobson, Rabbi Josh Levy and Rabbi Charley Baginsky. (photos: Yakir Zur; Ian Walton / Getty Images; Andy Rowland; Zoe Norfolk)

World Cup 2026

Rabbi, who’s going to win the World Cup?

By Ben Conway

6 min read

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman among 350 film stars backing Israeli director forced out of French festival

Nadav Lapid is one of the most outspoken Israeli critics of the Netanyahu government but has still become a target for BDS campaigners

By Daniel Ben-David

2 min read

US foreign aid watchdog finds more than 100 UNRWA employees linked to Hamas and October 7 Swiss teen to go on trial over brutal stabbing of Orthodox man

UK News

Gaza flotilla

Flotilla leader sanctioned by US over ‘Hamas links’ invited to Parliament

‘Astonishing’ event involved Green, Labour and Independent MPs

By Jane Prinsley

2 min read

Kamel Abu Keshek (centre) at the event in Parliament (Photo: Instagram)

Sports

Meet Mr Strong, Britain’s Jewish powerlifting champion

Synagogue-goer Craig Strong of Chigwell, Essex, took up the sport four years ago as a hobby – and now he’s a local Samson

By Lianne Kolirin

3 min read

Journalism

Apple News urged to remove pro-Hamas, conspiracy theory articles by Palestinian-born commentator

Apple urged to ‘exercise basic quality control over the news content it curates’ over pieces by Abdel Bari Atwan

By Mark Wood

3 min read

Abdel Bari Atwan on his YouTube channel (Youtube)

British Museum

‘We will not be intimidated’: British Museum director rebuts the mob as Israel lecture attracts thousands

The talk was Jewish Culture Month’s most attended event, drawing 4,000 people online

By Daniel Ben-David

2 min read

Left to right: Dr Paul Collins, director of culture, Liat Rosenthal, education and communities at the Board of Deputies, acting Board president Adrian Cohen and British Museum Director Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE (Credit: Board of Deputies)

Opinion

For me, Amsterdam has been about canals, cycling and Shabbat dinners – not antisemitism

I think sometimes adults accidentally trap young Jews inside narratives of fear. Yes, the hatred is real but I do not want it to become the defining story of my year abroad

By Lottie Cannon

3 min read

View of one of the canals in Amsterdam.(Image: Getty Images)

By Tanya Gold

Network at 50: the film that predicted our disordered world

Written by Sidney “Paddy” Chayefsky, the Jewish genius of American screenwriting, the brilliant movie foretold reality TV, the hard left and the ebbing of liberal democracy

4 min read

By Ben Conway

From Mussolini to Iran: the politics of the World Cup

The war in the Middle East has given the tournament a tense backdrop – but football’s biggest stage has never been insulated from global events

3 min read

By Alex Hearn

Zeteo UK won’t speak truth to power – only grievances to its echo chamber

At Mehdi Hasan’s new “progressive” platform, the staff tend to share a certain worldview, particularly on Israel, where every bias points in the same direction

3 min read

By Sara Conway

Antisemitism has become normalised – and Barnet Council is determined to fight it

We are proudly home to the UK’s largest Jewish population and together with the police, local faith and community leaders, the CST and Shomrim, we will do everything to confront this hatred and strengthen cohesion

3 min read

By Zoe Strimpel

My Jewish supermarket sweep – spoiler, the winner isn’t M&S

Some chains have a distinctly more ‘kosher’ flavour than others – particularly in an era when politics and activism can determine whether Israeli dates or Palestinian beer make it onto the shelves

2 min read