Our Palestine Question: Israel and American Jewish Dissent 1948-1977 Yale University Press 2023, pp.320 In the early 1960s, Ben-Gurion implied that ideological Zionism, after the founding of the state, had lost its meaning. The imperative to emigrate and build up the Hebrew republic had been replaced by support for successive Israeli governments, bolstered by an … Read more
Kaddish2 Yitgadal V’yitkadash Shmei RabaAnd no one cameMany thousands called Him on Shabbat morning Crying His name out loudBegging Him with tears just to comeBut He ceased from all His workNo God cameAnd no God calmedOnly Satan celebrated uninterrupted ISRAEL AS PART OF THE DIASPORA 7 October 2023 was the day when Israel became part … Read more
Sunday’s attack on Israel by Iran involved 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles and 110 surface-to-surface missiles, according to leaked Israel reports to the New York Times. Most came from the Iranian mainland with a few fired by proxies in Iraq and Yemen. Israel, in conjunction with the armed forces of the US, UK, France and Jordan, defended … Read more
Herod the Great: Jewish King in a Roman World by Martin Goodman, published by Yale University Press 2024, pp.232 There is Jewish history and there is Judaic history — the latter seen through the eyes of the rabbis and sages. Martin Goodman, an Oxford professor of Jewish Studies, has written some remarkable books which have … Read more
Since the start of the war with Hamas, a mere 540 have enlisted to help the war effort. On the other hand, 66,000 young haredi men have received an exemption from military service during the past year, a member of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate told a Knesset Committee last month. The ruling exempting haredim from … Read more
When Pinchas Rutenberg, one of the giants of the Zionist movement, died in 1942, his friend, the writer Moshe Smilansky described him as “a great engineer with the soul of a poet.” Nevertheless, Rutenberg is missing from the public consciousness, even among those who treasure Jewish history. He stipulated in his will that no funds should … Read more
Professor Colin Shindler, you have, for the first time, opened up a disciplinary field that did not exist before you. Indeed, you are surprisingly the very first Professor of Israel Studies in the United Kingdom. You are also the President and Founder of the European Association for Israel Studies. You have already written twelve books, … Read more
‘Final Verdict: A Holocaust Trial in the Twenty-First Century’, by Tobias Buck Published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, In October 2019, a 93-year-old man was wheeled into a Hamburg courtroom, hiding his face from the public gaze behind a red folder, a pair of dark sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. Bruno Dey was accused of being involved … Read more
The result of the election in Israel in 1977 is known in Hebrew as ‘the Earthquake’. It marked the end of the Labour party’s long rule and the beginning of the long decline of the Israeli Left. The party with which Aneurin Bevan, Jennie Lee and Harold Wilson had identified was replaced by Menahem Begin’s … Read more
Last week, Amos Biderman published his daily cartoon in Ha’aretz. It depicted Netanyahu standing alone amidst the ruins of Gaza and sporting a MAGA (Make America Great Again) style hat — albeit in blue and white. The hat was labelled “Total Victory!” Below Netanyahu’s feet, hidden from view, deep underground in a tunnel, were the caged … Read more