Colin Shindler

A British Cover-Up?

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At the end of August 1929, nearly 80 Jews were killed in Hebron and Safed in an outbreak of Arab violence, instigated by the Mufti of Jerusalem. In all, 13q Jews and over 120 Arabs died in the disturbances. The investigating Shaw Commission, set up by the British- government, emphasised that the root of the … Read more

Has the Guardian Deserted the Angels?

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  Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, believes there has been a concerted attempt to label his paper as a receptacle for liberal anti-Semitism due to its criticism of current Israeli government policies.In Daphna Baram’s incisive new book, “Disenchantment: The Guardian and Israel,” (Guardian Books, £17.99), he is quoted as saying: “And, of course, once … Read more

Andreas Whittam Smith on Jabotinsky

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Andreas Whittam Smith (Opinion, 19 April) quotes selectively from a harsh English translation of Jabotinsky’s famous article “The Iron Wall” which was originally published in Russian in 1923. Jabotinsky wrote in the aftermath of Arab attacks in 1920 and 1921 and was actually protesting about the British inability to protect the Jews or arm them. … Read more

Security Barrier

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Just over one year ago, Ariel Sharon was returned as Prime Minister of Israel in an election in which the Likud and its allies easily attained a blocking majority of 61 seats in the Knesset. The candidate of the Labour Party, the dovish Amram Mitzna, was effectively trounced and resigned his position shortly afterwards. During … Read more

Reading The Guardian: Jews, Israel-Palestine and the Origins of Irritation

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Reading The Guardian: Jews, Israel-Palestine and the Origins of Irritation According to the organisation ‘Reporting the World’, there were 4393 mentions of Israel and the Palestinians in the British press from the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada, 29 September 2000 until 20 March 2001. 1 The coverage of the Intifada by The Guardian, in … Read more

On Felek Scharf

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  Rafael Felix Scharf: 18 June 1914 -16 September 2003 For readers of the Jewish Quarterly, ‘Felek’ Scharf was a familiar name as a frequent contributor since the inception of the periodical. For those who worked on and for the Quartery he was the affectionate elder statesman whose good nature smoothed over altercation and disagreement … Read more

He’s no Joe Lieberman

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Imagine waking up one morning to discover that Dracula is Jewish. Imagine, too, that he has been elected unopposed to become leader of the British Conservative Party. Confused? Unless you have been reading the British press during the last fortnight, you would be. The unexpected emergence of the Transylvanian Tendency in British political life has … Read more

Scandal in Bournemouth

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Early in August, the octogenarian Rabbi Dr. Louis Jacobs, perhaps the preeminent talmudic scholar in Britain and founder of the Masorti movement [loosely affiliated with the US Conservative movement], attended the aufruf of his granddaughter’s future husband in the coastal resort of Bournemouth. The synagogue, however, looked to the United Synagogue group, from which Jacobs … Read more