Menachem Begin was born 100 years ago this week in Brest-Litovsk, a town at the nexus of several east European cultures. It belonged to the newly independent Poland during his formative years and Begin absorbed its customs and manners. Begin’s formality contrasted dramatically with his couldn’t-care-less Labour opponents in later years. Although he came from … Read more
Arlosoroff, sitting at centre, after convening the meeting of Arab and Jewish leaders at the King David Hotel. Eighty years ago this coming Sunday, Haim Arlosoroff was gunned down during a Friday-night walk with his wife on the Tel Aviv beach. He was 34 and a rising star in the Zionist firmament. He was a … Read more
Campaigning in Finchley and Golders Green in 2001 (Photo: Sidney Harris) Prior to her visit to meet the rising Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1984, I was asked to join a delegation in Finchley to meet Margaret Thatcher. I hesitated because I was no fan and believed her policies to be destructive and divisive. Yet … Read more
There has been a great welcome for the new Pope from Jewish groups. They point to his good relationship with Jews — “our elder brother” — and his strong condemnation of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires. He has even co-authored a book with a rabbi that will appear in English … Read more
Mordechai Bar-On, Moshe Dayan: Israel’s Controversial Hero (Yale University Press 2012) pp.247 Patrick Tyler, Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite who run the Country and why they can’t make peace (Portobello Books 2012) pp.562 Reviewed by Colin Shindler Moshe Dayan was charismatic, courageous and innovative as well as conniving, ruthless and devious. … Read more
The Origins of Zionism Zionism grew out of the French revolutionary tradition, the Jewish and European Enlightenments – with the Bible as a cultural and historical backdrop. It was a progeny of early nineteenth century European nationalism – when nationalism belonged to the Left rather than the Right. In part, it took as the paradigm, … Read more
Israel Studies is not an innovation at institutions of higher education in Europe. Modern Hebrew and the study of the Holy Land reach back certainly into the nineteenth century. At my own college, the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, such academic interest began with the British Foreign Office’s … Read more
The European Left and Its Trouble With Jews Photo The Grande Synagogue de la Victoire in Paris in October. CreditEd Alcock for The New York Times LAST week, Twitter shut down a popular account for posting anti-Semitic messages in France. This came soon after the firing of blanks at a synagogue near Paris, the discovery … Read more
During his United Nations speech last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed that “a demilitarised Palestinian state recognise the one and only Jewish state”. While all previous holders of his office worked unceasingly for the recognition of Israel per se, the present incumbent has since his election four years ago insisted on the recognition … Read more
In 1940, Eric Hobsbawm, a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, characterised the war against Hitler as one of rival imperialisms between the Allies and Nazism and not as an anti-fascist struggle. Although millions of Jews were trapped by Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Hobsbawm was silent. He regarded the sacrifice of the Jews … Read more