The war in Bosnia has shown that aggression does pay. Under the terms of the Geneva Agreement, the Serbian nationalists together with their Croatian accomplices have been satisfied in their demand for land and power. Bosnia, as we knew it eighteen months ago, no longer exists. Yet Sarajevo seems to have survived that evil bombardment—as … Read more
In the winter of 1954, Jacob Sonntag edited a special issue of THE JEWISH QUARTERLY—number seven—which was devoted to an examination of the youthful State of Israel. Looking back at it, after nearly four decades, from the heights of our 150th issue, that passion for the Zionist experiment and the seemingly timeless freshness of statehood … Read more
A crisis in Israel’s ruling coalition was always a distinct possibility, ever since prime minister Yitzhak Rabin persuaded the secular Meretz and the religious Shas parties to join his Labour-led government But now the strains are beginning to show. Shas, together with other religious parties, has been calling for the dismissal of Shulamit Aloni, the … Read more
On first reading, the ruling by the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, legitimizing women’s prayer groups, seems to be an important step forward for large numbers of orthodox women. He has acknowledged the growing demand from Jewish women for a more authentic framework for spiritual expression. It is also abundantly clear from his consensual statement that … Read more
Yitzhak Rabin’s offer to allow 100 deported Palestinians to return from their freezing camp in Lebanon was the result of pressure, not just from the Clinton administration, but from within his own cabinet. With hindsight, dovish ministers in the Labour-led coalition regarded the deportation of more than 400 Hamas supporters as an incredible blunder. … Read more
Five hundred years ago, the Jews of Catholic Spain were expelled from their homeland by the practitioners of a religious fanaticism who believed that they had God on their side. The talents and contributions of minorities, whether Jewish or Muslim, were unwanted in a religiously pure Iberia. Those Jews who did not prostrate themselves before the priests of Ferdinand and Isabella left to seek new … Read more
An Interview with Gerald Kaufman MP 5 August 1992 CS: I believe that you apologized to your constituents shortly after Labour’s defeat in the 1992 elections for not being in a position to do more to help eradicate their poverty. GK: I didn’t apologize. What I said was that those of my constituents who were in a … Read more
Barry Shenker: For Judaism and Justice THE sorrow at Barry Shenker’s unexpected death, at the age of 48, showed in the eyes of everybody silently standing at the grave-3ide. They included Jews, Christians and Muslims, secular and religious, ideological opponents and political friends, Israelis and Palestinians. It was a testimony to Barry’s ability to tanscend … Read more
A month after the Labour party’s victory in the June elections in Israel, the then US Secretary of State, James Baker, brushed aside a document submitted by a Palestinian delegation and abruptly told them: “Take what Israel is offering now. Build on it. Don’t waste the opportunity!” This is, perhaps the major psychological hurdle that … Read more
The unexpected thaw in Israeli-Syrian relations was symbolised in a handshake and warm words for the new Rabin government from the Syrian delegate at the start of the new round of Middle East peace negotiations in Washington on 24 August. Leaks from the current talks suggest both sides are working on a peace deal … Read more