It is very rare that I post someone else’s writing. But here is a vital exception. For those who do not already know, Melanie Phillips is a very controversial Jewish personality in the British world of broadcasting, journalism, and letters. She is highly controversial because she is ruthless in her condemnation of hypocrisy and firm in her support of Israel.…
American culture
The debacle in Afghanistan has proved how difficult it is to change another country’s culture. The USA tried it in Vietnam and Iraq and failed. What arrogance to think it might succeed in Afghanistan. All the more so since every other power that tried to tame Afghanistan over a thousand years, failed. Not one American President comes out of the…
Carmel School Bulawayo
My late father left his position as Principal Rabbi of the Federation of Synagogues in London to realize his dream of establishing a Jewish school that would combine the best of secular education with a good Jewish education and religious experience. He became a spokesman for Jewish education at a time when it was not only unfashionable but perceived as…
Durban 4 Disgrace
The “World Conference against Racism Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance”, was founded by the United Nations, after the Second World War and the Holocaust. Its mandate was to fund research on racism and to arrange international events organized through UNESCO to combat racist ideologies and behaviors. This generator of anti-Semitism, anti-Judaism, and anti-Israelism is a disgrace, and it is…
Shmitah
No, this is not a misprint. A Shmutteh is a rag in Yiddish. Whereas Shmitah is a genuine Hebrew word. Our New Year starts on September 7th (5782 in the Jewish calendar) and ushers in the new Sabbatical year. In Hebrew the word for the Sabbatical is Shmitah. The release. What is it? Is it in any way relevant now? In Exodus Chapter 21 the Torah…
Appeasement
I was brought up to despise the word appeasement. It was the ideology favored by much of the British aristocracy and political leaders before the Second World War. For years Lords and Ladies traipsed across the Channel to marvel at what Hitler had achieved for Germany, “what a very nice chappie he was” and “someone we can do business with.” Even…