There will be a pro-Israel vigil outside the Palestine Solidarity Campaign concert at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church on Tuesday December 1st, starting at 6pm.
Please bring Israeli flags – leaflets will be provided. Hope to see you there.
(For more information on the vigil and why it’s being held, see the first Comment below this post.)
Digital Spy has an interesting story about Simon Cowell’s political ambitions:
‘Simon Cowell would reportedly like to stage a political showdown in the style of The X Factor during the run-up to the next general election.
‘The media mogul said that a debate between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron could be injected with a bit of “fun” with music and “loads of spotlights”.
‘Cowell told GQ that he would be up for the challenge. He said: “Like the presidential debates in America. I’d like to produce that here. I would! Just for the hell of it! Make it a bit more fun.”‘
Many of you will remember my popular post about my good friend Tal, who recently started IDF. She’s really enjoying the challenges of the experience so far and asked me to pass on her regards to all OvG readers. Respec’, Tal!
From the latest Tom Gross Dispatch:
“Young female athletes from Israel’s fencing team won top medals at a 28-nation European fencing tournament held in Mödling, Austria last week. But they then faced an additional challenge when they stood on the winners’ podium to receive their medals: the organizers refused to play the recording of the Israeli national anthem.
“The defiant young Israelis, gold medal winner Dana Strelnikov, aged 14, and Alona Kamarov, who won the bronze, found themselves standing on the podium in silence, but then decided to sing the Israeli anthem on their own. The Israeli team’s staff said they had no doubt that the Austrian refusal to play the Israeli anthem was intentional.
“Dana Strelnikov’s achievement in beating 120 fencers aged up to 17 was all the more remarkable considering she is only 14 years old. Both girls are from the northern Israeli town of Ma’alot, a town particularly hard hit by terrorist attacks in the past.
“The Israeli national fencing team’s coach, Yaakov Friedman, said it is not the first time that such an incident has happened this year. At a tournament in Göteborg, Sweden, in January, Israel won the silver medal and when the medalists mounted the podium the organizers refused to play the Israeli anthem.”
Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, is heartbreaking, joyous and inspiring all at once. Likewise, while the above story undoubtedly has the capacity to both upset and anger, most of all it should inspire. The quiet courage and dignity of those two Israelis reflects the shining moral example that their nation all too often sets to us all. Kol hakovod.
As some of you already know, I now have a fortnightly column in Jewish News. Here is the latest…
You always remember your first time: biting through the rye bread into the juicy heap of greasy, tender, peppery pastrami…and here comes that mustard kick – wonderful. There are few joys in life as glorious as the hot pastrami sandwich of the American Jewish deli. It’s little wonder that Meg Ryan so noisily enjoyed hers in When Harry Met Sally, prompting a fellow diner to quip “I’ll have what she’s having.”
I know just what she means. Some of the happiest moments of my life have come while noshing away in such Stateside establishments. From the famous Carnegie and Katz in New York, to the under-rated Sam LaGrassas in Boston and the starry Canters of Los Angeles I have pumped my veins full of cholesterol and lived to tell the story. Along with the sandwiches and the soup, the hefty side order of Jewish wisdom and humour that the staff of these establishments routinely serve up are music to the ears of this philosemite. “My food will kill you,” was the memorable – and strangely tempting – boast of one of Manhattan’s most famous deli owners.
The banter is part of the menu. Which is I was why bitterly disappointed when – contrary to reputation – not a single member of staff at Stage Deli in New York was rude to me, however long I deliberately lingered and stuttered over my order when I visited last year. I’ve replayed the visit in my head many times and I still don’t know what I did wrong to not get ticked off. What am I? Chopped liver?
My pastrami passion extends to my bookshelf. One of my favourite books is How To Feed Friends And Influence People, which is the story of the Carnegie Deli, and more recently I have been devouring the excellent Save The Deli by David Sax. I even own a copy of the 2nd Avenue Deli Cookbook, though the less said about my efforts to reproduce its dishes in my Berkshire kitchen the better. As a friend who sampled my efforts put it: “This is a day that will live in infamy”.
As you might have guessed, I am obsessed with these delis and I’m far from alone. Visitors to the States flock to such establishments, queueing with the locals for a sandwich, some soup or a knish. But why do we even need to fly thousands of miles for the pleasure? It puzzles me why nobody in the UK has cashed in on this popularity and opened such a place here. It seems a glaring omission from our culinary scene.
True, there are outlets selling pretty decent salt beef sarnies, including Blooms on Golders Green Road, Gaby’s on Charing Cross Road and Birley’s in Canary Wharf, but I’ve never found anywhere in Britain that does anything remotely like the gargantuan, juicy joy that is the Carnegie hot pastrami sandwich. We have every other ethnic food stuff represented on our high streets: Indian, Thai, Chinese, Sushi, Ethiopian, burgers, Italian, Greek, Lebanese – isn’t there room for one New York-style Jewish deli in the whole of London?
It would surely be a popular venture for both locals and American ex-pats. If nobody opens one soon I’ll do it myself. I can see the newspaper headlines as my clear-eyed business vision is vindicated by mile-long queues outside the UK’s first proper New York-style deli: “Brits go barmy for Chas’s Pastrami” (The Mirror); “Cheryl Cole balloons after just one sandwich”(Daily Mail); “Thousands suspected dead in Zionist catering massacre” (The Guardian).
Dear readers, you’ll all be very welcome to look in for a freebie. Jackie Mason said: ‘A sandwich to a Jew is just as important as a country to a gentile.’ Only you can tell me if he’s right but if he is – count me in.
If you are not in the newspaper’s catchment area you can read it in full online here.
This is a guest post by Alex Dwek.
The year 2009 has been a challenging time to be a student. We are in more debt than ever before and facing the worst job crisis for almost 20 years.
Jewish students are no different in that they are facing these same difficulties, but they also have the additional task of preserving their Jewish identity. For some this involves balancing student life with keeping kosher, observing Shabbat whilst for others this involves more of a cultural element or their own personal ties towards Israel.
Jewish Societies on campus are there to help fill this void. They seek provide a range of educational, cultural and social events along with opportunities to be involved in political campaigns. The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) plays a dual role in providing funding as well as linking these 43 Jewish societies around the country through a series of nationwide initiatives.
Has this been successful?
In the past two years UJS has transformed into a professional and efficient organisation. It has more than doubled the amount of Jewish societies it supports and has created a series of flagship events ranging from a nationwide football tournament to social action days where Jsocs give back to their local communities.
These changes have without doubt revitalised the core membership of the Union. But there are still thousands of Jewish students on campus who are not being provided for.
To simply dismiss these students as apathetic is wrong. There has without doubt been a decline in participation over the last five years. Young peoples’ attitudes have changed and organisations such as UJS need to adapt to their market.
I believe that one of the ways UJS can widen its appeal is by providing online interactive services for Jewish students focusing on careers, accommodation and travel.
Hosting career seminars with top industry leaders, and having job and internship listings will help ease fears of unemployment. Providing students with an online list of legal housing rights and frequently asked questions will protect them from dodgy landlords. Creating an online interactive Jewish student travel guide, where people can access a list of Kosher places to eat and points of contact all around the world.
What makes these different to the current events on offer is that it appeals to almost every Jewish student regardless of their interests or level of observance. It doesn’t rely on high attendance levels or vast amounts of money being spent, but can be accessed by everyone.
Student services are just the first phase of increasing participation in Jewish student life. Once UJS becomes students’ first point of contact, I believe that attendance levels for other events such as education and culture will increase dramatically. Until UJS has access to this wider audience, it can create all the events it wants but it will still face the problem that students don’t know about the organisation and most importantly, what it can do for them.
Student organisations like UJS are in the unique position that their members are not adverse to new approaches and ideas. I believe that if UJS gets this right then it can create a model that can be used by a whole range of other communal organisations facing the very same problems.
Alex Dwek is a third year Economics and Politics Student at the University of Manchester and is running to be Chair of the Union of Jewish Students. Elections take place across the country between 29th Nov- 3rd Dec. For more information about Alex’s campaign visit his Facebook election page or the Union of Jewish Students website.
You can read previous guest posts by Alex Dwek here, here and here.
I’ve been interviewed by the excellent Digital Spy about my Simon Cowell biography. From dry-retching to political king-making and prostitutes’ calling-cards it’s all here.
This is a guest post by Israelinurse.
You know how it is when you’re looking for one thing and you end up finding something totally unrelated that you’d forgotten you had? The other day I found an old newspaper cutting in a recipe book. It’s a Jerusalem Post editorial dated Thursday, March 16th, 1978. It is, of course, yellowed and crumpled; seemingly old news, but the words are remarkable in that they portray just how little has changed in over 31 years on Israel’s northern border.
Five days before this editorial was written the Coastal Road Massacre took place in which 38 Israelis were murdered and 71 wounded by Palestinian terrorists coming from Lebanon. The editorial relates to the subsequent Operation Litani:
“Beyond Retaliation”
“It would be a mistake to view yesterday’s massive Israeli military action in southern Lebanon as a simple, though justified, act of vengeance, in retaliation for the PLO terror attack on Israeli civilians on Saturday.
“The action, despite its dimensions, was carefully restricted, both with regards to targets and means. It was intended mainly to foil the attempt by the terrorists to fill the political and military void which has been permitted to develop in southern Lebanon which abuts on Israel.
“This void resulted from a de facto Syrian military take-over of Lebanon down to the Litani River, which it did not cross for fear of Israeli intervention, coupled with Lebanese failure to extend effective control into the area south of the Litani.
“The no-man’s land thus created, together with the recent massive arms shipments from the Soviet Union to the PLO through the port of Tyre, came to constitute a serious security threat to Israel, and a murderous potential against its northern border settlements.
“Lebanese President Sarkis in attempting to stave off the Israeli action admitted that his government did not control the PLO-infested area south of the Litani. Defence Minister Ezer Weizman yesterday corroborated this admission.
“By last night it seemed clear that Israel’s major purpose is to clear and hold on to a wide strip parallel to its northern border until an effective anti-terrorist agreement is concluded with Syria and Lebanon. Provisions for keeping PLO terrorists away from the Israel border were said to have been included in the Shtura agreement, hammered out between the various forces in Lebanon at the time of the Syrian take-over. But for all intents and purposes the Shtura agreement was born dead.
“The Israel Government has made it as clear as possible that yesterday’s action in Lebanon will not serve as a pretext for Israel’s remaining in that territory. Israel wants security for its citizens, not other people’s lands.
“Yesterday’s military operation should, in fact, have come some time ago, as soon as it became clear that the PLO was filling the void left by the Lebanese Government. The reason it did not is equally clear: U.S. pressure against any Israeli intervention which it feared could lead to a confrontation with Syria.
“The reason the action could finally take place yesterday is also clear: the brutal murder at the hands of Lebanese-based PLO killers of scores of Israeli civilians,which, for the time being, swept away the political underpinnings of American objections.
“The need to wait for the murder of scores of innocent victims in order to justify resort to military action whose only purpose is to prevent terror, should say something about the moral priorities and prescience of U.S. diplomacy.
“It is also important to stress that the action should in no way prejudice the continued search for agreement between Israel and Egypt. On the contrary, one of the goals of the military action was to deprive the PLO of its southern Lebanese bases, that were used as springboards for forays into Israel designed to undermine the peace process.”
So, if we exchange ‘PLO’ for ‘Hizbollah’ and ‘Soviet Union’ for ‘Iran’ we clearly see that 31 years down the line, little has changed apart from the names of the key players.
South Lebanon is still an area that country’s government cannot control; a fact still cynically used by terrorists with foreign backing. Even worse – today’s terrorists actually form part of Lebanon’s government.
As for the international community and the US in particular, neither Operation Litani in 1978, Operation Shlom HaGalil in 1982 or Lebanon II in 2006 seem to have impressed upon them the need for urgent and far-reaching action regarding the constant threats on Israel’s northern border.
America is still tying Israel’s hands and Israel is still restricting itself in the scope of its self-defence.
Even if dozens of Israeli citizens are murdered yet again, will the world see the real nature of the threat located to Israel’s north? Most certainly could not do so in 2006. It would seem that blind bigotry has frozen the minds which steadfastly refuse to see what has been in clear view for over three decades.
Here is the second and final part of my collection of memorable posts for the benefit of new readers. Back to business as usual* from tomorrow onwards.
I Don’t Understand The Issue…But You’re Wrong (September)
Good Luck Tal! (October)
Join The Applause (October)
Gilad Shalit: Still Not Home (November)
Jewish News Column: Bring Back Blair! (November)
* No, it’s not a business Mr Oborne. That’s just a saying.
Visitor numbers have soared in the past week so I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all new readers. To give you a flavour of the blog, I’ve collected some past posts which were particularly popular or memorable. Here is part one, I’ll post part two tomorrow.
Coronation Street Is A Zionist Plot (February)
All Roads Lead To The Same Place (February)
Ahmadinejad At Durban (April – guest post by Alex Dwek)
An Interview With Daniel Gordis (May)
Jonathan Hoffman’s speech at Durham (May)
Jewish News Column about loony commenters (June)
Why Blame The Settlers? (August)
I am genuinely honoured to be mentioned in the latest dispatch by the magnificent and influential Tom Gross. If you haven’t read any of his dispatches I recommend you visit the archive here. They are clear-eyed, succinct and invaluable to anyone who wishes to support Israel, or even just gain a greater understanding of the world.
They are also free of charge which is great. I hope therefore you’ll join me in showing some love and support to Tom for the tireless way he shines a light in this world. Kol Hakavod, Mr Gross!
I’m very excited about the new Martin Amis novel The Pregnant Widow – due next February. He spoke about it at a festival recently, as reported in the Telegraph today:
‘Set among a group of bright young things having a party in an Italian castle, he described the book as “rather like a country house mystery, except it’s not whether the butler did it but who’s going to have sex with whom.”‘
Sounds like it might have similarities with his second novel, Dead Babies. Well that sounds good to me, I still think his first three books – The Rachel Papers, Dead Babies and Success – are his best works, along with his memoir Experience. I’ve never understood the fuss about Money (due to be adapted by the BBC next year) which I think is totally overrated.
I can’t wait for Pregnant Widow. Are you an Amis fan? Which of his books did you love or hate?
On June 4, 2008 as he campaigned for office, Barack Obama said: “Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital, and no one should want or expect it to be re-divided.” Quite right too, but he has been wriggling from this position ever since.
The following month he said: “You know, the truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. The point we were simply making was, is that we don’t want barbed wire running through Jerusalem, similar to the way it was prior to the ‘67 war, that it is possible for us to create a Jerusalem that is cohesive and coherent… I was not trying to predetermine what are essentially final status issues.”
Then this week, speaking about the Gilo apartment construction, he said: “I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel’s security, I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbours. I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous.”
The Gilo apartments have nothing whatsoever to do with settlement building. Gilo is a Jewish neighbourhood that lies within the borders of Israel as anticipated by the Clinton parameters and the Geneva Accords. If Jerusalem is to “remain Israel’s capital” and will never be “re-divided” then Israel has every right to build whatever it wants there. So why doesn’t President Obama grow a pair and confront something that really could end up being very dangerous.
There is a touching memorial on the brilliant Chabad website to Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, who were killed in the terrorist attack in Mumbai last year:
“In the course of their short lives, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, Chabad emissaries in Mumbai, India, radiated love, kindness and inspiration to their surroundings. With their cruel murder by forces of darkness, their light exploded into a million points of light that now illuminate across the globe.”
I recommend you visit the memorial page, and watch the inspiring video.
The visceral hatred Peter Oborne demonstrated in his shoddy documentary Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby did not, unsurprisingly, come out of nowhere. What is surprising is just how obsessive he is in his demonisation of the Jewish state. To cover all he has written on the subject down the years would therefore be an onerous task. Here is a selection.
On September 23, 2001 as the dead of the 9/11 attacks were still being buried he drew an analogy between Al-Qaeda’s genocidal terrorism and the government of Israel. “The thought of the West taking reprisals against bin Laden without demanding major concessions from Israel makes the blood run cold,” he wrote in The Observer. This was no isolated incident. On May 10 2004, he wrote about “US support for state terrorism in Israel” in the Evening Standard. In November of the same year, writing in The Spectator, he called for President Bush to put “renewed pressure on Israel to press forward for a settlement with Palestine”, as if it was Israeli intransigence – rather than the complete opposite – that has prevented a conclusion to the conflict.
To his credit, in February 2005 he said Ken Livingstone was “unfit to be Mayor of London” following his controversial “concentration camp” jibe to a Jewish reporter. Perhaps controversially he added: “I simply cannot understand how Nicky Gavron [who is Jewish] can remain Ken Livingstone’s deputy following his astonishing failure to withdraw his disgusting remarks.” One can see Oborne’s point, but were there not others more suitably placed to make it?
The following year Oborne interviewed government minister John Denham for The Spectator. It was a wide-ranging interview, but it was headlined ‘Israel’s actions affect our security’ despite Israel being only mentioned very briefly in passing in the article. Then in 2006, as Israel defended itself against the rockets of Hezbollah, Oborne sank even lower. On July 24 he wrote of “Israeli barbarism over the weekend” and placed himself firmly in the camp of “those of us who find Israeli actions detestable”. The following week he wrote of an “atrocity” at Qana, describing it as part of a “murderous campaign” by Israel. I can find no sign of him retracting his description of the Qana incident, despite the subsequent evidence that contradicts what he wrote.
As Israel defended itself from eight years of Hamas rockets with Operation Cast Lead, Oborne – by now of the Daily Mail – described Hamas not as terrorists but “militants” and concluded: “Israel has a great deal to learn from the honourable way Britain dealt with Irish terrorism.” There is clearly no parallel between the threats posed by IRA and Hamas. Seven days after that Oborne wrote about the expenses scandal, but managed to work Israel into the story: “Our indolent MPs have not yet debated either the domestic crisis caused by the recession, or — and this is equally shameful — the world crisis that has followed the Israeli invasion of Gaza.” The following week he again wrote about Cast Lead, describing Israel as “bloodthirsty”, instead of recognising Israel’s enormous restraint in not responding years earlier to the continuous launching of thousands of rockets upon civilians over the course of several years.
Perhaps the most ludicrous statement of the lot came in July this year. Having drawn a parallel between Al-Qaeda and Israel eight year earlier, he now tried to do the same with the Iranian regime. “[David] Cameron cannot in good faith criticise the autocratic government in Iran for killing pro-democracy demonstrators in Tehran at the same time as turning a blind eye to Israeli conduct in Gaza,” he wrote. What a strange world he must live in.
A final thought: in December 2007 The Spectator asked several prominent people whether they believed in the virgin birth. Oborne’s response began: “This is a complex issue but luckily I have been able to draw on a formidable body of knowledge.” Oh that he could say the same of his conclusions on Israel.
