http://www.oyvagoy.com The philosemitic blog of author and journalist Chas Newkey-Burden, from the UK Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:30:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In 1982 Ehud Barak was a major general in the Israel Defence Force (IDF). He visited an infantry battalion during the early weeks of the first Lebanon war and told them to remember the women and babies that were waiting for them back at home. Little could he have ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/09/israel-in-2028/ "I've been longing for my freedom for a long time," said Gilad Shalit in this video last year. He has now been held for 1352 days. http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/08/lest-we-forget/ Stuck for something to buy your Mum for Mother's Day? I have bought my Mum the new book by Diana Craig I Love You Mum. It's a beautifully-designed compilation of writing that celebrates the art of motherhood including quotes, lists, tips and recipes. Yes, it includes a ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/08/mothers-day/ Regular readers will remember with a wince the silly outbursts that singer Annie Lennox made during Operation Cast Lead. Lennox slammed Israel, totally ignored the Hamas rockets and complained that the television news reports of the operation ruined her Christmas 'as a mother'. Well, exactly. It's all ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/07/here-comes-the-vain-again/ I was on The Late Show With Joanne Good last night on BBC Radio London. You can hear it on the iPlayer here if you're interested. I was on for the first hour and talked about Brangelina, Bibi and the joy of Essex Girls. Most joyful of all though was ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/06/bibi-brangelina-and-a-bookish-blog/ Here is my latest column for Jewish News: I first visited Israel in 2006 and on my return I wrote in these very hallowed pages about how tearfully thrilling it had been for me, a gentile philosemite, to finally meet my heroes. I went again in 2007 and ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/03/not-such-a-big-brain-then/ The is a guest post by Chris Philp, Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Hampstead & Kilburn. The Liberal Democrats at both national and local level have adopted an aggressive anti-Israel stance. They choose to communicate this message particularly in areas with large Muslim populations – suggesting that their anti-Israel stance is motivated ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/02/lib-dems-vilify-israel-to-win-muslim-votes-except-in-hampstead/ I did the newspaper review on BBC Radio London again today. If you want to you can hear it here (I come in at 1hr47mins). Among other things I discussed the hotness of Alastair Campbell, what Simon Cowell eats, Cheryl Cole, tooth-grinding and I even found time ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/02/im-not-pregnant/ The moaning of Israel-bashers about the assasination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh has revealed just how disingenuous their complaints about defensive actions such as Operation Cast Lead are. Whenever Israel is forced into military action its opponents claim they are not opposed to terrorists being targetted, but merely concerned about ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/01/damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-dont/ Here is a small selection of photographs from my recent visit to Israel. I am writing my next Jewish News column about the trip and I will post that here on Wednesday. At the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem Graffiti for Gilad Shalit in Tel Aviv/Yaffo Loving Shenkin Street with the lovely Hadar With ... http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/02/28/my-israel-trip/