The Jewish Festival of Hannukkah (Dedication) & thoughts following the attack at Bondi Beach

The attack on the Hannukkah Party on Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia, has stunned the world and once again led to an outcry against anti-Semitism. However, the heartfelt sentiments expressed have so far failed to confront the deeply rooted causes of the disease, including the lack of understanding of Judaism as a worldwide religion andContinue reading “The Jewish Festival of Hannukkah (Dedication) & thoughts following the attack at Bondi Beach”

Heritage not Hate – The True Spirit of Glastonbury

The sacred site and settlement. Long before its relatively recent appropriation as the site of a major music festival, Glastonbury in Somerset was intimately connected with the two linked legends of Joseph of Arimathea and King Arthur. Both were fully recorded in written form for the first time in the twelfth century, but they drewContinue reading “Heritage not Hate – The True Spirit of Glastonbury”

Is Hungary’s Appeasement of Putin Justified by its Past Experiences? V

Chapter Five: Hungary under Horthy – In the Eye of the Hurricane: It was largely the impossibility of reconstructing the order of Europe and the wider world as it was in January 1919 that swept away the ‘pacifist democracy’ that took over Hungary at the end of the First World War. It thwarted the firstContinue reading “Is Hungary’s Appeasement of Putin Justified by its Past Experiences? V”

War, Peace & Justice in Judaism: Epilogue – Three Faiths, Two States & One World.

Hope for a Future without Children Dying: The prospect of a better future like that in Isaiah’s vision can tempt us to lose sight of the tasks of the present. Hope for a future in which no more children die can be a sin if we meanwhile neglect to do our duty for children dyingContinue reading “War, Peace & Justice in Judaism: Epilogue – Three Faiths, Two States & One World.”

War, Peace & Justice in Judaism: Part Two – ‘Shalom’ & Resistance:

Traditions of Shalom: Emerging from the Judaistic readings of the Hebrew Bible, which I dealt with in part one of this two-part article, there was a strong biblical tradition, both in the Psalms and among the prophets, from the earliest to the latest times of the kingdoms of Israel, that the Lord is a godContinue reading “War, Peace & Justice in Judaism: Part Two – ‘Shalom’ & Resistance:”

Terror as a Tree Without Roots: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict – A Short Documentary History, 1941-76.

Berlin, 1941 – Genesis of a Genocide: Over these past three weeks, there have been many attempts by jihadi propagandists, followed sheepishly by their international apologists and extremists, to excuse or ‘explain’ the pogrom of 7th October by reference to the events of the past seventy-five years of the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, in checking throughContinue reading “Terror as a Tree Without Roots: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict – A Short Documentary History, 1941-76.”

Crying “Jihad” on the Streets of London – Should it be Legal? The Origins of Islamist Extremism.

The Continuing Cries of the terrorists, one year on: On Monday, October 23rd 2023, John Ware wrote in Jewish News: “Imagine being the Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley today as he gets a dressing down from the Home Secretary about why his officers didn’t arrest a member of the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir chantingContinue reading “Crying “Jihad” on the Streets of London – Should it be Legal? The Origins of Islamist Extremism.”

The Raven & the White Rose – The Plantagenet Pretender in Buda: Richard de la Pole.

The Growth of the Great Central European Empire: Sigismund of Bohemia, pictured above, became Holy Roman Emperor in 1433, an event which marked the establishment of the great Central European Empire under Habsburg rule, through his daughter’s marriage, until 1918. As Emperor, he acted as an intermediary between Henry V of England and the KingContinue reading “The Raven & the White Rose – The Plantagenet Pretender in Buda: Richard de la Pole.”

Eighty Years Ago: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April-May 1943.

Introduction – An Ideological Conflict & the Partition of Poland: With the outbreak of war in September 1939, an ideological conflict of peculiar savagery began with the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland. Well before the fighting began Hitler and Himmler indicated that German forces should ignore the usual Geneva ‘convention’ distinguishing between the treatment of civiliansContinue reading “Eighty Years Ago: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April-May 1943.”

The Windrush Generation, Seventy-five Years on – 1948-2023: Caribbean Immigrants to Britain; Policy, Music & Culture

This year, 2023, marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury docks in Essex on 22 June 1948. The ship brought around 500 people from Jamaica and Trinidad to the UK. Many of the new arrivals were employed in state services such as the NHS and public transport filling post-war employmentContinue reading “The Windrush Generation, Seventy-five Years on – 1948-2023: Caribbean Immigrants to Britain; Policy, Music & Culture”