Author: Glen Berd

At 8.15 on the morning of the 6th August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped above Hiroshima by the United States and on the 9th August, a second atomic bomb was exploded above the city of Nagasaki which caused less destruction due to the nature of the terrain.  It is estimated that 120,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and some 73,000 people killed in Nagasaki.  This second bomb was due to be dropped on the city of Kokura but due to heavy cloud cover, the plane was diverted to Nagasaki. The objective was to force a rapid Japanese surrender and end World War II and on the 13th August, Japan unconditionally surrendered although it was not until 2nd September that the final Japanese surrender was signed, thereby bringing the Second World War to a formal close. The last Japanese soldier to surrender was Private Teruo Nakamura who was found by Indonesian armed forces on Morotai island on the 18th December 1974, nearly 30 years after the end of the war. ...

A Remarkable Man: The Vanished World of Stefan Zweig by Peter Beyfus This article, first published in the ‘Westminster Quarterly’, reminds us of why we should be eternally vigilant, ever watchful of evil trends in society. A man and his wife decided to commit suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates on the 22 February 1942. They were living in a country far removed from what was culturally part of their universe, and were despairing of what was happening to Europe. The names of these two people who soon after arriving in Petrópolis, Brazil, decided to end their lives were Stefan and Elizabeth (“Lotte”) Zweig. Their ghosts are resurrected every year for me, and, no doubt, others when listening to the New Year’s Day Concert from the Musikverein, Vienna; for it was that city that encapsulated what Zweig held so dear; its architecture, music, high culture and sense of enduring stability. As is the case for anyone having to leave their homeland to preserve their life, fleeing Austria must have been...

The message below was sent to us by a non-Jewish friend : My friends /colleagues  and I  -   are sending this out to as many Jewish people  -    as we can find       with the declaration The shocking documents from the Church of England -  general. Synod have nothing whatever to do with me personally. -    or any of my colleagues It is full of lies.        And we are all very upset that this seems to have crept under the radar.  -  presented itself I personally   -   all of us who are like-minded  -   choose to stand with the Jewish people  -  and Israel The only democracy in the Middle East Blessings.  Always.  Begin forwarded message: From: Jenny Jayakrishna <jennyj@revelationtv.com> Date: 15 July 2026 at 10:34:08 BST Subject: Christian Declaration against Kairos II FORWARDED AS RECEIVED Greetings all! We are all aware of the horrendous document the Church of England is entertaining called Kairos II. I have written a declaration and set up a site plus...

Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915): Scientist and Visionary By Peter Beyfus We have learnt a great deal about the COVID-19 virus since it impacted our lives in 2020; and the development of vaccines with breathtaking speed has impressed both the scientific fraternity and all of us who have little knowledge of the esoteric field of immunology. At a time when the spread of the Ebola virus is causing international concern, it seems appropriate to pay tribute to Paul Ehrlich, one of the pioneers of immunology and a major contributor to other medical advancements, specifically haematology, cancer research and chemotherapy; it was Erhlich who coined the phrase “magic bullet”. By necessity this biographical thumbnail sketch cannot do full justice to his many discoveries and the enormous debt later generations owe to Ehrlich and his collaborators who followed the trail blazed by other great epidemiologists: John Snow, Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister and Ehrlich’s contemporary and friend Robert Koch. Paul Ehrlich was born on 14 March 1854 into a prosperous Jewish family. Home was the country town of Strehlen in...

By Rebbetzen Anna Bergson I wasn't going to share this upsetting antisemitic incident I experienced last Shabbos afternoon but my hubby has just mentioned it on Love World TV and as the interviewer was shocked and the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, here goes... So late last Shabbos afternoon me and our 12 year old son Naftali were enjoying a pleasant walk on the promenade. In fact there happened to be some sort of meeting for super cars (Ferrari's apparently) in the small car park near the Town Hall. This was attracting quite a crowd of gawping passers-by with parents asking their children which was their favourite and people generally hanging around admiring. Anybody who knows me will know that I am more ethereal minded so whilst these cars we not impressing me, I did 'go with the flow' and ask Naftali which was his favourite. Suddenly a woman, I would say in her 60's with her about 10 year old grandson...

About the Author Peter John Beyfus is an historian, published author, poet, and a person who prides himself on “thinking outside the box”. I have written many essays on Jewish themes, published in various journals, and I take a keen interest in international affairs. I believe in robustly defending Israel’s right to exist, to expose anti-Zionist propaganda and advocating the advance of peaceful co-existence between Israel and its Arab neighbours. Dialogue rather than violence is the best way to achieve peace. With the signing of the Abraham Accords we have witnessed a seismic shift toward a major change in the Arab mindset, and this gives one optimism for a brighter future in the Middle East. So Predictable: What’s New? by Peter Beyfus for The Times of Israel The exaggerated claims by Donald Trump that he has secured a working deal with the Iranian Republic does little to ease uncertainties about where this leaves Israel and the volatile Middle East. The President’s comments about...

“Don’t cry and don’t rage. Understand”: Baruch Spinoza  By Peter Beyfus   Philosophers,  by their challenging natures,  are likely to cause disturbance among academics and religious authorities, and that was certainly the case with Baruch Spinoza, a man who was controversial, ruffled more than a few feathers, and took inspiration from earlier eminent thinkers like Plato, Aristotle,  Maimonides, Thomas Hobbs and René Descartes,  to mention some of the luminaries who were seminal in shaping his approach to many branches of philosophy: ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of mind and philosophy of science.  His legacy would, in turn,  have a profound influence on Immanuel Kant, Leibniz, Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx and Einstein.   Spinoza was of Sephardi origin, whose family were Portuguese Marrano, and who fled to the more tolerant  Dutch Republic. Baruch  Spinoza  was born in Amsterdam in 1632. He would have received a traditional Jewish education, learning Hebrew, studying Torah and Talmud but not to rabbinic standards. He left school around seventeen, to help...

Seaside stories for Chizuk by Rebbetzen Anna Bergson    My husband and I have had the pleasure of leading the St Anne's Hebrew Congregation for close to almost eight years now! Whenever I meet people and tell them I'm the Rebbezten of St Anne's I am met with perplexed and surprised faces - they can't believe there is still a sizable community here (which there is bh) and how a frum family could find it so fulfilling tending to such a far out and remote kehilla. I always say I'm going to write a book about it one day because not only are our 'regulars' the most special and inspiring neshamas but we seem to attract the most curious strangers who seem to invariably wash up on the shore! Take for example last night - my husband received an email from a Chabad House in Canada. A Canadian couple have reached the finals of an International Ballroom Dancing Competition - they are Shomer Shabbos/yomtov and the...