Category: NEWS

War Cannot be Sanitised FEB 10, 2024, “War is cruelty. There’s no use trying to reform it. The crueller it is the sooner it will be over.”   W. T. Sherman I regard myself as being a reasonable guy, trying very hard to understand the arguments on both sides of a  dispute; but there are occasions when the issues become so mired in illogicality and emotional hype that navigating to the crux of the problem becomes a Herculean task. This is the way the world’s media have presented and continue to showcase the Israel-Hamas War. There is much talk about a ceasefire; about the need for humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza; to avoid civilian casualties; to reconsider the two-state solution to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict; but very little about the the primary issue: hostages. Clearly something is complicating the present scenario by ignoring what is self-evident: release all hostages held by Hamas and its affiliates = a ceasefire and potential peace negotiations.  Netanyahu,...

An Interview with Louise Ellman DBE - Scroll down to click on the video Louise Ellman DBE   An Accidental Start Adventures at Lancashire Parliament Beckons Transport, Israel and...Antisemitism The youngest member of Lancashire County Council when she was elected in 1970,Louise, now Dame, Ellman rose to become Council Leader from 1981 to 1997 and was elected MP for Liverpool Riverside, with a huge majority, from 1997 to 2019 . Her Parliamentary career  made  significant strides in Transport, miscarriages of justice, work with refugees and maintaining a strong vocal presence on Israel and Jewish affairs.  She resigned from the Labour Party in 2019 because of Labour’s anti-Semitism under Jeremy Corbyn, only rejoining in 2021 when she became convinced that Keir Starmer was tackling the party’s anti-Semitism.  She was warmly welcomed back by Sir Keir. Louise was made a Dame in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours. A  Mancunian, with an M.Phil in Social Administration, Louise is married to Geoffrey. They have two children and five grandchil   https://youtu.be/ru1EndmnWJU...

The real Popeye, Frank "Rocky" Fiegel was born into a Jewish family, in 1868 in Poland.  The family emigrated to the U.S. when he was a child where he later became a sailor after settling in Illinois. His 20-year maritime career earned him a reputation as a skilled fighter with a deformed eye and a pipe-always-in-mouth habit. As a bouncer at Wiebusch's Tavern in Chester, Illinois, he entertained patrons with tales of his sea adventures. Elzie Crisler Segar, creator of Popeye, met Rocky in Chester, inspiring him to model the iconic character after the retired sailor. Segar also loosely based other characters, like 'Olive Oyl,' on real individuals. Over the years, Segar maintained a connection with Rocky, financially supporting him with a percentage of his earnings from Popeye illustrations. The revelation of Popeye's real-life inspiration adds a new dimension to the beloved cartoons. E.C. Segar, Popeye’s creator, was also Jewish.  Segar was born on December 8, 1894, and raised in Chester, Illinois, a small town...

Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 A poem by Peter Beyfus What other species takes delight in embracing destruction as its fate? But humankind, the pinnacle of creation, thirsts for blood; And down the ages the “other” has been the target of hate; A Lucerferian curse that formed humanity’s DNA from before the flood. Hubris is no respecter of race, creed or gender, claiming the “I” as supreme; While the majority remain silent, as if lulled and dizzied by rhetoric. The bell rings out the litany of crimes too monstrous to even dream; Innocent folk, like you and me, free today but tomorrow, philosophic. Atrocities have names, flickering images of countless lives lost; Armenians, Romanies, Jews, Poles, Russians, Rwandans, Bosnians have been slain; To cite those etched on our memories but many more, covered in time’s frost. And the mantra we hear “Never again, never again, never, never again!” Believe it, pray for it, but know easier said than achieved; And yet we have more than a mere spark of God within; Let that grow and banish the...

https://youtu.be/TsZE3Cp9h8E?si=DIFimsBkq9114wv4...

How a self-proclaimed ‘goy’ named Norman Jewison made one of the most Jewish movies ever Jewison, who died at 97, made ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ a big-screen phenomenon Director Norman Jewison, right, and star Topol as Tevye on the set of the film version of Fiddler on the Roof.Photo by Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber By PJ Grisar   January 22, 2024         Like the tale of Tevye the milkman, the story has taken on a legend of its own.   When producers were looking for a man to helm the film version of Fiddler on the Roof, they approached director Norman Jewison. Who else to direct it but a man whose name sounds like “Jewish son?” Jewison, who died Saturday at 97, often recalled how he told producers, “what if I told you I’m a goy?” There was disbelief in the room. Norman Jewison a goy? He was, but that didn’t stop him from making one of the most beloved Jewish films of all time. Jewison, as related in his memoir This...

An incredible interview. A "celebrity" with a moral compass - and what's more this young man is highly intelligent and articulate. What he has to say and what he has experienced because he speaks up honestly and fearlessly for Israel is extremely enlightening.   https://youtu.be/ikyRd3eIGBc...

At this difficult time in the history of Israel it is imperative the Jewish people remain united, a plea Chief Rabbi Mirvis made recently, and equally important remain so after the cessation of hostilities. The judgement of the International Court of Justice will be a seminal moment for all of us because it will either exonerate Israel of the perfidious charges brought by South Africa or find in favour of the accusation that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza; the consequences of the latter do not bear thinking about! I have no doubt what the verdict should be and my latest blog attest my faith in justice. Best wishes, Am Yisrael Chai  Peter   Stand Firm: Am Yisrael Chai! The South African government has submitted to the International Court of Justice in The Hague its highly selective evidence of Israel’s alleged genocide of Palestinians living in Gaza, and advocates for the State of Israel have responded by providing hard evidence of the IDF’s uncovering of...