History and geography are the major reasons why British Jewry’s security systems are decades ahead of those in the United States. As Britain marked the one-year anniversary last Friday of London terrorist attacks that killed 52 people, including at least three Jews, officials with British Jewry’s main defense organization talked with JTA about how they… More ▸
The decision by a London-area Orthodox day school to admit students with only a Jewish father is provoking outrage in parts of the community. King Solomon High School’s move brought a vehement reaction from some members of the local community, including Rabbi Alex Chapper, who said the policy "effectively recognizes the liberal definition of who… More ▸
When Two Live Jews penned their hip-hop hit “Oy, It’s So Humid!” in 1990, tongues planted firmly in their cheeks, their humorous, Jewish-themed lyrics were meant as a response to the controversial — and, at the time, inescapably popular — rap songs of Two Live Crew. A decade and a half later, call them Heeb… More ▸
London’s Jewish community is beginning to waver in the matter of the city’s mayor, whose remarks to a Jewish reporter comparing him to a Nazi were punished with a sentence which was suspended just before it was to start. Ken Livingstone was to begin a four-week paid suspension from office March 1 for his remarks… More ▸
Tony Blair has been a rare beacon of light in the global war on terrorism, and his clarity of thought is especially important now after the British have come under repeated terrorist attack. But the British prime minister has one flaw in his analysis of the current situation that unfortunately comes up far too often…. More ▸
Amid tightened security following the latest wave of attempted suicide bombings in London, British Jews are troubled both by the threat of terror and the ambivalent reaction of the United Kingdom’s Muslim leadership. The capital was still burying its dead from four coordinated suicide attacks July 7 that killed more than 50 people — including… More ▸
A dispute over four Nazi-looted drawings currently in the British Museum is likely to lead to a change in British law to allow art stolen in World War II to be returned to its legal heirs. The Old Masters in question, once part of a large collection belonging to Arthur Feldmann, a Jewish lawyer and… More ▸
Rabbi Barry Marcus spent many years living in Israel, but he never came as close to a terrorist atrocity as he did in London Marcus, the rabbi of the Central Synagogue on Great Portland Street, was cycling across Tavistock Square on the morning of July 7 when he heard and felt “an incredible blast.” Just… More ▸
Jewish leaders have vowed they will work to combat any rise in racial tensions following the London bombings amid fears that the attacks may lead to increased anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. “Certainly when there have been attacks in the past, we’ve seen a spike in anti-Semitism and vandalism,” said Mike Whine of the Community Security Trust,… More ▸
As if mocking the scenes of jubilation at London’s successful 2012 Olympics bid, the terrorist explosions that came the next day left devastation in their wake. In all our synagogues, British Jews are joining our prayers with those of others, grieving for the dead, praying for the injured, and sharing our tears with those of… More ▸
