Soviet Jewry story June 2026 More than fifty years have passed since a handful of determined students in Jerusalem helped ignite a movement that would eventually change Jewish history. Today, when so many of the heroes of that struggle remain uncelebrated, it is worth remembering how it all began. For younger readers, it is difficult…

12th June 2026 27th Sivan 5786 Shabbat Shalom! I hope this missive finds you well. Today I don’t want to write about events but rather about what the vast majority of Israelis feel after the Haredi riots against conscription and the extremist settlers who claim Biblical lands as an excuse to be vile bullies. There…

5th June 2026 19 of Sivan, 5786 Shabbat Shalom everyone! Just for a change, let’s begin with the good people, the good news, the very good news, and the utterly thoroughly distressing news. After New York Mayor Mamdani refused to walk in the Celebrate Israel Day Parade, former mayors Eric Adams and Michael Bloomberg headed…

29th May, 2026 13th Sivan, 5786 Shabbat Shalom, a holy Eid Al-Adha, a Blessed Armenian and Orthodox Pentecost. A peaceful weekend to all whether you celebrate all of the above or not. When I planned today’s letter, missive, I was worried that I wouldn’t manage to be my usual optimistic self, then I sat down…

21st of May 2026 5th Sivan, 5786 Good morning, Shabbat Shalom and Chag Shevuot Sameach and a Blessed Pentecost and Ascencion Day The difficulties of peace are better than the agony of war.” — Menachem Begin Shevuot celebrates our receiving of the Torah — not only faith and ritual, but the moral foundations of how…

14th May 2026 27th Iyar, 5786 Jerusalem Day Of course, I wish you Shabbat Shalom but most of all I wish Jerusalem to hold celebrations of Jerusalem Day filled with joy, fellowship, good will and safety Today is the eve of Jerusalem Day, celebrating the day Jerusalem became one again; Old City and New, heart…

​THE POWER OF ONE 8th of May 2026 20th of Iyar 5786 Shabbat Shalom everyone! So good to talk to you today. Before I sit to write to you, I read the Israeli paper to see if there is anything that catches my eye so that I can tell you about it. I always read…

1st of May 2026 14th of Iyar 5786 Shabbat Shalom Dear Friends! Shabbat Shalom and a happy May Day. As a child I remember dancing around a May Pole, well actually it wasn’t me dancing around a May Pole but I remember film and photos of young people weaving and plaiting the ribbons which then…

23rd April 2026 6th Iyar  5786 Shabbat Shalom! A happy St. Georges Day to one and all. St George is the English patron saint who, according to the legend, fought a dragon. Today, on St Georges Day, we all need to pledge to fight the dragon of antisemitism and hatred. Until when? Until when? Until…

17th April 2026 29th of Nissan 5786 Shabbat Shalom to one and all Tomorrow night we welcome the month of Iyar, a time that tradition associates with both natural and spiritual healing. It is said that the generation that left Egypt found healing during this month, a quiet reminder that recovery is a slow process…