20th February, 2026 Shabbat Shalom, Ramadan Kreem, I hope you had a good Shrove Tuesday and are prepared for Lent. As you know, I love to begin my missives with a wise quote, usually, Churchill, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain or GBS, but today I found the perfect quote for our times from Tolstoy. “The most…

13th February, 2026 Shabbat Shalom to each and every one and Ramadan Mubarak for Tuesday. I hope someone has ignored the fact that St Valentine was an antisemite and has chosen to be romantic! Friday 13th doesn’t worry me, 13 is good luck in Judaism. This week I had intended to give you the usual…

6th February, 2026 19th Shvat, 5786 Shabbat Shalom. I hope that this missive finds you all well, after all where would I be without you to tell you of our worries and joys? The stand-off we are living through, between a power defined by scale, technology and modernity and another driven by religious absolutism, brings…

23rd January, 2026 5 Shevat 5786 Shabbat Shalom to one and all. Today I am going to dive right in with the Trump plans for our area. Trump is not the first to say it or do it. The famous phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick” was popularized by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, who…

30th January 2026 12th Shvat, 5786 Shabbat Shalom dear friends, Shabbat Shalom. International Holocaust Day has been and gone but hatred and dehumanisation remain. Norwegian lawmaker Joel Ystebø has nominated Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, for the Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of its vital work in Holocaust education and remembrance.  “In a…

16th January 2026 27 Tevet 5786 Shabbat Shalom. A happy Orthodox Christian New Year, Armenian Christmas, Orthodox New Year and Eid El-Khader Winston Churchill’s 1941 declaration, “We are in the presence of a crime without a name,” referred to the systematic Nazi atrocities against Jewish people during World War II, a horror so immense it…

Friday the 9th of January, 2026 20 Tevet 5786 825 days since October 7th 2023 Shabbat Shalom to you and to your families. Each week I try to find an apt quote, one that relates to all of us, whatever our faith, or lack of it. This week I chose the subject of Anti-Semitism. As…

2nd of January 2026 13th of Tevet 5786 Shabbat Shalom, the first one of 2026, a new year filled with hope of change. Some people shine in a way that cannot be taught. Their presence brings warmth, honesty, and a truth that may not always be comfortable, but always clarifies. Stanley was one of those…

26th of December 2025 6th of Tevet 5786 812 days and Ran Gvili’s body is still in Gaza Shabbat Shalom! For my wonderful Christian Friends, I hope your Christmas was a blessed one and that Boxing Day went by with friends and family “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their…

19th December 2025 29th of Kislev, 5786  Third week of Advent Shabbat Shalom dear friends We were shaken to the core by the terror attack in Australia at Bondi Beach, a place synonymous with openness, joy, and freedom. What should have been a Chanukah gathering — a moment of light, community, and celebration — turned…