May 20, 2021It’s All Just a Little Bit of History RepeatingSince last week, the world has watched with horror as Hamas once again waged war against Israel. The Gaza based terrorist organisation successfully exploited the legal conflict in Sheikh Jarrah and Mahmoud Abbas’ cancellation of the highly anticipated Palestinian Authority Presidential election to begin the most recent iteration of the…5 min read5 min read
Apr 28, 2021The Jews and the Boggart“‘So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?’ Hermione put up her hand. ‘It’s a shape-shifter,’ she said. ‘It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most.’ ‘Couldn’t have put it better myself,’ said Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed. ‘So the…Jewish6 min readJewish6 min read
Mar 30, 2021Moses Was a Jew: Erasive Anti-Jewish Racism and The Greatest Jewish HeroThe British production of the Prince of Egypt musical cast non- Jews to play some of the most important figures in Jewish history…but claim they’re promoting diversity. — Yesterday, I found myself in a Youtube rabbit hole and as it’s currently Pesach I clicked on a video titled, ‘The Prince of Egypt in the West End | “When You Believe” performance’. …Jewish6 min readJewish6 min read
Mar 21, 2021The Case For Anti-Jewish RacismWhy we should recognise that a hatred of Jews is a form of racism — When I was writing my book, Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People, I struggled with what to call Jew-hatred. Should I describe ‘the world’s oldest hatred’ as ‘Jew-hate’, ‘anti-Jewish racism’ or should I stick with the standard descriptor, ‘antisemitism’ (with no hyphen, of course)? Ultimately I decided to use all three…Racism8 min readRacism8 min read
Sep 20, 2020Erasive Antisemitism — Naming a Subcategory of AntisemitismI would like to propose a new sub-categorisation of antisemitism: Erasive Antisemitism It is connected to other categorisations of antisemitism, such as Conspiracy Fantasy which is why I offer it as a sub-categorisation as opposed to a distinct categorisation of its own. It can take two forms: 1. The erasure…Jewish6 min readJewish6 min read
Published in Jewish on Campus·Aug 13, 2020Jewish PrideThere was a time that I would brace for impact whenever I told people that I was Jewish. I was never scared for my physical safety, but I was always nervous about how people would receive me. Would they berate me about Israel? Would they tell me that Jews should…Jewish4 min readJewish4 min read
Oct 3, 2019The Cloud of AntisemitismI have lived in Hong Kong for three (non-consecutive) years. Initially, I was the Director of Education at the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre and latterly I became a Humanities Teacher at an International School. Since moving to Hong Kong I have experienced antisemitism several times. Each and every…Anti Semitism5 min readAnti Semitism5 min read
Jun 19, 2019Antizionism: A Pattern RepeatedToday Medhi Hasan announced his victory over Melanie Phillips and Dr Einat Wilf in a debate over whether antizionism is antisemitism. For context, the ADL defines antisemitism as “The belief or behaviour hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish.” They define Zionism as, “ the Jewish national movement of…Politics8 min readPolitics8 min read
Jun 13, 2019Stalked by A Corbynista: From Online to Offline AntisemitismThis week I discovered the lengths that pro-Corbyn supporters will go to to silence Jews who speak out against his antisemitism. After the election of Lisa Forbes, the Labour MP for Peterborough, I tweeted something that I and many other Jewish people and our allies believe: That Jeremy Corbyn is…Labour Party6 min readLabour Party6 min read
Jun 5, 2019Are you gay, Mr Freeman?‘Are you gay, Mr Freeman’, asked my eight-year-old student today. ‘Why do you ask?’, I responded. ‘Well, Janine* in Grade Four said you were and I wondered.’ ‘Oh’, I said, ‘Well there is nothing wrong with being gay.’ And with that, I changed the subject. The truth is, this simple…LGBTQ7 min readLGBTQ7 min read
