The fight back begins

I've been on a bit of a blog break during August,for obvious reasons, namely because of having to look after my children, alongside the usual stuff that I do, whilst they were not at school due the summer holidays. Now that they are back at school, I have more time to write out blog posts.

The summer months have been difficult for Jews in Europe, as they always are whenever the middle east Arab- Israeli conflict spills over into open conflict. We have the sights of mass rallies directed not just against Israel, but seemingly against Jews as well(or at least that is how it feels) . In France there was more or less several pogroms and in Britain we even had kosher food being removed from a supermarket shelf because of the fear the store would be trashed otherwise. This may sound minor, except this is liberal, tolerant, multicultural Britain we are talking about, a country which has always been tolerant towards Jews, at least since the 17th century when we returned to this country( it was the Sephardi who first settled here). 

Then there have been the increasing antisemitism, the verbal and physical abuse, the intellectual attacks on Israel, the lack of appreciation as to what and why Israel has to fight. There was also a feeling that our community leaders were not speaking out more and when they did, they messed up(as in the recent furore over the board of deputies / Muslims council joint statement).

I was therefore relived to hear that there was going to be a demo against antisemitism in London last Sunday. Representatives of the whole British Jewish community attended the rally, which about 5,000 attended, Jews of various stripes, differences temporarily forgotten, as well as Christians & non Jews. I am glad we are starting to fight back against this antisemitism, which is simply not acceptable. I'm saddened that we even have to do this nowadays.

I have put a video of the rally which includes highlights of the speeches given, including  the Azshkenazi chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis,Senior Reform Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner & most passionately,the new Senior Sephardi Rabbi Joseph Dweck .

Kol hakavod

About the left...

One thing that our family have always found frustrating is that the left are highly critical of Israel and in a strange coalition with an ideology which in theory should be antithetical  to their own. I've come across this excellent article here, an extract is below: 

"To my former friends on the left who see themselves as champions of progressive values while criticizing Israel’s attempts at self-defense I have this to say: You have already chosen. You’re all right-wingers now. You would probably want to cancel that monthly contribution to Planned Parenthood; the Gazan maniacs you tolerate don’t really go for that kind of stuff. And go ahead and give the membership department of the National Rifle Association a call, as you are now putting up with an organization whose passion for bearing arms at all costs far exceeds even that of the most fervent American survivalist. So please: Stop whining about the Koch brothers or the Tea Party or the Hobby Lobby ruling. In making excuses for Hamas, you’re endorsing a force of religious intolerance and a purveyor of oppression far, far more demonic than those benign forces at home you characterize as the destroyers of civil liberties and human rights."

Exactly. So if you are left wing, what DO you have to say for yourself?