The Myth That Israel Is Unsafe With your permission, today I would like to try to dismantle one of the most irritating — and in some cases worst-faith — clichés currently circulating. It goes something like this: “Israel is the most dangerous place on earth to be Jewish.” Or, in a slightly more sophisticated version: “If British Jews are afraid here, where exactly do they think they are going to go? Israel? Surely Israel is even less safe.” Now, of course, there are real dang

WHEN WORDS BECOME WEAPONS In March, the ambulances were set on fire — but let us not make a fuss: the arsonists were caught. Two weeks ago, there was the attempted arson of a synagogue. But again, let us not make a fuss: in the end, the Molotov cocktail did not work. Two Jews were stabbed in Golders Green, a place where Jews are supposed to feel safe. Well, you know: a mentally unstable person, somehow inflamed by news from the Middle East — which is a polite way of blaming I

The Four Children and the Jewish State These are difficult times.When even the BBC asks, “Why are British Jews afraid?”, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002vfc1/panorama-antisemitism-why-british-jews-are-afraid ] one knows that there are real grounds for concern. To be sure, that documentary had its limitations. In my view, it did not sufficiently address either the role of the Far Left or Islamist extremism. Yet, thankfully, we were spared the usual shpiel about “se

Pornography, Antisemitism and a New Synagogue in Town I would like to propose an analogy between antisemitism and pornography. The two phenomena have something deeply in common: they are difficult to define in the abstract, but when we encounter them, we recognise them. Both inhabit a grey area, both often present themselves in apparently respectable forms, and both help to normalise what, in its more extreme forms, prepares for or accompanies violence. To pursue this line of

( approved by the Trustee Board on 29 January 2026 ) 1 Introduction and Background At its Board meeting on 18 September 2025, the BHRS Trustees (Board) established the Building Strategy Group (BSG) and on 29 January 2026 approved these Terms of Reference (Remit). The BSG supersedes the Redevelopment Committee of the Board and is mandated to develop a new strategy and development options for the future of our Synagogue building to submit to the Board for decisio