Britain’s Most Northerly Shul’s Deluge of Disasters
Debby Taylor catalogues the problems that have befallen Britain’s most northerly congregation over recent years, and how you can help out. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the UK’s most northerly synagogue. Aberdeen Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1893 but didn’t own its own place of worship until 6th June 1945, when the current […]
Watching Unorthodox in Broughton Park
Rachel Harris argues that problem with Orthodox Jewish women in popular cultural representation lies with audience shlock and salvation, not with Charedi society. I am an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor, supporting people who have experienced sexual violence. I am a writer and a campaigner against ideologically motivated harms. I live and work in the heart […]
Far Above Rubies
Mila Tanya Griebel’s ‘Far Above Rubies’ kiddush cup won first prize in the 2014/2015 Judaica 21 Award. It was subsequently bought by the Berlin Jewish Museum, and features in their new core exhibition which opened to the public in August 202 this week. A matching Yad is now part of the Barr Foundation collection. This […]
Covid Confessional: Not going back to Shul
I am in my back garden somehow socially distancing with friends as we play chicken with English Summertime cloud-filled skies. Between the muddled talk of the boss’s children discussing poos loudly during intense Zoom meetings, how fat everyone is now, and people not wearing masks in Waitrose properly, I make a hushed confession: I am […]
Scottish Identity and the G-d of Israel: an orthographic error that speaks louder than words
What does the Scottish Referendum on Independence have to do with Jews and their G-d? Is it about Politics? Or Theology? Or Political Theology? Or Theological Politics? I bet you will never guess. It is about . . . orthography. Yes, you read it correctly! It is about uppercase and lowercase letters that speak louder […]
A Golden Age of Jewish Television?
Nathan Abrams reflects on current Jewish television, wondering if we are now enjoying a golden age of Jews on the box. ‘When Did TV Get So Jewish?’ proclaimed Vanity Fair recently. On almost every channel, we find Jews on television, both factual and fictional. We have also seen more and more Jews both as central and incidental characters and […]
David Cronenberg: Jewish King of the Venereal
While one famous Canadian Jew has been in the news recently, another has been overlooked: David Cronenberg. His first feature, Shivers, opened 45 years ago this October, soon making him the nascent new horror’s ‘Baron of Blood’ and ‘King of the Venereal’. It also established many of the Jewish themes and characteristics that would become staple elements of all his […]
On Bournemouth beach
The boundary-crossing of Haredim on the beach.
From Aliyah to ‘I’m A Celebrity’: Gwrych Castle’s Secret Jewish History
Nathan Abrams reveals the forgotten Jewish history of Gwrych Castle. One thing that has been missed in the excitement of the announcement that Gwrych Castle in Abergele, north Wales is hosting I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here is the location’s Jewish history. During the Second World War, Jewish refugee children were housed in […]
The Jam, Jews and JFS: ‘To Be Someone’ by Ian Stone
Nathan Abrams speaks to Jewish comedian Ian Stone about his new book To Be Someone. Ian Stone might not be the first Jewish standup comedian you’d think of, but he’s been around for over twenty years, appearing on television, radio and podcasts. In his newly published memoir, To Be Someone, he recounts his lifelong passions of listening to The Jam […]