Author Archives: Antony Lerman

Bibi’s Speech to the US Congress: A Flagrant Denial of the Autonomy and Diversity of Jews Worldwide

Posted on 26/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

There were so many fictions and distortions in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress on 24 May, so many demagogic assertions and flourishes, so much self-aggrandisement and self-promotion and so much that insulted and demeaned Palestinian hopes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Jews worldwide, Middle East | Leave a comment

From ‘Yes We Can’ to ‘No We Can’t’: Obama’s Middle East Speech Lowers Expectations of American Power

Posted on 22/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

In a relatively low-key speech on his administration’s Middle East policy, deliberately short on high-flown rhetoric and, in terms of grand design, more Heath Robinson than Isambard Kingdom Brunel, President Obama set out to lower expectations of American power. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East | Leave a comment

The Jewish Chronicle’s Attack on the Pears Foundation for ‘Blindness’ Towards ‘Jihadi Propagandists’ is Shoddy and Undeserved

Posted on 17/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

Splashed across the front page of the Jewish Chronicle on 13 May, like a sensational scoop, was the ‘revelation’ that the Pears Jewish family foundation funded an organization, Forward Thinking, which was responsible for bringing an associate of the 7/7 bombers to the House of … Continue reading →

Posted in British politics | 2 Comments

‘Push and Press Israel’ New Israel Fund President tells UK Jews. So Why is NIF Supporting a Whitewash Israel conference?

Posted on 11/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

Naomi Chazan is a class act. Professor emerita, former Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, former Member of the Knesset for the Meretz civil rights party, feminist, President of the New Israel Fund – I doubt whether anyone can better … Continue reading →

Posted in British Jews, Middle East | 3 Comments

Backlash Hits CUNY for Denying Honorary Degree to Tony Kushner, Top US Jewish Dramatist and Israel Critic

Posted on 06/05/2011 by Antony Lerman

The plays of the award-winning US Jewish dramatist Tony Kushner are remarkable for the empathy he demonstrates for the ‘other‘. Whether the ‘other’ is a Jew, a gay, a Mormon, an African-American, the people of Afghanistan, Kushner tries to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East | Leave a comment

When the New is Not So New: The Radical Right in Europe Today

Posted on 27/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

Political observers and analysts always seem to be on the lookout for the ‘new’; that new political movement – on the right, or left, or even in the middle – marking a significant break with the past and telling us … Continue reading →

Posted in British politics, Europe | Leave a comment

Wisdom From a 20-Something Elite Marathoner for a 65-Year Old 4-Hour+ Plodder

Posted on 25/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

Shod in my new Asics Nimbus, I’m suddenly running on air again. 30 to 35 miles a week. Satisfying long runs on Sunday mornings. Uncomplicated – light-hearted even? – medium-distanced midday runs during the week. And what a difference a … Continue reading →

Posted in Running | Leave a comment

The Aftermath of Goldstone’s ‘Reconsideration’: Debunking Two Myths and Assessing the Damage

Posted on 21/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

Unless and until Justice Richard Goldstone writes a full-exposure memoir, we will probably never fully understand what made him write the 1 April Washington Post op-ed in which he reconsidered the conclusions of his eponymous report for the UN Human Rights … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East | Leave a comment

Is an Israeli Think Tank Behind the New SOAS Israel Studies Posts? Ben White vs. the Reut Institute

Posted on 19/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

When I wrote about the establishment of two new academic posts in Israel studies at SOAS, funded by the Pears Foundation, I was unaware that Ben White had already posted a piece on Mondoweiss giving his take on the announcement. … Continue reading →

Posted in British Jews, Middle East | 1 Comment

Making a Meal Out of Migrants: Cameron’s 14 April Speech on Immigration

Posted on 18/04/2011 by Antony Lerman

Most of Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech on immigration delivered in Hampshire on 14 April was a detailed exposition of how the coalition was succeeding in coming to grips with the ‘problem’ of ‘too high a level of immigration’ into … Continue reading →

Posted in British politics, Multiculturalism | 1 Comment