The JC - Jewish News, Comment & Culture

ISRAEL AT WAR

Head of US counter-terror agency resigns, blaming Iran War on ‘powerful’ Israel lobby

Joe Kent said he was leaving his position as he could not support the conflict ‘in good conscience’

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Joe Kent, the now-ex director of the US National Counterterrorism Center (Office of the Director of National Intelligence)

UN agency launches investigation into strike on Iranian girls’ school

The US and Iran have traded blame for the incident, which local authorities say killed 168 people

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

This picture, obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, shows the site of a strike on a girls' school in Minab, in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, on February 28, 2026 (Getty Images)

Iranian security chief Larijani ‘killed in IDF strike’

A separate strike also reportedly eliminated the leadership of one of the IRGC’s key paramilitaries

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 27, 2025 (Getty Images)

Israeli journalist sent death threats by ‘prediction market’ speculators over Iran missile report

Emanuel Fabian was allegedly pressured to change details of his coverage in an apparent attempt to manipulate the outcome of online bets

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian, pictured on November 20, 2024 (Flash90)

Obituary

Michael Rose, co-founder of New North London Synagogue, dies at 90

By David Rose

4 min read

Security around Jewish buildings in Amsterdam has been ramped up after an explosion occurred outside a Jewish school (Photo: Getty)

The Netherlands

Extremist group claiming to be behind Amsterdam school blast says it carried out second explosion

By Katie Grant

2 min read

'Synagogue attendances actually increased' in the wake of the atrocity, said Marc Levy, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council of Greater Manchester

Manchester

Heaton Park synagogue is ‘thriving’ despite ‘living through our worst nightmare’

‘Terrorism tried to close our synagogue, but instead it filled it’

By Katie Grant

1 min read

France

Brothers arrested over ‘deadly and antisemitic’ French terror plot

By JC Reporter

1 min read

John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor (Getty)

BBC

BBC’s John Simpson criticised for calling Iran regime supremo ‘clever and reasonable’

By JC Reporter

1 min read

Demonstrators take part in a Chanukah candle-lighting event in London in honour of victims of the mass shooting at a Jewish gathering in Australia in December (Photo: Getty)

Crime

Anti-Jewish hate crimes ‘half as likely to be prosecuted’ as those against Muslims

By Jane Prinsley

4 min read

Searching for the last Jew of Kochi

The Met chief’s false equivalence between Iran regime backers and opponents

The Claudia Winkleman Show review: ‘has the sense of a Friday night fixture’ ★★★

‘I have learnt that no one is immune to mental health struggles’

Social activist Diane Munday dies aged 94

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USA

Brother of Michigan synagogue attacker was Hezbollah commander, IDF says

Ibrahim Ghazali had managed weapons operations for a Hezbollah unit, according to the Israeli military

By Jamie Shapiro

1 min read

Law enforcement vehicles parked outside Temple Israel in Michigan (Image: Getty Images)

The Oscars

Mr Nobody Against Putin: Producer Lucie Kon ‘absolutely thrilled’ to win best documentary Oscar

Kon was the executive producer for the film, which chronicles a teacher’s quiet resistance against Russian state propaganda

By Jamie Shapiro

1 min read

Lucie Kon, pictured with the best documentary Oscar her team won for 'Mr Nobody Against Putin' (Photo: Instagram/@imluciek)

The Oscars

Oscars security ramped up after FBI warns of potential ‘surprise attack’ from Iran

Snipers, sniffer dogs, and Swat teams have been drafted in to protect Hollywood’s stars

By Ben Conway

1 min read

Workers put up an Oscar statue at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, ahead of the 98th annual Academy Awards ceremony (Photo: Getty)

USA

Michigan Jews will continue to live ‘vibrant Jewish lives’ as synagogue attacker identified

Ayman Ghazali, 41, had been living in the US since 2011

By Jamie Shapiro

3 min read

Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, pictured after an assailant drove a vehicle into the building (Photo: Getty)

World news

Israeli President Isaac Herzog (Image: Israeli embassy)

Diaspora

Herzog voices concern for Commonwealth Jewry in the wake of terror attacks

By Natalie Lisbona

1 min read

A plume of smoke rises over the Iraqi capital Baghdad on March 16, 2026 (Getty Images)

Iran

Iran hits US embassy in Baghdad as Gulf strikes continue

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Security around Jewish institutions in Amsterdam has been stepped up after an explosion occurred outside a school in the early hours of Saturday morning (Photo: Getty)

The Netherlands

Amsterdam Jewish school explosion highlights Netherlands’ ‘antisemitism epidemic’

By Ben Conway

2 min read

Chaled Grifat, in Zarzir, Israel, leaves his home after collecting personal belongings following an Iranian ballistic missile strike on March 13 2026 (Photo: Getty)

Israel Iran War

Iran targets Israel with seven ballistic missile salvos overnight

By Katie Grant

1 min read

Croatia

Sa’ar brands Croatian president’s ‘Israeli infections’ jibe ‘hate-filled’ rhetoric

By Jamie Shapiro

1 min read

Exterior view of the Peace Palace, home to the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands (Getty Images)

Israel

Iceland and the Netherlands join South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Norway

Manhunt under way in Norway after suspects flee police stop-and-search near shul

A service was taking place at the Trondheim synagogue when police tried to stop the suspects

By JC Reporter

1 min read

Killer of Sarah Halimi arrested over violent robbery The Indian princess who rescued Jews from the Holocaust

UK News

CPS

CPS advised police not to prosecute ‘death to IDF’ chant, Met say

Bob Vylan frontman Pascal Robinson-Foster was filmed leading the crowd in a chant at Sunday’s Al Quds Day rally

By Jane Prinsley

4 min read

Demonstrators take part in the pro-regime Quds Day rally on March 15 (Photo: Getty)

Education

One in five UK students ‘reluctant’ to flatshare with a Jew

Antisemitism at UK universities ‘has become normalised’ since October 7 2023

By Jane Prinsley

2 min read

Protesters is pictured demonstrating outside a university campus in 2024 (Photo: Getty)

King's College London

King’s College London opens probe after keffiyeh-clad student posts ‘antisemitic’ video targeting professors

KCL said it was appalled to learn of the ‘intimidatory’ video

By Daniel Ben-David

1 min read

An alleged KCL student in a keffiyeh appears in a video posted by 'KCL Stands For Justice' (Credit: Instagram)

Claudia Winkleman

Will Claudia Winkleman be our new chat show queen?

The Jewish TV presenter has a new Friday-night show on BBC One – and it kicks off tonight with Jeff Goldblum

By Jamie Shapiro

1 min read

The Claudia Winkleman Show (Image: BBC One)

Opinion

Two centuries after opening its doors to Jews, UCL is failing them

Anti-Zionist protesters claim – or pretend – that they oppose Israel, not Jews. The two cannot be seen as anything other than inextricably linked

By Noah Stephens

3 min read

Pro-Palestinian protest camp at University College London (Image: Getty)

By Jonathan Sacerdoti

The ‘moderate’ who ran death squads: how BBC and Sky sanitise the Iranian regime

Ali Larijani was no reformer but a central figure in repression – and yet much of British media coverage blurred that reality

4 min read

By Yaakov Katz

Trump’s time advantage: they key to the Iran war strategy

From a purely military perspective, what has been achieved over the past weeks is nothing short of extraordinary – and the president is still at the beginning of his tenure

5 min read

By Jamie O'Mahony

Ireland risks US relationship over its anti-Israel obsession

Just as the Taoiseach travels to the White House, his deputy announces that legislation to ban imports from settlements would soon be ready – a move Washington strongly opposes

3 min read

By Jake Wallis Simons

The UK’s Iran policy is stuck in appeasement

The sight of Foreign Office officials celebrating the Islamic Republic’s revolution at its London embassy – alongside Britain’s failure to proscribe the IRGC – reveals a dangerous softness towards Tehran

4 min read

By Melissa Langsam Braunstein

For Democrats, attacking Israel is a career move

California Governor Newsom has clearly concluded that moving left on the Jewish state is crucial for winning his party’s base – and he’s not alone

3 min read

By Simone Rodan-Benzaquen

Iran’s war across Europe –complacency must finally end

The diplomatic leverage that once gave the Islamic Republic reason to calibrate – to keep its plots below the threshold of open confrontation – no longer applies

6 min read

Life

The artist who is filling in the gaps on public transport

By Gaby Wine

4 min read

Travel

World Cup goals

Jewish American sightseeing opportunities for this year’s World Cup

By Anthea Gerrie

6 min read

Paris

A perfect Paris escape in the Marais

From falafel feasts to late-night cocktails, 24 hours in the French capital

By Jane Prinsley

5 min read

A suite in Le Grand Mazarin (Vincent Leroux)

Art exhibition

At home with the Kallins

Elisa Bray meets a family of artists – and gets a sneak peek of the picture they have jointly created for a new exhibition of their work

By Elisa Bray

3 min read

Kallin artists in residence: (left to right) Jenny Kallin, Hamish Kallin, Phoebe Bowman and Sophie Levi-Kallin

Jewish theatre

Yentl review: ‘Isaac Bashevis Singer would be pleased’ ★★★★

The writer was not impressed with the Barbra Streisand adaptation of his short story, but this performance captures its mysticism and humanity so well, he would surely approve it

By John Nathan

1 min read

Amy Hack (centre) in Yentl at Marylebone Theatre

Cornish-born, Jewish recipe developer and food photographer Trevennon Dakota-Levy (Picture: Trevennon Dakota-Levy)

Jewish food

‘As a boy I didn’t know bagels were Jewish! Now I make the best challah’

By Alma Green

4 min read

Bolo de Amêndoa is a flourless Portuguese cake, which is perfect for Pesach (Picture: Trevennon Dakota-Levy)

Passover bakes

Bolo de Amêndoa – Portuguese almond cake

By Trevennon Dakota-Levy

Cook time: 35 minutes

Dessert

Muriel's bread pudding

By Trevennon Dakota-Levy

Cook time: 75 – 90 minutes

Passover bakes

Perfect Pesach brunch bagels

By Nir Elkayam

The Jewish Chronicle

Head of US counter-terror agency resigns, blaming Iran War on ‘powerful’ Israel lobby

UN agency launches investigation into strike on Iranian girls’ school

Iranian security chief Larijani ‘killed in IDF strike’

Israeli journalist sent death threats by ‘prediction market’ speculators over Iran missile report

Michael Rose, co-founder of New North London Synagogue, dies at 90

Extremist group claiming to be behind Amsterdam school blast says it carried out second explosion

Heaton Park synagogue is ‘thriving’ despite ‘living through our worst nightmare’

Brothers arrested over ‘deadly and antisemitic’ French terror plot

BBC’s John Simpson criticised for calling Iran regime supremo ‘clever and reasonable’

Anti-Jewish hate crimes ‘half as likely to be prosecuted’ as those against Muslims

Editor's Picks

Searching for the last Jew of Kochi

The Met chief’s false equivalence between Iran regime backers and opponents

The Claudia Winkleman Show review: ‘has the sense of a Friday night fixture’ ★★★

‘I have learnt that no one is immune to mental health struggles’

Social activist Diane Munday dies aged 94

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Editor’s Picks

The Israel Briefing

Community Matters

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Brother of Michigan synagogue attacker was Hezbollah commander, IDF says

Mr Nobody Against Putin: Producer Lucie Kon ‘absolutely thrilled’ to win best documentary Oscar

Oscars security ramped up after FBI warns of potential ‘surprise attack’ from Iran

Michigan Jews will continue to live ‘vibrant Jewish lives’ as synagogue attacker identified

World news

Herzog voices concern for Commonwealth Jewry in the wake of terror attacks

Iran hits US embassy in Baghdad as Gulf strikes continue

Amsterdam Jewish school explosion highlights Netherlands’ ‘antisemitism epidemic’

Iran targets Israel with seven ballistic missile salvos overnight

Sa’ar brands Croatian president’s ‘Israeli infections’ jibe ‘hate-filled’ rhetoric

Iceland and the Netherlands join South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel

Manhunt under way in Norway after suspects flee police stop-and-search near shul

UK News

CPS advised police not to prosecute ‘death to IDF’ chant, Met say

One in five UK students ‘reluctant’ to flatshare with a Jew

King’s College London opens probe after keffiyeh-clad student posts ‘antisemitic’ video targeting professors

Will Claudia Winkleman be our new chat show queen?

Opinion

Two centuries after opening its doors to Jews, UCL is failing them

The ‘moderate’ who ran death squads: how BBC and Sky sanitise the Iranian regime

Trump’s time advantage: they key to the Iran war strategy

Ireland risks US relationship over its anti-Israel obsession

The UK’s Iran policy is stuck in appeasement

For Democrats, attacking Israel is a career move

Iran’s war across Europe –complacency must finally end

Life

The artist who is filling in the gaps on public transport

World Cup goals

A perfect Paris escape in the Marais

At home with the Kallins

Yentl review: ‘Isaac Bashevis Singer would be pleased’ ★★★★

‘As a boy I didn’t know bagels were Jewish! Now I make the best challah’

Bolo de Amêndoa – Portuguese almond cake

Muriel's bread pudding

Perfect Pesach brunch bagels