The JC - Jewish News, Comment & Culture

ISRAEL AT WAR

Pro-regime accounts spread false claim Ben-Gvir was killed in Iranian airstrike

Death hoaxes concerning the national security minister, as well as the head of Mossad and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s brother, have received millions of views online

By Jacob Jaffa

2 min read

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir visits the site of a rocket strike on March 1, 2026, in Tel Aviv (Getty Images)

Bezalel Smotrich’s son ‘wounded by a Hezbollah rocket’, finance minister confirms

Shrapnel penetrated his back and abdomen, according to Smotrich

By JC Reporter

2 min read

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich (Photo: Flash90/JNS)

Second Israeli dies after Iranian ‘cluster bomb’ strikes Tel Aviv

The IDF has accused Iran of war crimes after munitions fell on civilian areas

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Israeli rescue and emergency forces at the scene where shrapnel from a ballistic missile fired from Iran fell in Yehud, March 9, 2026 (Flash90)

UK should have bolstered regional defence before Iran strike, former security minister says

‘The armed forces expect us to do better,’ Tom Tugendhat told the JC

By Jane Prinsley

4 min read

'We were not prepared', said Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, a former soldier who served during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Photo: Getty)

Norwegian Muslims create a human "peace ring" around the synagogue in Oslo on February 21, 2015 after a terror attack on the shul (Fredrik Varfjell/AFP via Getty Images)

Norway

Suspected gunmen with explosives arrested close to Oslo Synagogue

By Mark Wood

2 min read

Theatre

The Holy Rosenbergs review: ‘Ryan Craig tackles head on the anxiety of being Jewish’

By John Nathan

3 min read

Crime

Jewish music producer pushed in front of car by man shouting ‘vile’ antisemitic abuse

Brian Harris claimed the assailant was shouting said he wanted the Jews to die

By Jamie Shapiro

1 min read

Sheina Vaspi is representing Israel at the 2026 Winter Paralympics (Photo: International Ski and Snowboard Federation)

Winter Olympics

Meet Sheina Vaspi – the first and only Israeli athlete to compete at the Winter Paralympics

By Ben Conway

2 min read

Bullet holes can be seen in the windows at Toronto's Temple Emanu-El, which was shot at last Monday night (Photo: X)

Canada

‘No more thoughts and prayers – we need urgent action’: Two more synagogue shootings shake Toronto

By Katie Grant

1 min read

Singer Neil Sedaka performs with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on stage at the Sydney Opera House on May 9, 2008 i (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Obituary

Obituary: Musician Neil Sedaka dies at 86

By Elisa Bray

3 min read

Luton Airport enhances staff training after ‘antisemitic’ targeting of Israeli author

‘To get ahead, trust your instincts’ says ‘Strictly’ creator

Intermarried couples: from disapproval to engagement

‘We are one big family’: The Jewish Londoners opening up their homes to Israelis stranded in Britain

Lebanese president calls for fresh ceasefire following Israeli strikes on Beirut

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Iran

Trump and Netanyahu will make ‘mutual decision’ on when to end Iran War

‘We’ve destroyed a country that wanted to destroy Israel,’ said the US president

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

US President Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida (Getty Images)

Messianic Jews

Messianic military chaplains accused of ‘deceiving’ Jewish soldiers with Star of David insignia

Messianic Judaism is widely regarded by mainstream Jewish denominations as a form of Christianity

By Daniel Ben-David

2 min read

Jewish military personnel holding a Torah scroll and wearing tefillin (Photo: Aleph Institute)

Antisemitism

Global incidents of antisemitism ‘jump by a third’ since outbreak of Iran war

Half of the incidents reported tied directly to the conflict, according to data from the Combat Antisemitism Movement

By JC Reporter

1 min read

A window at Temple Emanu-El synagogue in Toronto’s North York area shows bullet damage after gunfire last week struck the building in what police believe was a 'targeted hate incident (Photo: CAM)

Iran

US offers ‘extensive air cover’ for Kurds to seize parts of western Iran

The CIA is reportedly in ‘active talks’ with Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish militias about potential regime change.

By Jamie Shapiro

1 min read

A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jet performs a flyover on January 24, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Florida (Getty Images)

World news

A US counterterrorism police officer (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel Iran War

Fears that Iran may have activated ‘sleeper cells’ around the world

By Mark Wood

1 min read

Mojtaba Khamenei (C), the son of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, participates in the annual Quds Day rally in Tehran, on May 31, 2019 (Getty Images)

Israel Iran War

Iran’s new supreme leader will be driven by revenge against Israel, says expert

By Mark Wood

2 min read

Iran

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran?

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Belgium

Explosion at Belgian synagogue was ‘violent act of antisemitism’, mayor says

By JC Reporter

1 min read

Iran

Mojtaba Khamenei confirmed as new supreme leader of Iran

By Jacob Jaffa

2 min read

Zohran Mamdani

Mamdani distances City Hall from wife’s social media likes appearing to praise October 7

By JC Reporter

1 min read

Operation Roaring Lion

Smoke and fire rise from the site of airstrikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, March 7, 2026 (Credit: ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Israel strikes Iranian regime’s military fuel facilities

Israeli and US joint operations enter their second week, aiming to further erode the Islamic Republic's power

By Joshua Marks

3 min read

‘I have to be involved’ in selection of Iran’s new supreme leader, says Trump Chief rabbis say plan to run trains from airport for repatriated Israelis ‘desecrates’ the Sabbath

UK News

London

Ban Al Quds Day, says minister

Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman becomes first minister to call for march to be banned

By Jane Prinsley

2 min read

Al Quds Day demonstrators march through central London in 2014, five years before Hezbollah was proscribed in the UK as a terror organisation The yellow flag of Hezbollah can be seen on the left. There is no suggestion any of the individuals pictured support Hezbollah or hold or have expressed antisemitic views (Photo: Getty Images)

Brit milah

CPS drops reference to circumcision as possible ‘child abuse’

Milah UK is satisfied by new guidance for prosecutors that affirms religious significance of the practice

By JC Reporter

1 min read

A brit milah in Germany (photo: Getty Images)

Iranian dissidents

Iranian dissidents rushed to defend London’s Israeli embassy from an anti-Zionist mob

‘We have a moral duty to stand beside our Jewish brothers,’ said one anti-regime Iranian

By Jamie Shapiro

2 min read

Iranian dissidents, Jews and Israelis stood side by side protecting the Israeli embassy in London

Jewish Culture Month

Jewish Culture Month launches programme of more than 100 events

The Board of Deputies is behind the inaugural celebration of the Jewish contribution to UK society

By Alma Green

1 min read

Walking tours of the Jewish East End will feature in Jewish Culture Month (Photo: Getty)

Opinion

If the Islamic Republic falls, Islamism may fall with it

The notion that the US has been somehow dragged into the war by a scheming Benjamin Netanyahu utterly misunderstands what’s going on

By Stephen Pollard

3 min read

By Ali Hamedani

Day I met the Supreme Leader whose death inspired parties across Iran

Rosewater-scented childhood encounter with Ayatollah Khamenei reveals inner workings of tyrannical theocracy

5 min read

By Alan Aziz

For this Jew with Iranian roots, the conflict isn’t just geopolitical. It’s geopersonal

I am a descendant of Persian Jews who felt a deep connection and sense of belonging to pre-revolution Iran

2 min read

By Roger Macmillan

Khamenei’s death leaves the IRGC stronger – the UK must finally proscribe it

Britain’s response to January’s repression has been limited to condemnations and incremental sanctions – measures which risk looking inadequate in the face of such an extraordinary rupture

3 min read

By Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Is fighting antisemitism a losing battle?

American Jews spend roughly $600 million a year to combat Jew-hatred. What’s needed most is a philanthropic audit assessing what’s actually working

3 min read

By Gio Esfandiary

Iranians in Britain fear the IRGC’s reach on UK soil

Those who fled the Islamic Republic want to live in a safe and stable country. They want to protect the freedoms they came here to enjoy

2 min read

By Lawrence J. Haas

Europe’s Iran stance is a strategic error that hurts its US alliance

Wiser leaders would stop picking fights with Washington over a war they can’t influence and that ultimately advances their own security

4 min read

Life

Purim at the Museum

By Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum

5 min read

Art exhibition

A Jewish love story with art well worth a longer look

The V&A is presenting a deeper dive into 20th-century collectors the Gilberts, writes Eliana Jordan

By Eliana Jordan

4 min read

International Women’s Day

IWD: The female Israeli singers striking a chord for peace in the Middle East

To mark International Women's Day, we speak to three musicians whose work is adored across the Arab and Muslim world

By Florit Shoihet

7 min read

Jewish Comedy

‘The dark humour of Dad, who fled Hitler, runs through my new show’

Comedian Mark Maier on how the laughter his father brought to his childhood home inspired him

By Miranda Levy

3 min read

Film

The Testament of Ann Lee review: ‘an unexpected use of movement and music’ ★★★★

Brilliant score and choreography breathes life into this haunting tale of vision and faith

By John Nathan

1 min read

Suffering and stoicism: Amanda Seyfried (centre) as the late 18th century Shaker evangelist Ann Lee in Mona Fastvold's film

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

Pro-regime accounts spread false claim Ben-Gvir was killed in Iranian airstrike

Bezalel Smotrich’s son ‘wounded by a Hezbollah rocket’, finance minister confirms

Second Israeli dies after Iranian ‘cluster bomb’ strikes Tel Aviv

UK should have bolstered regional defence before Iran strike, former security minister says

Suspected gunmen with explosives arrested close to Oslo Synagogue

The Holy Rosenbergs review: ‘Ryan Craig tackles head on the anxiety of being Jewish’

Jewish music producer pushed in front of car by man shouting ‘vile’ antisemitic abuse

Meet Sheina Vaspi – the first and only Israeli athlete to compete at the Winter Paralympics

‘No more thoughts and prayers – we need urgent action’: Two more synagogue shootings shake Toronto

Obituary: Musician Neil Sedaka dies at 86

Editor's Picks

Luton Airport enhances staff training after ‘antisemitic’ targeting of Israeli author

‘To get ahead, trust your instincts’ says ‘Strictly’ creator

Intermarried couples: from disapproval to engagement

‘We are one big family’: The Jewish Londoners opening up their homes to Israelis stranded in Britain

Lebanese president calls for fresh ceasefire following Israeli strikes on Beirut

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Community Matters

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Trump and Netanyahu will make ‘mutual decision’ on when to end Iran War

Messianic military chaplains accused of ‘deceiving’ Jewish soldiers with Star of David insignia

Global incidents of antisemitism ‘jump by a third’ since outbreak of Iran war

US offers ‘extensive air cover’ for Kurds to seize parts of western Iran

World news

Fears that Iran may have activated ‘sleeper cells’ around the world

Iran’s new supreme leader will be driven by revenge against Israel, says expert

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran?

Explosion at Belgian synagogue was ‘violent act of antisemitism’, mayor says

Mojtaba Khamenei confirmed as new supreme leader of Iran

Mamdani distances City Hall from wife’s social media likes appearing to praise October 7

Israel strikes Iranian regime’s military fuel facilities

UK News

Ban Al Quds Day, says minister

CPS drops reference to circumcision as possible ‘child abuse’

Iranian dissidents rushed to defend London’s Israeli embassy from an anti-Zionist mob

Jewish Culture Month launches programme of more than 100 events

Opinion

If the Islamic Republic falls, Islamism may fall with it

Day I met the Supreme Leader whose death inspired parties across Iran

For this Jew with Iranian roots, the conflict isn’t just geopolitical. It’s geopersonal

Khamenei’s death leaves the IRGC stronger – the UK must finally proscribe it

Is fighting antisemitism a losing battle?

Iranians in Britain fear the IRGC’s reach on UK soil

Europe’s Iran stance is a strategic error that hurts its US alliance

Life

Purim at the Museum

A Jewish love story with art well worth a longer look

IWD: The female Israeli singers striking a chord for peace in the Middle East

‘The dark humour of Dad, who fled Hitler, runs through my new show’

The Testament of Ann Lee review: ‘an unexpected use of movement and music’ ★★★★

‘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