The JC - Jewish News, Comment & Culture

ISRAEL AT WAR

Around half of Iranian missiles fired at Israel were cluster munitions, IDF finds

Two people were killed earlier this week in central Israel after suffering shrapnel wounds from the blasts

1 min read

A ballistic missile fired from Iran seen in the sky in Northern Israel on March 07, 2026 (Getty Images)

UN Security Council calls on Iran to halt strikes against Gulf states

The International Energy Agency announced the largest ever release of oil its reserves after the Islamic Republic attacked vital energy infrastructure in the region

By Jacob Jaffa

2 min read

Members of the UN Security Council listen as Mike Waltz, US Ambassador to the UN, speaks during a meeting on the conflict in Iran at the United Nations headquarters on March 11, 2026, in New York City (Getty Images)

Ordinary Iranians give cautious welcome to speech by Benjamin Netanyahu urging them to rise up

Joint air campaign with US had created “once in a lifetime opportunity to gain freedom” said Israeli prime minister

By Ali Hamedani

3 min read

Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the people of Iran (Prime Minister of Israel's Office)

Iranians need ‘external assistance’ to topple regime, says Sa’ar

The Israeli foreign minister’s comments came as Reuters reported that US intelligence assessments suggested that Tehran ‘retains control of the Iranian public’

By Jacob Jaffa

2 min read

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks during a press conference at the UN Headquarters in New York, on February 18, 2026 (Getty Images)

It was meant to be: the Lobells on their wedding day

Conversion

My journey from non-Jewish atheist to Orthodox Jew

By Hilary Freeman

6 min read

Owen Jones addresses a rally in Whitehall, London, on April 29, 2025 (Alamy)

High Court

Owen Jones article alleging bias by BBC editor was ‘defamatory’ but stated ‘opinion’, judge rules

By Jess Glass

2 min read

Screenshot from a video of the shul as it surrounded by emergency vehicles (Image: Fox News)

USA

‘Active shooter’ at synagogue in US state of Michigan

No reports of injuries so far; this is a breaking story

By JC Reporter

1 min read

Exterior view of Willesden Magistrates Court (Getty Images)

Courts

Man convicted of punching a barrister in antisemitic attack

By Daniel Ben-David

1 min read

France

Killer of Sarah Halimi arrested over violent robbery

By Shirli Sitbon

1 min read

Dorothea Myer-Bennett as Ruth Rosenberg and Adrian Lukis as Stephen Crossley (Photo: Manual Harlan)

Theatre

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

By John Nathan

3 min read

The REAL difference between Orthodox and Progressive Jews? Whisky

Labour’s social cohesion plan strengthens fight against antisemitism

Krav Maga for the Jewish mind: how to confront antisemitism

Jewish genetic testing must include the LGBTQ+ community too

The Yentl I play does not identify as male or female

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Iran

US destroys Iranian ‘minelayers’ in Strait of Hormuz amid oil price surge

Tehran has vowed to blockade the vital trade route, but the White House has said it will ensure a ‘free flow of energy’ from the region

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

A US drone approaches an Iranian naval vessel in the Strait of Hormuz (Centcom)

Donald Trump

The Jewish immigrant story behind the dress shoes Trump has made White House uniform

Florsheim Shoes was founded in 1892 by Milton Florsheim, the son of a Jewish immigrant cobbler

By Alma Green

2 min read

If the shoe fits: Donald Trump with members of his cabinet (Photo: Getty)

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)

World news

India

The Indian princess who rescued Jews from the Holocaust

By Mark Wood

2 min read

Israel

Revealed: Second World War prophecy of British general who helped forge the IDF

By Jenni Frazer

3 min read

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

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

Israel

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

By Jacob Jaffa

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

Lebanon

Lebanese president calls for fresh ceasefire following Israeli strikes on Beirut

Joseph Aoun pledged his armed forces would disarm Hezbollah, but IDF commanders are reportedly preparing for a protracted conflict

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

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

UK News

Tim Davie

Tim Davie denies BBC Gaza bias and says he is ‘very proud’ of its record

The outgoing director general said the corporation has learnt lessons after ‘unacceptable and upsetting’ Glastonbury broadcast with ‘some heavy heart’

By Jane Prinsley

3 min read

Tim Davie on The Rest is Entertainment podcast (YouTube/TheRestIsEntertainment)

Television

Simon Schama’s The Road to Auschwitz nominated for top television award

The documentary was described as his ‘most personal and unflinching film’ yet

By Alma Green

1 min read

Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz,07-04-2025,Simon Schama,in from of a train wagon at Auschwitz-Birkenau.,Oxford Films,Production

Courts

Prosecutors lose appeal over Kneecap rapper terror case

Rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh will not face a terror trial

By JC Reporter

2 min read

Liam Og O hAnnaidh leaving Woolwich Crown Court on September 26 2025 (Photo: Getty)

Crime

Jewish MP Charlotte Nichols discloses in jury trials debate she was raped at work event

Charlotte Nichols waived her right to anonymity as she spoke against court reform bill

By Jane Prinsley

2 min read

Charlotte Nichols MP (Image: Charlotte Nichols)

Opinion

He sat there, staring into space, worrying about his brothers in arms

‘Sometimes,’ our soldier wryly remarked, ‘the solution comes to you before the problem.’ So, you might say Esther, the solution, was already there before the problem evolved

By Maureen Lipman

4 min read

Vintage colour lithograph from 1882 of Esther beseeching King Ahasuerus to revoke his decree against the Jews (Image: Getty)

By Pouria Hadjibagheri

Iranians hope for freedom – while UK activists mourn the tyrant who crushed it

Israel and the US deserve gratitude for an operation many thought impossible against a regime that is oppressive at home and destabilising abroad

4 min read

By Jonathan Spyer

Why the Islamic Republic may survive this campaign

What could change this picture is a joint US-Israeli long-war strategy to bring down the Iranian regime by supporting both armed and civilian opposition on the ground

3 min read

By Najwa AlSaeed

Amid Iran’s missile barrage, UAE emerges as pillar of new Middle East order

Western and Israeli strategists need to realise that the myth of a monolithic “Sunni bloc” opposing Tehran never matched reality. After this war, it is positively dangerous to believe in it

6 min read