The JC - Jewish News, Comment & Culture

Breaking

Student society gives advice on ‘collective grief’ after Khamenei killed

A charity under investigation for its alleged links to the regime also held a vigil for the Ayatollah, who was killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday

By Jane Prinsley

4 min read

The Absocs advised students on their mental health during this period (Photo: Instagram)

‘Appropriate security’ to be put in place at shuls amid escalating Iran war, says Starmer

Government ensuring ‘protective security’ at places of worship while security services work to protect the community from state actors

By Jane Prinsley

4 min read

Sir Keir Starmer addresses MPs on March 2, 2026 (ParliamentTV)

Who were the seven top Iranian officials killed alongside Khamenei?

Iran’s supreme leader was killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday, bringing his nearly 40-year rule to an end

By Daniel Ben-David

1 min read

The IDF announces all senior terrorist leaders of Iran’s Axis of Terror have been eliminated (Credit: X)

Celebrate Purim at home or in shelters, IDF orders Israelis

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber called on the public to adhere to the instructions and not to hold public gatherings for the festival

By JC Reporter

2 min read

The annual Purim parade in Jerusalem on March 16, 2025 (Flash90)

A Hezbollah rocket is intercepted by the Iron Beam laser defence system on March 1, 2026 (X/Visegrad24)

Iran

Watch: Israel’s Iron Beam laser defence system intercepts Hezbollah rockets

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

United Synagogue

Chief Rabbi: We hope for new miracle of Purim in war with Iran and pray for those who seek a safer, peaceful world

By Ben Conway

3 min read

Iranians gathered in Westminster on Day two of Iran war (Image: Elliott Franks)

Operation Roaring Lion

‘Thank you Israel,’ chant thousands of Iranian dissidents in London

People danced, uncorked Champagne and raised the pre-Islamic Revolution flag to celebrate the Israel-US campaign against the dictatorship

By Jamie Shapiro

2 min read

David Hayes (left) and student rabbi Richard Allen Greene (Photo: David Ehrlich)

Sheffield

Third bar mitzvah...is a first for the rabbi

By JC Reporter

1 min read

Iran

Israel in talks with Gulf states after Iran strikes civilian areas

By Jamie Shapiro

1 min read

Bernard Lewis, pictured in 1983 (Courtesy)

Death

Bernard Lewis, Jewish founder of River Island, dies aged 100

By Jamie Shapiro

2 min read

‘I cried, I cheered and I cried again’: London’s Iranians and Jews share hope and joy

IDF begins ‘offensive campaign’ in Lebanon after Hezbollah rocket attacks

Khamenei’s death: How the Islamic Republic’s fall could reshape the Middle East

Israel’s economic miracle forged and proven in war defies all predictions

Woman killed and more than 20 injured in Iranian missile strike on Tel Aviv

Unlock access to our community and get the latest news straight to your inbox!

All Newsletters

Operation Roaring Lion

More Americans will ‘likely’ die as Iran War continues, says Trump

The US president indicated that the fighting could continue for weeks, saying: ‘It’s always been a four-week process

By Jamie Shapiro

2 min read

US President Donald Trump (C) oversees 'Operation Epic Fury' with (L-R) Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles at Mar-a-Lago on February 28, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida (Getty Images)

New York State

Anti-Israel climate in Mamdani’s New York a warning to all Jews, says antisemitism expert

‘Darker forces – Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood’ helped fuel the radicalisation of US campuses and wider public life, David Harris tells JC audience

By Jamie Shapiro

2 min read

David Harris speaking at South Hampstead Synagogue at JC event (With courtesy)

Iran

US will ‘never’ allow Iran to build nuclear bomb, claims Trump in State of the Union address

The president’s speech, which lasted a record 107 minutes, was interrupted multiple times as he was heckled by Democratic lawmakers

By Jacob Jaffa

2 min read

US President Trump delivers the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber at the Capitol on February 24, 2026 (Getty Images)

Aliyah

‘I won’: 96-year-old Auschwitz survivor makes aliyah surrounded by four generations of her family

Charlotte Roth officially became an Israeli citizen at a ceremony in Tel Aviv

By Siam Goorwich

1 min read

Charlotte Roth, pictured with some of her family, on the day she officially became an Israeli citizen (Picture: Nefesh b'Nefesh)

World news

Israeli soldiers patrol a street during a military operation in the Askar refugee camp in eastern Nablus, West Bank, March 2, 2026 (Credit: Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP via Getty Images)

IDF

Israel calls up 100,000 reservists in preparation for prolonged war with Iran

By Daniel Ben-David

1 min read

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gestures as he delivers a statement (Credit: Jordan Pettitt - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Operation Roaring Lion

Government U-turns on allowing American access to British bases

By Jane Prinsley

5 min read

An RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to berth at RAF Akrotiri following a strike mission on January 12, 2024 (Getty Images)

Iran

RAF base hit by drone strike in Cyprus

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president at Natanz uranium enrichment facility (Getty)

Operation Roaring Lion

Former Iran president who wanted Israel ‘wiped off the map’ killed in air strike

By JC Reporter

1 min read

The threat from Iran: Israeli security officials inspect a building in Tel Aviv hit by an Iranian missile last night (Getty Images)

Israel strikes Iran

Half of Iran’s ballistic launchers destroyed, Israeli officials say

By JC Reporter

1 min read

United Hatzalah emergency workers provide medical treatment at Beit Shemesh (United Hatzalah)

Operation Roaring Lion

Nine killed after Iranian missile hits building in Beit Shemesh

By Lianne Kolirin

3 min read

Iran

Aerial view of aftermath of strike on Tehran location where Ayatollah Khameini died

Revealed: CIA report pinpointing Khameini location triggered launch of campaign against Iran regime

Israel and America moved rapidly after Supreme Leader was found, sources tell the New York Times

By JC Reporter

2 min read

Iran supreme leader killed in Israeli air strike Sir Keir Starmer makes clear UK took no part in strikes against ‘abhorrent’ Iran

UK News

Antisemitism on campus

School roadshow helps Jewish students to be their proud selves at university

I-gnite’s scheme prepares sixth-formers for campus life

By Ben Conway

3 min read

Jonathan Sacerdoti, Karen Cinnamon from ‘Your Jewish Life’, and Dov Forman in conversation with students at I-gnite’s 2025 Pre-Uni Prep (Photo: Danielle Manson)

Israel strikes Iran

Be vigilant about security after outbreak of war with Iran, community advised

CST warns conflict in Middle East brings heightened risk

By Simon Rocker

1 min read

Be vigilant about security after outbreak of war with Iran, community advised

Israel strikes Iran

Defence secretary avoids voicing support for strikes on Iran

UK government maintains equivocal position on US-Israel joint campaign after refusing to provide use of air bases

By Simon Rocker

3 min read

Defence Secretary John Healey (Getty Images)

West Midlands Police

Jewish former officer to oversee antisemitism training at West Midlands Police

Mat Shaer retired in 2023 after more than three decades in the force, including 10 years as head of hate crimes

By Daniel Ben-David

1 min read

Opinion

How Iran’s missile strikes reunited Gulf states against Tehran

The Islamic Republic may have hoped the attacks would force its Arab neighbours to demand the US end the military campaign with Israel. Instead, it has stiffened their resolve

By Marc J Sievers

5 min read

A drone strike ignited a fire at Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel (Image: X)

By Stephen Pollard

Joy and hope for people of Iran – but Keir Starmer has made Britain a spineless irrelevance

In refusing to use force, Prime Minister reveals a mindset unable to deal with reality of evil regimes

3 min read

By Lauren Dagan Amos

Modi in Jerusalem: India, Israel and the making of a strategic alliance

From defence cooperation to free trade and regional connectivity projects, the partnership is expanding in scope and ambition

4 min read

By Stephen Pollard

The Greens’ dangerous mainstreaming of sectarian Muslim politics

As troubling as the election irregularities in Gorton and Denton are, the real story is how the mobilisation of anti-Israel communities can shape British elections

3 min read

By Maureen Lipman

Our friends bear scars of more disc hits than Stevie Wonder

Some are anxious about forgetting words and some are visiting “Fall Clinics”. Some are faffing with hearing aids which require phone tapping

4 min read

By Jules Older

Is it bad for the Jews to keep asking ‘Is it bad for the Jews’?

My deeply unscientific research project into whether other ethnic minorities have similar anxieties

4 min read

By The JC Leader

Purim’s enduring lesson: strength, pride and the refusal to bow

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks observed that the festival’s jollity exists so that we can live with the risks of being Jewish, ‘without being terrified, traumatised or intimidated’

2 min read