Chas Newkey-Burden's Blog, page 16

Resurrecting the peace process

This is a guest post from Sam Hailes In a matter of days, Christians around the world will celebrate the miracle that sits at the centre of their faith: the resurrection of Jesus. Fast forward 2000 years and Christians in the Holy Land are longing for a similar miracle. Not the resurrection of a person, [...]

The hardest word

The thing about the much-discussed Avigdor Lieberman is, when he is wrong he’s really wrong, and when he’s right, he’s really right. In his op-ed for Ynet about Israel’s apology to Turkey over the flotilla deaths, Lieberman hits the nail on the head in two passages. He writes: I think of the IDF commandos who [...]

Universally challenging

Want a film that will make you laugh and make you think? A Universal Language is a feature documentary film by Igal Hecht which follows veteran comedian Mark Breslin and six Canadian stand-ups as they embark on a fascinating, comedy-based adventure in Israel. Very funny and hugely provocative – it’s essential viewing. The stand-ups perform [...]

The inspiration of the Rebbe

Today, the eleventh day of Nissan in the Jewish calendar, is the 111th anniversary of the birth of the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. He inspires me a lot. I don’t think you need to be Jewish to be feel this way about him; I don’t think you even necessarily need to be religious – [...]

Obama in Israel

A cool head is essential when dealing with Middle Eastern politics, and an Aroma iced coffee is essential when visiting Israel. So try one, Mr President, and thank me later. What single suggestion would you give to Obama has he arrives in Israel?

‘I’m an Israeli soldier’

Your thoughts?

Reassuring things

I love feeling reassured. I think I might sometimes frighten myself in order to bask in the warmth of subsequent reassurance. Anyway, I recently began compiling in my head a list of simple things I find reassuring. These included: The theme tune to the West Wing Trifle The WHSmiths stationery department Chris The tweets of [...]

‘I’m an Israeli soldier’

The role of the bystander

One of the people I really admire is Scooter Braun. Scooter – real name Scott Samuel Braun – is the genius who discovered and manages Justin Bieber. At the age of just 31 he has built a formidable entertainment empire. Full of enthusiasm and energy, he works tirelessly not just in business but for a [...]

Gilad backs Pollard

Gilad Shalit is the latest person to sign a petition calling on Barack Obama to commute the life sentence of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard. Writing on Facebook, Gilad said: “I have signed a petition, and call on you to do the same. Freedom is a great gift and a right. Thank you to those who [...]