Chas Newkey-Burden's Blog, page 39

His world is my world

My Justin Bieber biography has recently been bought by a publisher in Estonia, the 15th country to snap-up the rights to it. It has been in the bestseller charts of most of those countries. Proud times, though the proudest moment remains this video, of Israeli girls buying the Hebrew edition of my book. I've been [...]

Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich on the flotilla

Here is a short, handy video to share with friends, colleagues or anyone that has questions about the flotilla. I met Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich last summer. I think she's magnificent. Before you watch the video, I'd like to share an observation I saw made on Twitter today: 'Israel is occupying Gaza, according to flotilla [...]

High Hopes in Athens

This is a guest post from Israelinurse Something very special is about to take place in Athens. No, it has nothing to do with the naval-gazing flotilla flotsam; this is something which really is about making a difference to the lives of the people involved. For the first time ever, a tennis team made up [...]

Bibi's prisoner move: what do you think?

In a speech today, Benjamin Netanyahu announced a change of policy in response to Gilad Shalit's continued incarceration. 'I have decided to change Israel's policy toward terrorists sitting in Israeli jails,' he said. This change of policy will include the withdrawal of the right to enrolment in academic studies for terrorist prisoners. 'There will be [...]

That shabby dog story

Last week, a story appeared in the Israeli press which clamined a rabbinical court in Jerusalem had sentenced a stray dog to be stoned to death. I knew it was nonsense the moment I read it. As my friend Jonathan Hoffman said: 'It was patently obvious to anyone who has even a scintilla of knowledge [...]

These ships of fools

First came the bragging. Ever since the flotilla incident last summer, Israel-haters have boasted that next time they were going to really show the world what they are made of. With their chests even more puffed-out than usual, they vowed that this summer they were going to send an even bigger flotilla to Gaza. It [...]

My top five books: number four

To Win Or To Die: A Personal Portrait of Menachem Begin, by Ned Temko Temko's biography sweeps you right through the life of a remarkable man. Born in Poland, imprisoned in the Soviet Union, Begin avoided the impending claws of the Holocaust (which claimed many of his family) and moved to Palestine, where he fought [...]

My top five books: number three

Number 3: The Rebbe's Army: Inside The World of Chabad-Lubavitch, by Sue Fishkoff This is the only title in my 'Top 5 Israeli/Jewish books' that is not about Israel. If you want a nuanced, balanced and informed account of the miraculous way one group kept faith alive in modern times and spread its light across [...]

My top five books: number two

Number 2: Israel: A History by Sir Martin Gilbert I've lost count of the number of Sir Martin's books I have read. For many of them, to say I 'enjoyed' them would be the wrong word to use. One doesn't 'enjoy' books about the Shoah, but they are powerful, moving and important works. This book [...]

Speaking at Eton College

Today, I am giving another talk about Israel. This time, it is at Eton College. I will be speaking to the Jewish Class. It's nice to be doing a talk at such a prestigious venue – and one that is just a 10-minute walk from my front door. Afterwards, I am attending the annual Eton [...]