Hear, O Friends of Israel

In 1987, exactly a quarter-century ago, the appearance of a work of Jewish history caused a stir. For one thing, the author was not Jewish; for another, the book was unashamedly supportive of the State of Israel, which even then was enough to provoke hostility, especially on the Left.

The Miracle  Paul Johnson,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  The creation of Israel was the quintessential event of the last century, and the only one that can fairly be called a miracle.  SAVE

SAVE "Hear, O Friends of Israel"

Bloomsbury's Rabbi

A translator stands between two languages and between the two worlds that the languages represent. If he does his job well, he may belong in neither place. Such was the fate of Samuel Koteliansky, an emigré Russian Jew who translated Chekhov, befriended D.H. Lawrence and Katherine Mansfield, and circulated on the fringes of the Bloomsbury group.

Bloomsbury Recalled  Quentin Bell,  Columbia University Press.  Bell's memoir of his parents and their friends—Woolf, Forster, Strachey—who made up the dazzling, dated Bloomsbury group.  SAVE

D.H. Lawrence and Kangaroo  George Simmers,  Great War Fiction.  In Lawrence's World War I novel, the "really ugly" character based on Koteliansky was a minor player, much like Kot in Bloomsbury.  SAVE

Leonard Woolf's Complexity  Claire Messud,  New York Times.  Leonard Woolf—"the Jew," to Virginia and her friends—was "noble, engaged, and quietly passionate."  SAVE

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Johnson, Livingstone.

Rematch!

London—Europe's biggest city, with 5.8 million eligible voters—goes to the polls on May 3rd to elect a mayor. Like any big city mayoral campaign, the contest will revolve mainly around local issues. But the race also has the potential to return a vitriolic anti-Zionist to City Hall.

Back into the Fray  Economist.  In 2008, London voters had a clear choice between Livingstone and Johnson. This time it's even starker.  SAVE

Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word  Andrew Gilligan,  Daily Telegraph.  The reviewer sees the "stench of scores being settled" pervading Livingstone's memoir. And there's no remorse for his rabid anti-Israelism.  SAVE

Who is Ed Miliband, and What Does He Want?  Elliot Jager,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  Miliband is generally frosty toward the Jewish state—and not particularly helpful to Britain's Jewish community, either.  SAVE

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Whose Holocaust?

For much of Europe, today is the UN-designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has dedicated his address this year to children murdered by the Nazis, with the message that "the best tribute to the memory of these children is an ongoing effort to teach the universal lessons of the Holocaust, so that no such horror is visited upon future generations."

SAVE "Whose Holocaust?"