Getting up to date with the Jewish Chronicle

There are a number of items from this week's Jewish Chronicle that I couldn't resist, so I thought I'd bore you all at once, rather than stretch out the agony over three different postings. After all, it's good for you to suffer, even if it isn't anywhere near Yom Kippur.

The first item comes complete with a rather charming(?) photo of George Galloway (peh, peh, peh), arms raised, looking as though he's appealing to some deity or other (the god of carnage, maybe?), and announces that "Pro-Palestinian activists Viva Palestina are to send a convoy of trucks through Syria to Gaza - despite protests and withdrawals from their own members"

You have to wonder how they think they're going to get from the Lebanon-Israel border (or the Jordan-Israel border, for that matter) to Gaza. Do they think that the Israelis are going to roll over for them? All the Israelis have to do is close the border crossing: not even a threat of violence involved. And if they persist in trying to cross…it's not a stretch of water which might (or might not) be disputed as to whether it's international waters or not.

At the end of the item, there's a further link, where it is noted that the supposedly "Gorgeous George" ("An MP who was expelled from the Labour Party…") is backing Ken Livingstone in the London Mayoral campaign. Birds of a feather…

Then we have this which surprised me, though I don't know why: Gerald Kaufman saving kashrut. He's never denied that he's Jewish or that he was (as the article notes) brought up in a kosher household, but given his stance on Israel… I must learn to separate the two out: even "as a Jew" folk may remain attach to the food practices of their youth, while becoming anti-Zionist with a vengeance. Still, who'd have thought it?

Finally, there's this item, which, unfortunately, speaks for itself: "The participation of an Israeli expert on conflict resolution at an NHS-sponsored event next week in Manchester was cancelled following pressure from local representatives of the UNISON trade union whose members were supposed to participate in the workshop." The fact that it's probably against the law on Race Relations is neither, sadly, here nor there. Although it should be of prime importance. The expert in question, Moti Cristal, nobly noted that "since the decision had been political, he was waiving his cancellation fee." Pity, he should have sued the pants off them - or rather the union - for discrimination under the relevant legislation. That would really have made the point, just as threats by UCU members (retaining Anthony Julius to represent them) to sue it if the union persisted with their boycott plans made the point there.

By Brian Goldfarb.