Jonny Gould's Jewish State

Our two guests today make their first appearances on the “podcast of record”, and you might say after 120 plus episodes of Jonny Gould’s Jewish State, they’ve been a rather glaring omission. They are two of British politics' biggest supporters of Israel and opponents of antisemitism. The Right Honourable, Lord Eric Pickles and the Right Honourable, Joan Ryan are in conversation. We focus on the future of Holocaust remembrance, including a serious attempt to get to the bottom of what actually went on in the only concentration camp built on British soil by Hitler, at Alderney in the Channel Islands. We also discuss the UK government bill to quell the racist endeavours of BDS. The Anglo-Jewish community owes a debt to those in our political class who stood up to the growing scourge of antisemitism which followed Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. And typically, proof that the “oldest hatred” stands above party politics is the cooperation, even camaraderie, which exists right across party lines.

Help support Jonny's coverage of Israel and the Jewish diaspora by making a donation here or buying him a coffee here. Let’s confront the latest expression of antisemitism: that which hates Jewish people for the State of Israel. I’m delighted that Jake Wallis Simons has given his first interview about his new book to Jonny Gould’s Jewish State, “Israelophobia: The Newest Version of the Oldest Hatred and What To Do About It”. We can’t really have a conversation about Jew-hate in the 21st century without confronting those who try to separate anti-Zionism from antisemitism. Because 9/10 Jews say Israel is key to their Jewish identity and it never takes long for antisemitism to spring from slurs which start with Israel. Enter Jake, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, who also writes for the Spectator, the Telegraph and you’ve seen him on Sky News reviewing the papers. He also spent time overseas as a foreign correspondent. The time is ripe to discuss Israelophobia, the newest mutation of the oldest hatred. Jake’s boo

Our guest today says the unedifying term “civil war” bandied describing judicial reform in Israel is a useful device to maintain pressure on both sides to find a solution. Let me be clear: I spent much of July and August 2023 in Israel and the country is not “entering a state of civil war” as former Prime Minister and convicted criminal, Ehud Olmert claimed. There’s no curfews, no rubber bullets and no army in place of cops on the streets. But that’s not to say this isn’t a serious situation. As positions entrench further, is hope for a solution ebbing away? Time for some realpolitik. While in Tel Aviv, I met historian and commentator, Dr. Edy Cohen, PhD. This is the third time Edy’s joined me on Jonny Gould’s Jewish State - but the first time face to face. Beirut-born Edy has his finger on the pulse of the Arab world. He is a world authority on Muslim holocaust denial, Islamist terrorism and the history of Jewish communities in Arab lands. There’s no one with a more amplified voice across the whole of the Mi

Jonny Gould’s Jewish State heads for the Knesset in Jerusalem and a couple of nights out in Tel Aviv, fresh from an eye opening visit to the Israel-Gaza border (scroll back one episode for that atmospheric discussion beneath an Iron Dome rocket launcher). I was part of an Elnet UK delegation, an organisation sharing democratic values and strategic interests between the Jewish State and the UK and Europe. Now let’s talk to politicians and an Iranian expert for a snapshot on regional and domestic issues. The white heat of judicial reform has seemingly pushed the general public’s concerns about the Palestinians into the shadows. I met Hanoch Milwidski MK on trying to bring Israelis back together although as a Likud member, he's highly critical of the protestors. Then it’s off to Tel Aviv to meet Iranian expert, Dr. Meir Javedanfar, who supports the JCPOA. What many in Israel and around the world regard as appeasing the Iranian regime, allowing them space and time to create a nuclear weapon! Why does he suppo

Let’s take you to a top secret location in the south of Israel to observe at firsthand an Iron Dome battery, followed by a trip to Kerem Shalom, the border frontier exchanging goods and workers between Gaza and Israel. We were told by the IDF the night before not to come because there’d been incoming rocket fire which they’d defended against from that very location. But in the end, the invite and clearance was reinstated. When I arrived there, I was surprised by the personnel in charge of the two bulky anti-missile launchers. The IDF soldiers responsible for defending Israel with the system were three 18 year old girls. I interview two members of the IDF, who reveal what it takes to be a soldier with split-second responsibility, to make crucial decisions - and at such a young age. The Jenin operation, dubbed “House and Garden”, (yes, really) was also in full action and yet another car ramming and stabbing greeted our arrival into Tel Aviv. I was part of an Elnet UK delegation, an organisation sharing democrat

This is a story of moderation, to use our history of oppression to resist fascism, anti-Jewish hate and uphold the rule of law and maintain hard-fought for liberties. Russia led by Stalin and Germany by Hitler were gruesome, murderous, evil regimes. Yet Soviet Russia’s crimes aren’t acknowledged in the same way as those perpetrated by the Germans and their accomplices across Europe. But they certainly are in this engaging chronicle of Lord Daniel Finkelstein’s own family history, “Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad: A Family Memoir of Miraculous Survival”. Danny’s parents, like my own grandparents and great uncles and aunts resisted victimhood to rebuild their family lives here in England. I’m getting a taste for handing over the interview microphone because a previous interviewee now becomes the interviewer. In episode 113, Dr. Bea Lewkowicz was interviewed by Jonathan Freedland as she knew both young men who escaped Auschwitz and warned the world of the horrors going on within. These are new details so rich in

This episode of Jonny Gould’s Jewish State focuses on the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is asserting itself diplomatically on the regional and world stage. Should Israel be worried about the swirling winds of interests in the region? The Emiratis have followed Saudi Arabia in re-establishing diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran - and Syria has been welcomed back into the Arab League fold, despite Bashar al Assad’s brutal and bloody decade-long civil war. Furthermore, Assad has been invited by the hosts to the forthcoming COP28 conference in Dubai, posing a diplomatic problem for Western leaders to avoid being in the same room as him. After the euphoria of normalization in September 2020, Jonny takes the temperature of the Abraham Accords and wonders where the UAE's stunning rapprochements with former foes in the Middle East leaves Israel? In preparation for this episode, Jonny went to the Israeli Embassy in London, and spoke exclusively to the Ambassador, Tzipi Hotovely and deputy mayor of Jeru

Jonny Gould’s Jewish State circles back to a previous episode, uncovering startling new revelations. New details so rich, a bestseller has been updated to include them. In episode 88, I sat down with my old friend, Jonathan Freedland to discuss The Escape Artist, the story of two young Jewish men who broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world of the horrors within. Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler’s 32-page report reached the desks of Roosevelt, Churchill and the Pope and they warned Hungary’s Admiral Horthy to stop the deportation of his country’s Jews to Auschwitz - or they’d make him a war criminal. On receiving this, Horthy panicked and stopped turning a blind eye to the death trains leaving from across Hungary. 200,000 Jewish lives were spared because of Vrba and Wetzler’s actions. Dr. Bea Lewkowicz is a fellow member of my synagogue and one Shabbat morning, she told me that rather uniquely, she knew both Rudi and Alfred, who was her own Uncle Freddo. But the contrasting post war fortunes of the two men was

This is my second sit-down interview with Trevor Horn and you’ll hear why it’s nothing like the first time. The previous one (episode 43) made an impression with Wikipedia’s editors, who included Trevor’s “I believe in Judaism, more than I believe in anything else” as a reference. On leaving last time, Trevor told me at the door, "no one ever asked me about that before". In this in-depth conversation about his life and career, Trevor talks about growing up as a post-war baby boomer in Hetton-le-Hole and how the family left the Durham village to secure their future in the more prosperous midlands (as my own family had done a generation before). We discuss Paul McCartney’s constant reinvention as the key to longevity and his own determination to keep working. Then there’s Rod and the magnificent orchestral album, his most recent production. Trevor also pays a touching tribute to his late wife, Jill Sinclair, “the first person who told me I was good. There’s also a couple of Jewish jokes she used to tell him too

“Since World War II, Israel has assassinated more people than any other country in the Western world.” is a brutal sentence from the start of “Rise and Kill First”. Our guest is Ronen Bergman, author of the New York Times bestseller, which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. It’s the product of a thousand interviewees, some of whom Ronen quizzed multiple times, along with millions of words of research. The detail also comes from a wealth of unclassified documents, some long forgotten in the private possession of veterans who gave them to him. There were many suggestions for the book’s title but “Rise and Kill First” from the Babylonian Talmud kept on coming up in the many conversations he had with his interviewees. It’s a phrase which has become a mission statement, seemingly inscribed in the mindset - even hearts - of many of Israel’s defensive operators and underpinned by generational Jewish persecution. But for all the sudden, brutal decision-making and actions, this remains a humane account and the

This is Sarah Idan’s story, Sarai more informally and publicly. She used to enter beauty pageants “to help bring people together”. But as Iraq’s winning Miss Universe in 2017, she got much more than she bargained for. Sarai’s new life as a renowned Human Rights campaigner started there and then, when she took a selfie with Adar Gandelsman, participating alongside her as Miss Israel. All hell let loose back home as the Iraqi tourism ministry ordered her to take the selfie down, “because it was harming the Palestinian cause“. “I said, what?”, Sarai replied and in that moment knew her feeling as an outsider even at home, was being realised. The flurry of events which followed saw her family flee Baghdad and join her in a new life in California. Her Iraqi citizenship has been revoked, and she knows full well if she ever returned there, “I’d be killed in the airport”. Sarai now uses her fame and notoriety to push against despotism and terror. She’s represented Hillel Neuer’s UN Watch in Geneva and as you’ll hear i

These are the sage words of President Isaac Herzog as Israel's Head of State tries to bridge the gap between his people, the biggest schism in the young country’s history. Jonny poses the questions and well-positioned experts and well-positioned protestors present opposing arguments. PLUS we have an exclusive interview with Professor Avi Bell from the Kohelet Policy Forum, the very think tank who designed the proposals which threaten to tear Israel apart, conducted by Professor Chuck Freilich and Ambassador Danny Ayalon. Help support Jonny's coverage of Israel and the Jewish diaspora by making a donation here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The unedifying scurry by BBC management to get Gary Lineker back on air after suspending him diffuses both a row with its staff and kicks the can of impartiality into the long grass. A couple of tweets by the BBC’s lead football presenter brought down the entire coverage of the Corporation’s TV and radio sport for a weekend. Lineker compared the government’s language on immigration as "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s”. He was suspended by the BBC’s Director General, Tim Davie on the grounds of breaking their social media guidelines. In this special episode, we mop up the layers of unresolved issues that have fallen by the wayside in the rush to appease Gary and chums to get BBC Sport back onair. Listen now for exclusive quotes from Panorama documentary maker John Ware, Theresa May’s former Chief of Staff, Nick Timothy, prominent journalists Nicole Lampert and Jonathan Sacerdoti, author of The Greatest Comeback, David Bolchover, Alex Hearn, Director of Labour Against Antisemitism and CEO of

A shining light in the shimmering city. “If you build it, they will come”, said Kevin Costner in the baseball movie, Field of Dreams – and there’s a similar vision for BNJC, Brighton & Hove’s new Jewish community synagogue and residential property development. There are around 4,000 to 5,000 Jewish people in the East Sussex city and this audacious project is an attempt to revitalise Brighton & Hove’s Jewish community. The foundations were laid in 2015 and now it’s open. BNJC has a beautiful modern synagogue with a tranquil feel, surrounded by 45 flats and houses built in a tower and around a mews courtyard, There are 55 underground parking spaces. The bar/cafe and restaurant with a kosher kitchen has the capacity to cater for your simcha of upto 220 people. There’ll be a nursery onsite from the get-go as the aim is to encourage young families to live down on the Sussex coast. Let’s hear more from CEO Marc Sugarman in this episode. Jonny Gould's Jewish State is supported by UK Toremet, promoting philanthro

Big things are happening in the United Arab Emirates, really big things. As the nation which reached out to Israel in the most expansive expression of peace yet with an Arab partner, it’s time Jewish people understood more about this nation. Abu Dhabi is the stage for a new era of religious pluralism. The Emirati capital has opened the Abrahamic Family House, a beacon of mutual understanding, coexistence and religious peace. It consists of a mosque, church, synagogue and educational center. In this episode, we hear from the Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, Sir Ephraim Mirvis at the opening of the first purpose-built synagogue in the Arab world for a century - and a few words from Pope Francis, who conducted mass in front of 130,000 Catholic faithful in Abu Dhabi. 2023 is also the year of COP28 in the capital and we hear from the president-designate, His Excellency Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who spoke about the future transition of the United Arab Emirates’ energy industry. Mr Al Jaber serves as the UAE

Israel's judicial reform row is proving an awful spectacle for the watching world. I wanted to find voices of moderation and considered opinion - and in particular, within the ruling Likud Party: is there anyone willing to stand up to Benjamin Netanyahu over the division this is causing? As a diaspora Jew, I look on in dismay at the threat to unity of the Jewish people. Just as bad has been some Jews in the diaspora publicly dissociating themselves with the Jewish State. Never. Not in this podcast. I’m not saying for a moment the judiciary doesn't need reform. It's just the way this is unfolding which is causing such upset. Benjamin Netanyahu's government are trying to force legislation "down the throat of half of the population", according to Israel's former ambassador to the US, Danny Ayalon. And my guest today calls the Netanyahu government’s attempt at change a “sledge hammer” in what he calls an “I’ll show you” kind of political culture. It’s the new CEO of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Dan Di

Emily Schrader was back in London with Yoseph Haddad on a whistlestop UK speaking tour, which included a nasty confrontation with pro-intifada students on campuses in London and Nottingham. Scroll back an episode for one of his energetic and hopeful speeches from the tour. Emily is an American-Israeli journalist and opinion former, a regular on the Jerusalem Post and the co-host of TV show, Headlines with the Haddads, an explainer on the Middle East to American audiences and tackling biogotry misinformation. In planning our conversation, we decided this time to take a snapshot of where the Middle East is on Iran. Emily is in touch with normal Iranian people everyday, thanks to the marvels of social media. We also unpack what a two state solution can look like in the era of the Abraham Accords – and wave a magic wand over the constitutional crisis drummed up by the Netanyahu government who want to take advantage of Israel’s unwritten constitution and plan to make the Knesset superior over the judiciary. A move

Yoseph Haddad is an Arab Israeli who believes with body, mind and soul in his country. And by his country, I mean the State of Israel, Yoseph joined up with StandWithUs UK at one of London’s oldest continuous communities, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in west London. Being counterintuitive, Yoseph is the target of constant protest, even death threats – some substantial - as he advocates for both a Jewish and democratic state. A smallish opposition greeted his arrival at University College London. Campuses are at the epicentre of anti Zionism and Palestinianism. Yoseph was born in Nazareth and raised in Haifa, he served in the IDF’s elite Golani battalion and served in the 2006 Lebanon War. He was badly injured and lost friends and comrades beside him in battle. He was a commander, which means an Arab commanding among others, Jews. Because as he says, it’s the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, not the JDF, it’s not exclusively Jewish. He runs Together Vouch for Each Other, an organisation building bridges

This is a truly heroic story which starts in Holocaust disaster and heads to the glory of winning Europe’s greatest football prize. David Bolchover is the author of a biography on Bela Guttmann, “The Greatest Comeback, From Genocide to Football Glory”. David recounts the story of Bela, the ultimate Jewish footballing hero, who survived to become a twice-winner of the European Cup with Benfica and the inspiration for one Portugal’s greatest stars, Eusebio. Jonny Gould’s Jewish State is brought to you with the support of Dangoor Education. Help support Jonny's work and see the rest of his podcasts too. You can buy him a coffee here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uri Geller went around the world, found and fame and fortune and has now returned home to Israel. Before Gal Gadot and Lior Raz, who was Israel’s biggest celebrity? Uri magnetised the world - literally - with his amazing feats of showmanship. Jonny Gould’s Jewish State wouldn’t be complete without a record of the life of Uri Geller! So what’s he doing now? Where is he? How did he attain such huge fame and notoriety and I ask him if Israel is the only place he could’ve possibly come from? He’s also furious with Harry Kane for missing THAT World Cup penalty against France. Find out how and why in this thrilling episode! Jonny Gould's Jewish State is supported by UK Toremet. You can support Jonny's work too by donating here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices