Ben Judah
Benjamin William Judah (born 31 March 1988) is a British journalist and author of This Is London and Fragile Empire.
Ben Judah: I am, like most British Jews, growing...
I am, like most British Jews, growing really frustrated with this vague talk about “division and unity and hate.” We have a very specific problem here. An IRGC cut out is recruiting disaffected Islamist-radicalised men, many long known to the police and negligently left ambling about, to a conduct a targeted intifada against the London Jewish community. And both our counter intelligence and counter terror forces are failing to intercept them. I don’t need a mass London rally of well wishers or cultural luminaires to post their wishes — nice as that is — I need an actual security strategy to clamp down on this so my community can go about our lives in peace as is our absolute minimum right. And I need politicians to call the problem for what it is — not good vibes.Ben Judah: I want to stress British Jews…
I want to stress British Jews are super concentrated in NW London. there are only 250k of us. Roughly around 100k of us live in this area and surrounding areas. It’s like a small town that’s now under sustained attack. This is the heart of the community and every connected Jew across the country will ties, friends, family here. It’s not felt like disjointed and episodic attacks but like small town the size of Worcester is under attack by an IRGC-cut out.Ben Judah: Reflecting on the State Visit to Washington…
Reflecting on the State Visit to Washington, there are only really two interesting things left to say about it. The first is to note the Royal Family’s rising importance in our diplomacy since the death of Elizabeth II. This is because of the rise of two sets of politicians: Gulf monarchs who view a relationship with the Royal family as part of their identity and pedigree and Trump and his acolytes. In all these encounters the King genuinely matters diplomatically. This has only increased as the political carousel has spun out of control with annual foreign secretaries and biennale Prime Ministers. The second is to note the extraordinary and rising power the King’s Private Secretary has — effectively the King in Whitehall — on all such matters and how these encounters are shaped. Truly the apex of Civil Service power and anonymity that role — entirely beyond Foreign Office influence, let alone an elected official’s scrutiny. I think those roles, with their curious heritage allowances, are by far the most desirable left in the system.
21, April