Jonny Gould's Jewish State

Help Jonny's worldwide coverage of Jewish and Israeli stories. Buy him a morale boosting coffee here. And so it’s happened. There’s now a piece of Palestine on British soil. In Galena Road, a back street of Hammersmith. An interesting name for a Palestinian address. It’s a Sephardi Jewish surname for one. And archaeologists discovered a prehistoric trench under the modern office building on which this embassy now stands - the remnants of a Roman road. The Romans,conquerors of Jerusalem, destroyers of the Second Temple, which forced most of the indigenous Jews into exile. You decide if G-d has a sense of humour. Keir Starmer’s ill-conceived declaration of Palestine, which has led to this embassy and described by former prime minister Boris Johnson as a “fart in a gale” amounts to a staging post in the Palestinian pursuit to destroy the Jewish State. Starmer’s unleashed a persistent stink on the British people rather than a momentary pong. As the continuing Hamas protests ruin London’s premier shopping and entertainment thoroughfares, Starmer’s only served to embolden the keffiyeh-wearing terror supporters into Palestining our city centres on days off and threatening the daily lives of Jewish people as they go about communal prayer or dropping kids off at school. In a stroke, Starmer’s turned an office block off King St’s one-way system from a self-proclaimed mission to a full-blown embassy, with a Palestinian flag hoisted outside. “Palestine” has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital and no army. No army of course, but for terrorist militias Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others. But now Starmer has gifted them the diplomatic credentials and privileges of every other state represented in London - now with the cloak of diplomatic protection to plan what Palestine is best known for. Starmer’s proclaimed vision for Palestine included a governing militia he freely calls a terrorist group, whatever he now says since Donald Trump’s decisive action to bring all but one of the remaining Israel’s hostages home from Gaza hell. So if you’re wandering down King Street in your kippah or tzitzis unlucky enough to take the wrong short cut to Ravenscourt Park tube, think twice about the route you take. Because the Palestine Embassy isn’t a peaceful diplomatic entity and by promoting it, Starmer’s contributed to importing the intifada to Britain’s streets. Here’s Hassan Zomlot, Palestine’s first Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Listen very closely to his words. Jonny Gould's Jewish State is supported by Dangoor Education and UK Toremet, promoting philanthropy. Find all of Jonny's podcasts and writing on his Substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve listened and enjoyed a few episodes, help me by following this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/jonnygould. Today’s guest is Anne Frank’s stepsister, Holocaust survivor and world renowned speaker, Eva Schloss. Eva Schloss, step-sister of Anne Frank, forgives the Nazis. Aged just 11, her happy family life in Vienna was cancelled as the Germans annexed Austria, turning the populous against the Jews in an instant. She describes this national mood change as “unbelievable”. Non-Jewish friends suddenly shunned her and her older brother was severely beaten by classmates. With her family, she fled for her life through Belgium and Holland, as the Nazis mercilessly hunted Europe’s Jews. Young Eva had to adapt to new schools, languages and countries and was bullied by fellow children and even teachers. Eventually, betrayed by a Dutch underground agent, she was captured and sent to Auschwitz. In 1945, barely alive, she was rescued with her mother by Soviet troops. Her father and brother were killed. But the 91-year-old survivor says, “Forgiving is most difficult because the human consciousness has a hard time living in the present”. She’s on a mission to talk for her family and the millions of others, senselessly slaughtered by the Nazis and their European accomplices during World War II. Eva is now a prolific speaker around the world on the horrors of the Holocaust and knows what true forgiveness means. Could you forgive like she has? With sincere thanks to my good friend Rabbi Yosef Vogel and his Centre for Jewish Life for this incredible interview opportunity and you’ll hear Yosef towards the end of the interview with his rabbinic insights. This is Eva Schloss🎧 Can you help keep this voluntary service going? If you’ve listened and enjoyed a few episodes, help me by following this link to donate: https://ko-fi.com/jonnygould Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Find Jonny's articles and all of his podcasts here. Support Jonny's efforts by buying him a coffee or two! The world moves on fast. The headline ticker keeps rolling, attention shifts, and even the most brutal moments are softened by the relentless pace of the news cycle. But for those left to mourn — and for Jewish communities across the global diaspora — the shock of Bondi has not faded. It’s hardened into fear. Fear driven by the perceived lack of action by western leaders against creeping Islamist incursions into the West, attacks that target Jews and threaten the very foundations of open societies themselves. This episode is an attempt to bottle that shock. To take you back to the moment you first heard the news — whether you woke up to it, saw it break during your day, or learned of it whichever time zone you’re in. To remind you how it felt as you lit your own Chanukah lights on day one. You’ll hear from eyewitnesses there as it unfolded collected from Sky News Australia. From a doctor, speaking anonymously who treated the dead and injured. From an Australian police officer on the scene. From Rabbi Levi Wolff of Sydney’s Central Synagogue. And from the highest levels of leadership in Israel — President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Plus as Chanukah drew to a close Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns, on the government’s response to the tragedy. We’ve since seen an unimaginable terror plot foiled in the UK, by Britain’s secret services for what can best be described as a Bataclan style massacre on Manchester’s Jewish communities. This is not about letting the Bondi moment pass. It’s about remembering it — clearly, honestly, however uncomfortably. Action on this international persecution of Jews must start now. Jonny Gould's Jewish State is proudly supported by Dangoor Education. Find Jonny's articles and all of his podcasts ⁠here⁠. Support Jonny's efforts by ⁠buying him a coffee⁠ or two! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Find all of my podcasts, TV appearances and writing at my Substack. As westerners, as Jews, as supporters of Israel, we should know more about the Kabyle people, the largest of North Africa’s indigenous Amazigh groups, part of the Berber people. On December 14th 2025, Kabylia declared independence from Algeria. With their own language, culture, and a centuries-long tradition of autonomy, the Kabyle have maintained a distinct identity despite repeated periods of foreign rule and the oppression which always follows. Is there future at a turning point. Rogue state Algeria has sharply escalated its repression of the Kabyle people’s political, cultural, and religious life with churches forcibly closed and leaders in civil society facing escalating intimidation. Many detained without due process, and political expression increasingly criminalized. And now, in the midst of this pressure, Kabylia issued a Declaration of Independence. They believe in Britain’s moral authority and so a delegation came to our parliament in London. The delegation waited until the final hour to learn whether Paris-based President-in-Exile, Furhat Merhenni would receive his UK visa in time. But he didn’t get it. But the story moves forward. To understand what this moment means for Kabylia, for Algeria, and for the region, I spoke Murad Amellal, Chief of Staff to President Merhenni and his Special Envoy. In our conversation, he walks us through the stakes, the strategy, and the sentiment around the world as Kabylia approaches what he calls a defining chapter in its modern political journey. But there are big questions: * If the leadership isn’t physically there, what does a Declaration of Independence actually do in practice? * With the President-in-Exile, what happens next? * If the declaration were issued on Algerian soil, just how would Algeria move to suppress it? * How does President Merhenni’s role compare to leaders in Israel’s early statehood? Who is Ben-Gurion, Begin or Herzl? * And find out why the Kabyle people’s cultural, linguistic and religious background embrace western values not those of Islamic extremism. All that—and more—in my rangy conversation with Murad Amellal. Find all of my podcasts, TV appearances and writing at my ⁠Substack⁠. Jonny Gould's Jewish State is supported by Dangoor Education and UK Toremet, promoting philanthropy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Follow all of Jonny's podcasts and latest writing in his Substack. Today we explore the legacy of Joe Lieberman and the documentary movie Centered about his life. He remains to this day the only orthodox Jew to stand for vice president of the United States, on the ticket with fellow Democrat Al Gore, losing by the narrowest and most controversial of margins to George W. Bush. And how he may have stood again as a Republican candidate alongside John McCain later in his career. Centered, directed by Jonathan Gruber, who also made the brilliant Upheaval, the story of Menachem Begin, captures Joe Lieberman’s lifelong devotion to public service, moral conviction, and pragmatic leadership. I was delighted to meet Rob Schwartz in London as the movie was screened here for the first time, a close friend of Joe Lieberman and a trusted partner through decades of public life. Rob’s insider’s perspective as Senator Lieberman’s chief of staff, bring depth, warmth, and intimate understanding to his legacy celebrated in Centered. Follow all of Jonny's podcasts and latest writing in his ⁠Substack⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices