The terrible hostage-taking at the Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, last weekend made me think about the extent to which I can cover news.
But I quickly returned to my original conclusion when setting up the site that I cannot provide comprehensive news coverage. Indeed, it would be virtually impossible given that I focus on several different themes spanning many different countries.
My key criterion for writing an article is whether I can help to clarify difficult discussions in relation to contemporary anti-Semitism. That is a story has to be in line with this site’s stated aim of “untangling anti-Semitism”. That is meant to convey the idea of tackling the many common misconceptions about the subject.
That does not mean articles cannot in many cases be topical. Even the more historical stories – of which hopefully there will be many – will often have a topical edge. For example, I plan to write about the historical reality of South Africa under apartheid. But that will be with a view to helping to explain why the current vogue to label Israel as an “apartheid” state is so crass.
I do sometimes tweet articles on anti-Semitism, including news stories, that seem to me of particular interest. So, for those who do not already do so, following me @danielbenami might provide a partial solution to following the news more closely.
But, for those who want to follow news stories on anti-Semitism directly here is a list of potential sources. The focus here is mainly on specialist Jewish newspapers but that of course does not make it exhaustive. I will also stick to English language sources but there are naturally useful publications in many other languages.
These publications all have websites, email newsletters and Twitter accounts. Many have podcasts too. They cover the news from a variety of perspectives.
· Britain: the Jewish Chronicle (also referred to as “the JC”, long-established weekly newspaper of the Jewish community), Jewish News ( the JC’s main competitor).
· America: the Algemeiner (most comprehensive in its news coverage), the Forward, the Tablet (relatively light on news but has particularly interesting features, not to be confused with the British Catholic newspaper of the same name).
· Israel: Israel’s English language newspapers also run stories about the Jewish diaspora. These include Haaretz (with a paywall, I have written about it here), Israel National News/ Arutz Sheva, The Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel.
· Australia: The Australian Jewish News.
· International. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is a New York based international news agency focused on themes of Jewish interest. The Jewish News Syndicate is similar although it writes from an explicitly pro-Israel perspective.
· Anti-Israel viewpoints. Those who want to follow what could be broadly called a BDS perspective, including on anti-Semitism, can check out the Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss. The London-based Middle East Eye has a broader Middle Eastern focus but often covers anti-Semitism.
I will probably write on other types of sources - such as magazines, literary publications and academic journals - at a later date.
Please let me know if you think I have missed out any key sources. I would be happy to add them in if in my view they merit it.
Photo: "Anti-Semitism" by quinn.anya is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0