BBUK Virtual Meetings 2024

Shadi Khalloul “The Hidden Story of how Christian Israelis Support the Country and the IDF” (Bureau of International Affairs – 17/12/2024)

Shadi Khalloul, founder of the Israel Christian Aramaic Association, the Christian Aramaic Jewish Pre-Education Military Programme and the Aram Galilee Center, Gush Halav, Israel. He achieved a major victory in recognition of Arameans as a distinct ethnic group in Israel and ran for the Knesset. Although not well known in Europe and the USA, he has spoken at universities in USA and Canada, and appeared on Fox News and many other channels. He speaks several languages, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic and English

Susie Orbach interviewed by Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE,: “How the concept of family has changed over the years” – in partnership with Jewish Renaissance (Heritage Days – 24/11/2024)

Susie Orbach
Psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer and co-founder of The Women’s Therapy Centre in London with Luise Eichenbaum. Fat is a Feminist Issue has been continuously in print since 1978.

Rabbi Baroness Neuberger DBE
Cross bench Peer, Chair of University College. Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chair of The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust.

Topics include, among many others: the rise of blended families, how families can support each other through mental health issues, what happens when the family breaks down through divorce and the increasingly important role of grandparents with childcare

Prof Alan Silman: “Do Our Genes Make Us Jewish? What We Get from Our Mums and Dads” (Heritage Days – 14/11/2024)

Prof Alan Silman is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Green Templeton College, where he is the college’s lead on Global Health Policy. Previously, he was a Consultant in Rheumatology and Arthritis at Manchester Royal Infirmary and later became the Medical Director of the Arthritis Research Council (now known as Versus Arthritis). He is responsible for the BBUK Medicines Programme in Kyiv, Ukraine and a Past President of B’nai B’rith Cheshire.

Prof Alan Silman: “Do Our Genes Make Us Jewish? What We Get from Our Mums and Dads” (Heritage Days – 14/11/2024)

Prof Alan Silman is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Green Templeton College, where he is the college’s lead on Global Health Policy. Previously, he was a Consultant in Rheumatology and Arthritis at Manchester Royal Infirmary and later became the Medical Director of the Arthritis Research Council (now known as Versus Arthritis). He is responsible for the BBUK Medicines Programme in Kyiv, Ukraine and a Past President of B’nai B’rith Cheshire.

Daniel Gillis: “Family – The Heartbeat of Hope and Strength in The Face of Serious Childhood Illness” (Heritage Days – 30/10/2024)

Daniel Gillis is Chief Executive of Camp Simcha, a charity dedicated to supporting Jewish children and their families across the UK with all levels of observance. It provides bespoke, unconditional, practical, and emotional support to families where there is serious childhood illness, bringing hope and joy by providing powerful, positive experiences.

Prof Geoffrey Corn: “How International Law Frames Attack Decisions in War” (Bureau of International Affairs – 15/10/2024)

Professor Geoffrey Corn and George R. Killam, Jr. Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy, considers how the illicit tactics of enemy states and rogue agents affect how countries conduct modern warfare. He examines this question by engaging with key concepts in the laws of armed warfare, such as proportionality and distinction, and shows how urban war exacerbates the challenges faced by combatant nations. His presentation has a major bearing on criticisms routinely made about Israel within the western media.

Jonathan Spyer: “The Middle East After October 7: Strategies, Challenges, and Opportunities” (Bureau of International Affairs – 14/08/2024)

Jonathan Spyer is a journalist and Middle East analyst living in Jerusalem. He has reported extensively from the field in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, the West Bank/Gaza, Turkey, and Jordan. He is the author of The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the Israel-Islamist Conflict and Days of the Fall: A Reporter’s Journey in the Syria and Iraq Wars.

Michael Haas: “When I Compose, I Return to Vienna” (BBUK – 17/07/2024)

Michael Haas is Founding Director of the Exilarte Research Centre and Archive at Vienna’s Performing Arts University.

Music was a cultural good stolen by the Nazis: audiences lost Jewish composers. These composers sought a cultural lifeline once they found themselves in new countries, with many returning to identities that had previously meant little to them. Some became very aware of what it meant to be Jewish, even if secular and non-religious. Others became more militantly Austro-German, attempting to save their culture from hijacking by the Nazis. This gave us an alternative approach in the music of the twentieth century.

Major Andrew Fox: “A Soldier’s Perspective on Israel and the Gaza War: a Discussion on Israel’s Strategy, Future Options for Gaza, and The Regional Dynamics” (BBUK Bureau of International Affairs- 18/06/2024)

Major Andrew Fox currently commands C Company, Third Battalion The Parachute Regiment. He joined the Army in 2005 and has deployed on three operational tours to Afghanistan, one tour of Bosnia, and numerous tasks in the Middle East, and overseas exercises in Kenya, Latvia, Poland, the USA, Spain, and the Netherlands. In addition, he has run operations within the HQ of 16 (Air Assault) Brigade and has instructed officer cadets as both a Captain Platoon Commander and a Major, teaching Leadership and Military Planning at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Nathan Abrams: “Mapping North Wales’ Jewish History” (BBUK – 15/05/2024)

Nathan Abrams is a Professor in Film at Bangor University. He is a well-known writer and broadcaster who has researched Jews and Judaism in popular culture and has expert knowledge of diasporic communities in Europe, especially in the UK.

Noru Tsalic: “What Now? – Making Sense of The World Post 7/10” (Bureau of International Affairs – 16/04/2024)

Noru Tsalic,  former IDF soldier and current management consultant, has spent many years engaging in pro-Israel advocacy. He writes regularly for ‘Times of Israel’ and is editor in chief of ‘Politically Incorrect Politics’.

Jake Wallis Simons: “Israelophobia” (Bureau of International Affairs – 21/03/2024)

Jake Wallis Simons is an award-winning British journalist and novelist and Editor of the Jewish Chronicle. He discusses his book which analyses the often-prejudiced coverage and intense scrutiny of Israel that so often veers into obsession and outright demonisation; and traces its origins from Medieval European and Stalinist antisemitism to the present day.

Prof. Joe Goldblatt: “Finding the Lost Tribe of Israel (at the Edinburgh Festival)” (BBUK Virtual Meeting – 16/03/2024)

During his fifty-year career in live event production and higher education, Emeritus Professor Joe Goldblatt seamlessly transitioned from performer (with First Lady Betty Ford) to producer (Trump’s first casino opening and Oprah Winfrey’s first major fundraiser) to Professor at four universities.

In 2007, he immigrated to Scotland. Along the way, he has served as a communal Jewish leader. In this whirl-wind tour of his life and career, you shall learn how his Jewish values provided the satnav for his joyous adventures in 64 countries and three continents and some behind the scenes secrets of the world-famous Edinburgh festivals!

Steven Jaffe: “A Protestant Jew or a Catholic Jew?: the Untold Story of Northern Ireland’s Jewish Community” (BBUK Virtual Meeting – 10/01/2024)

Steven Jaffe is a history graduate from Cambridge University and a former lawyer. He lives in London where he works as a consultant to Magen David Adom UK. Steven is Director of the Belfast Jewish Heritage Project and has conducted walking tours of Jewish heritage in his native city. Steven co-chairs Northern Ireland Friends of Israel.