Suspended, investigated, nearly expelled: what universities do to dissidents, and how Connie Shaw broke free

She grew up in the Soviet Union. Now she hears its propaganda repeated in the West — by people who think they are fighting for justice. Why does so much of today’s anti-Israel rhetoric sound familiar to someone raised behind the Iron Curtain? Izabella Tabarovsky argues that Soviet antizionism outlived the regime that promoted it — and that its language is shaping how a new generation thinks about Israel, Jews and the West. Tabarovsky, a writer and researcher of Soviet antizionism and contemporary antisemitism, joins Jonathan Sacerdoti to discuss life under communism, the export of Soviet propaganda and the dangers of romanticising a system millions wanted to escape. Drawing on her own experience and her book, Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student Survival Guide, she explains how demonising Zionism affected ordinary Jews — and why she recognises disturbing echoes today.

One of Netanyahu's closest advisors speaks frankly about Israel – past, present and future – and what it means to be a Jew in the 21st Century. Why is Israel increasingly condemned abroad even as it transforms the Middle East and demonstrates its military and technological strength? Caroline Glick calls it a “diplomatic October 7” — and argues that Israel cannot make its survival dependent on international approval. Glick, Benjamin Netanyahu’s international affairs adviser and a longtime journalist and author, joins Jonathan Sacerdoti to discuss Israel’s war, its growing diplomatic isolation and the resurgence of antisemitism across the political spectrum. She explains why she believes October 7 exposed both the dangers of Jewish vulnerability and the failure of assumptions that had shaped Israeli policy for decades.

What happens when a BBC journalist challenges his own organisation’s coverage of Hamas, Israel and October 7? After 22 years at BBC Radio Lancashire, Sean McGinty lost his job. He tells Jonathan Sacerdoti why he spoke out, what he believes his dismissal reveals about the broadcaster, and why he still hopes the institution he loved can be saved. McGinty describes the private email he sent to presenter Nihal Arthanayake after a social media post recommending “context” for the October 7 attacks. He explains why it appalled him, how his criticism of BBC journalism extended to transgender coverage and cuts to local radio, and what happened as his relationship with management deteriorated. Having recently lost his employment tribunal case, McGinty gives his account of the disciplinary process, his struggles with mental health and the isolation he says he experienced among former colleagues. He questions whether the BBC applies its standards equally to local journalists and its biggest stars, discussing Gary Lineker, Huw Edwards and the limits of speaking freely inside the organisation. If you value my work, please donate: https://jonathansacerdoti.com/support/ DONATE: ⁠⁠[ £5 ]⁠⁠ ⁠⁠[£10]⁠⁠ ⁠⁠[£20⁠⁠] ⁠⁠[£50]⁠⁠

To donate to Meir Panim: http://meirpanim.org/rise-for-israelAs Britain introduces sanctions on Israel, Rabbi Leo Dee asks if British taxpayers should be funding the families of terrorists who murdered British citizens? And when Britain threatens sanctions against Jews living in the West Bank, who will actually suffer – Israeli settlers, Palestinian workers, or Britain itself?Rabbi Leo Dee’s wife Lucy and daughters Maia and Rina were murdered by Hamas terrorists in 2023. He speaks to Jonathan Sacerdoti about how that tragedy thrust him into public life, his confrontation with the British Foreign Office and the extraordinary paradox he discovered: while his own family was ineligible for British compensation, UK money was helping to support the families of Palestinian terrorists.Dee, a British-born rabbi and former private-equity investor who lives in Efrat, challenges the conventional account of Israeli settlements, Palestinian violence and the two-state solution. He describes his relationships with Palestinian neighbours and workers, explains why he calls himself a “resettler” in Judea and Samaria, and proposes an alternative peace plan based on autonomous Palestinian city-states protected by Israel.This wide-ranging discussion also examines Edward Miliband’s proposed sanctions, accusations of settler violence, Britain’s increasingly hostile climate for Jews and Israel’s growing economic and technological strength. Dee argues that Israel can no longer be treated as a dependent nation: its cyber security, defence systems, water technology and rapidly expanding start-up economy have made it increasingly difficult for other countries to boycott.Subscribe for more interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@MrJonsac?sub...If you value my work, please donate: https://jonathansacerdoti.com/support/👁‍🗨 Watch if you want to understand why Rabbi Leo Dee believes Britain’s policy towards Israel punishes Jews, harms Palestinians and keeps alive a peace process that has already failed.💬 We Discuss:🇬🇧 How the British Foreign Office responded to the murder of three British-Israeli women💷 Why British money may support the families of Palestinian terrorists⚖️ The compensation denied to British victims of terrorism abroad🏠 What it means to live as a Jewish “settler” in Judea and Samaria📖 Why Rabbi Dee describes himself as a “resettler”🤝 Everyday coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians in Efrat🇵🇸 Why the Palestinians repeatedly rejected one-state and two-state proposals🏙️ Rabbi Dee’s alternative plan for autonomous Palestinian city-states🗺️ The controversy surrounding Israel’s E1 development plans🪨 How Israeli settlements are built around existing Palestinian towns and farmland📰 Claims of “settler terrorism” and the international media’s focus on Israel🛡️ Whether Israel is doing enough to prosecute violence by Jewish extremists✡️ Antisemitism in Britain and the possible decline of British Jewish life🚀 Why Israel’s start-up economy may emerge stronger from war🔔 Subscribe for more serious and unflinching conversations about Britain, Israel, antisemitism, politics, terrorism and the defence of Western democratic values.📲 Follow JonathanOn X: https://x.com/jonsacOn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathansac...On Substack: https://jonsac.substack.com👇 Comment below — are Britain’s proposed sanctions a principled response to settler violence, or collective punishment driven by political calculation?

Across Britain, thousands of supposedly “multi-faith” prayer rooms have appeared in airports, hospitals, schools, offices, museums and shopping centres. But have you ever been in one?They are presented as neutral spaces open to everyone – so who actually uses them? Are they genuinely shared places of worship, or has Britain quietly created a vast network of unofficial mosques while avoiding an honest conversation about religion, Islam and the decline of Christianity? Dr Andrew Crompton, former Head of the Liverpool School of Architecture, speaks to Jonathan Sacerdoti about the strange architecture and hidden meaning of Britain’s multi-faith spaces. Crompton argues that attempts to remove every recognisable religious symbol do not create true neutrality. Instead, the arrangement of furniture, prayer mats, washing facilities and segregated areas often reveals which faith the room primarily serves. This wide-ranging discussion looks at why Britain has become embarrassed by public prayer, how Islam has been generously, but often unconsciously, accommodated, and what these anonymous rooms reveal about the country’s changing religious identity. We also examine the tensions between religious practice, secular institutions, sex equality and personal freedom, and ask whether Britain’s reluctance to speak frankly has produced a solution that satisfies nobody.