The Vicious Babushka

UK Royal Pledges $100K to Rebuild Mumbai Chabad

 

 British Prince Michael of Kent, visited the destroyed Chabad Center of Mumbai Wednesday, accompanied by Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz of the Mumbai Relief Fund.

Queen Elizabeth's first cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, visited the destroyed Chabad Center of Mumbai at Nariman House Wednesday.

The prince was escorted by Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz of the Mumbai Relief Fund, on a tour of the Chabad center that was attacked by terrorists last year.

The prince noticed the photos of the Rebbe and the Holtzbergs, and he inquired about Shluchim and their work. Later, he lit a candle in memory of the murdered Shluchim, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg.

The prince also pledged a donation of $100,000 in rebuilding part of the Nariman House.

"I along with other donors from London pledge a donation of $100,000 in restoring part of Chabad House including the kitchen. We will continue to offer every kind of help," Prince Michael said.

"The destruction caused by terrorists is immense. I am saddened to see all this. I feel deep sorrow for what happened here," he said, adding he was touched on hearing about the how the nanny Sandra saved baby Moshe.

COLLive.com

Al-Qaeda Video Warned of Attack on U.S. Before Detroit Plane Bombing

 

A VIDEO threatening revenge for a US attack on an al-Qaeda terrorist camp in Yemen was posted four days before a former British student's botched attempt to blow up an American airliner.

Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been transferred to prison and is due in court in Detroit today after his failed bid to destroy Northwest Airlines Flight 253, carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew, 20 minutes before landing in Detroit on Christmas Day.

As security was stepped up across airports and flights to and from the US, a second Nigerian man was taken into custody aboard a plane in Detroit yesterday. Police said the incident took place aboard the same Northwest service that was attacked on Christmas Day.

The man had raised concerns because he spent an unusually long time in the plane's toilet, but it later turned out he had a "legitimate illness", Department of Homeland Security officials said.

Abdulmutallab is said to have told US investigators he had been acting on instructions from al-Qaeda. Citing US officials, the Wall Street Journal said the Nigerian claimed al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen had given him the device and told him how to detonate it.

However, there is no firm evidence of a link between al-Qaeda and the Nigerian student, who studied mechanical engineering at University College London between 2005 and 2008.

The video warning was posted in Yemen, where he reportedly began his journey and where he has reportedly claimed to have been trained at an al-Qaeda camp.

In the al-Qaeda video, dated 21 December, a man identified as Mohammed al-Kalwi delivered a eulogy for militants killed in a Yemeni air strike on a militant training camp four days earlier. He said: "We are carrying a bomb to hit the enemies of God. O soldiers, you should learn that we do not want to fight you, nor do we have an issue with you. We only have an issue with America and its agents, and beware of standing in the ranks of America."

Read more at Scotsman.com.

UK Jews Light World's First Whisky Menorah

 

WHAT is thought to be the world's first ever 'whisky menorah' was unveiled this evening (Sunday) to mark the Jewish festival of lights.

Dozens of people turned out at Buckhurst Hill Chabad, in Princes Road, to see the seven-foot-high ceremonial candle holder - made of clear pipes - filled with 65 litres of 17-year-old Scottish single malt in celebration of Chanukah.

Whisky from the menorah was then poured from a tap in the structure's stem and auctioned off in bottles by Rabbi Odom Brandman to raise money for a new centre for the area's Jewish community.

Rabbi Brandman - who had earlier led the lighting of a publically displayed menorah in nearby Queen's Road - thanked distillary firm Tullibardine for donating the whisky.

He said: "We like to celebrate Chanukah a little differently, and had a menorah made of old cans last year, and out of chocolate the year before.

"This year we decided to go for the world's first whisky menorah.

Read more at ThisisLondon.co.uk

UK Chief Rabbi Urges Shabbat of "Environmental Awareness"

UK chief rabbi calls for environmental Shabbat

Jonathan Sacks asks Jews across Britain to pray for sustainable habits of consumption, energy use

Britain's chief rabbi has called for a Sabbath devoted to the environment ahead of the climate talks due to be held next week in Copenhagen.

Jonathan Sacks says he wants the Shabbat beginning Friday night to be focused on environmental issues and has asked Jews across the UK to pray for sustainable habits of consumption and energy use.

The 61-year-old rabbi says he realizes that there are disagreements over climate change but that "there are some risks you just don't take ... and one is the risk of endangering the very viability of life on earth."

The rabbi spoke as world leaders prepare to meet on reducing emissions at an upcoming United Nations summit in Denmark, which begins Monday.

AP and YNet.

If everyone stopped driving their car one day a week, that would certainly reduce carbon emissions. However, the downside is that excessive consumption of cholent will cause a surge in methane emissions.
 

Gefilte Fish That Glows in the Dark

The traditional choice for a kosher fish supper is chopped and boiled or chopped and fried. But we can reveal a new option — chopped and glow-in-the-dark.

Student Jessica Taylor was shocked to see her late-night gefilte fish snack light up the kitchen of her north London family home by glowing bright green and yellow. Her mother had bought the Hoffman’s product the previous day at Moshe’s Deli in Temple Fortune.

Joff Taylor, Jessica’s father, said: “My daughter came home at two or three in the morning and was starving. She did not put on the kitchen light, took out the fish and closed the fridge.

“The fish was glowing very brightly so she took it out of the pack and held it in her hands. When she put it down, her hands were glowing.”

Suspicious of Jessica’s claim, Mr Taylor and his wife asked her to recreate the scene the following evening. “We turned off the lights and she brought the fish out. We all stood there amazed. It was brighter than a glow-stick.”

The Taylors opted not to eat the fluorescent fish, which was not beyond its use-by date, and threw it away.

A Moshe’s spokesman said: “Sometimes the fish eat some phosphorus and it glows. It’s good for you. We’re not the manufacturer, we just sell it.” Geeta Cohli, a consultant to Hoffman’s Foods, said the company had received no complaints from customers. “The family should have kept the fish as evidence. We would have done some tests. I’m a qualified micro-biologist and I have never heard of this. I think it was an act of God.”

A Food Standards Agency spokeswoman attributed the glowing fish to luminescent bacteria which occur naturally in sea water. “Most luminescent bacteria are harmless but their presence may indicate that other, harmful bacteria are also present through cross-contamination with other uncooked products. We would advise that the fish should not be consumed.”

TheJC.com

It's festive!

UK Convicts "Airline Liquids" Bombers

LONDON (AP) — Three British Muslims were convicted Monday of plotting to murder thousands by downing at least seven airliners bound for the U.S. and Canada in what was intended as the largest terrorist attack since Sept. 11.

A jury at a London court found Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Assad Sarwar, 29, and Tanvir Hussain, 28, guilty of conspiracy to murder by detonating explosives on aircraft while they were in-flight.

Four other alleged conspirators — whom the prosecution said were to have smuggled liquid explosives onboard jetliners disguised as soft drinks — were acquitted of conspiring to blow up planes. The jury could not reach a verdict on an eighth man.

British and U.S. security officials said the plan — unlike many recent homegrown European terrorist plots — was directly linked to al-Qaida and guided by senior Islamic militants in Pakistan, who hoped to mount a spectacular strike on the West.

The officials said British plotters were likely just days away from mounting their suicide attacks when police rounded up 25 people in dawn raids in August 2006.

Their arrests led to travel chaos as hundreds of jetliners were grounded across Europe. Discovery of the plot also triggered changes to airport security, including new restrictions on the amount of liquids and gels passengers can take onto flights.

Prosecutors said suspects had identified seven specific flights from London's Heathrow airport to New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Montreal, as their targets.

British authorities estimate that, if successful, around 2,000 passengers would have died. If bombs were detonated over U.S. and Canadian cities, hundreds more would have been killed on the ground.

Plotters planned to assemble bombs in airplane toilets using hydrogen peroxide-based explosives injected into soda bottles.

Read more at Associated Press.

Bobov Community Plans to Turn Historic Pub into a Synagogue

Plans to convert a pub into a synagogue for a strictly Orthodox community have been approved by councillors after a year-long battle to resolve the building’s future.

The Swan pub in Stamford Hill, north London, closed in January after members of the Bobov community bought it for around £1 million.

Councillors granted change-of-use planning permission at a meeting on Wednesday night, despite a campaign by residents to stop the conversion going ahead.

The Bobov application for a 1,500 sq metre centre, which will include a shul, library and community offices, was supported by more than 850 people who wrote to Hackney Council backing the plans.

Around 600 of the letters came from members of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.

Supporters wrote that the centre would “significantly contribute to the wider public in Stamford Hill” and would improve the area “immensely” by “promoting safety and well-being”.

The council received 32 objections from neighbours and six others from people outside Hackney.

Their complaints included the loss of the pub as a community facility, the fear that the new building would only be available for use by the Jewish community, and increases in noise and traffic.

The new Bobov owners have already installed tenants in the upper floors of the pub to deter squatters.

Speaking at the meeting, Save the Swan campaigner Glyn Harries said: “The Swan was a viable 250-year-old pub. It was not a backstreet boozer. It was a unique venue where all people came together. Its loss will be a blow to the area.

Read more at TheJC.com

Actually it would be nice if they could keep the ground floor open as a kosher pub.

Bibi to Brits: "We've been building 'settlements' in Jerusalem for 3,000 years"

PM: We've been building in Jerusalem for 3,000 years

Netanyahu, UK's Gordon Brown meet in London, as pro-Palestinian rally crowds entrance to Downing 10. British premier urges halt of settlement construction, PM stresses: 'Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is the sovereign capital of the State of Israel'

LONDON - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday afternoon with UK Premier Gordon Brown. Netanyahu had to be ushered into the official Downing Street residence via the back door, as the front entrance was the scene of a pro-Palestinians rally.

The rally, attended by hundreds of people, began about 30 minutes prior to Netanyahu's arrival at Number 10, causing both the British and Israeli security officers present to heighten alert, fearing the Israeli prime minister's convoy may be targeted.

Brown met Netanyahu and Israeli Ambassador to London Ron Prosor at the door, and all three were rushed in by their respective security details.

At some point, several demonstrators tried breaching the secured perimeter, but were stopped by British police. Demonstrators hollered slogans the likes of "Free Palestine" and "Netanyahu's a war criminal," and carried signs reading "Judea and Samaria are Palestinian territory," "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine," and "Let the Palestinians live."

The two held a joint press conference after their meeting, in which Brown said the UK was and is a loyal friend to Israel and that it supports the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Nevertheless, Brown stressed that that the demand to halt settlement construction remains in place, as the settlements are what impedes the two-state solution.

Jerusalem, responded Netanyahu, "Is not a settlement. It is the sovereign capital of the State of Israel. We have been building in Jerusalem for 3,000 years."

Read more at YNet.

The "settlements" are NOT what "impedes" the two-state solution. The impediment to the two-state solution is the Arab refusal to acknowledge Israel as one of the two states.

 

WTF Dept.: UK Jew Beaten by 11-year-old Delinquent

 

A SCHOOLBOY aged just 11 beat-up a Jewish man because of his religion.

The school-aged attacker launched himself at the victim – in his late 20s – landing a punch on him outside the synagogue, on Bewick Road, Gateshead.

After spearheading the onslaught, the 11-year-old stepped to the side as a gang of older attackers “piled-on” the isolated man, leaving him bloodied.

The child-attacker is now at the start of a four month supervision order made by magistrates at Blaydon youth court, after pleading guilty to racially-aggravated assault by beating at an earlier hearing.

His young age means he cannot be named.

The court heard that the youngster had been involved in drugs and alcohol.

After reading reports, chairman Doug Howell said: “It says here you haven’t used cannabis for a while.

“At your age, I can’t understand how you can get your hands on alcohol or drugs at all. Don’t do it.”

The court heard that the attacker, from the central area of Gateshead, was stood outside the Gateshead Hebrew Congregation, at the junction of Bewick Road and Rydal Street in Bensham, Gateshead, with a group of older males.

The youth squared up to a Jewish man after older lads urged him on in March this year.

Read more at Sunday Sun

Epic Fail: Deaths on Rise as UK Anti-Knife Crime Strategy Fails

   

Number of killings up in cities targeted in £3m crime campaign

The high-profile government campaign to tackle knife crime in big English cities has failed to cut the number of fatal stabbings, according to Home Office figures published today.

The number of teenage homicide victims of knife crime remained unchanged at 23, while the number of adults over the age of 20 killed actually went up during the campaign by seven to 103, results of the official monitoring programme show.

The failure of the £3m campaign to reduce the number of teenagers killed in knife attacks in England's 10 priority police areas is a severe embarrassment to ministers on a highly political crime issue that is likely to dominate the debate on law and order between now and the general election.

Ministers will tomorrow launch a £5m second phase of the "tackling knives action programme" (TKAP) which will see the campaign expanded to 16 police force areas and widened to tackle all forms of serious violence among 13- to 24-year-olds, including gang culture.

Home Office ministers preferred to emphasise the research findings that violent knife crime incidents involving those aged 19 and under were down by 17% during the first phase of the campaign, which ran from July 2008 to March this year.

The home secretary, Alan Johnson, also cited a 32% reduction in NHS hospital admissions for knife crime victims in the 10 target areas.

The Home Office said this compared with an 18% drop in hospital admissions for stabbing injuries outside the targeted areas over the same period.

Read more at The Guardian

Doofii of the Day: UK Racists Seek Asylum, Get Jail

The neo-Nazi 'asylum seekers'

They looked like a pair of cranks straight out of a Louis Theroux documentary.

One was an unrepentant woman hater whose racist and anti-Semitic views were too hard-line even for the British National Party.

The other, his long-haired sidekick, sought the protection of a pseudonym that he used to make extremist rants.

Their hunger to stir up controversy saw them flee from justice in the north of England and stage an unlikely claim for political asylum in Los Angeles.

But their journey has now ended with jail sentences in the UK.

Jurors at Leeds Crown Court decided neo-Nazis Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle were not just harmless oddballs, but dangerous propagandists dedicated to whipping up racism.

On Friday, Sheppard was jailed for four years, 10 months and Whittle for two years, four months.

In a landmark case, they have become the first Britons to be convicted of inciting racial hatred via a foreign website, having printed leaflets and controlled websites in the US featuring racist material.

'Obnoxious and abhorrent'

The court heard the investigation into the pair began when a complaint about an anti-Semitic comic book called Tales of the Holohoax was made to the police in 2004 after it was pushed through the door of a synagogue in Blackpool, Lancashire.

It was traced back to a post office box in Hull registered to Sheppard, 51, a former BNP organiser kicked out of the far-right party after he was jailed in 2000 for distributing a racially inflammatory election leaflet.

The spotlight fell on the publishing activities of Sheppard, of Selby, North Yorkshire, a self-styled "scientific publisher", whose online ramblings took in a hatred of women and a morbid fixation with cannibalism.

Read more at BBC

British Colonel Declares "The IDF Did More to Safeguard Civilians Than Any Other Army in the History of Warfare"

Doofus of the Day: Luke W. Goodrich of "The Guardian" believes U.S. courts can enforce Sharia

 

Sharia across the pondDenying sharia arbitration to Muslims singles them out unfairly.

The UK should follow the US example and relax about the issue

Last week the British press frothed over a report that at least 85 sharia tribunals now operate in the UK. British law is supposedly under attack, threatened by the creeping tide of radical sharia.

It's understandable that talk of "sharia" makes some people nervous. Some interpretations of the sharia ban on apostasy clearly violate religious liberty and other basic human rights. There are also legitimate concerns that some elements of the Islamic community in the UK already ignore various civil laws.

On the other other hand, throwing the baby out with the bath will hardly help. The United States has long recognised sharia tribunals. Far from ghettoising Muslims or enslaving women, these tribunals have helped integrate Muslims into American society while respecting their religious liberty.

Recognising sharia tribunals in the United States has not enabled fundamentalist Muslims to stone adulterers, engage in polygamy, or flog drunkards. Rather, the United States treats sharia tribunals like any other private arbitration. Just as a corporation can resolve a labour dispute through arbitration, or a Jewish couple can take a divorce dispute to a rabbinical court, Muslims can voluntarily resolve their private disputes in a sharia tribunal. The sharia tribunal's judgment is then enforceable in civil court just like that of any other private arbitrator [this is completely untrue--parties to decisions rendered in private venues have no power to use the civil courts to enforce those decisions--VB]– provided the civil court determines all appropriate procedural safeguards have been followed.

Read more dribbling babble at (where else?) The Guardian.

I think Luke is just a bit misinformed. Arbitration in a private venue has always been acceptable in the U.S. as long as the parties involved take it upon themselves to abide by the decision. There is no power to use the state and federal courts to enforce the decision made through arbitration.

A recent decision by an Oakland County Court judge refused to accept "I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee" as legally binding and required the separating couple to divorce according to state laws. Likewise, couples who marry in Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Druidic or any other religious ceremony must still obtain a marriage license signed by an official justice of the peace.

The idiot's comparison of rabbinical courts to sharia courts confirms the failure of his brain cells to function properly. The verdict of Beit Din can not be enforced in a secular court. If a party to a Beit Din refuses to comply with the verdict, the other party must file a new lawsuit in a secular court.

Pork Attack on UK Synagogue

 

Senior members of the Jewish community have spoken of their horror after bacon rashers were draped over the door handles of a Roundhay synagogue.

Police also found bacon stuffed through the keyhole of the Sinai Synagogue on Roman Avenue when they were called to the incident.

Dan Cohen, chair of the Leeds Jewish Orthodox Community Group, told Roundhay Today that the discovery of the bacon – a meat banned to Jews –was "shocking".

He said: "It is outrageous that in modern, multi-cultural Britain we are still seeing these types of anti-semitic activities.

"This is massively offensive. This is no different to daubing a swastika on the door. This is of that magnitude and it's very worrying.

"We can only hope that this is not symptomatic of growing racism in the UK having just seen Richard Brons elected as a BNP MEP.

"I sincerely hope there is no link between the rising success of the
BNP and what seems to be a rise in anti-semitic incidents."

Read more at Roundhay Today

OK, it's messy and annoying, like dog poop. But let's not go all Muslim on their asses.

"Hitler" Image Found on Underwear

 

Next, the fashion retailer, has recalled a range of men's underwear after complaints it featured an image of Adolf Hitler.

A customer complained that the image on the underwear resembled the Nazi leader saluting as planes passed overhead.

Next said that it had investigated the complaint and found the image, among a series of cartoons, was inspired by a picture of Lenin, the former Soviet leader.

Read more at Telegraph

Al-Guardian whitewashes "pet Jew" of anti-Semites as "A Voice of Controversy"

 

Israel Shahak, whose insane rantings about Judaism and "The Talmud" are found on the foulest cloaca of neo-nazi Internet hate sites, was merely a "Voice of Controversy" according to  The Guardian.

Shahak, a secular Jew who passed away in 1994, was not a talmudic scholar but a professor of chemistry, with a hobby of "quote mining" from Jewish religious works, such as the Talmud, to provide anti-Semites with hate fodder. Throughout history, Jews have suffered very much from apostates (like Shahak and Norman Finkelstein) who tell the Jew Haters all the reasons they should hate Jews. Their words are enshrined at shrines to lies and hatred such as Stormfront and David Duke's site.

Shahak, who 40 years ago tried to instigate a blood libel, has been adopted by the most ferocious of modern Jew haters, as their "Good Jew" who tells them "the truth" about the horrible Talmud, with his lies and misrepresentations.

Fortunately, there are sites like Gil Student's Talmud Site which puts to rest all the lies and foul libels that have come out of the diseased mind of Israel Shahak.

Chabad of Brighton, UK, hosts Vegan Shabbat

 

Edith Einhorn couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her granddaughter, who co-directs a Jewish Student Center on England’s South Coast, would be doing the unthinkable: Making a Friday night meal without meat, or eggs, or any animal product of any kind.

“What? No gefilte fish? No chicken soup? Challah without eggs?” exclaimed the incredulous grandmother, who lives in Israel. “No kugel? No matza balls?!”

But according to students, the first-ever vegan Shabbat at the Brighton home of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Zalman and Shterna Lewis went off this past weekend without a hitch, Einhorn’s protestations notwithstanding.

Dubbed by some as the “San Francisco of Britain,” the seaside town of Brighton is renowned for its liberal, laidback atmosphere. It’s a haven for vegetarians and vegans – who shun all manner of fish, meat, dairy and egg products – boasting more than 50 establishments that cater to the community, from restaurants and cafes to pubs, specialist retailers and even a hotel.

And for kosher food of the vegetarian and vegan variety, more and more people are turning to the Lewises and their Chabad on Campus of South Coast, which serves the University of Sussex and schools from Canterbury to Southampton.

“Vegetarianism and veganism is probably accepted here more than anywhere in the United Kingdom,” attested Zalman Lewis, “perhaps even more than anywhere else in Europe.”

Every week, the Chabad House hosts Shabbat meals for between 15 and 30 students, who each have varying dietary requirements.

“Up to a quarter or more of our guests each week are vegetarians or vegans,” estimated Lewis, who makes sure that everyone has enough to eat.

Jewish law states that in order to ensure the proper Shabbat atmosphere, a person should enjoy their food. In that light, there is no explicit requirement that people eat meat or fish if to do so would cause displeasure.

Read more at COLLive.com

UK Teens live with Jewish Family on "World's Strictest Parents"

Two non-Jewish teenage school dropouts quit their rebellious lives in Britain for a week-long obedience lesson with a firm religious-Zionist family for the BBC reality TV show World's Strictest Parents.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma Lyons and 17-year-old Jack Travers, both from Hampshire in the UK, went to live with David and Tzippi Sha-ked and their five children last week in Nof Ayalon, a community near Modi'in.

The teens, who admit to smoking and drinking alcohol, come from troubled homes - Gemma living with her mother and 14-year-old sister and Jack with his mother, stepfather and four siblings.

The duo visited the Western Wall, a Holocaust survivor, endured basic army training, experienced kibbutz life, Shabbat and much more during their week-long adventure, which is to air in August on the British satellite channel BBC3.

The week wasn't easy for either of the youngsters, Gemma and Jack told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. Both were quickly escorted to a mall to buy "appropriate" clothes for their new lifestyle.

Jack, who describes himself as a "goth," on meeting his new family, appeared in his full-black garb, complete with heavy eye-liner, nail varnish and long unruly hair.

Read most at Jerusalem Post

Update: Jameel from the Muqata blog has informed Babushka that Nof Ayalon is within pre-67 boundaries, and is therefore not a "settlement." It seems obvious now as a British TV show would have never sent its participants to stay at a "settlement." But would "World's Strictest Parents" send someone to stay with a Muslim family? Babushka is sure they have already done that, probably more than once.

Epic Fail: Irish fascist murderers get Auschwitz tour

   

(IsraelNN.com) The Irish government has decided that reforming its country’s murderers and terrorists can best begin with a tour of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland.

Twelve of Ireland’s most dangerous terrorists, members of the UDA violently anti-Catholic terror organization, have already participated in the program, which is called “The Beginning of a Great Change.” Another 50 are scheduled to do so in the coming weeks.

The objective of the program is to show the participants the tragic results that are likely to stem from racist hatred. The Irish government also expects that visiting the central site of the Nazi mass-murder campaign will reduce violence between the convicts themselves, as well as help them develop tolerance towards others.

The News.Poland.Com site reports that an Irish terrorist named Whitey, who took part in the first visit, admitted that he had never before known anything about “Poland and your death camps.”

“We want to show them what aggression and racism may cause,” said Frank Higgins, of the Belfast Transition Training Centre, which helped organize the trip. “Auschwitz is the best place to prove that.”

There are fringe benefits as well. “Our former terrorists should [also] learn a lot about Poland,” Higgins said. “They will visit the Wawel Royal Castle [the highest ranked monument in Polish history and cultural/religious tradition, located in Krakow – ed.] and eat traditional Polish food.”

Israel National News

Don't be fooled by the Star of David in their logo. These are your everyday, Jew-hating Euro-fascists. Touring Auschwitz should give them thrills.

The Blood Libel brought up to date

 

The Jewish festival of Passover celebrates the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the land of Israel. The festival begins with the seder, when Jewish families gather around the dining table and the story is retold by the adults to the children, who are encouraged to ask questions throughout.

There is a moment in the seder when the whole family recount the names of the ten plagues visited upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. As each plague is named, all present dip their finger into red wine – unmistakably reminiscent of blood – and spill a drop onto their plate. The Guardian chose a photograph of this scene to illustrate its online production of Caryl Churchill's Seven Jewish Children.

The association of blood with Jews is a well-established antisemitic tradition. It is embodied in the blood libel charge, which first appeared in 12th-century England and quickly spread. The accusation was that Jews murder non-Jewish children to use their blood in religious rituals, especially at Passover. Ironically, when Jews spill their wine at the seder, it is to remember with sadness the pain of the Egyptians, not to celebrate their loss. Nevertheless, so many Jews died in blood libel massacres at Passover, that a rabbi in 17th-century Poland ruled that Jews could use white wine, not red, during the seder, lest antisemites mistake the red wine for Christian blood.

Read more at (believe it or not) The Guardian