Jonathan Sacerdoti

The last time the girls and boys of the Oxford Union had invited me to speak, it was about Israel, so naturally I was screamed at and abused. They threw out one of my fellow speakers, and threatened to remove another (both Arabs who like Israel). It seems we had found the limit of free speech they had all denied existed. That limit was Islam This time, they invited me to debate a much calmer topic: Islam. I spoke alongside Tommy Robinson and Laurence Fox, and opposite a little-and-large double act of converts to Islam who have made a career sharing their Islamic experience on the internet. Oh, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, who I thought was a Conservative and a Catholic. What could possibly go wrong?

Has Jacob Rees-Mogg converted to Islam? Obviously not. Why would I even ask such a question? Later this week, Rees-Mogg will be arguing alongside Abdullah Al Andalusi and Michael Doward at the Oxford Union, to defend Islam from the suspicions of Western society. Sir Jacob is famous, among other things, for being an observant Catholic. He has stated that he does not believe Mohammed was a prophet, nor that the Quran is the word of God. Rather than smear, slur, or ban those invited to speak, we would all do better to listen to them, engaging with their thoughts honestly and respectfully “Indeed, I think if it were the word of God, God says some pretty peculiar things and encourages some pretty odd forms of behaviour,” he has said.

I was invited back on to Piers Morgan’s show next week to debate Cenk Uygur, in studio, while he was due in the UK to speak at SXSW festival in London. I politely declined. Uygur is, to put it mildly, not a man whose public manner suggests calm forensic exchange. Morgan himself proudly features a compilation video on his YouTube channel entitled: “Cenk Uygur’s Biggest Piers Morgan Uncensored MELTDOWNS!”, complete with a thumbnail showing no fewer than three images of Uygur snarling and yelling in fury. The hypocrisy might also embarrass the Labour government, if they are still capable of that emotion It is therefore with some amusement that I now learn that he has been barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Secretary.

To the untrained eye, ceasefires in the Middle East can look a bit like war at a lower intensity. US Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins has confirmed that American forces conducted what were described as self-defence strikes in southern Iran in order to protect US personnel from Iranian threats during the ongoing ceasefire. Two Iranian vessels were also caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and were subsequently destroyed. A surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas that was reportedly targeting American aircraft was struck. But American officials have stressed that they do not signify the end of the ceasefire.

Perhaps the strangest thing about the Unite the Kingdom rally was just how unremarkable it felt. There were no mass chants calling for the death of particular groups, no calls for the eradication of foreign countries, and no flags of terrorist groups or tyrannical theocracies waved in the crowd. Nobody cited scripture to urge the slaughter of another people, nobody waved terrorist symbols, and nobody I saw during the entire day covered their face.

If anyone needs proof that jihadism is for losers, they need only look at the case of Abdullah Albadri. He was found guilty yesterday at the Old Bailey of preparation of terrorist acts and two offences of possession of a bladed article in a public place. On 28 April last year, he travelled across London to the Israeli embassy in Kensington, wrapped his head and face in a red-and-white shemagh, put on sunglasses, armed himself with two knives, and tried to climb the perimeter fence. Armed diplomatic protection officers stopped him within seconds. That was the whole grand operation. An hour of theatrical pilgrimage through London, a martyrdom note, two knives, a costume, a fence, and then the ground.

Another day, another attack on Jews. Two men were stabbed in Golders Green: one in his 70s, one in his 30s. This is not even the first time. In January 2024, a man was given a suspended sentence for an attempted stabbing at a Jewish shop in the same neighbourhood. We have been warning for years that this was coming. Now it is here. Keir Starmer finds it 'deeply concerning' and 'utterly appalling'. Like many Jewish Britons, I find him deeply concerning. I find Zack Polanski utterly appalling. I find the Palestine Solidarity Campaign reprehensible for its part in the climate of hate engulfing us all.

After an eleven hour flight, I stepped out of Phoenix International Airport into the balmy Arizona heat. It felt like I had stepped into the future. Weaving in and out of lanes of regular taxis and airport shuttle busses, I saw a constant flow of white Jaguars adapted with roof mounted cameras and sensors, gliding past. I recognised them instantly as Waymo driverless cars. I could not wait to try them. Once I’d been driven by a robot, I suddenly noticed how much worse almost every human driver was Over the last few weeks I've been flying in and out of different US cities to record a series of interviews for an upcoming documentary series. The trips have been busy and quick, with each airport and business hotel blurring into the next: Miami, Dallas, Vegas, Boston, Manchester.

The news of last night’s attempted fire bombing at Kenton United Synagogue in London, and of last week’s arson attack at Finchley Reform Synagogue in London, wasn’t even surprising. Just a few weeks ago, ambulances operated by a Jewish volunteer organisation were firebombed and destroyed. In Manchester, a synagogue was attacked on Yom Kippur, leaving two people dead. Over the last couple of years, there have been around 20 documented cases of arson or firebombing attacks targeting synagogues across the world, from North Africa to Europe, North America and Australia. A synagogue in London is simply the latest in what has become a global pattern. But this is not only about Jews. In the same period, churches have also been targeted.

As Donald Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline crept closer by the minute, accompanied by increasingly furious posts from the president online, the last-minute scramble to achieve a ceasefire by diplomacy became ever more desperate. Within the final 90 minutes it was announced that there would be a two-week pause in the fighting, based on a ten-point plan submitted by Iran. Details emerged only gradually overnight, alongside predictable claims of victory from all sides. The truth, as ever, will take longer to emerge. What is clear is that this is not a peace deal, nor even a fully implemented ceasefire. It is, at best, a pause – fragile, conditional and already under strain. This is not a peace deal, nor even a fully implemented ceasefire.

‘WE GOT HIM!’ Donald Trump’s announcement was immediate and emphatic. The operation was ‘one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History,’ he said. Two American aircrew recovered from deep inside Iran, in separate missions, without a single US casualty. That was the headline. America has not lost control of the ongoing war with Iran. Cut through the triumphant tone of the President’s post, however, and there is truth. The Islamic Republic’s only tangible achievement in this incident was the original downing of an American aircraft. But in war, such things happen. Aircraft are tools, they fail, they are lost, they are replaced.