Matan Rosenstrauch, at The Blogs

Jun 28, 2024, 11:27 AM

Protesters gather with placards and Palestinian flags during a 'London Rally For Palestine' in Trafalgar Square, central London

Why don’t British Jews wave the Israeli flag proudly since the war on Gaza? How can one explain the average British pro-Palestinian stance after the massacre of 7 October ? And can we separate between the government’s responsibility for the destruction of Gaza, and the...

Mar 11, 2022, 9:33 AM

“What do they want from us? Britain is such a beautiful country!”

Israeli and Palestinian flags (via Jewish News)

As an Israeli peace activist living and working on ending the occupation from London for the past three years, and with the Jewish diaspora for the past seven years, I have been somewhat cautious about what I tell my friends and family in the holy...

Jan 8, 2021, 1:17 PM

Universities can be challenging places for Jews but they don’t need IHRA

Anti-Israel demonstrators at SOAS (Jewish News)

Some of you might have read that SOAS University of London has refunded Noah Lewis, a Jewish Canadian student £15,000 in fees after he said he was forced to abandon his studies because of a “toxic antisemitic environment”. You might not be surprised, as you...

Jun 23, 2020, 3:00 PM

An opportunity for tikkun in Israeli-diaspora relations

Tzipi Hotovely (Wikipedia/ Author: Arielinson/ (CC BY-SA 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode via Jewish News)

The coming arrival of the extreme right, pro-annexation, new Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, is a one of a kind opportunity for Jews in this country. Her pending appearance gives UK Jews the chance to contend not only with the disagreement they may...

Dec 12, 2019, 3:18 PM

So what actually happened in Limmud Scotland?

from Limmud session 'Choose Your Jew: The Rise of Selective Anti/Semitism ', by Keith Kahn-Harris (taken by Matan via Jewish News)

Two weeks ago, I was honoured to participate in Limmud Scotland day, which took place for the 9th time and for the first year in Edinburgh. It was an amazing opportunity for me and for the over 200 people who attended, to learn about this...

Oct 3, 2019, 3:49 PM

Speak to everyone? Not if that means normalising the occupation

Ruba speaking at the Board event (Jewish News)

Following my testimony about StandWithUs in the Jewish News, I was offered the opportunity to meet in a personal capacity with one of its staff members. I was told he works hard to bring about a positive change within the organisation, trying to make it...

Sep 11, 2019, 2:25 PM

The day we end our support for the occupation will be the day it begins to end

I was studying at Ben Gurion University in 2012 when I joined the StandWithUs Fellowship. I thought it would be a great opportunity, as it sold itself as a prestigious public diplomacy program and appeared to welcome peace activists like myself. This is why they...

About Me

Matan is an Israeli peace activist living in London. He is an organiser of Meretz UK and a consultant of The Balfour Project. In the past, he coordinated the global work of the SISO Diaspora-Israeli partnership for ending the occupation, and helped establish the Jewish Democratic Initiative in South Africa