There will be a same-sex duo on the next season of Israel’s version of Dancing With The Stars. Gili Shem Tov and Dorit Milman will compete on the show, which will also feature a guest performance from the legendary Pamela Anderson.

Quite a contrast from Gaza, where armed Hamas men ban women from dancing at all.

I recommend you read Michael Dickson’s article in today’s Jerusalem Post. Michael is the Israel Director of StandWithUs, and I was honoured to meet him during my Once In A Lifetime trip in August. While in Israel I was also lucky enough to meet Orit, the lady Michael mentions at the start of his article:

Orit, a female combat medic in the IDF, was awakened one night to see a patient. She found herself face-to-face with one of the most notorious terrorists in the West Bank. He had just orchestrated an attack on a restaurant where his sister killed 21 civilians of all ages. Orit was asked to treat his wounds and save his life. Such challenges occur every day for Israeli soldiers, whose service is mandatory.

Today, Orit is with a group of young ex-soldiers currently on a US speaking tour to share real-life stories of their army service. There was no shortage of volunteers for this tour. Those who served recently see that far too often, the media skews the reality that they know. The misrepresentations fill them with a deep sense of injustice because they risked their own lives and lost friends while doing their utmost to protect both Israeli and Palestinian civilians. They know their military service is vital to a small country like Israel, which is constantly endangered by terrorists and hostile neighbors.

If I had a prize to give, I would give it to Orit and to her friends, who, together with thousands of young people and tens of thousands of citizen reservists give up their time and risk their lives for the safety of people on both sides of a complex conflict.

Most likely, Orit won’t be receiving any prizes, but another group of former soldiers has been short listed for the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize. The group, Breaking the Silence, undermines and defames Orit and her fellow soldiers. The group made its name by promoting a distorted and unfair portrait of the IDF via its website and tours.

You can read the rest of Michael’s article here.

In the wake of allegations that Justin Bieber assaulted another boy during a laser tag game in Vancouver, I did a brief interview with a Canadian news agency this evening, in my capacity as Justin’s biographer.

In truth it was a fairly tame chat which I did over the phone while walking my dog, so it’s a testimony to ‘Bieber fever’ that my words are nonetheless being picked up so widely.

Whatever the truth of what happened in Vancouver, Justin will survive this controversy. The image he has aimed for has always been a hybrid of the sweet puppy and the street homey. Frankly, he’s always pulled-off the puppy better than the homey, despite his association with Usher.

A bit of ‘edge’ won’t hurt his long-term prospects one bit. And all those quotes won’t hurt sales of the Canadian edition of my book (published by Penguin) either.

I’ve written before of my contempt for the English Defence League (EDL). Watch the EDL in action below as they attack a restaurant full of Asian men, women and children.

And next time someone tries to spin you lies about the Sieg-Heiling EDL being anything other than scum, point them to this video.

When I visited Israel for two weeks in August on the Once In A Lifetime trip, one of the most poignant experiences was planting a tree in the Aminadav Forest in Jerusalem. I was even asked to give a speech at the planting ceremony, during which I spoke about my admiration of the original Zionist pioneers.

After we had planted our trees, a man from the Jewish National Fund encouraged us to pick up two stones each and take them home with us. “When you get home, give one stone to a friend to bring back to Israel, and bring back the second stone yourself,” he told us.

My good friend Jonathan Sacerdoti is currently holidaying in Israel*. He took the first of my two stones back. You can see where he left it below – love it! I look forward to returning with the second stone in 2011.

Any suggestions as to where I should leave mine?

* As per

Who are you liking on The X Factor this year? My favourites thus far are probably Treyc, Katie and One Direction. That is all subject to change, though. The talent is so strong this year that I’m less partisan than ever.

Ultimately, Simon is the real winner. He’s such a fascinating guy: you might like to read the interview I gave to Digital Spy last year about him, or even my best-selling biography of him.

PS – Fans of The Wanted (or relatives of fans) might also like to read my biography of the band, which is published next week.

Tel Aviv has been chosen by British Airways as one of the 10 key destinations that the airline will market this winter. The Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said: “The campaign will greatly increase the number of tourists from England. This is a vote of confidence in Israel as a tourist destination.”

This comes during a boom time for tourism to Israel. A record 2.5 million tourists have visited since January. I am proud to have been one of that number during my two visits this year and I look forward to contributing to next year’s total.

I trust these developments are not too disheartening for the boycotters. Hahahaha….

‘Today one-third to one-half of the food for sale in the typical American supermarket is kosher. That means more than $200 billion of the country’s estimated $500 billion in annual food sales is kosher certified, a remarkable statistic considering that less than 2 percent of the population is Jewish, and only a minority of them keep kosher.’
(From Kosher Nation: Why More and More of America’s Food Answers to a Higher Authority, by Sue Fishkoff.)

I was surprised. Pleasantly.

I wrote last month about Şefik Dinç, the Turkish journalist who has written a book about his experiences on-board the Mavi Marmara. His account of the flotilla confrontation largely tallies with that of the IDF, and contradicts that of the IHH and their cronies, like the tattooed Ken O’Keefe and hapless Sarah Colborne.

Dinç has recently given a television interview in which he further backs-up the IDF version of events.

He said: “As you know, I was on board the ship. I saw with my own eyes that when the soldiers came on helicopters and started landing on the ship, they did not fire. It wasn’t until the soldiers were met with resistance and realized that some of their friends’ lives were in danger that they began using live ammunition.”

His picture of how the IDF dealt with the detained passengers also contradicts the IHH line: “The soldiers uncuffed some people who were having difficulties, particularly older people, women, and people who did not act aggressively.”

This is my latest column for Jewish News:

So it turns out that the Canadian pop star Justin Bieber says the Shema prayer before he goes on-stage. I am pleased but not surprised. When I was writing my recently-published book about him I found myself wondering whether Bieber – a god-fearing young man and the most blamelessly-living pop star since Cliff Richard – might find Judaism a good fit.

He could so be a nice Jewish boy – but don’t tell his mother! A very Christian lady, Pattie used to pray that Justin might grow into a modern-day version of the biblical prophet Samuel, an inspiring voice of holiness for his generation.

But when a young Jewish pop manager called Scott Braun promised to propel Justin to superstardom, Pattie prayed again, saying: “God, you don’t want this Jewish kid to be Justin’s man, do you?” Perhaps he did. Justin recently wore a kippah at the wedding of one of his Jewish band members and sang Hava Naglia at the reception.

He is far from the only gentile celebrity to flirt with Judaism. I’ve written biographies of several famous people and I love it when these moments pop up. When I wrote about Dannii Minogue, for instance, she came across as a philosemite. She loves joining Jewish pals for Shabbat dinners and has worn Judaic jewellery.

As I researched my book about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s tumultuous relationship I found myself sidetracked as I found ever-more admirable stories of Jolie’s father Jon Voight’s love of Jewish people and his support for the state of Israel. He is the Oy Va Goy of Hollywood – or the Oy Va Voight, if you will.

Not all gentile celebs are so admirable. When Madonna – who was baptised as a Catholic – publicly embraced a monstrously-diluted form of Kabballah, she didn’t only embarrass herself. She also muddied perceptions of those of us who are sincerely fascinated by the real Jewish mysticism. Her visit to the Israeli town of Tz’fat, the home of Jewish mysticism, brought a type of attention to the town which understandably dismayed many of its residents.

Not that everyone who has critcised Madonna is on strong ground. Boy George, who bizarrely once had a Magen David tattooed to his head, has slammed Madonna’s interest in Kabbalah. He also called her “a vile, hideous, horrible human being with no redeeming qualities”. Ironically, if I was in a bad mood those would be precisely the words I would use to describe him.

It gets weirder. When Paris Hilton – who I have also written a biography of – was jailed for driving offences in 2007, she asked the wardens if she could have kosher steaks delivered to her cell from the Prime Grill restaurant in Hollywood. She is also a fan of Madonna’s form of Kabbalah. “It helps you confront your fears,” explained Paris. “Like if a girl borrowed my clothes and never gave them back I would confront her.”

During one Kabbalah class she attended, as the assembled discussed how they had used it to help them come to terms with bereavement, Paris blurted out a random story about a “hot guy” she knew. “Nobody knew what to say,” said an eye-witness. Well, quite. And why was I not surprised when Lindsay Lohan decided not to see-through her much trumpeted conversion plans? It’s just a game for some people.

I have admiration for the famous gentiles who actually converted, including Sammy Davis Jr, Ivanka Trump, Marilyn Monroe and Felicity Kendal. Partly because it’s fun to be able to put those four people in the same sentence.

If young Justin ‘Bubbeleh’ ever does decide to convert he could become more like the prophet Samuel than his mother had ever imagined. Be careful what you pray for, Pattie – it might just come true!

…when you heard Howard Jacobson had won the Man Booker Prize for The Finkler Question? I was lying on my living room floor, recovering from an over-ambitious gym visit, sipping valerian tea. Anyway, mazal tov, Howard. I couldn’t be more pleased for you!

Here’s a picture of when I met Howard, alongside the Salute To Israel rally, in 2008. He was lovely and very funny.

I remember when I met Noam Shalit at the protest tent in Jerusalem. It was hard to know what to say to the poor guy, but at least he was encouraged by the news I gave him of some of the efforts we’ve made for Gilad in Britain.

This week, a soldier who did his military service at the same time as Gilad handed the Shalits a previously-unseen photograph he had taken of Gilad back then. “We aren’t in the business of collecting souvenirs, we want Gilad home,” said Noam. “Anything that reminds us of him is important, but that’s not the main thing.”

Moments of comfort, expressions of support, even a fresh photograph – none of these are what the Shalits really want. They just want their son home. It is sometimes hard to not feel overwhelmed by a sense of despair and futility. Still, I continue praying for a miracle for Gilad. Given that Israel is a country of miracles, the despair soon gives way to renewed hope.

I would like to draw the attention of all my readers to Adam Levick’s superb and courageous article about the English Defence League (EDL) over at CifWatch. It exposes once again the horrific truth of the EDL.

I think the fact that Dave Rich of the wonderful Community Security Trust (CST) was one of the first to praise Adam’s article speaks volumes. Nobody knows more about antisemitism than the CST, which is at the frontline of these sorts of issues.

As the CST says: “We have been involved in anti-fascism and anti-racism for long enough to recognise the EDL for what they are, and we find their hijacking of the Israeli flag repulsive.”

Jon Benjamin, Board of Deputies chief executive, says: “The EDL’s supposed ’support’ for Israel is empty and duplicitous. It is built on a foundation of Islamophobia and hatred which we reject entirely.”

Please do read Adam’s article about the EDL and share it widely. It is important the horrible truth of the EDL is understood.

The Once In A Lifetime trip that took me to Israel for two weeks this summer was the brainchild of a group of students from the Hebrew University.

Dozens of students from the same university put together this ‘lipdub’ video yesterday. Enjoy!