THE Josh Aronson

I had written my blog for August and September, they were going to go up very soon but I can't put up trivial things when my country is at war, when my people and friends have been kidnapped and murdered by terrorists calling themselves freedom fighters for Palestine.  Make no mistake Hamas is not Palestine and does not represent any faction of Palestine, they are a terrorist group that cause harm to the Palestinian cause. Any person that harms civilians for their own benefit is evil. Hamas, besides the atrocities they committed last week, use civilians as bait , not allowing them to get to safety and making sure their terrorist headquarters are in vulnerable areas such as childrens' schools and UN hospitals.  As a Zionist Israeli and a left wing activist, the horror on both sides is intense, I lost friends and colleagues; innocent people, civilians who wanted to live. Also in Gaza, people have died due to being held hostage by Hamas, over 200 Israelis have been kidnapped by...

It has been just over a year since I started publishing my blog. I started writing a blog on the advice of Hillel Fuld in order to enhance my career and get more people informed about what I do. Unfortunately, as of yet, that hasn't happened, Hillel doesn't get everything right. But in a way, the blog has become a sanctuary for me to talk about my achievements, air my grievances, and let myself feel better in life. I think through the blog I have found clarity in myself on different aspects of my life, I have learned things about myself and what is necessary for me to change and I have learned skills I have that I never thought I needed or could utilise.  In sales, one must believe in the product to sell it. Through the blog, I learned that I need to believe in myself in order to sell myself. It has given me the confidence to push for things I wouldn't have necessarily done. This weekend, I was talking to a friend Martin Heimann who owns a telecommunications company in Manc...

I started July with a trip to Israel to accept my Prize for Journalism from the Bnei Brit organization. I got there and spoke a few words and met the other prize winners. My parents were in attendance, so it was great to see them. Esther sent a cake, which was so thoughtful. I sent it to my brother, as it was too big for me and he has 11 kids who will appreciate the treat. I then stayed and had a few meetings including my editor and the PR people I work with and then flew to London. I stayed the weekend in London, was supposed to have meetings but Esther had joined me and due to no trains, had to take a lift back home and didn't want to travel alone. So I joined her and travelled back early. The following Shabbat, I hosted the kiddish in shul to recognise my prize - great food and a great turnout. As my older brother said, "Josh win an award every month so you can host a kiddish like this every month!" LOL, I wish....  I stayed all week at home and worked and then it ...

In my last blog, I told you I was at the airport for my trip home. I boarded the Virgin Atlantic flight and sat in my seat. The purser came up to me, as I'm a frequent flyer on Virgin, and introduced herself, apologizing she didn’t have space for a complimentary upgrade but offered me a bulkhead seat with extra leg room. I jumped at the opportunity and immediately after take-off she returned and led me to that seat. I sat in the empty row and started watching a movie. Very shortly afterwards, a woman with a child came along, looked at me and called a stewardess. It turns out that her daughter was supposed to sit in the seat next to me while she was in Business Class. She yelled at the stewardesses for moving me, claiming as that the kid is only 13 they promised her the row to herself. The stewardess said this was not possible. The woman looked at me with an evil eye and said "I don't want him sitting next to her", as if I was a sex offender. The head steward...

June was a fun month. After watching the FA cup final in Wembley where Manchester United lost to Manchester City, it started off with a trip to New York. It was my first visit to the USA so it was extremely fun. I took a Virgin Atlantic flight and sat down for the 6 hours to New York. Great food and an ice pop on board made it extremely special. On arrival in New York, I took the air train to Jamaica Station, and went to the subway. To see the rats running around, something I've heard a lot about, but never thought was true, enhanced my perspective. I took the subway and made my way to my hotel on Times Square, where I was given a penthouse suite, thanks to El Al who sponsored my trip. The day, I made my way to the Jerusalem Post Conference where I made a load of connections and learned a lot about the great newspaper network I work for. The next day I made my way on the bus to New Jersey to an expo by the orthodox Jewish chamber of commerce where I made a whole lot more con...

On the morning of Monday May 1st, I boarded an Air France flight from Manchester to Paris, followed by an onward flight from Paris to Warsaw to cover the Conference of European Rabbis. On landing in Warsaw, I went straight to my hotel, where I checked in and went to say hello to Gadi Gronich, Conference CEO and pick up my ID tag. The conference was attended by a long list of prominent rabbis from all over Europe, including Rabbi Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of UK and Rabbi Wolf, Chief Rabbi of Holland. After listening to the rabbis discussing the different aspects of Judaism and decisions on Judaism that they need to work on together, we had an excellent supper. I then met a friend who lives in Warsaw and had a great chat. The following day there was a tour with the rabbis to the cemetery and to the Warsaw ghetto, after which I met another friend, back at the hotel. On the Tuesday I had lunch with Johnny Daniels, the Founder and Director of From the Depths, a great project for Righteous Am...