Ben Judah

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Benjamin William Judah (born 31 March 1988 [1] ) is a British journalist and author of This Is London and Fragile Empire. Since February 2024, he has been a special adviser to David Lammy, who became Foreign Secretary in July 2024.

Contents

Early and personal life

The son of journalist Tim Judah [2] and Rosie Whitehouse, he was born in London. [3] He is of Baghdadi Jewish descent. [4] He spent a portion of his childhood in the Balkans [2] before returning to London where he was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle. He studied politics at Trinity College, Oxford during the 2000s. [5] [6]

Judah is married to journalist Rosie Gray. [7] He shared a flat with his Oxford friend, the political organiser James Schneider, when Schneider co-founded Momentum in October 2015. [8] [9] Judah previously cast Schneider as a Baghdadi Jewish character in his 2008 student play, said to be based on his "experiences in Iraq". [10] [11]

Career

Judah began his career as a foreign correspondent for The Economist , The New Republic , Standpoint and ISN Security Watch from the West Bank, Syria, Beirut, Armenia and South Ossetia during the summer of 2008. [6] He covered the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, [6] the 2010 Kyrgyz Revolution and the 2011 Tunisian Revolution and reported from the Caucasus, Siberia, Central Asia and Xinjiang. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [ non-primary source needed ]

From 2010 to 2012, Judah was a policy fellow in London at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank. [19] He has also been a visiting fellow at the European Stability Initiative in Istanbul. [20] [ failed verification ] From 2017 to 2020, he held a research fellowship at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., where he led research for the Kleptocracy Initiative. [21] [22] He was a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, D.C., from 2020 to 2024, where he directed the Transform Europe Initiative. [23]

Judah has written for various progressive and conservative think tanks on foreign affairs including the Center for American Progress (CAP), Policy Exchange and the National Endowment for Democracy's International Forum for Democratic Studies. [24] [25] [26] His work has also featured at the German Council on Foreign Relations. [27] Judah has contributed on foreign affairs to publications including The New York Times and The Sunday Times . He has been a guest on CNN , BBC News and Channel 4 News and was a contributing writer for Politico Europe . [28] He was a columnist for The Jewish Chronicle in 2016–18 and 2023–24. [29] [30] During the mid-2010s, he claimed to have direct access as a journalist to government circles in the Baltic states. [31] He has interviewed and profiled the French president Emmanuel Macron, the Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, the UK chancellor Rishi Sunak and the US first lady Melania Trump. [32] [33] [34] [23] His 2014 interview with the Polish marshal of the Sejm Radosław Sikorski contained Sikorski's controversial and subsequently partially retracted claim that the Russian president Vladimir Putin had proposed a partition of Ukraine to the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk during the latter's February 2008 visit to Moscow. [35] [36]

Judah has written three books. His first, Fragile Empire (2013), a study of Vladimir Putin's Russia, was published by Yale University Press. [37] [38] His second, This Is London, was published by Picador in 2016. The book was longlisted for the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction and its Polish translation shortlisted for the 2019 Ryszard Kapuscinski Award for Literary Reportage. [39] [40] This Is London brought Judah to the attention of MP David Lammy. [41] The veracity of This Is London has been called into question, with online newspaper The Londoner expressing scepticism about Judah's "amazing ability to tell someone's nationality without speaking to them" and highlighting the differences between his portrayal of hostels in the book and that in a later documentary for Vice. [42] His third book This is Europe was published by Picador in 2023.

Political career

On 29 February 2024, Judah was announced as a political adviser to David Lammy, who became Foreign Secretary that July. According to the New Statesman , Judah shaped Lammy's doctrine of "progressive realism" and raised Lammy's profile domestically and internationally. [41] [43] Credited with "ties to both Republicans and Democrats", [44] he facilitated Lammy's meetings with Donald Trump's former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former national security advisor Robert O'Brien, [45] and accompanied Lammy on his visit to the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. [46] Judah remained Lammy's special adviser as of 31 March 2025. [47]

Political positions

Judah has suggested the left ought to "embrace the results of the free market and technology" with regard to the effects of labour automation on professions, which he considered would bring about "a radical opening up of legal and financial expertise"; he proposed to call this political direction "socialism with an iPad". [48]

During the internal Labour Party row over the revision of the previously adopted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism in the summer of 2018, Judah criticised "hardliners around [Jeremy] Corbyn, such as his director of strategy, Seumas Milne" for diluting the party's antisemitism code on the one hand, and the three leading Anglo-Jewish newspapers' denunciation of a potential Corbyn government as an "existential threat" to Jews in Britain on the other hand, regarding the latter as a symptom of post-Brexit radicalisation in British politics. [49]

In a 2020 op-ed co-authored with Progressive International's general secretary David Adler, he favourably contrasted Bernie Sanders's foreign policy positions with Barack Obama's record on Russia, stating that Sanders's support for the Green New Deal and targeting of state corruption undermined the "pillars of Kremlin power". [50]

Relations with George Galloway's circle

Judah claimed to have been punched in the face and insulted for his Jewish background by Respect Party activists at the party's meeting as a Politico reporter not long before Respect's dissolution in 2016. [51]

George Galloway's new formation Workers Party of Britain later published the claim that Judah had been named as a Russia expert by Chris Donnelly in a 2016 Integrity Initiative document, leaked by Anonymous in 2018. [52]

Awards and recognition

In 2015, he was commended as the Feature Writer of the Year award at the British Press Awards. [53]

Judah's name appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2016. [54]

In 2024, the New Statesman named Judah as one of the 50 most influential people shaping the UK's progressive politics. [41]

Bibliography

Books

Report

Selected articles

References

  1. ↑ "Cradles & Co. Limited (Company number 06824294): Incorporation". Companies House . 19 February 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 Clibbon, Jennifer. "Snowden, Syria, Vladimir Putin's 'Cold Peace' with the West | CBC News".
  3. ↑ "Ben Judah: Labour's new voice on Europe". TheArticle. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  4. ↑ Judah, Ben. "Ben Judah: The last of our synagogues". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Ben Judah feels like a stranger in his native London". The Spectator. 6 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "Cherwell Star: Ben Judah". Cherwell . 16 October 2008. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Palmer, Anna; Sherman, Jake (2 September 2019). "POLITICO Playbook: Trump's 'lost summer'". POLITICO. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Judah, Ben (27 April 2018). "Momentum: inside Labour's revolutionary movement". Financial Times . Archived from the original on 2 August 2024.
  9. ↑ Patrikarakos, David (20 December 2020). "John le Carré's London of exiles is alive and well". The Spectator . Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Desert of the Real". Cherwell. 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Donkey's Years / Desert of the Real". Cherwell. 1 February 2008. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  12. ↑ Judah, Ben (April 2011). "From Carthage to Kasserine". Standpoint Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  13. ↑ Judah, Ben (9 April 2010). "Blood in the Streets of Bishkek". Foreign Affairs . Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  14. ↑ Judah, Ben (October 2009). "Moscow: Putin's Empire Strikes Out". Standpoint Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Judah, Ben (October 2008). "Caucasus: Diary, August–September, 2008". Standpoint Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Hunting the Lynx with the Old Believers | Standpoint". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "Tajikistan: In Search of the Yeti | Standpoint". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Xinjiang: Taming China's Wild West | Standpoint". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ben Judah". European Council on Foreign Relations. 9 March 2012.
  20. ↑ "Ben Judah – About ESI – ESI". www.esiweb.org.
  21. ↑ "Experts – Ben Judah – Hudson Institute". www.hudson.org. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  22. ↑ Judah, Ben (2024), Fighting Kleptocracy in an Era of Geopolitics (PDF), Washington, DC: National Endowment for Democracy, p. 19
  23. 1 2 "Ben Judah". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  24. ↑ Sutton, Trevor; Judah, Ben (26 February 2021). "Turning the Tide on Dirty Money". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  25. ↑ "A "Washington Strategy" for British Diplomacy". Policy Exchange. February 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  26. ↑ "Fighting Kleptocracy in an Era of Geopolitics". National Endowment for Democracy . 27 February 2024. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  27. ↑ Vallée, Shahin; Judah, Ben (2 September 2021). "International Corporate Tax Reform". DGAP: German Council on Foreign Relations . Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  28. ↑ "Ben Judah: 30 under 30". Forbes. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  29. ↑ "Ben Judah". The Jewish Chronicle . Archived from the original on 18 July 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  30. ↑ "Starmer's special advisers: a complete guide". Prospect . 29 August 2024. Archived from the original on 18 September 2025.
  31. ↑ Hilton, Nick (20 October 2016). "The Spectator podcast: Putin vs the world". Prospect. Archived from the original on 6 October 2025.
  32. ↑ Judah, Ben (2 February 2017). "Exclusive interview: Emmanuel Macron on Brexit, le Pen and the teacher who became his wife". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  33. ↑ Judah, Ben (4 February 2018). "The Magazine Interview: Imran Khan, the former playboy cricketer and would-be PM of Pakistan". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  34. ↑ Judah, Ben (5 May 2015). "Maharajah of the Yorkshire Dales". Politico . Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  35. ↑ Judah, Ben (19 October 2014). "Putin's Coup". Politico . Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  36. ↑ Szary, Wiktor (20 October 2014). "Polish ex-minister quoted saying Putin offered to divide Ukraine with Poland". Reuters . Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  37. ↑ Feinberg, Richard (November 2013). "Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin". Foreign Affairs. 92 (6).
  38. ↑ Tismăneanu, Vladimir (May 2014). "Reviewed Work: Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin by Ben Judah". International Affairs. 90 (3): 725–727.
  39. ↑ Oliver, Tim (1 May 2016). "This Is London: Life and Death in the World City Ben Judah" (PDF). International Affairs. 92 (3): 737–738. doi:10.1111/1468-2346.12627.
  40. ↑ "This is London by Ben Judah". www.panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  41. 1 2 3 "The left power list 2024". New Statesman . 4 June 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  42. ↑ "A government advisor wrote a libel against London. Why did we believe it?" . Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  43. ↑ Bloom, Dan (29 February 2024). "All eyes on the police". Politico. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  44. ↑ Balls, Katy (2 March 2024). "The Trumpification of the Tory party". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024.
  45. ↑ Reilly, Angus (7 November 2024). "Starmer may have already burnt his bridges with Trump". UnHerd . Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  46. ↑ Cowley, Jason (15 May 2024). "A whirlwind tour of Washington with David Lammy". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024.
  47. ↑ "List of Special Advisers". gov.uk . 17 July 2025. Archived from the original on 3 October 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  48. ↑ Judah, Ben (11 December 2015). "Oldham by-election: maybe "socialism with an iPad" is what we need". Prospect. Archived from the original on 5 October 2025.
  49. ↑ Judah, Ben (1 August 2018). "British Jews Find Their Voice". The Atlantic . Archived from the original on 5 April 2021.
  50. ↑ Judah, Ben; Adler, David (20 February 2020). "Hawks say Sanders will be weak on Russia. But Putin should fear a President Bernie". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  51. ↑ Colvile, Robert (2 January 2016). "Bye George". Prospect. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024.
  52. ↑ Bevin, Phil (9 June 2023). "Axis of Terror: Nato and its modern Left and Anarchist support". Workers Party of Britain . Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  53. ↑ "Press Awards". Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  54. ↑ "Ben Judah, 27". Forbes. 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
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