Antisemitism exists in the Labour Party, as it does in all parts of society. More than any other political party, Labour has led the way in improving and implementing processes to address the issue effectively. This is not reflected in media coverage of the issue.
Claims of ‘Labour antisemitism’ issue continue to appear in the media – including most recently comments from MPs about Labour and its general secretary Jennie Formby.
But only one side of the issue is almost exclusively presented – as the SKWAWKBOX reported, the media’s portrayal of last night’s meeting of the PLP (parliamentary Labour party) was described as skewed and inaccurate by attendees, who said it was a ‘disgraceful’, ‘bullying’ attack on Formby.
To correct the imbalance caused by poor mainstream journalist, below are forty facts about the issue that will rarely, if ever, appear in the so-called ‘MSM’:
1. In October 1936, Jeremy Corbyn’s mother participated in the battle of Cable Street indefence of British Jews after British fascists had staged an assault on the area. Corbyn was raised in a household passionately opposed to antisemitism in all its forms.
2. In 23rd April 1977, Corbyn organised a counter-demonstrationto protect Wood Green from a neo-nazi march through the district. The area had a significant Jewish population.
3. On 7 November 1990, Corbyn signed a motion condemning the rise of antisemitism in the UK
4. In 2002 Jeremy Corbyn led a clean-up and vigil at Finsbury Park Synagogue which had been vandalised in an anti-Semitic attack
5. On 30 April 2002, Corbyn tabled a motion in the House of Commons condemning ananti-Semitic attackon a London Synagogue
6. On 26 November 2003, Jeremy Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion condemningterrorist attacks on two synagogues
7. In February 2009, Jeremy Corbyn signed a parliamentary motion condemning a fascist for establishing a website to host antisemitic materials
8. On 24th March 2009, Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion praising British Jews who resisted the Holocaust by risking their lives to save potential victims
9. Nine years ago, Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion praising “Jewish News”for its pioneering investigation into the spread ofAntisemitism on Facebook
10. On 9 February 2010, Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion calling for an investigation into Facebook and its failure to prevent the spread of antisemitic materials on its site.
11. On 27 October 2010, Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion praising the late Israeli Prime Minister for pursuing a two state solution to the Israel/Palestine question.
12. On 13 June 2012, Corbyn sponsored and signed a motion condemning the BBC for cutting a Jewish Community television programme from its schedule.
13. 1 October 2013, Corbyn appeared on the BBC to defend Ralph Miliband against vile antisemitic attacks by the UK press.
14. Five years ago Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion condemning antisemitism in sport.
15. On 1 March 2013, Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion condemning and expressing concern at growing levels of antisemitism in European football.
16. On 9 January 2014, Jeremy Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion praising Holocaust education programmes that had taken 20,000 British students to Auschwitz.
17. On 22 June 2015, Corbyn signed a Parliamentary motion expressing concern at the neo-nazi march being planned for an area of London with a significant Jewish population.
18. On 9 October 2016, Corbyn, close to tears, commemorated the 1936 Battle of Cable Street and recalled the role his mother played in defending London’s Jewish community.
19. On 3 December 2016, Corbyn made a visit to Terezin Concentration Camp when Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis. It was Jeremy’s third visit to such a camp, all of which were largely unreported in the most read UK papers.
20. Last year, a widely-endorsed 2018 academic report found ninety-five serious reporting failures in the reporting of the LabourAntisemitism story with the worst offenders The Sun, the Mail & the BBC.
21. On 28 February 2016, five months after becoming leader, Jeremy Corbyn appointed Baroness Royall to investigate antisemitism at Oxford University Labour Club.
22. On 27 April 2016 Corbyn suspended an MP pending an investigation into antisemitism.
23. A day later, Corbyn suspended the three times Mayor of London after complaints of antisemitic comments. Party.
24. On 29 April 2016, Corbyn launched an inquiry into the prevalence of antisemitism in the Labour Party. In spite of later changes in how the inquiry was reported, it was initially praised by Jewish community organisations.
25. In Corbyn’s first seven months as leader of the Labour Party, just ten complaints were received about antisemitism. 90% of those were suspended from the Labour Party within 24 hours.
26. In September 2017, Corbyn backed a motion at Labour’s annual conference introducing a new set of rules regarding antisemitism.
27. In the six months that followed the introduction of the new code of conduct, to March 2018, 94% of the fifty-four people accused of antisemitism remained suspended or barred from Labour Party membership. Three of the fifty-four were exonerated.
28. When Jennie Formby became general secretary of the party last year, she appointed a highly-qualified in-house Counsel, as recommended in the Chakrabarti Report.
29. In 2018, Labour almost doubled the size of its staff team handling investigations and dispute processes.
30. Last year, to speed up the handling of antisemitism cases, smaller panels of 3-5 NEC members were established to enable cases to be heard more quickly.
31. Since 2018, every complaint made about antisemitism is allocated its own independent specialist barrister to ensure due process is followed.
32. The entire backlog of cases outstanding upon Jennie Formby becoming General Secretary of the Labour Party was cleared within 6 months of Jennie taking up her post.
33. Since September 2018, Labour has doubled the size of its National Constitutional Committee (NCC) – its senior disciplinary panel – from 11 to 25 members to enable it to process cases more quickly.
34. Under Formby and Labour’s left-run NEC, NCC arranged elections at short notice to ensure the NCC reached its new full capacity without delay.
35. Since later 2018, the NCC routinely convenes a greater number of hearing panels to allow cases to be heard and finalised without delay.
36. In 2018, the NEC established a ‘Procedures Working Group’ to lead reforms in the way disciplinary cases are handled.
37. The NEC adopted the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and all eleven examples of antisemitism attached to it.
38. A rule change agreed at Conference in 2018 means that all serious complaints, including antisemitism, are dealt with nationally to ensure consistency.
39. Last year, Jennie Formby wrote to the admins and moderators of Facebook groups about how they can effectively moderate online spaces and requested that any discriminatory content be reported to the Labour Party for investigation.
40. Since last year, no one outside Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit can be involved in decision-making on antisemitism investigations. This independence allows decisions free from political influence to be taken.
SKWAWKBOX comment:
Antisemitism exists in the Labour Party, as it does in all parts of society. More than any other political party, Labour has led the way in improving and implementing processes to address the issue effectively, This is not reflected in media coverage of the issue.
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If I was Corbyn I’d wonder why I bothered.
We could have a ‘What lucana berger has brought to the Labour party’ article….but it’d be consist of:
1.
My following post was near the top of the Comments initially, but now it’s been ‘pushed’ way down the page, so I hope no one minds if I post it again near the top:
And please help out Tony Greenstein if you can – if you haven’t already done so – in his legal battle against the fraudulent Campaign Against Anti-Semitism. There’s a link to his gofundme page at the end of the article. And please share far and wide. Thanks:
https://azvsas.blogspot.com/2019/02/libel-why-i-have-rejected-drop-hands.html
When it comes to anti-Semitism, the Labour Party is its own worst enemy. It is so terrified of the Zionists in the Israeli Lobby that it is frightened of its own shadow and turns on its own friends to appease its Zionist enemies. So much so that it appears to have become institutionally Zionist.
Zionists now appear to be bullet proof and have even been able to insult Jeremy Corbyn at will and have even widened the definition of anti-Semitism to include criticism of Israel.
There is a core of Zionists within the Party who now pull the strings.
Jack. You omitted to mention the fascist-controlled media, which of course duly disseminates the whole anti-semitism operation/narrative. And as many within the Labour Party have found, if you try to defend those who have been falsely accused of anti-semitism, you TOO are accused of being anti-semtitic.
Given that anti-semitism is a form of racism and, as such, is a criminal offence, it would be interesting to ascertain how many alledged cases of anti-semitism have been reported to the police since Jeremy became leader of the LP on the one hand, and how many of those cases have led to a conviction on the other.
And my point IS of course that those behind this black op DON’T report the vast majority of alledged cases to the police, but go to the MSM with them who THEY – the false accusers – know will be judge and jury AND find them guilty.
Thanks Allan, fscists indeed and we know the BBC has its unfair share of them.
I just happened – by chance – to end up watching the last ten/fifteen minutes of Politics Live (the Daily Politics) earlier today, and right at the end they had an interview with someone described as an ‘influencer’ for the the ‘new Conservative movement Turning Point UK’, and I strongly suspect that THIS is all concocted and designed to open up a new front of attack by the anti-Corbyn lobby so that THEY can start accusing LP members (re social media) of making rascist comments and being rascist. The vast majority of which will no doubt be bogus and contrived, AND the objective of which is to try and turn the black community against Labour. The part in question starts at 40 minutes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0002fkv/politics-live-05022019
Allan, you could look at the CST (Community Security Trust) for a list of AS offences – they publish a list on their website.
I posted it on here a long time ago but WordPress’ search of SB doesn’t search replies and I can’t be arsed trawling through all the posts – but the numbers were extremely low, less than 20 nationally for the year I think.
Puts the right wing claims about Labour AS in context.
Afterthought: During the past three years or more since Jeremy was elected leader, I don’t recall hearing of even ONE LP member/politician/official being found guilty of anti-semitism, and you can be 100% certain that if there WAS, it would have been headline news all over the MSM very shortly afterwards. Yes, the police and/or the prosecution wouldn’t know if the person being charged WAS an LP member (as opposed to an LP politician or official), but you can bet your life the MSM would find out if they WERE in a matter of hours (THEY have their anti-Corbyn moles inside the NEC).
Perhaps SB could enquire of the CAA if they know of such a case, or cases.
You are spot on, Jack. The fear contaminates even this article which starts with the following sentence :
“Antisemitism exists in the Labour Party, as it does in all parts of society.”
… as if an acknowledgement of an unspecified degree of prejudice conferred virtue in the eyes of an antagonistic lobby. The the important documented fact is – there is *less* prejudice within the Labour Party than elsewhere. *That* is what should be the starting point.
It won’t.
Obviously, all our individual experiences are subjective.But I can honestly say that, of all the prejudices I have witnessed, explicit or implicit, antisemitism in the Labour Party isn’t one. Ignorance about the colonial history of Palestine is, on the contrary, widespread.
Then, no. 37. of the above list – “The NEC adopted the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and all eleven examples of antisemitism attached to it.”
… really is nothing to boast about. It was an abject capitulation to the Israel/Right lobby. The ‘definition’ is no such thing – it’s a wordy confection that, far from clarifying ‘antisemitism’. confuses it with opposition to Zionism and Israel – two concepts that are entirely different.
The whole mind-frame of apology should be turmed around to a forceful countering of the insults perpetuated by the Israel lobby and their attempts to sequester the notion of Jewishness in the name of an illegal apartheid state on the basis of a an ethnic mythology.
RH. Yes I too noted that, the fear was palpable, the sentence could have started “Racism exists”…..
Wasn’t it Umunna who said in twenty years he had never witnessed anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, then all of a sudden he was spotting it everywhere.
A little story to illustrate how seriously the Labour Party has been infiltrated by Zionists:
Miko Peled the world renowned Jewish Israeli peace campaigner and anti Zionist was invited to the 2018 Liverpool Conference by the Labour Party. He represents the Hebron Fund, a charity set up to support the non-violent group Youth Against Settlements in Hebron.
Because he greatly admires Jeremy Corbyn he decided to attend, mainly to meet Jeremy and listen to his Leader’s Speech. He obtained an official visitors pass but on the morning of Jeremy’s speech, when Mr Peled tried to gain entrance, his pass was rescinded and the police called to eject him.This was an extremely humiliating experience for a true friend of the Labour Party. The reason, the ‘Mail’ had made a complaint about him and the Party panicked, even according to the ‘Mail’, to the extent of denying he was there!
Contrast that to the way Ayelet Verbin, the disgraceful Israeli politician was treated. She called Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite and said Jews would be in danger in the UK if Corbyn became PM. In spite of that, she was warmly welcomed to the Conference by Tom Watson, Joan Ryan and others.
Don’t anyone tell me the Israeli Lobby do not have control of the Labour Party.
Didn’t even Chuka Umunna say only a couple of years ago that he’d never seen any AS in the party?
This was before it was “a thing” in the media…
If you’re Black you can site BLM police shoot to kill deaths, stop & search, structural racism in health, education and workplace opportunities. In fact the system of power is against you.
If you are white and support apartheid Israel, you claim to be oppressed by human rights activists, anti-racists, and people in equality movements.
The Israel lobby is the only group outside of the KKK & its affiliates that against all definitions of the term racism, claims to be oppressed by Black and Indigenous peoples.
And the system of power as represented by the media, helps them make these absurd unsubstantiated assertions.
Outside of the media bubble, this can’t be taken seriously!
I just happened to catch the latest edition of Renegade Inc on RT yesterday evening, which was a very interesting discussion about fake news, disinformation and propaganda, and well worth watching (available on their website now). The funny thing was that it was followed by their news bulletin which just happened to have a section about the possibility of there being another snap election, and the presenter interviewed some guy (in the studio) who brought up the recent (phony) poll that gives the Tories a seven point lead, and between them, they made much of it by way of criticising JC. The fact that there was another poll conducted at the same time which gave Labout a one point lead didn’t enter into it.
There are of course some great programs on RT – AND documentaries – but after THAT, RT News itself has just taken a very big dive for being impartial and balanced. AND it didn’t just happen by chance! AND they no doubt know that a significant part of its UK audience are left-wing JC supporters!
https://www.rt.com/shows/renegade-inc/450599-fake-news-political-agenda/
RT is also rabidly anti LGBT unfortunately, which I suppose matches Russia’s current culture.
loftkarisson: When you say “rabidly”, can you give an example or two. I’ve watched RT to some degree or other for six or seven years or more, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never come across ANYTHING “anti-LGBT”, let alone anything rabid. And given that it’s specifically FOR a UK audience, it wouldn’t make sense that they would take such a line anyway. Doing such would soon put a lot of people off.
Yes, homophobia is there to a large degree in Russian society – as it is in many others – but THAT is no doubt because they are in general pretty conservative AND quite religious.
Meanwhile perhaps thanks to the Internet and a new ‘confidence’ perhaps from Trump, some previously isolated bigots seem to be being attracted to far right events around the country.
We have had a union deputy leader attacked in London, an RMT picket line in Manchester attacked and I read recently of a Socialist Party meeting being invaded in Leeds.
So as Labour and the unions confront the far right on the front-line these AS charges on us are perhaps not helpful.
Hope Not Hate reported last year that Far Right US Billlionaires are putting millions into far right groups and individuals around the World (including here) so perhaps the seemingly unsatisfiable critics may be playing a dangerous game.
We should all be on the front-line.
The far right (because they are racists) are using the recent well publicised cases of sexual abuse of young girls by some Asian men (which apalled us all and the Asian community) because they feel is has some traction; and this IS attracting some niaive people to them and they are trying to capture football fans too.
The far right actually say “The Left are rape apologists” but to wean the niaive away from the vile and ignorant racists we do need to address the issue.
Research shows most abuse actually comes from within families or from someone known to them and sadly such abuse is within all groups and classes so focussing on one group does nothing to help vulnerable children.
And of course the far right will try to divide diverse working people which of course ultimately helps the rich and powerful (hence perhaps their funding by some of the rich and I wonder if Neo-Liberal economic structual decline in the US may explain this?)
Labour is streets ahead in its actions re AS compared with the other political parties and if is doing it’s very best but we need a united movement to confront Barbarianism.
Diverse working people of the World unite!
“Far Right US Billlionaires are putting millions into far right groups and individuals”
Yes – the Koch brothers were heavily committed to the Brexit campaign.
Oh and I was on a demo against the Far Right around November (and later similarly at a RMT demo in January) and in November outside the Town Hall I saw a young white working class family carrying a Union Jack who were supporting the far right.
As the Left chanted “Nazi Scum!” (may make you feel good but won’t win hearts and minds) they shouted back whilst holding a baby in the air “They’re fighting for us!” and I desperately wanted to talk to them to try to win them to socialism but of course you couldn’t get to them because the police were in between us.
Of course they were being conned and were being pulled against the diverse working class and their own class interests plus were putting themselves on the side of the rich and powerful.
But we do need to wean these few working class from the Barbarians but I do wonder if some of the Left are more interested in attracting militant anti-racists to build their vanguards (bourgeois top down socialists) when many of us left wing democratic socialists want to break such far right movements!
Could I suggest comrades this is what socialists should really be debating and then putting the resultant ideas into practice!
Solidarity!
A classic case of workers voting against their own best interests using the smoke and mirror tactics of the Right.
I have been too depressed by the scandalous repeat behaviour of Berger and others to find words. McCarthysim and all the damage entailed by that episode lives on. Thanks for your excellent work with your list of forty facts SkwawkB.
Yes, excellent work indeed!
Here’s a list of Jews who’ve also been labelled ‘antisemites’. Such is the insanity of the McCarthy style anti-socialist witch hunts:
https://twitter.com/arryTuttle/status/1082923983228620800?s=20
And please help out Tony Greenstein if you can – if you haven’t already done so – in his legal battle against the fraudulent Campaign Against Anti-Semitism. There’s a link to his gofundme page at the end of the article. And please share far and wide. Thanks:
https://azvsas.blogspot.com/2019/02/libel-why-i-have-rejected-drop-hands.html
Allan, have you tried joining Twitter so that you may add this link to Micheal Rosen (author) and George Galloway’s time line?
loftkarisson: I don’t have a twitter account, or a facebook account for that matter.
Good on ya Allan. Me neither!
It’s a mug’s game…
If antisemitism is so serious then so too are false antisemitism accusations.
Anyone spreading accusations which are false needs disciplining. It’s not good enough to let such things pass.
Personally I’m sick to death of the subject. Antisemitism has been weaponised and used to destroy socialism.
And Semitism!
Just found this Sun article from yesterday about Turning Point UK:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8350984/what-is-turning-point-uk-does-jacob-rees-mogg-support-it-and-why-are-they-controversial/
AND this, in the Independent:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/turning-point-uk-jacob-rees-mogg-conservative-right-wing-group-launch-tory-a8762351.html
Important information Allan and thanks for your sterling work – the new Neo- Liberal Vanguard perhaps as ironically Neo-Liberalism is in structural decline in the US and because of its drive for cheap labour (restricting commodity purchase) may mean Neo-Liberalism is at the beginning of its end?
The Neo-Liberals believe in a small state but use massive state interventions to give tax cuts to the rich, big business, hedge funds etc and wars although they see the need for state funding for such (and to fund economic interventions ietc. in other countries – Venezeula the latest).
The real dependency culture of course is that of the rich and powerful, they are totally dependent on billions of working people turning up for work tomorrow and then turning the dead computers, machines, buses, trains etc on.
It is the labour of working people that really creates the wealth and makes societies work so we need parties that represent us and in the UK that’s Labour – the clue is in the name.
But this Neo-Liberal Group with their funding and resources could present a challenge to Momentum who need to politicise it’s members rather than just top down telling them what to do and who to vote for.
But I think the future is left wing democratic socialist.
‘The old order, Neo Liberalism is dying.
But the new cannot yet be born.
Perhaps we are all being tested.
And only the stars will ride the storm!’
Solidarity!
It never ends. How depressing.
I just shows how tenuous the balance of power is for them to be doing this.
Allan Howard 05/02/2019 at 8:24 pm
It appears that things may have reached a turning point within Turning Point
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/pro-trump-turning-point-loses-star-activists
Days After Its Disastrous British Launch, Turning Point Has Already Lost One Of Its Star Recruits
“There was a sense of people realising, ‘Who are these cranks?’”
I’ll not comment on this, but I am rather concerned that Wes Streeting MP has posted some quite AntiSemitic Content on Twitter and then goes on to state a disabled female member of the Party posted positively about said AntiSemitic content. Further investigation by a person with IT forensic skills not only demonstrated that the material Streeting posted was actual Doctored evidence, but a detailed examination of the accused Twitter Account during the time lines said material was actually posted did not uphold Streeting’s charges, namely no digital evidence existed to back up his claims whatsoever – of course Streeting has failed to offer an apology, remove the Doctored material or anything else, indeed, he’s digging a deeper hole for himself. Streeting needs to be investigated by the Party on this deeply shocking issue – please check out his timeline today and horrendous accusations he’s making with fake material.
Here’s a link to his twitter account. And check out the Stephen Pollard tweet. He really is a nasty little fascist psychopathic propagandist. And the Jewish Labour Movement tweet:
https://twitter.com/wesstreeting
When you say “rabidly”, can you give an example or two. I’ve watched RT to some degree or other for six or seven years or more, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never come across ANYTHING “anti-LGBT”, let alone anything rabid. And given that it’s specifically FOR a UK audience, it wouldn’t make sense that they would take such a line anyway. Doing such would soon put a lot of people off.
Yes, homophobia is there to a large degree in Russian society – as it is in many others – but THAT is no doubt because they are in general pretty conservative AND quite religious.
Posted the above comment in wrong place (so posted it again in the right place)!
I was doxxed today by Wes Streeting and Gnasher Jew who claimed I was antisemitic and posted antisemitic tweets. I knew it wasn’t me but how to prove it. Someone who does computer forensics concluded it was fake. It didn’t stop Mr Streeting who carried on abusing me and gave out my personal name to all his followers. Gnasher Jew folk then got on and said I’d been an antisemite for years & posted some other stuff which isn’t A-S. Now this is been leaked to BBC who put this on BBC News tonight. Now this 68 year old is being trolled by all and sundry thanks to Wes Streeting.
Being very honest this attack this morning left me with panic attack and trouble breathing due to shock of it all. Knowing it has been on BBC News is just terrible.
I can tell folk that I am not nor have I ever been antisemitic but it cuts no ice with some as they believe what they want to believe. My mental health is now getting worrisome. How can someone, a public figure, a Labour MP do something like this and get away with it.
It’s very sick minds that have no moral compass to do this to people who have never done an antisemitic thing in their lives.
Hi Annie,
As you can see, I’m aware of your plight and hope to be able to offer assistance.
The person you refer too on Twitter who has extended assistance actually does know their stuff and is bang to rights with Streeting with the one offensive Tweet Streeting is accusing you of interaction with – i note no Twitter forensics or footprint exists to back up this claim.
I have 25 years experience in Desktop Publishing and find it difficult to believe Streeting is posting tampered material as evidence against you. You have my solidarity and full support on this issue and I hope the Skwawkbox will follow up on it as this stuff and these accusations are dangerous.
The use of fake or stolen Facebook/Twitter IDs is a common tool of the Israeli Hasbara initiative.
Solidarity Comrade. Keep on Keeping on!
Weaselly screeching doing what any block-headed, pre-pubescent imbecile does best.
A desperate (to be accepted) little boy trying to look like a badass; but in reality appearing every bit the little shite that knocks around with the school bully in a pathetically absurd attempt to give the impression that he’s some sort of champion of the downtrodden.
Well weaselly, if you’re reading this, the opinion of myself and people I know (Who’e even heard of you) is that you’re just not. You’re regarded as nowt more than an unfunny joke with a very snide personality and snide tendencies…And you’ve shown them again.
How I enjoyed watching you get thoroughly owned on national Tv by an older woman recently…I bet that little episode’s lodged firmly in your craw hasn’t it? It’s certainly stuck in my mind. And I’ll bet you’re having thoughts of harming cute little fluffy woodland creatures because of it, too.
Excellent. Grind your teeth down to mere pins, because you deserve(d) every last iota of your self-inflicted humiliation….And then some.
Although I didn’t hear anything about you posting that woman’s identity all over social media…National Tv’s too broad an audience to show what you’re really about isn’t it?
The irony of it!:
https://www.rt.com/uk/450723-british-media-integrity-initiative/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email
Thank you for highlighting the facts, SB. But here you are preaching to the converted. And it’s not like the MSM/LFI/Blairite Faction of PLP do not know. It is DELIBERATE on their part.
As RH said in an earlier post: ‘…The whole mind-frame of apology should be turned around to a forceful countering of the insults perpetuated by the Israel lobby…’. We have tried appeasement with these zionist apologists, and it hasn’t worked.
For now, it appears the task is formidable given the fact that the MSM are acting as their propaganda wing. The good thing is it appears ordinary members of the public are not duped. In fact, since they wheeled out this AS smears stage of their campaign in 2016 to discredit Corbyn, the Labour Party has attracted more members than at any point in its history. Which shows that these smears do not have traction with the public.
The NEC should also step in. As Loftkarlsson stated in an earlier post: ‘…Anyone spreading accusations which are false needs disciplining.’
“The NEC should also step in. As Loftkarlsson stated in an earlier post: ‘…Anyone spreading accusations which are false needs disciplining.’
I think that’s what is entirely depressing -the lack of a proper judicial balance in all this. As has been said, falsely accusing someone of ‘antisemitism’, thus linking them subliminally with ethnic abuse and approval of the holocaust, is as vicious and venal a crime as the actual one.
Yet right wing sources like the Jewish Chronicle and the hypocritical Jonathan Sacks are simply allowed to get away with it in their devious and hyperbolic slagging of Corbyn. Their fantasies are automatically taken seriously by the media at a level of credulousness that would shame any half-competent journalist.
Meanwhile the NEC stands by and gives the lies a fearful passing nod – and an apology.
I don’t need to repeat the individuals that have suffered from this – even when the case against them is based on documented evidence that shows the accusations as rubbish (see ‘The Lobby). Several are actually of a Jewish background, and, of course, campaigners against racism – which rather rings the warning bell about the motives of the accusers.
The consequences of false accusation can be serious – as shown by individuals who have been suspended from their jobs. Fortunately they do have a quasi-judicial process – of the Tribunal to fall back on. If it was the NEC, they would in all likelihood be thrown under the bus.
Perhaps the most egregious pattern in this shameful scenario is, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the case of Margaret Hodge who felt quite able to slag off Corbyn in a repeated rehearsal of vicious lies – in public. You didn’t need to be Sherlock to realize she needed to be banged to rights in terms of proper behaviour as a member of the PLP. It was all documented.
But …. Nothing.
Then look at the hypocrisy of Marc Wadsworth being suspended for a real ‘Nothing’ incident, again documented for anyone to assess. The initial charge of ‘antisemitism’ had to be withdrawn, because it was totally unsustainable, but he was still bounced on grounds of ‘bringing the Party into disrepute’ – basically at the whim of Ruth Smeeth, well connected to the Israel llobby.
Such as Marc Wadsworth are the *real* victims, not the accusers. The accusations against them are so flimsy that a proper vetting process would have thrown them out, were it not for this fear and strategy of placation.
If anyone is still under the delusion that ‘no smoke without fire’ is the rule of thumb here, I would urge that they educate themselves in the reality by going to YouTube and viewing Al Jazeera’s ‘The Lobby’, and also searching out Peter Oborne’s earlier Channel 4 documentary on the same subject.
Yesterday a New York Times writer sent a message to AOC stating “Jeremy Corbyn is an anti Semite”. Can Mr Corbyn not sue?
This is nothing to do with antisemitism, it’s nothing to do with racism. It’s everything to do with preventing a socialist government which has a leader who realises the injustices in the Palestinian plight, and would not be afraid to condemn Israeli atrocities.
100% correct. Let us hope the silver-lining to all these smears is that it will get many people to try to find out why JC is labelled as AS, only to find out that it is his principled stand against the injustices to the Palestinian people that earns him that label, thereby bringing the suffering of the Palestinians to the attention of many ordinary Britons.
Yes Steve and is RH on here possibly an agent provacatuer (possibly with SR or same person 2 monikers) trying to reel the gullible in?
Best to not engage.
Oh, FFS – get a grip on your fevered micro-world sectarian imagination, It’s not big and it’s not clever.
You really do need to get out more!
And Naura Eraket summed it up (CBS interview 2018) – Israel will not talk peace (thanks to US economic and military aid) “Because it wants to maintain its economic, ethnic and religious supremecy.” Naura also added that Hamas was just a scarecrow and most Palestinians don’t want them.
Some good developments – in the last election in Istael there was a rise in support for a Socialist Arab Party and recently democtratic left parties on the Palestinian side agreed to work more together.
Recommend Bernard Regan’s recent book on the Balfour Declaration which demonstrates that British support for a Home for Jewish people in Palestine was primarily driven by then British Imperial interests such as access to oil via the Suez Canal and to get troops if needed urgently in the likes of India.
As one Tory MP said at the time “We will have a little loyal Jewish Ulster surrounded by a sea of Arab antagonism.”
Peace to all citizens in this region!
Bazza, the admirable “Naura Eraket’s” name is spelled Noura Erakat.
Sorry to be a spelling-Nazi but you’ve been mis-spelling her name for ever 🙂
Labour Anti-Semitism is a self inflicted wound!. The ‘classic’ Moral Panic is a MSM construction that feeds itself & constantly creates its own agenda. The more the Labour Party deny accusations; the more accusations will be made to keep the pot boiling. The Labour Party doth deny too much! What are we denying & because we do there must be substance to these accusations?
The PLP & the NEC are equally responsible for perpetuating this MSM circus. Pouring oil on fires will not solve anything, but we must ask serious questions about the motivation of many of our MPs & NEC representatives.
We know that MSM will always be hostile to a socialist Labour Party & its leader, but allowing treachery from within is suicidal.
“The more the Labour Party deny accusations; the more accusations will be made to keep the pot boiling.”
Exactly. Get on the attack is the message.
There are some in the Labour Party who do not realise or who pretend not to realise the importance of this battle, for indeed it is a battle to prevent the take over of our Party by a foreign government i.e. the Israeli Government. Their representatives within our own Party are working day and night to destroy Jeremy Corbyn with false claims of anti-Semitism.
Those who say don’t stir the hornets nest are wrong, the hornet’s nest should be cleared out not left to damage our electoral changes.
Just heard song by Johnny Nash on radio ‘Stir it Up.’
There is a Conference in London at the beginning of March ‘No Pasaran’ which seeks to address how we can confront the Far Right, if anyone can make it.
Oh to be clear, be wary, some want to stir it up to help reignite the issue when Labour has mainly dealt with it.
Oh how about ‘An Inquiry into Racism in the Tory Party’ (?)
” Labour has mainly dealt with it.”
I fear not – that’s what a lot of this thread picks up.
Labour has tried to *placate* an implacable enemy – that’s a long way from dealing with it.
Ravenous beasts always come back for more until they are taught that it’s not a good idea.
US court throws out lawsuit against academic boycott of Israel
“A federal judge in Washington, DC, on Monday dismissed a lawsuit against the American Studies Association over its decision to support the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
The ruling is a significant blow to efforts by Israel lobby groups to use courts to harass, intimidate and silence supporters of Palestinian rights in US universities – a tactic known as lawfare.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/us-court-throws-out-lawsuit-against-academic-boycott-israel
Some small comfort. But let’s not underestimate the persistence of The Lobby here and in the US.
I think it worth saying that,or those wanting to keep abreast of reality on this issue, ‘The Electronic Intafada’ and ‘Jewish Voice for Labour’ are two essential sites (amongst others).
Can I just say to all those who feel that JC and Co should fight back against the false allegations of anti-semitism, that you’re forgetting ONE key factor – ie that the forces ranged against JC and the left own and/or control the MSM – and not ONLY are they NOT going to report/cover any attempt by Labour to counter the narrative – a narrative that THEY are complicit in – but they will double down – as they already HAVE on more than a few occasions – and accuse JC and the left of being in denial AND label anyone speaking out in defence of the innocent victims, as being anti-semitic themselves.
When Ken Livingstone, for example, tried on one or two occasions to explain that what he said in the radio interview was an historical fact, the press – and especially the right-wing press – ‘reported’ it as him just repeating his anti-semitic nonsense, or words to that effect. And here’s another example (and there are dozens and dozens of them):
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4390394/jeremy-corbyn-urged-to-take-action-against-chris-williamson-after-he-described-antisemitism-accusations-as-bullst-mp-urges/
You’re right n the main about the MSM bias and the difficulty of countering distortion and sheer omission.
But you do forget acts of self-harm, such as going along with false accusations (see Marc Wadsworth), even if the charge is downgraded and – massively important – caving in to the demands for adoption of the IHRA definition.
Meanwhile the Israeli State continues to do what the Israeli State does.
“Gaza: While British politicians prattle nonsense claims about anti-Semitism, the Israeli government that hides behind such claims has been giving this demonstration of its own hatred for Palestinian Arabs.
https://voxpoliticalonline.com/2019/02/06/while-labour-right-wingers-try-to-fake-claims-of-anti-semitism-israel-is-bombing-gaza-again/
Finally we can see what JLM & LFI have been so desperate to hide.
Jackie Walker’s film WitchHunt has been released online.
You can watch it here.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/watch-film-labour-mps-didnt-want-you-see
They have now done what they set pout to do getting rid of Corbyn shame on the lot of them all them who instigated this should be thrown out as for their so called waste of space new leader he did nothing when Corbyn was leader to help sort it out so he shouldn’t still be in the party shame on Labour .