John Erskine, who published foul tweets about orphaned Palestinian girl and targeted journalist Julian Assange’s wife and children, was with so-called ‘Labour against Antisemitism’ from the start and has been defended by fellow Labour and LAAS pro-Israel hardliners
The Labour right-winger who has been removed by Twitter after outrage over his racist and hateful tweets is a founder signatory of the so-called ‘Labour against Antisemitism’, the group that drove much of the smear campaign against Jeremy Corbyn and Labour, Skwawkbox can reveal.
Erskine provoked horror after tweeting that the daughter of a Palestinian woman murdered by the Israeli military was better off without her mother, that the world should consider itself lucky that the victim was dead and that the fire-bombing of Dresden, which killed around 25,000 people, mostly civilians and allied prisoners of war, was a good thing because it ‘dealth with’ antisemites:
Erskine has also targeted Muslims more widely with his poison:
After widespread complaints, Twitter removed the toxic account:
But Erskine is part of the right-wing group that postured as anti-racist to smear the Labour party and it’s then-leader Jeremy Corbyn – and as the long-delayed Forde report had to admit, such smears were widely weaponised by the Labour right as a factional weapon.
And not only part of it, but a signatory to the original announcement of its creation:
Enough is enough. We make no apologies for the actions we take and will not stand by and wait for a more convenient time for the party leadership to deal with this problem. The time for concession has long since passed. We will not be bullied, and we will not be silenced.
Yours faithfully, Labour Against Antisemitism
Euan Philipps – Chair of Tonbridge and Malling CLP, member of JLM
Chris Evans – JLM and Labour member
Hannah – Hornsey & Wood Green CLP
Luisa Attfield – JLM and Finchley and Golders Green CLP
Denny Taylor – Labour party member
Joanne Bell – JLM, Unite, formerly Enfield Southgate CLP
Jamie Rodney – East Renfrewshire CLP
Zoë Kemp – JLM, formally Hampstead and Kilburn CLP
David Hirsh – Finchley and Golders Green CLP, UCU, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, author of ‘Contemporary Left Antisemitism’
Emily Edwards – Labour International Rosemary Emery Llanelli CLP and member of Jewish Labour Movement.
Jessica Jacobs-Schiff – Jewish Labour Movement Owen Power MPhil – Member Salford & Eccles LP, JLM, & LGBT Labour.
Robert Chance – Newcastle under Lyme Mina Kupfermann – Bristol
Judith Ornstein – instigator and producer, Whitewashed
Ged Ornstein – trustee, StandWithUs
Emma Feltham – Lewisham East Christopher Grey – Yorkshire man. Socialist. Former Labour member
Raf Singer – ex Labour
Andy Semple – JLM.
Katherine Dearden – formerly Erewash CLP. Former Durham County Councillor.
Sue Teddern – Brighton and Hove Labour party
Colin Appleby – Cities of London and Westminster CLP, member of LGBT Labour and Jewish Labour Movement Delegate to the CLP
Andre McPherson – Member of Jewish Labour Movement.
Edward Crask Hove CLP. Retired LP regional organiser.
Laureen Levy – ex-Labour member
David Bennun – former JLM member and longtime Labour supporter
Pete Newbon – ex-Labour member and JLM member.
Rachel Fidler – ex-Labour member, Hendon
Cllr Lee Cowen – East Worthing and Shoreham CLP JLM
Dany Louise – Labour candidate, Old Hastings Ward
Craig Prescott – Labour Member
Susan Bowie – Shetland CLP
Luke Stanger – Hove and Portslade CLP
Paul Corrick – Cheshire East, left last year after the Livingstone fiasco
Nicky Easton – ex-Labour, Brighton Kemptown
Caroline George – Labour Member, Neath
Geoff Braterman – ex-Labour, Brighton Pavilion
Natascha Wolf – ex-Labour member, JLM member, Bristol
Doe Solomon – JLM
Pete Daly – Hove and Portslade CLP
Linzi Pinto – Labour Member, JLM
Lawrence Levin – JLM
Joy Robinson – Hove and Portslade CLP
John Erskine – Labour Member, Rother Valley
Marilyn Lee – ex-Labour member, London
Simon Myerson – Labour member 35 years, now ex
Sam Stopp – Labour Councillor, Wembley Central
Jonathan Black – Labour Member, JLM
Nicole Iszak – ex-Labour member
Andrew Rugman – Hove and Portslade CLP
Rob Minshull – Former National Secretary of Labour Students.
Kitty Lyons – Labour Councillor, Barnet
Tom Gray – Hove and Portslade CLP
Also highlighted in the list above are the notorious Luke Stranger – recently publicly welcomed back into the Labour party despite racist tweets and other unsavoury behaviour – and Pete Newbon, the late lecturer who targeted left-wing Jewish author Michael Rosen with foul antisemitic tweets and was being sued for defamation by others at the time of his death.
Like Newbon, the apparently non-Jewish Erskine had also tweeted abuse at Rosen who, as a left-winger, was treated as the ‘wrong kind of Jew’ by right-wingers.
Some of Erskine’s fellow LAAS alumni defended him today against the justified outrage over his social media comments – and before the deletion of his account, he was followed by a list of Labour-right and pro-Israel figures:
Twitter has dealt with Mr Erskine’s poison, at least for now. He is said to still be a Labour member, but on its form under Keir Starmer, David Evans and their regime, many question whether there is any prospect of the party taking the action it should.
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Foxtrot Oscar, Erskine.
Hey, that reads like the word Foreskin.
The capacity for malice and Arabophobia that people like John Erskine have horrifies me. I found his vile comments about the little girls dead mother particularly disturbing.
In my opinion he disgraces any cause he is associated with and has clearly brought the Labour party into disrepute. However because he is on the Party’s Right it is unlikely any action will be taken against him so he will continue to use the Labour name to spread his anti Arab hatred and racism.
Muslim “hate convoys”???
Members of the Israel lobby are the white only people outside of the KKK & its affiliates to complain about being racially oppressed by Black and indigenous people.
It’s not an original observation but worth repeating.
Oh look, another reason to be reminded about labour needs us more than we need them…
He once called a Jewish actress who was supportive of Jeremy Corbyn “Labour’s House Trained Jew.”
A number of Labour members put in official complaints but unbelievably were told there was no case to answer.
Some suggest he is well regarded in the Right Wing Labour establishment?
Funnily enough he is apparently a bit of an Irish Nationalist, whilst supporting “Surrogate Setters” (Regan, 2018) in Palestine!
“Surrogate Settlers.”
Why does akehursts face always look like it’s been shrunk down 75% but the rest of his head hasn’t?
I thought the water companies had pumped all these turds into the sea creating pollution for swimmers
Terry Norman the Turds “as you say have been exported to france using tidal wave power and wind generation..Britain in the front of technology once again
Thames water and Southern are in the front of technology and invention including Billing the French for the organic fertiliser delivered to their door..Forget Russian gas and oil we can deliver our shit on anyone….and if you don’t like it we will Nuke you.says HRH finn Lizzie truss.
The problem with dumping all that sewage is the knock on effect of the Billions of litres of water they dump with it!
The next cricis will be drought measures, I lived through 2 droughts in Africa and it is not much fun at all!
Hey ho, let’s forget about Privatisation that opportunity went up in a puff of smoke at GE19!
Scratch a Liberal, and a Fascist bleeds. Or so the saying goes.
There are dozens around the current leadership who are so blinkered and in tune with that kind of thinking, they’re probably genuinely wondering what he did wrong.
Off topic, but a thought’s just occured to me.
Water companies can’t cut off your supply…
Toffee
Which means it’s treated as a Non Priority debt for precisely that reason
Water is a Public Health issue
The energy crises will miraculously go away when Poundshop Thatcher agrees a £100 billion soft loan for the Energy companies
Paid for by our Great Great Great grandchildren
Given that the water companies have taken the piss (and are dumping it in the waterways/seas) while their shareholders have been raking it in, I’m thinking Don’t Pay UK might be missing a trick by not incorporating water companies into their remit.
Might just get them a few green/environmentalist sympathisers/subscribers, because the signatory cohort at the moment is a bit underwhelming – even if there is five weeks until the next price hike.
If you ever have the time and patience have a look at LAAS meetings/debates on YouTube it is fucking frightening, to say the least! The Googlesphere hypocrisy can be fully encapsulated just by that one Channel!
When ‘our’ John isn’t being the vilest of creatures, he breaks some interesting moves on the Morris Dance arena!
https://youtu.be/WK993ZPLtCc
How fucking insane is that, how can you say that about a child and then go jump about waving hankies about!?
PS nothing against Morris Dancing!
[Yesterday], Friday 26 August 2022, Julian Assange filed his Perfected Grounds of Appeal before the High Court of Justice Administrative Court. The Respondents are the Government of the United States and the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Priti Patel.
The Perfected Grounds of Appeal contain the arguments on which Julian Assange intends to challenge District Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s decision of 4 January 2021, and introduces significant new evidence that has developed since that ruling.
The Perfected Grounds of Appeal concerning the United States Government include the following points:
Julian Assange is being prosecuted and punished for his political opinions (s.81(a) of the Extradition Act);
Julian Assange is being prosecuted for protected speech (Article 10)
The request itself violates the US-UK Extradition Treaty and International law because it is for political offences;
The US Government has misrepresented the core facts of the case to the British courts; and
The extradition request and its surrounding circumstances constitute an abuse of process.
The Perfected Grounds of Appeal concerning the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) include arguments that Home Secretary Priti Patel erred in her decision to approve the extradition order on grounds of specialty and because the request itself violates Article 4 of the US-UK Extradition Treaty
…………….
https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1563284073501827073/photo/1
I am surprised that so few have signed up for Julian’s Surround Parliament Protest. They are also still looking for volunteer stewards if any of you are interested.
We need your help to be part of this huge protest in support of Julian Assange and press freedom. So far 2,359 people have pledged to surround UK parliament on 8 October by forming a Human Chain to demand Assange’s Freedom.
Human Chain will form from the front of Parliament over Westminster bridge, along the South Bank of the Thames and back over Lambeth bridge.
If you are interested in helping us with stewarding please email your details to office@dontextraditeassange.com
We are looking forward to hear from you.