What Antisemitism?

[bainbrig]

I have yet to hear ONE solid example of this alleged rampant antisemitism in the Labour Party. Innuendos galore, tittle-tattle and gossip, but no hard examples.

Is it just part of the ongoing anti-Corbyn campaign?

[spathiphyllum]

Talbot, you're clearly wrong, and contributing to the problem.

[spathiphyllum]

corbyn himself is not racist or antisemitic, neither is the labour party. Just a select few.

Lets have a look at a specifically select few torys, shall we?

[dannyk13]

Spath, he's not wrong.

[spathiphyllum]

Danny did you not hear corbyn? Anyone saying the labour party and corbyn is antisematic is contributing to the problem.


In February 2019, Nadine Dorries referred to Ash Sarkar as prospective Labour Party MP Faiza Shaheen, an action which was subsequently criticised by Sayeeda Warsi and others. It emerged that Dorries had previously made allegedly racist remarks about Chuka Umunna in 2013, and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Sadiq Khan in 2018. Oh jhee that was this month! Racism in the government that's leading our country into a political revolution?

[-Talbot-]

Denial
Deflection

You are not doing your argument any favours, spath.

[spathiphyllum]

All i'm arguing is, the labour party does things to prevent antisemitism and corbyn himself isn't antisemitic.

[jim360]

Spath: stop engaging in WhatAbout-ism and focus on the issue in the post.

[dannyk13]

Spath, the evidence says otherwise.

[spathiphyllum]

Jim i'm strongly hitting the "Is it just part of the ongoing anti-Corbyn campaign?" vibe. I think what i'm saying is related to the OP.

[spathiphyllum]

Danny, the evidence is there for both sides.

[-Talbot-]

You don't appear to be capable of processing information, spath.

[spathiphyllum]

In August 2015, dozens of Jewish critics of Israel wrote a letter to The Jewish Chronicle in support of Corbyn. They stated in the letter, "Your assertion that your attack on Jeremy Corbyn is supported by 'the vast majority of British Jews' is without foundation. ... You speak only for Jews who support Israel, right or wrong." They continued, "There is something deeply unpleasant and dishonest about your McCarthyite guilt by association technique. Jeremy Corbyn's parliamentary record over 32 years has consistently opposed all racism including antisemitism."

[spathiphyllum]

talbot you seem to be very capable of moot answers and rudeness.

[Kromovaracun]

I didn't believe it either until I looked into the examples. It's extremely sad but the evidence is pretty damning.

http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-alan-bull-council-holocaust-hoax/ (Labour were aware of this holocaust denier for a long time before they were eventually pressured into expelling him)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/08/labour-suspends-party-members-in-antisemitic-facebook-group - a group dedicated to anti-Jewish conspiracy theories (including holocaust denial) involved plenty of Labour members, including Corbyn himself.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/20/jeremy-corbyns-10-year-association-group-denies-holocaust/ - more holocaust deniers with whom Corbyn was quite happily associating.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/labour-take-no-action-against-11923281 - another Labour councillor promoting anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.

https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/haringey-councillors-say-it-is-now-impossible-to-be-a-jewish-labour-councillor-1.460947 - two Labour councillors abused by the party's own members for being Jewish (incl. explicit racial comments) until they left office.

Gerry Downing was expelled from Labour for using frankly Hitlerite language about 'the Jewish question' and supporting 'Jews control the world' conspiracy theories (plenty more of them which I haven't posted).

https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-suspend-activist-over-jewish-genocide-of-the-british-people-tweet-1.56965 - Labour party member suspended for claiming that Jews are orchestrating genocide in Britain, a bizarre variation on the usual 'white genocide' racist conspiracy theory but this time applied to Jews.

https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/u-k-labour-party-member-under-ifire-over-anti-semitic-posts-1.5425962 - Labour councillor and former mayor endorses the idea that 'Hitler killed six million Zionists' - which has plenty of possible interpretations, and all of them are pretty sick.

Josh Simons, a former policy adviser, has alleged that language of a 'Jewish conspiracy' was commonplace in Corbyn's office and in particular described hostility towards Jews from senior advisors like Seamus Milne.

Then there's the constant racist abuse of Jewish councillors and members like Adam Langelben, Luciana Berger, etc.

This is clearly a serious problem in Labour and did not used to be. I don't think there's any obvious evidence that Jeremy Corbyn himself actually hates Jews or holds anti-semitic viewpoints - but he is clearly not very fussed about letting other people who do run rampant in the party, and this *completely* undermines all the anti-racist protesting and activism he did as a young man. If you're not going to take action against racists when it matters, i.e. when you are actually in a position of power to do so, then it really does count for nothing how many protests you've been on or how many articles you've written or how many times you've been arrested. He's allowed this to go on and on and on in Labour and the actual anti-racists in the party have had enough.

[spathiphyllum]

Oh my this is coming from actual jewish people?


"In April 2016, 82 "Jewish members and supporters of the Labour Party and of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership" wrote an open letter to The Guardian stating that they "do not accept that antisemitism is 'rife' in the Labour Party" and that "these accusations are part of a wider campaign against the Labour leadership"

[spathiphyllum]

In September 2017, Ruth Smeeth MP said that the allegations concerning antisemitism’s presence in the Labour Party turn Corbyn’s "whole political being upside down" because they are the opposite of "everything he believes himself to be"; at the same meeting, John Mann MP said "Nothing destroys Jeremy Corbyn's soul more than the thought in his head that he could actually be tolerating antisemitism. This really hurts him - it disturbs him.”


Damn

[dannyk13]

Spath,
https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/labour-anti-semitic-meaning/

[Kromovaracun]

Spath, the Jewish Labour organisation (the only one) is meeting on March 6th to discuss whether or not it has a place in the party anymore after 99 years (in fact I think the centenary is later this year if they stay). Why do you think that is?

[spathiphyllum]

Danny you can't just link me to an article from a news source i've never heard of. What point is in the article, where can i find it?

[spathiphyllum]

"Why do you think that is?"

Because of everyone shouting about antisemitism and apparently how awful it is so some action has to be taken. They can't ignore the crowds screaming.