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Fake Zionist 'charity' the Campaign Against 'Anti-Semitism' is Supported by Daily Mail

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 The Paper That Supported Hitler and Opposed Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany Entering Britain Opposes Our 'Anti-Semitic' Petition 
The Daily Mail has a long and inglorious record - its proprietor Viscount Harmsworth supported Hitler before 1939 and the paper campaigned vigorously against the entrance of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany - like today they were 'bogus' refugees.  Literally the Daily Mail campaign had the blood of thousands of Jews on its hands
The Daily Mail and its proprietor, Lord Rothermere, were strong supporters of Hitler before 1939.  In Nazi Youth in Control [Daily News 4.9.33] Rothermere wrote that 

‘I WRITE from a new country on the map of Europe. Its name is Naziland. Of all the historic changes in our time, the transformation of Germany under Hitler has been the swiftest, most complete,’ which is certainly one way of putting it. 

The Mail also supported Oswald Moseley's British Union of Fascists - who were of course anti-Semitic
Rothermere waxed lyrical about the attractions and support of German people for Hitler.

'Something far more significant than a new Government has arisen among the Germans. There has been a sudden expansion of their national spirit like that which took place in England under Queen Elizabeth. Youth has taken command. On a visit, which I am paying to Northern Germany I find-, the signs of the new Hitler spirit as manifest in the most out of-the-way villages as in the largest cities.' 

He didn't hesitate to whitewash Nazi violence.

‘They have started a clamorous campaign of denunciation against what they call 'Nazi atrocities,' which, as anyone who visits Germany quickly discovers for him self, consists merely of a few isolated acts of violence.’ 
Rothermere also owned the Daily Mirror and it too was pro-fascist - something not widely known today
‘The administration of a few doses of castor oil to Communist adversaries.’  Perhaps in his visit he could have taken in the concentration camps of Dachau and Sachsenhausen.

Rothermere also justified the Nazis' anti-Semitism:

JEWISH OFFICIALS IN KEY POSITIONS'THE German nation, moreover, was rapidly falling under the control of its alien elements. In the last days of the pre-Hitler regime there were 20 times as many Jewish Government officials in Germany as had existed before the war. Israelites of international attachments were insinuating themselves into key positions in the German administrative machine. Three German Ministries only had direct relations with the Press, but in each case the official responsible for conveying news and interpreting policy to the public was a Jew. . It is from such abuses that Hitler has freed Germany.' 

To Rothermere Hitler’s actions were to prevent Jewish ‘abuses’. Rothermere was quite prepared to justify anti-Semitism as the price of smashing communism and the labour movement. In this he was not alone. In his two-volume book on fascism, Robert Black quotes Lloyd George thus:

‘If the powers that be succeeded in overthrowing Nazism in Germany, what would follow? Not a Conservative-Socialist regime (SPD) nor a Liberal regime, but extreme Communism... A Communist Germany would be intimately more formidable than a Communist Russia.’ [Robert Black, p. 417, Fascism in Germany, pp. 296/297, Steyne Publications, 1975.

Nor was this attitude to anti-Semitism confined to non-Jews. Chaim Weizmann, President of the (World) Zionist Organisation and first President of the State of Israel wrote of Major Evans-Gordon MP, founder of the anti-Semitic British Brothers League, which campaigned against the admission of Jewish refugees from Czarist Russia that:

"Looking back now, I think our people were rather hard on him." And why? Because:

The Aliens Bill in England and the movement which grew up around it were natural phenomenon which might have been foreseen.’ To the Zionists anti-Semitism was a ‘natural phenomenon’ which could not be fought and this of course explains the collaboration with anti-Semitism including the Nazis (especially in the 1933-1939 period).


This blog has been waging a campaign against the bogus 'charity' - the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism over the past year.  Formed at the height of Israel's murderous Operation Protective Edge, the CAA tries to defame supporters of the Palestinians as anti-Semites.  It has nothing to say about Israel's vicious racism, its ingrained discrimination against Palestinians, the 2 sets of laws - one for Jewish settlers the other for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.  Its sole concern is 'anti-Semitism'.  

I have run a number of articles exposing the CAA as a Zionist political organisation masquerading as a charity: 
EXCLUSIVE - Lifting the Lid on the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism 
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism Smears Veteran Israeli Anti-Zionist Professor Moshe Machover and 
More False Allegations of Anti-Semitism - their purpose is to shore up position of Progress MP Peter Kyle
Nasty smear article on CAA web site attacks Becky Massey, the Chair of a Labour ward in Hove, on the basis of two tweets which never mention Jews
3 weeks ago in response to their attacks on Becky Massey, a friend of mine in Hove Labour Party and Professor Moshe Machover, an Israeli anti-Zionist, I started a petition on Change.org calling on the Charity Commission to remove their charity status.  They immediately contacted change.org and tried to get them to take down the petition. 

The CAA have great difficulty in understanding the meaning of free speech.  Like their beloved Israeli state, their answer to their opponents criticism is to use administrative means to shut them down.  In Israel this is achieved by the bullet and the prison cell, in Britain it has to be a bit subtler.  However change.org refused to take the petition down because it was clear that here was a valid issue of concern to people. See:
Campaign Against Anti-Semitism tries to intimidate Change.org to remove Petition criticising them

The CAA were so eager to engage in politically lynching Jackie Walker that they accused her of holocaust denial
Ludicrously, in their racist attacks on the Black-Jewish anti-Zionist activist Jackie Walker, they accused her of justifying the Holocaust and excusing Hitler.  Why?  Because she quoted the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, who said that the Arabs justifiably asked why they were being made to pay the price for the Nazis and Auschwitz when they bore no blame.  The idiots at the CAA took one look at the quote, saw Nazi and Auschwitz and Jackie Walker and immediately invented a grossly libellous charge against her.  It was subsequently deleted but not before I and others got a screen print.
The 'holocaust denial' quote wrongly attributed to Jackie Walker came from David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister and is quoted in the autobiography of Nahum Goldman, President of the World Zionist Organisation and Chair of the World Jewish Congress!
EXCLUSIVE: The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism Accuses Jackie Walker of Holocaust Denial - Why?  Because they didn't realise that she was quoting from David Ben-Gurion
Racist CAA cartoon of a Muslim man
The CAA are an overtly Islamaphobic political group.  They have skewed opinion polls to show that Muslims are anti-Semitic, they have inflated the level of anti-Semitism in society overall to suggest nearly half of British people are anti-semitic with the intention of increasing fears in the Jewish community.

At the same time they have posted grossly racist cartoons of Muslims.  When people protested they put the image above into silhouette, but its racism was clear in the headings.
The Mail think this is less racist than the above figure
The CAA have therefore resorted to that time and trusted weapon, the Daily 'Hate' Mail.  No doubt tomorrow there will appear the usual smear article suggesting how us wicked 'anti-Semites' are trying to stop these doughy fighters against 'anti-Semitism':

I received a message a short time ago from Rory Tingle from the Daily Mail on-lineMy responses are below.  Clearly the fCampaign Against Anti-Semitism, are running scared that their charity status is under threat.  Their political activities are so blatant that they have been forced to tell ever more desperate lies.  Gideon Falter, CAA's Chair, claims that 
'This petition is an attempt to stop Jews from calling out anti-Semitism by smearing them as Israeli agents trying to stifle dissent against their supposed power.
The CAA has over 70 articles attacking Jeremy Corbyn
One wonders whether Mr Falter's nose has grown a few feet after telling this egregious lie.  Nothing CAA does is directed at people who hate Jews as Jews.   Their sole concern is smearing people like Jeremy Corbyn, Baroness Tonge, Gerald Kaufman, Shami Chakrabarti, Jackie Walker and even Israeli Anti-Zionist Professor Moshe Machover.  The wonder is they have left me alone for so long but maybe attacking the son of an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi is a step too far!  Or maybe not.

Anti-racist Jews are an especial target for this group of political gangsters.  Like the Jewish Labour Movement, Labour Friends of Israel and a host of similar groups, we suspect that they are funded, in part at any rate, by the Israeli state through the $50m slush fund allocated to Gilad Erdan's Ministry of Strategic Affairs.


This is an added reason why you should do your utmost to share this petition as widely as possible.  Let’s keep the heat on these unscrupulous and dishonest people who dare to conflate hatred against Jewish people and anti-Semitism with opposition to Israel’s Apartheid regime, a regime which only 4 weeks ago demolished a Bedouin village, Umm al-Hiran in Israel's Negev desert, murdering a school teacher, in order to erect a Jewish only village of Hiran.
We can of course expect the Mail, which in the 1930’s campaigned against the entrance of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany to be extremely sympathetic to these Zionist defamers.
Tony Greenstein
Criticisms the Daily Mail put to me
On 25 February 2017 at 00:20, Rory Tingle <Rory.Tingle@mailonline.co.uk> wrote:
Hello Tony,
The article is about Jenny Tonge signing your petition.
It contains some criticisms from MPs and the CAA that you may wish to respond to.
This will not be published until tomorrow morning. I will add over a  statement if you would like to send one.
If you reply tomorrow morning, please also CC in news editor Karl Smith – karl.smith@mailonline.co.uk
I have put the relevant criticisms for you to respond to below.
I would also be interested to know when you were most recently barred from Labour. Was it in response to this petition?
Best wishes,
Rory

CRITICISMS YOU MAY WISH TO RESPOND TO –
MPs and a peer said the petition was an attempt to 'stifle' those fighting bigotry.
Gideon Falter called it 'absurd' and said it resembled 'far-right slurs' now taken up by those on the 'far left'.
You were barred from the Labour Party in 2015 after failing vetting but rejoined after Jeremy Corbyn became leader.
You have previously stated online that 'Zionists collaborated with the Nazis' and helped 'round up' Jews to send to Auschwitz
You have been suspended from the Labour Party 'pending an investigation'.
Gideon Falter, Chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'This absurd petition aims to close down our charity on the basis that anti-Semitism is not a real problem and we are just trying to stifle debate about Israel.
'We back and successfully campaigned for the government to formally adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism which states that "criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic".
'This petition is an attempt to stop Jews from calling out anti-Semitism by smearing them as Israeli agents trying to stifle dissent against their supposed power.
Rory Tingle
UK Reporter
020 3615 3874
Response
The petition is aimed at a political group that is masquerading as a charity. 
You seem to be interested in my relationship to the Labour Party.  I have been suspended (not barred) from the LP - there has been no investigation since there is nothing to investigate.
It is a fact that in Hungary the Zionist Rescue & Relief Committee and the Judenrat (Jewish Council) rounded up Jews for deportation.  Indeed not just in Hungary.  If you weren't so ignorant you wouldn't be so shocked.  Who do you think rounded up the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto?  The late Israel Shahak, a note Israeli human rights campaigner and professor at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem was a child survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto and Belsen.   He said how even at the height of the roundups the Nazis were rarely seen. It was the Jewish police who did the rounding up.
If u knew anything about what actually happened in Warsaw you would know that the Jewish resistance first executed Jewish collaborators, who were almost always Zionists, as a precondition of the Jewish Resistance succeeding.
If you want to know about Hungary then read Ben Hecht's book Perfidy (its easy to google).  It was the subject of a 4 year trial in Israel which led to the overthrow of the Sharrett government.  Yes everywhere in Europe the Zionist movement collaborated and Isaiah Trunk, who wrote the definitive book on the Jewish Councils (Judenrate) estimated that 66% of their members were Zionists.
The petition is not aimed at preventing Jews calling out anti-Semitism.  I am after all Jewish.  I organised the fight against the real anti-Semites of the National Front and BNP in Brighton for many years.  What the petition is aimed at doing is stopping Mr Falter and co. from accusing supporters of the Palestinians and anti-Zionists of anti-Semitism.  It's like the boy who cried wolf syndrome.  If you accuse everyone u disagree with of anti-Semitism, when the real thing occurs people will ignore you.
I realise that the Daily Mail, which in the 1930s supported Hitler, along with the Express and The Times under Geoffrey Dawson, is now pro-Israel.  The 2 go together.  Anti-semites want Jews out of their countries and Zionists say yes, Jews do not belong anywhere bar Israel. 
Mr Falter tried to get change.org to take the petition down but failed.   His charity only targets left-wing   politicians surprisingly and those who oppose Zionism and support the Palestinians.  It is a fake charity and offers no public benefit.  It also deliberately misinterprets or skews opinion polls to suggest that up to half the British public are anti-Semitic.
I don't expect that the Mail will produce a fair report because today it is pro-Zionist.  In the 1930's it campaigned against the entrance of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.  It hasn't actually changed one iota
I should maybe make the obvious point that if a left wing political group tried to pretend it was a charity in order to gain tax advantages the Mail would be the first paper to call them out. 
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism has 73 articles, at the last count on Jeremy Corbyn.  It has made a complaint that he is an anti-Semite and has called Chakrabarti's Inquiry a whitewash and 'laughable'.
It also accused Jackie Walker of excusing Hitler's role in the holocaust and suggested she was justifying the holocaust.  Why?  because she quoted from David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister on why the Arabs don't see why they should pay the price for the holocaust and Auschwitz.  They later took down this post when they realised this was a smear too far.
http://azvsas.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/exclusive-campaign-against-anti.html

tony greenstein

Fake Charity 'Campaign Against Anti-Semitism' Runs Scared that it will lose its 'Charitable' Tax Advantages

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Zionist ‘Charity’ Seeks Help of former Hitler supporting Daily Mail and Tory MPs to help it in its McCarthyite work


 

The decision of the courageous peer, Baroness Jenny Tonge to sign the petitioncalling for the so-called Campaign Against Anti-Semitism to be deregistered as a charity, sent the CAA into a fit.  You couldn’t have bettered the headline ‘Baroness who quit Lib Dems over anti-Semitic row says Britain's top group fighting hate speech against Jews should lose its charitable status’. 
A top group that has nothing about Holocaust denial groups like the British National Party on its web site and 70+ articles attacking Jeremy Corbyn as an anti-Semite.  They make a particular speciality of attacking anti-racist and anti-Zionist Jews.  Moshe Machover, Gerald Kauffman and Jackie Walker are just a few examples of the people they demonise.
Unfortunately Tingle didn't manage to read his own online newspaper
One particular source of personal embarrassment, that they hadn't so far attacked me, has at last been rectified and my reputation restored!  In a report on Palestine Solidarity Campaign and how they need to eradicate 'anti-Semitism' in the movement they report on how 
'For example, the Brighton and Hove branch of PSC and various branches of PSC in Scotland have scheduled events to explain how “false antisemitism allegations silence the Palestinian voice”, with speakers including Jackie Walker and Tony Greenstein, both of whom were suspended by the Labour Party for antisemitism.
Sign the Petition
You see how the CAA works.  Alleging that Zionist organisations like the CAA make false accusations of anti-Semitism against people who oppose Zionism, which is a fact known to most people, is in itself anti-Semitic.  You don't have to believe that Jews are inferior, that they have peculiar characteristics, that they deserve to be discriminated against or indulge in conspiracies. Good gracious no.  If you attack Zionists (who the CAA conflate with Jews) for attacking their opponents as 'anti-Semitic' when they are not, then you too are anti-Semitic in their Alice-in-the-Wonderland world.
Mail Online article of 16.11.16.
The fact that Zionists claim that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitic and therefore that all anti-Zionists are by definition 'anti-Semitic' as e.g. Mick Davies, former head of the Jewish Leadership Council claimed when giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on Anti-Semitism is irrelevant.  Anti-semitism is what we say it is.  The fact that these people are died-in-the-wool Zionists is irrelevant.  Like Humpty Dumpty they define the terminology.  Words mean what they want them to mean.  The only question is whose master!

Of course the fact that Jackie and I have been suspended from the Labour Party for 'anti-Semitism' despite not yet being given the allegations or charges, is 'proof' of our anti-Semitism.  And these rascals claim they are a bona fide charity.

Jackie Walker, being Black and Jewish, is an especially attractive target for these Zionist scoundrels.  In one of its attacksthe CAA call Jackie a holocaust denier on the basis of her quoting Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion!  Only when they realised that the words ‘Nazi’ and ‘Auschwitz’ don’t always add up to helping Hitler, did they hurriedly delete the post.  But none of this was reported by the racist Mail and what isn’t reported doesn’t exist!

The Mail also attacks me and, as is normal for the paper, gets its facts wrong despite me having twice corrected them.  I was not ‘barred’ from joining the Labour Party last summer.  I wasn’t allowed to become a registered supporter or rather my vote was fished out of the ballot box! 
Rent-a-mouth John Mann MP managed to make an appearance
The Mail, horrors of horrors, informsits readers that ‘Mr Greenstein has previously stated online that 'Zionists collaborated with the Nazis' and helped 'round up' Jews to send to Auschwitz.’  This is indeed a shocking story.  Accusing the Zionist organisation, which bases its claim to a Jewish state on the Holocaust, of actually having collaborated with the Nazis.  And what is the truth of this terrible accusation?

Well you could turn to the Mail Online for 16thNovember 2016 where you will read the headline ‘War hero known as the 'Jewish Oskar Schindler' HELPED the Nazis kill hundreds of thousands of Jews, claims new book based on Holocaust survivor testimonies’In the story you learn that ‘Mr Bogdanor says he can prove he only managed to secure the agreement in return for helping Eichmann to deport the rest of Hungary's nearly 800,000 Jews to Auschwitz.’

The Mail castigates me for making the same allegations that it did!
Unfortunately the appropriately named Mr Tingle hadn’t done some basic research and for example read his own online archives first.  In fact whereas I claim that Kasztner helped send to Auschwitz some 437,000 Jews, the Mail puts the figure at 800,000!

What the Mailclaims is ‘New research, based on Holocaust survivor testimonies’ is in fact a very old story.  In his magnus opus ‘The Destruction of the European Jews’ the late Raul Hilberg, Professor of Holocaust Studies at Vermont University wrote that:
‘Eichmann stated in his memoirs that Kasztner “agreed to keep the Jews from resisting deportation – and even keep order in the camps – if I would close my eyes and let a few hundred or a few thousand young Jews emigrate illegally to Palestine.  It was a good bargain.’ (p. 903)
Hilberg was citing an article in Life magazine of 5thDecember 1960.  Eichmann’s revelations were undoubtedly stirred by the Kasztner Trial which was taking place in Israel at that time.  As a result of accusations that he had collaborated with the Nazis to send thousands of Jews to their deaths, Kasztner, a senior official in the Israeli Labour Party and scheduled to be a member of the Knesset at the next elections, had sued his accuser, Malchiel Greenwald.  The state had paid for and insisted on such a prosecution but it backfired and it was Kasztner who was on trial.  The judge, Benjamin Halevi, found that Kasztner had ‘sold his soul to the devil’ when finding the allegations against him proved.  Although the Supreme Court overturned the verdict by 4-1 this was on a legal technicality. 

So the accusation against me in the Mail, of accusing Zionists of having  collaborated with the Nazis in Hungary has a rather good foundation!  But expecting an idiot reporter like Pringle to read back copies of his own online paper is probably rather too much to expect.

It is interesting though that in its report of Paul Bogdanor’s book, Kasztner’s Crime, the Mail Online conveniently omits the fact that Kasztner was the de-facto head of the Zionist Rescue & Relief Committee and the head of the Zionist movement in Hungary and a representative of the Jewish Agency in Palestine.  In other words the Mail managed to omit entirely the fact that Kasztner was a Zionist.  Still rewriting history is what one expects of the Mail.

The Mail also found a rent-a-quote toe rag of an MP one Bob Blackman, Tory MP for Harrow East, who said: 'This web page is just the sort of abject nonsense that has got no place in public life.’  No place in public life.  Presumably it should be banned, outlawed, removed.  Because the CAA works, apparently, with the CPS and has the support of Theresa May.  All very fine but none of this is charitable.

Another well known anti-racist, known for his work in support of child refugees NOT, Mike Freer, Tory MP for Finchley & Golders Green, called my petition 'a nonsense'.  Which is probably about all that the man is intellectually capable of.

Gideon Falter, Chair of the charity and also a trustee for the apartheid ‘charity’ the JNF UK is quoted as saying that 'This absurd petition aims to close down our charity on the basis that anti-Semitism is not a real problem and we are just trying to stifle debate about Israel.  Again another few lies.  We haven’t said that anti-Semitism isn’t a problem rather that we don’t want genuine anti-Semitism confused with people who oppose the racist Israeli state and Zionism, both of which Falter supports.
Neither do we wish to close down his ‘charity’.  It’s just we preferred that political organisations were honest and didn’t try to dishonestly obtain tax and financial advantages by pretending to be what they are not.

Gerald Kaufman MP RIP – A Wonderful Example of Jewish Humanitarianism and Support for the Palestinians

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The Victim of False Accusations of Anti-Semitism by Political Pygmies like John Mann



If there's one parliamentary speech you should commit to memory it is this one
If there is one parliamentary speech that you should commit to memory it is that of Gerald Kaufman in the debate on Israel’s attack on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead) on January 15 2009.  It is a speech that the fake anti-racists and opponents of ‘anti-Semitism’ will accuse of being ‘anti-Semitic’ because it
1.    accused an Israeli military spokesperson of speaking like a Nazi. 

2.    It compared the murder of his own Jewish grandmother in the Polish town of Staszow to that of Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza. 

3.    It accused Israel and the Zionists of cynically exploiting what happened during the Holocaust to Jews in order to justify what the Palestinians are now experiencing.

All of them true – but the truth to day is anti-Semitic.
Pipsqueak MP Mann attacked Gerald Kaufman in Zionist paper - shamefully Corbyn went along with this nonsense
It was a deeply humanitarian speech which compared two human rights tragedies.   Yet what Gerald Kaufman said in 2009 will now be termed ‘anti-Semitic’ under the ludicrous McCarthyite IHRA definition of anti-Semitism which Theresa May opportunistically adopted and which Jeremy Corbyn in a shameful act of submission accepted. [Jeremy Corbyn’s acceptance of this Tory definition of ‘anti-Semitism’ is shameful and must be reversed].  Below is the most powerful section of Gerald’s speech.

According to the far-right rent-a-mouth MP John Mann, Gerald Kaufman was ‘a disgrace to Parliament and the Labour Party’.  Some of us would say that it is the Labour Party’s disgrace that it harbours such a devious little opportunist such as John Mann in its ranks.
Gerald Kaufman in the last year
My first encounter with Gerald was over 30 years ago, when he was a stalwart of Poale Zion and a staunch Zionist.  Suffice to say we didn’t agree!  Gerald was always on the Right of the Party, the last surviving member of Harold Wilson’s government but he was also a highly principled man.
An attack by despicable Zionist 'charity' Campaign Against Anti-Semitism is indeed an accolade - there were no les than 21 attacks on Gerald for bogus 'anti-semitism' 
Gerald was not like some of the Zionist robots in Parliament - the Joan Ryans, Wes Streetings and Tom Watsons.  When he saw in which direction Israel was going, because he was still attached to the memory of the earlier Labour Zionist leaders, he became active and highly vocal in his support of the Palestinians. 

Unlike the hypocrites of the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Friends of Israel who mouth support for 2 States whilst supporting the occupation and the settlements and the consequent repression, Gerald Kaufman spoke out vehemently against the brutality of Israel’s wars against Gaza and its Occupation.
Gerald Kaufman on a parliamentary delegation to see the Occupation for himself
I am happy to print in its entirety Gerald’s wonderful speech to the House of Commons on January 15 2009 at the time of yet another genocidal Israeli attack on Gaza.

Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab):
I was brought up as an orthodox Jew and a Zionist. On a shelf in our kitchen, there was a tin box for the Jewish National Fund, into which we put coins to help the pioneers building a Jewish presence in Palestine.

I first went to Israel in 1961 and I have been there since more times than I can count. I had family in Israel and have friends in Israel. One of them fought in the wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973 and was wounded in two of them. The tie clip that I am wearing is made from a campaign decoration awarded to him, which he presented to me.
I have known most of the Prime Ministers of Israel, starting with the founding Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. Golda Meir was my friend, as was Yigal Allon, Deputy Prime Minister, who, as a general, won the Negev for Israel in the 1948 war of independence.

My parents came to Britain as refugees from Poland. Most of their families were subsequently murdered by the Nazis in the holocaust. My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town of Staszow. A German soldier shot her dead in her bed.

My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza. The current Israeli Government ruthlessly and cynically exploit the continuing guilt among gentiles over the slaughter of Jews in the holocaust as justification for their murder of Palestinians. The implication is that Jewish lives are precious, but the lives of Palestinians do not count.

On Sky News a few days ago, the spokeswoman for the Israeli army, Major Leibovich, was asked about the Israeli killing of, at that time, 800 Palestinians—the total is now 1,000. She replied instantly that

“500 of them were militants.”

That was the reply of a Nazi. I suppose that the Jews fighting for their lives in the Warsaw ghetto could have been dismissed as militants.

The Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni asserts that her Government will have no dealings with Hamas, because they are terrorists. Tzipi Livni’s father was Eitan Livni, chief operations officer of the terrorist Irgun Zvai Leumi, who organised the blowing-up of the King David hotel in Jerusalem, in which 91 victims were killed, including four Jews.

Israel was born out of Jewish terrorism. Jewish terrorists hanged two British sergeants and booby-trapped their corpses. Irgun, together with the terrorist Stern gang, massacred 254 Palestinians in 1948 in the village of 

15 Jan 2009 : Column 408
Deir Yassin. Today, the current Israeli Government indicate that they would be willing, in circumstances acceptable to them, to negotiate with the Palestinian President Abbas of Fatah. It is too late for that. They could have negotiated with Fatah’s previous leader, Yasser Arafat, who was a friend of mine. Instead, they besieged him in a bunker in Ramallah, where I visited him. Because of the failings of Fatah since Arafat’s death, Hamas won the Palestinian election in 2006. Hamas is a deeply nasty organisation, but it was democratically elected, and it is the only game in town. The boycotting of Hamas, including by our Government, has been a culpable error, from which dreadful consequences have followed.

The great Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban, with whom I campaigned for peace on many platforms, said:

“You make peace by talking to your enemies.”

However many Palestinians the Israelis murder in Gaza, they cannot solve this existential problem by military means. Whenever and however the fighting ends, there will still be 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza and 2.5 million more on the west bank. They are treated like dirt by the Israelis, with hundreds of road blocks and with the ghastly denizens of the illegal Jewish settlements harassing them as well. The time will come, not so long from now, when they will outnumber the Jewish population in Israel.

It is time for our Government to make clear to the Israeli Government that their conduct and policies are unacceptable, and to impose a total arms ban on Israel. It is time for peace, but real peace, not the solution by conquest which is the Israelis’ real goal but which it is impossible for them to achieve. They are not simply war criminals; they are fools.

When Gerald was attacked recently over a speech in the House of Commons because he had referred to ‘Jewish money’ I responded on my blog, pointing out the hypocrisy of his accusers.  That there were nearly 600 references to ‘Jewish money’ in the Jewish Chronicle and that it was a common phrase.

The Witchhunt of Gerald Kaufman - Crucified for Supporting the Palestinians

Sir Gerald Kaufman, veteran British Parliamentarian and Zionist compares Israelis in Gaza to the Nazis

 

That did not stop the Jewish Chronicle and its hateful neo-con editor Stephen Pollard or the despicable ‘charity’ Campaign Against Anti-Semitism from maligning him.  The CAA had, by the time of Gerald’s death published no less than 21 posts attacking Gerald Kaufman.  I sent references to my blog to Gerald at the time and he kindly wrote back:

Dear Mr Greenstein
 Most interesting.   And many thanks.
 Best wishes
 Gerald Kaufman

From: Tony Greenstein 
Sent: 08 December 2015 00:26
To: KAUFMAN, Gerald
Subject: Re: The Silence of the Normally Volluble Geoffrey Alderman re Sir Gerald Kaufmann MP - The High Price of Hypocrisy

I didn't like this bullying hypocrisy.  It has nothing to do with anti-Semitism but support of the Palestinians.  Going onto the Campaign Against anti-Semitism site one would think you and Jeremy Corbyn are the main sources of anti-Semitism in Britain today.  The BNP and EDL, being pro-Zionist, don't get a look in.  Sheer madness but it means that if you accuse people who are not anti-Semitic of anti-Semitism the real anti-Semites are let off the hook.  A case of the boy who cried wolf.
I just had an idea that 'Jewish money' might not be that rare a phrase, although it is not helpful to use it (!) because of the implications.  I was taken aback when I did a search on the JC's website.  Geoffrey Alderman is particularly hypocritical given that he has used the phrase himself and excused opposition to anti-Semitism as a form of political correctness.
I saw the nasty little report in the Jewish Chronicle about when a reporter burst in on you at the House of Commons and thought you might be feeling a little down, so please use my research as you see fit.  
Today the Palestinians are the Jews of the Middle East.
best wishes
Tony Greenstein

On 7 December 2015 at 22:45, KAUFMAN, Gerald <gerald.kaufman.mp@parliament.uk> wrote:

Wow !   What amazing research ! 

Fake Charity ‘Campaign Against “AntiSemitism” ’ Attacks Tony Greenstein - Author of Petition to Charity Commission

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Hatchet job by the CAA

The ‘New International Definition of Anti-Semitism’  Saying Anything That Upsets Zionist Propaganda Organisations like the CAA

I have to confess that I felt a certain embarrassment at the fact that Israel’s favourite propaganda organisation in this country, the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, had not until yesterday attacked me.  Indeed searching their site I came up with no mentions whatsoever of my name!

I am however pleased to announce that as a result of my campaign, I have now gone within a week from 0 to 3 appearances on the CAA website!

However by launching a petitionquestioning their charity registration I have brought the wrath of god on my head (I assume that that’s not anti-Semitic!).  It seems as if the CAA had some difficulty deciding how best to approach the matter.  It was clearly important to attack me but the question was how.  In the end they opted for the hackneyed ‘left=right’ formulation ‘Tony Greenstein’s attempt to shut down Campaign Against Antisemitism showcases the similarities between far-left and far-right’. 
some of Gideon Falter, CAA Chairman's directorships
I guess this shows something of a lack of imagination but what can you expect from people whose only answer to anything is to shout ‘anti-Semitism’?

The idea that the left and right are really one and the same has a good pedigree.  No less  than Adolf Hitler pursued this particular theme as part of his belief in the International Jewish Conspiracy Theory. In a speech on 28th July 1922 Hitler spoke of how:
The Jews were a ‘capitalist people who ‘found a way to lay their hands on the fourth estate. [the proletariat] The Jew founded the Social Democratic, the Communist Movement… On the Right, he attempted to intensify all existing wrongs to such an extent that [the worker] … would be provoked beyond measure.’
It is also idiotic.  Because some on the Left support Brexit and the BNP do, does that mean that the Left=BNP?  Perhaps because both dogs and cats have tails that dog=cat?  It is an absurd process of ‘logic’.
My place in infamy is assured!
However the CAA is nothing if not crude.  They say that they are not surprised that Jenny Tonge ‘signed up to a petitionproposed by notorious antisemite Tony Greenstein.’  To make such a statement, without a whiff of evidence, is clearly defamatory.  The CAA is increasingly being forced into assertions of anti-Semitism without any underlying or justifying rationale.

The CAA referred to a hack article in the ‘paper wot supported Hitler’ the Daily Mail Online attacking the petition which noted that ‘We are extremely grateful to Baroness Deech, Bob Blackman MP, Matthew Offord MP and Mike Freer MP, all of whom rushed to defend our work.’  They are all Tories, not a species usually known for their hostility to racism.  I can’t remember any of the above supporting the Dubs amendment supporting the admission of child refugees into Britain.  But then the ‘anti-Semitism’ of the CAA has little if anything to do with what most people consider to be racism.

The CAA explain that ‘Mr Greenstein is to be squarely defined as an antisemite under the International Definition of Antisemitism, which states that “Denying the…intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany…during World War II” is antisemitic.’ It is in fact the International Holocaust Definition of Anti-Semitism.    The IHRA definition uses more cautious phrases such as 'might' or 'could' but for the CAA the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism outlaws anti-Zionism.

Certainly denying the intentionality of the genocide of Jews, and others during the Holocaust would indeed be anti-Semitic.  But of course I have never done so.  What they are objecting to is the fact that I have drawn attention to the fact that the Nazis, quite consciously, supported the Zionist movement in Germany prior to the outbreak of war. 

That is a fact that Zionist historians themselves, like for example Lucy Dawidowicz and Francis Nicosia have admitted.  I realise that it is painful but that’s how life is.  What it isn’t however is anti-Semitic.  Unless the truth is also anti-Semitic.

On 28th January 1935 Lucy Dawidowic writes in her book ‘War Against the Jews’ that Reinhardt Heydrich, who Gerald Reitlinger rightly describes as the “real engineer of the final solution” issued a directive stating:
‘the activity of the Zionist-oriented youth organizations that are engaged in the occupational restructuring of the Jews for agriculture and manual trades prior to their emigration to Palestine lies in the interest of the National Socialist state’s leadership.’  These organisations therefore ‘are not to be treated with that strictness that it is necessary to apply to the members of the so-called German-Jewish organizations (assimilationists)’. [Lucy Dawidowicz, War Against the Jews, pp.118, citing Mommsen 'Der Nationalsozialistische Polizeistaat pp.78/9 and Nicosia, Zionism and anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany, p.119.
In May 1935 Schwarze Korps, which was the paper of the SS, wrote in a similar vein:
the Zionists adhere to a strict racial position and by emigrating to Palestine they are helping to build their own Jewish state.... The assimilation-minded Jews deny their race and insist on their loyalty to Germany or claim to be Christians because they have been baptised in order to subvert National Socialist principles.  [Randolph Braham, The Politics of Genocide – The Holocaust in Hungary, Vol. 1. Columbia University Press, 1981 p. 484, fn. 94., 5 May 1935, L. Dawidowicz, p.118, citing Karl Schleunes, The twisted road to Auschwitz – Nazi policy towards the Jews 1933-39, 1970].
Just as today people like Robert Spencer, one of the founders of the Alt-Right movement in the USA, support Israel as a fellow ethnic nationalist state.  Indeed the phenomenon of white supremacists and Islamaphobes supporting Israel as a racial state that they would like to emulate is common throughout Europe, from Le Pen to Geert Wilders to Herr Strache.

In 1936, the Palestine Post reported the demand that:
… the German Zionist Federation be given recognition by the Government as the only instrument for the exclusive control of German Jewish life was made by the Executive of that body in a proclamation today. All German Jewish organizations, it was declared, should be dominated by the Zionist spirit. [http://www.counterpunch.org/2002/12/23/51-documents/ Lenni Brenner, 51 Documents, 23.12.02.]
So well established is the close relationship between the Zionist movement and the Nazis established that it is barely worth arguing.  The Zionists, when the Nazis came to power, welcomed their arrival as confirmation of their thesis that Jews had no place in another peoples’ land. 

Berl Katznelson, a founder of Mapai and editor of Labour Zionism’s daily paper, Davar, saw the rise of Hitler as “an opportunity to build and flourish like none we have ever had or ever will have”.  [Nicosia, ZANG, p.91]  Rabbi Joachim Prinz, one of the leaders of German Zionism and later President of the American Jewish Congress and Vice Chairman of the World Jewish Congress admitted that:
“It was morally disturbing to seem to be considered as the favoured children of the Nazi Government, particularly when it dissolved the anti-Zionist youth groups, and seemed in other ways to prefer the Zionists. The Nazis asked for a 'more Zionist behaviour.” [Joachim Prinz, Zionism under the Nazi Government, Young Zionist (London, November 1937), p.18]
Nor is this simply in the past.  Zionism is based on the idea of the rejection of the idea of a Jewish diaspora, it is called ‘negation of the diaspora’.  Of course there is a contradiction between the fact of the existence of Jewish communities outside Israel and the Zionist belief that it is only in Israel that a Jewish life can be fulfilled.  However whenever there is a rise of anti-Semitism (as oppose to the fake kind, anti-Zionism) then Zionism responds as it always has.

This is why, with the election of Trump and the coming to power of people like Steve Bannon of Breitbart and the Alt-Right as his Strategic Advisor, we see that Zionism is reacting once again in the ways that Zionism has traditionally reacted.   It welcomesgenuine anti-Semitism, it seeks to work with it.  Hence why Mort Klein and the Zionist Organisation of America invitedBannon to its annual gala dinner.  In what is a familiar refrain he says that as Bannon is a friend of Israel he cannot be anti-Semitic. Bannon and Breitbart: Friends of Israel, not anti-Semites.

In America this has caused liberal Zionists considerable anguish.  After all they have been brought up with the idea that Zionism is opposed to ‘anti-Semitism’ which they have been told manifests itself as opposition to Israel and yet when it comes to anti-Semitism of the far-Breitbart Right, Zionism has no objections. 

The Jewish Forward, a liberal Zionist paper seemed shell-shocked, not only by Trump’s victory and the open anti-Semitism of his supporters, but at the welcome they received from the Israeli government and the Zionist movement.  In what seemed to be a journey of self-discovery How Steve Bannon and Breitbart News Can Be Pro-Israel — and Anti-Semitic at the Same Time, the Forward’s Naomi Zeveloff declared that:

‘though it would seem impossible to hate Jews but love the Jewish state, these two viewpoints are not as contradictory as they appear.
Zeveloff cited Steven Cohen, a sociologist at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion that there is “little correlation” between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and that “Many people who dislike Jews like Israel and many people who are critical toward Israel are affectionate toward Jews.

This might seem like bread and butter to some of us, a statement of the obvious, but to those who have been brought up on anti-Zionism=anti-Semitism propaganda, it is indeed a revelation.

Zeveloff was shocked by the fact that although Trump 'has professed an ultra-right view of Israel... many of Trump’s followers spout anti-Semitism.' Zeveloff cites Yael Sternhell, a Tel Aviv University professor of history and American studies, that "As long as Jews are in Israel fighting the ‘good fight’ with the Arab world as a bastion of American ideals and values in the Middle East, then they are very useful and admirable allies,” but “Once they are home demanding a multi-cultural democracy, demanding that the country accommodate their religion, their belief and their custom that is a different story.”

The CAA’s hatchet job is having none of this.  Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are one and the same.  It says that ‘Mr Greenstein may be known also for the company he keeps: often appearing supporting Jackie Walker, who has also (twice) suspended by the Labour Party for antisemitism. Ms Walker’s antisemitism is well known’. 

I am of course very happy to keep company with Jackie Walker, and note only that this article is libelous of her too!  McCarthyite guilt-by-association is one of the favourite ploys of the CAA.
The CAA are clearly worried about my accusation that their ‘anti-fascist’ work was merely a façade, window dressing for their real purpose of attacking anti-Zionist groups and anti-Zionism.  They say that my assertion to this effect ‘will no doubt raise eyebrows’ with the Charity Commission ‘since, as it is well known that challenging fascist neo-Nazis is a primary focus of our work, and has been since our campaign was founded.’   

It is also well known that the CAA was founded in the midst of Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza, in order to combat opposition to that war, which it deemed ‘anti-Semitic’ I’m not sure how they keep a straight face.

The CAA also make reference to minor convictions of mine 33 years ago.  Not only are they long spent but this is in itself an offence under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and of course nothing to do with my views whatsoever.  But then again the CAA have no alternative but to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

What is becoming clear though is that the CAA is in receipt of some of the $50m that Gilad Erdan’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs has budgeted to combat BDS.  There are also a number of other allegations concerning them which I shall reveal in due course.

Sussex Friends of Israel – Our Code of Conduct is based on the Principles of Respect, Responsibility and Integrity

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SFI Pays Tribute on its Facebook page to 

Gerald Kaufman as only it knows how

this is an example of 'engaging meaningfully with those working towards a peaceful, just, democratic and lasting resolution of the conflict'
As the British political world and many of his friends throughout paid tribute to a great British parliamentarian, Gerald Kaufman, the Father of the House of Commons, there was one exception.  Sussex Friends of Israel.  Whereas the world mourned, SFI celebrated in their own unique way - with an orgy of hate and vitriol.  Here we see the true face of our Friends of Israel.  Yet people like our local Brighton Councillor Penn still frequent these bigots and racists.

On their About SectionSussex Friends of Israel says it is 'dedicated to developing greater support, awareness and understanding of Israel through education, communication and community partnership.'  They promise to engage meaningfully with those working towards a peaceful, just, democratic and lasting resolution of the conflict between Israel and its neighbours.’  They have a whole section on ‘Respect, Responsibility and Integrity’  SFI ‘respects the opinions, knowledge, insight, experience and expertise of all members of the general public.’ 

It is heady stuff.   We are told that ‘Supporters should be willing and able to explain the basis of personal ethical decision-making.’  In particular they wish to avoid ‘unwelcome verbal, offensive, abusive or physical behavior – especially whensuch conduct interferes with another person or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment..’
these comments must be seen in the 'British eclectic tradition'
Clearly a bunch of liberal do-gooders

After all ‘The underlying philosophical approach in this code is part of the ‘British eclectic tradition’.   Although of course it is difficult to live up to such principles, SFI ‘seeks to ensure that moral principles and codes function act as guidelines for thinking about all decisions that need to be made.’ And they emphasise again that ‘Respect, responsibility and integrity are the collective responsibility of everyone associating with Sussex Friends of Israel.’

Under ‘Editorial Guidelines’ we are told that ‘SFI is committed to delivering the highest editorial and ethical standards when disseminating on-line content across all communications platforms including, but not limited to, the SFI website, Facebook and Twitter.’  And the Facebook discussion that they had after the sad death of Gerald Kaufman MP was a splendid example of the 'highest editorial and ethical standards'SFI set themselves!
An ethical Jew, even if he is a Zionist, which Kaufman was, is anathema for these bigots
In particular ‘SFI strives to be fair and open-minded, explore a range of points of view, objective in its approach and even handed in its judgements.’  This latter-day manifesto of universal human rights goes on to say that ‘SFI respects the fundamental human right to exerise freedom of thought, conscience and religion. SFI’s duty is to avoid unjustified offense or likely harm. It seeks to achieve this by providing an on-line forum for constructive comment – even when opinions become contentious – without denigrating others’ beliefs.’

The only question I have to ask is how such delicate flowers would survive in the hot house atmosphere of Israel where racism and intolerance is the norm.  One wonders whether their Zionism could even survive a trip to the Promised Land.

Without denigrating others beliefs’ they again emphasise that ‘Respect, responsibility and integrity are the collective responsibility of everyone associating with Sussex Friends of Israel.’
I think readers have to agree that this is such a good example of 'an on-line forum for constructive comment – even when opinions become contentious – without denigrating others’ beliefs.'
One has to confess that any group of people would have difficulty living up to such noble standards.  It is true that this manifesto slightly differs from their behaviour outside the Sodastream shop when Shaike (an Israeli) used to shout 'primitive' in the face of a Palestinian, still not everyone can follow such codes.

So how you might ask do SFI treat the late and much respected Gerald Kaufman, Father of the House of Commons, someone who fervently believed in peace and a two states solution?  Well here are a few of the kind, caring, concerned etc. comments of contributors about Gerald Kaufman:  Indeed we are spoilt for choice:
unlike SFI who talk about 2 States, Gerald Kaufman actually meant it hence why he met with Arafat
There is Sylvia Landman whose tribute consists of ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish’

And in a similar spirit of tolerance, once Julian KrugerI'm sorry good riddance.These Jews are the worst of the worst’.  Rob Levy tells us, using a picture of Yasser Arafat of the PLO and Kaufman that we should ‘Judge a man by the company he keeps...’. I suspect Rob didn’t mean that in the sense most of us might understand it.

Alex Ian helpfully commented that ‘every dog has his day’whilst Sylvia Landman, clearly a woman of few words and even fewer thoughts could only contribute one word ‘Traitor’.  Lizbeth Ruffman informed us that there is ‘Nothing worse than an anti Semitic Jew.’  Who ‘will not rest in peace’

I realise that the anti-Semites who read this post will misinterpret phrases like every dog has his day’ Traitorand the bit about Kaufman'will not rest in peace’ but they are all well meant

Peter Inskip was more profound altogether May he finally find the peace his comments would not let others find while he lived.’ Whilst ‘Michelle Albagli’ expressed the ‘Hope he is now where he belongswhich I suspect doesn’t mean what most of us would hope it meant. Reuven Magnes could only muster a ‘what a repulsive man he was’which was echoed by Leslie Ann Rose who agreed Repulsive ..... a great adjective to describe Kaufman!  For Stephen Packter he was ‘A Jew who brought legitimacy to being anti Semitic’ whilst Ros Ellis pined that ‘Some days are better than others. ....’  Philosophical meanderings at a time of  tragedy no less!  

Tony Lynas was angry that ‘The Labour Council will be splashing the cash on the Muslim voter to buy the vote in the by-election just like in Oldham’ wherea Rob Levy wondered whether whether we can anybody find a positive reference to Israel made by Kaufman at any stage in his life?’  At least Peta Stockton decided to keep shtum ‘On the basis that you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, I'll say nothing’ 

As you can see Sussex Friends of Israel does its best to live up to its high ideals

Devorah Rosner Marcus however didn't agree:  ‘I know it's in poor taste to speak ill of the dead,’  yes Devorah it is, but why waste an opportunity like this before going on to say that ‘this man stirred up so much hate and dissension not only within his party but throughout the country, that I think it's safe to say that no good hearted, moral conscienced decent human being will miss this embarrassment of a human being. May g-d have mercy on his soul.’ For a minute I saw a hanging judge with that funny cap on pronouncing sentence.  Melvyn Wiseglass demonstrated how easy it is for people to be the exact opposite of their names when he said ‘Good riddence to this evil evil man who calls himslf Jewish.’ and in the process demonstrated that spelling wasn’t his penchant.

Daniel Leons-Marder, whilst agreeing that Kaufman was a thoroughly disreputable type, had to emphasise the question of race.  ‘A Jew you don't like is still a Jew.’  Certainly one of the more profound statements to come out of SFI.  But Melvyn Wiseglass was having none of this:  ‘True’ he replied ‘but that type of Jew reminds me of the Jews that helped the nazis to exterminate there fellow Jews.’  Robert Wolf feels compelled to respond to this:  ‘Melvyn Wiseglass I do not know much about Kaufman but please do not judge the Kappos , you were not there , they tried to stay alive , their lives were at risk , Kaufman is far worse , his life was never in danger , he was just a nothing , a total waste of space .

The last comment is the most interesting.  He starts off by saying he knows nothing about Kaufman, makes some sensible comments about the orderlies in the extermination camps (‘kapos’ is the ritual abuse of non or anti-Zionist Jews) and then ends up saying Kaufman ‘is far worse... he was just a nothing, a total waste of space’ which is quite rich since Kaufman achieved far more in a single day than these snakes will manage in a decade of Sabbaths. 

Eddie Goldberg contributed on of the more meaningful comments:  ‘Looked like E.T, behaved like a Nazi. Glad he lived to see the Donald in power before he died.’ Zionists like The Donald.  To which Irene Michlin had to insist that oh well, even a nasty Jew is a Jew.which again is one of the more thoughtful statements of SFI, not a group exactly overendowed with brain.  Before saying a blessing.ילנה מייקפר informed the collective that The most dangerous are leftwing Jews with money. Traitors.’  Traitors to what he never said.  Alon Kazakevitch is made of sterner stuff.  ‘Palestinian grief is my pleasure.  It's nasty but i have no reason to have any sympathy for my enemies.’  You can just imagine him in a Black uniform with a swastika or two protruding.  
Hamish Mackenzie observed that ‘This politician could make inflammatory remarks about the sitting govt and visit Israel and not live in fear of a fatwa’  Sylvia Landman’s tribute was short and sour:  ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish’  whereas for Barry Ziderman there was the dichotomy that he was a ‘Good Labour politician - Lousy Jew’  Julian Kruger Didn’t beat around the bush ‘I'm sorry good riddance.These Jews are the worst of the worst’ whereas Maurice Klein was of the opinion that there was ‘One less kapo germ to worry about’


But we should be grateful for SFI  because when they are talking to themselves and not putting on a PR show for others then they show what a group of small minded, nasty little bigots they are - racists to the core
One of SFI's ethically integrity laced discussions - respect being the key word

Have They No Shame? Whilst his body is still warm – Fake ‘Anti-Semitism’ Charity Continues to Defame Gerald Kaufmann's Memory

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Campaign Against Anti-Semitism has all the ethics of an untrained rotweiller

They have no shame

Sir Gerald Kaufman's famous speech in January 2009 during Israel's bloody Operation Cast Lead



fake Zionist charity Campaign Against Antisemitism in disguise

Kaufman's speech comparing the murder of Palestinian civilians to that of the Nazis - Zionism recoils from such comparisons despite continually justifying Israel with reference to the Holocaust
Sir Gerald Kaufman hadn’t even been buried when Zionist ‘charity’ Campaign Against Anti-Semitismlaunched a vicious and despicable attack on him.  In an article entitled ‘Sir Gerald Kaufman MP’s words have left a rotting stain on our institutions’ the CAA demonstrated why they have all the ethics of Fred Goodwin and Philip Green combined. 

Gerald Kaufman had a fine and distinguished parliamentary career.  The last of Harold Wilson’s kitchen cabinet, he was someone who combined eccentricity and principle.  He was a fierce proponent of the ban on fox hunting and I can remember when he was cornered by snarling supporters of hunting at Brighton Labour Party conference, who attacked him for being Jewish.  Sir Gerald, unlike the racist frauds of the CAA, actually knew what anti-Semitism was like.
Sir Gerald Kaufman
What got the CAA’s goat was Gerald Kaufman’s support for the Palestinians.  The pretext was speaking about ‘Jewish money’ and its influence in the Tory Party.  If he had been a Zionist writing about Jewish moneyin the Jewish Chronicle then the CAA wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.  Anti-Semitism only concerns them when Israel is under attack. 

Zionism has never objected to anti-Semitism.  On the contrary it has always seen in anti-Semitism an indispensable friend.  As the founder of Political Zionism, Theodor Herzl wrote:

The anti-Semites will become our most dependable friends, the anti-Semitic countries our allies.  We want to emigrate as a respected people.’ (Diaries pp. 83/4)

We see this today in the welcome that both the Israeli state and American Zionists have given to Trump and his anti-Semitic advisor, Steve Bannon of Breitbart.  [see Anti-Semitism and the Alt-Right - Why Zionists have nothing to say about Trump’s Anti-Semitism]

Sir Gerald Kaufman the Jewish Father of the House of Commons came from the right-wing of the Labour Party.  I am on the Marxist left of the Party.  But both of us agreed on one thing – the Jewish experience of anti-Semitism meant that we cannot turn a blind eye to the pogroms, the violence and the extreme racism carried out in our name by Israel, which defines itself as a Jewish state of all people.
Gerald Kaufman on a parliamentary delegation in Hebron where Judeo-Nazi settlers constantly attack the Palestinians under the umbrella of army protection
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism is a Zionist propaganda group set up in August 2014, when Israel was murdering over 2,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including 551 innocent children.  Israel used white phosphorous bombs and the latest high tech weaponry to demolish clinics, schools, hospitals and housing.  We all remember when 4 little children were murdered by an Israeli airplane as they played on Gaza’s beach.  It has even bannedNorwegian surgeon Mads Gilbert on ‘security’ grounds from Gaza because he dared criticise Israel.

The CAA has only ever had one purpose, to use the cry of ‘anti-Semitism’ to undermine support for the Palestinians of Gaza.  In pursuit of that it has libelled and defamed anyone who stood up to the Israeli propaganda blitzkrieg.  They particularly hate Jewish ‘traitors’ like Sir Gerald.  The Zionist particularly love accusing Jewish anti-Zionists and even critical Zionists like Sir Gerald of being ‘traitors’ thus implying that we owe Israel some kind of loyalty – this is the anti-Semitic concept of ‘dual loyalty’.
Norwegian surgeon Mads Gilbert, who operated in Gaza throughout the last 2 Israeli attacks, has been banned from Gaza on 'security' grounds - presumably he might attack them with his scalpel!
Sir Gerald made his famous speech in the House of Commons comparing the Nazi murder of his grandmother in Staszow, Poland during WW2 to the murder of Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza.  That was unforgivable because we must not compare Israel to Nazi Germany.  Only Zionists may use the Holocaust to defend their bastard state of racial supremacy.

At the last count there were 22 articles attacking Sir Gerald on the CAA web site and barely a single mention of Britain’s 3 main fascist parties – the BNP, the EDL and the NF.  All of them deny the Holocaust, all of them are anti-Semitic but of course the first two are also pro-Zionist.  The CAA only engages in a few token prosecutions of fascists as a form of window dressing, a smokescreen to cover their main activity – undermining support for the Palestinians and defaming anti-Zionists.

Gerald Kaufman’s offence was apparently to saythat “It’s Jewish money, Jewish donations to the Conservative Party – as in the general election in May – support from the Jewish Chronicle, all of those things, bias the Conservatives.’  Now I don’t happen to agree with Sir Gerald’s analysis.  I think that the Conservative Party, just like New Labour before them, supports Israel because of Britain’s economic, political and military interests in the Middle East and in particular the need to hug the United States foreign policy wise.
There were 590 references to 'Jewish money' in the Jewish Chronicle archive
However what Sir Gerald said was notanti-Semitic.  Undoubtedly Jewish Zionist donors give money to the Tory Party because they want to influence policy in a pro-Israeli direction.  Most big donors do.  Is that anti-Semitic?  Or maybe it is the use of the phrase ‘Jewish money’?  Well I did a search on the Jewish Chronicle website and came up with 590 similar occurrences of the phrase in their archive.  It is a term commonly used within the Jewish community.

The Daily Mail, the paper that the CAA goes running to when it is under attack, carried an attack on Jeremy Corbyn by Michael Foster, the suspended Labour Party member who compared other members of the party to Nazi stormtroopers.  What were the headlines?


What are those articles about if not Jewish donors giving Jewish money to the Labour Party (or not giving it)?
Alderman was all in favour of banning Gerald Kaufman for 'anti-Semitism'

The hypocrisy of Sir Gerald’s attackers was exemplified by Geoffrey Alderman, the Tory fogey and Jewish Chronicle columnist.  Alderman wrote an article on 19thNovember 2015 about Sir Gerald entitled ‘A man who deserves banning’ for his use of the term ‘Jewish money’.  It was somewhat ironic because Alderman, in an article entitled Obama’s False Iran Alternative on 13th August 2015 used the term ‘Jewish money’ no less than 3 times!
Three times in one paragraph the hypocritical Alderman used the term 'Jewish money' - not once did fake Zionist 'charity' CAA complain
When it comes to genuine anti-Semitism, Geoffrey Alderman is normally very tolerant.  When David Whelan owner of Wigan Athletic football club wrote that ‘there is nothing like a Jew who sees money slipping through his fingers’ he was challenged by the Guardian.  His response wasthat ‘I think they [Jews] are very shrewd people…. I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else.  I don’t think that’s offensive at all.’ 
Alderman does not consider the suggestion that Jewish people 'chase money more than everybody else'in the least anti-Semitic.  After all no research has been done into it! However Kaufman was guilty as charged
Whelan was subject to widespread criticism, not least from the Football Association and was in the end forced to relinquish control over Wigan Athletic. Geoffrey Alderman however leapt to his defence.  In This football fuss is a bit rich (5.12.14.)  Whelan was the victim of 'a sad and miserable tale of political correctness taken to new depths of absurdity'.  Geoffrey must have taken to heart Jesus's injunction to love one's enemy as oneself.   Certainly not something that would come from a Zionist Rabbi or the misnamed Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.
One of  many examples of the use of 'Jewish money' in the Jewish Chronicle
Geoffrey went on to declare that 'In my view there is nothing remotely anti-Semitic in what Whelan is alleged by the Guardian to have said about Jews.'  Indeed Geoffrey defended, indeed took pride, in the description of Jews as shrewd.  As for chasing money, he was very open minded.

‘I have to admit at once that whether we Jews do indeed "chase" money "more than everybody else" is open to question because as far as I'm aware no serious research has ever been done on this subject. But it's certainly true that the Jewish view of money differs considerably from that of Christianity.

Clearly Geoffrey Alderman has a very high level of tolerance and sets the hurdle even higher when it comes to genuine anti-Semitism.  Did the CAA call him out as a Jewish anti-Semite?  Of course not.  Geoffrey is a right-wing Zionist and the CAA neverattacks Zionist anti-Semitism.

However when it came to Sir Gerald's comments, which are grounded in fact, Geoffrey was all for expelling him from the Jewish community, indeed expelling him by declaring a cherem (a religious edict).  Kaufman had 'crossed a red line' and 'defamed the whole Jewish  people.' http://azvsas.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/jewish-chronicle-columnist-geoffrey.html


So the motto of the story is that if you are a Zionist then any amount of anti-Semitism is fine but if you support the Palestinians watch what you are saying.

The abuse of Anti-semitism to silence free speech on Israel

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Brighton & Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign Meeting 22nd January 2017

Below is a video on Youtube of a meeting held by Brighton PSC on the anti-Semitism witch hunt.  Jackie Walker, who like me has been suspended from the Labour Party and Michael Deas, who was the European co-ordinator for the Boycott National Committee, spoke.  

The other 2 speeches haven't yet been put up.

Tony Greenstein


The Middle East’s Only Self Declared Democracy Refuses Visas to Human Rights’ Watch

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What has Israel got to hide (apart from torture, internment, extra-judicial executions & state-sponsored child abuse)?




It's strange to think but some people still classify Israel as a democracy
The effective functioning of civil liberties and human rights groups, free from state interference in their activities, is the hallmark of a democracy.  In Israel civil liberties groups, which are respected in most West European countries, are seen somewhat differently.  They are the enemy, traitors, the enemy within, agents of terrorism etc.  They are the fifth column doing the work of the Arabs.

In Israel the rhetoric of the Zionists is aided by fascist and McCarthyist groups like Im Tirzu, which are looked on with favour by the government.  However Israel has now gone a step further and refused to issue work permits to many of those working in the human rights field thus intending to cripple them.  
Illustrative: A screenshot from an Im Tirzu video, 'outing' four leftists as defending terrorists. Caption reads: 'When we fight terrorism, they fight us.' YouTube
This is of course a government which has waged an ongoing war against Breaking the Silence, a group of ex-soldiers who expose war crimes and malpractice.  Even the worst government would not openly dare to attack former soldiers who wish to expose the crimes of their own army  Not so in Israel.  Anyone criticising the armed forces must be an agent of terrorism.  Below are two articles on the current situation.  A typical article is Breaking the Silence: Sabotaging Israel from within by the settler news agency Arutz Sheva.

Tony Greenstein

An Israel flag flies near a Jewish settlement in Hebron West Bank Palestinian Territories. Israel is refusing to issue visas to Human Rights watch, accusing the NGO of having a ‘hostile’ agenda in its reporting of human rights violations. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

Israel denies work permit to Human Rights Watch


Israel has refused to grant a work permit to a staff member of Human Rights Watch.

In a letter, Israel’s interior ministry alleged that Human Rights Watch works in the “service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of ‘human rights.’”

The allegation, the letter added, had been made by Israel’s foreign ministry, which had recommended denying an application for a work permit made on behalf of Omar Shakir. He had been appointed the Human Rights Watch director for Palestine.


The letter, sent earlier this week, does not go into any further details.

Human Rights Watch has describedthe decision as “an ominous turn.”

“It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda,” Iain Levine, a Human Rights Watch representative, said.

The group stated that it had “regular access without impediments” to the occupied West Bank and present-day Israel for almost three decades. However, it noted that Israel has been blocking it from entering Gaza since 2010 – except for one visit last year.

Human Rights Watch says its team has worked with many arms of the Israeli state, including the police and military, and had even been called upon by the foreign ministry to intervene in a case where Israelis were victims of human rights abuses.

Limbo

Human Rights Watch asked the Israeli authorities that Omar Shakir, a US citizen, be granted a work permit in July last year.

Israel’s interior ministry regulations state that a decision on work permit applications should take up to 60 days. In Shakir’s case, it took seven months.

Shakir told The Electronic Intifada that he has been waiting in limbo in New York until he was given a guarantee of entry by Israel.

“It has certainly impeded our work,” Shakir told The Electronic Intifada, explaining that he was scheduled to meet with Israeli officials last December regarding human rights abuses of Israeli citizens. He was unable to attend that meeting because of the delay in processing his application.
Human Rights Watch has retained local counsel and will challenge the decision.

In the meantime,” Shakir said, “we will continue to do our research and documentation.”

“With this decision, Israel puts itself in the same group as Sudan, Uzbekistan, North Korea and Egypt, all of which have barred Human Rights Watch from entering,” he added. “But we still monitor those countries, and we will continue to monitor abuses in Israel and Palestine.”

Ban on BDS activists?

Shakir said the last time the group needed to apply for an Israeli work permit was in 2011. On that occasion, it was granted a permit, without encountering any difficulties.

Shakir has previously worked for Human Rights Watch in Egypt and as an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based organization.

But Shakir explained that the denial was not about him. Foreign organizations in Israel must go through a two-step process to hire foreign nationals.

The interior ministry assesses the organization first and then investigates the individual who is seeking a permit.

Human Rights Watch did not get past the first step, Shakir said.

Human Rights Watch has noted that the rejection of its application came amid “increasing pressure” against those who monitor Israel’s activities.

Last year, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed a law that required Israeli human rights groups to report foreign funding.

The Knesset is poised to pass a law in the near future that would deny entry to foreign nationals who support the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

In December, Israel detained, interrogated and deported Isabel Apawo Phiri, associate director of the World Council of Churches, claiming that she was affiliated with the BDS movement.

Refusing the visa for a Human Rights Watch worker will further mar Israel’s already tarnished reputation over its human rights record. Israel is reportedlyre-examining the decision on orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after the US administration “voiced discontent,” the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretzreported on Friday.

Human Rights Watch does not take a position on BDS but it did publish a report in January 2016 that calledon businesses to halt their work in the settlements that Israel has built in the occupied West Bank.


Letter from Israeli government to Human Rights Watch explaining their decision to prohibit Shakir from entering and working in Israel. (Photo: Human Rights Watch)

Israeli authorities denied Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Israel and Palestine director a work visa, the group announced in a statement on Friday. The group said Israel’s Interior Ministry accused  HRW of “Palestinian propaganda” and not being a “real human rights group.”

Omar Shakir was informed that he would be unable to obtain his visa, on Feb. 20, though the information was not public until Friday.

The Interior Ministry reportedly cited an opinion received from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which stated that HRW’s “public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of ‘human rights.”

HRW, a well-known nonprofit, nongovernmental human rights organization made up of roughly 400 staff members around the globe, has a history of being critical of Israel’s many human rights violations, labeled so according to international law and conventions.

Shakir responded to the denial on social media, slamming the Interior Ministry’s decision.

“The Israeli government is hardly the only one among the 90+ countries we cover to disagree with our findings, but branding us propagandists and fake human rights advocates puts Israel in the company of states like Egypt, North Korea and Sudan who have blocked access for our staff members,” Shakir said. “Israel claims to be only democracy in the Middle East, but is barring us at a time when our staff is based in and freely operates in several other countries in the region.”

“While the denial comes as a surprise (we have had regular access to Israel/West Bank, though not Gaza for three decades), it comes amid increasing pressure on Israeli and Palestinian rights groups and a wide-ranging assault on basic democratic values. Blocking our access will not silence us,” he added, “We will continue to scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts and struggle every day to defend the inherent human dignity of all.”

Iain Levine, deputy executive director of programs at Human Rights Watch said the decision and the “spurious rationale” behind it “should worry anyone concerned about Israel’s commitment to basic democratic values.”

“It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda,” Levine said.

On Friday afternoon, Emanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson for Israel’s Interior Ministry told Mondoweissthat Shakir “may enter Israel with a tourist visa” adding that “with regard to the work visa, this may be reconsidered if the organization appeals the Ministry of Interior decision.”

A group of 17 Israeli human rights organization condemned the Interior Ministry’s actions, calling the visa denial a “cause of grave concern.”

“Israel seeks to portray itself as a card-carrying member of the club of democratic countries,” the joint statement said, “Yet what is democracy without free speech, robust public debate and open criticism? A state that defines itself as democratic cannot turn its border control into a thought police.”

The organizations that signed the document were listed as: Adalah Center, Akevot, Amnesty, International Israel, Bimkom, Breaking the Silence. B’Tselem. Coalition of Women for Peace, Emek Shaveh, Gisha, Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, Haqel-Jews and Arabs in Defense of Human Rights, Human Rights Defenders Fund, Machsom Watch, Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Yesh Din.

“Neither closing Israel’s borders to human rights organizations and activists nor other measures by the Israeli government against organizations that criticize the occupation will deter us from continuing to report human rights violations in the territories controlled by Israel,” the groups added. “Attempts to silence the messenger will not suppress our message.”

Letter signed by Israeli NGOs protesting the government’s decision to prohibit Human Rights Watch’s country director from working in Israel. (Photo: Facebook
About Sheren Khalel
Sheren Khalel is a freelance multimedia journalist who works out of Israel, Palestine and Jordan. She focuses on human rights, women's issues and the Palestine/Israel conflict. Khalel formerly worked for Ma'an News Agency in Bethlehem, and is currently based in Ramallah and Jerusalem. You can follow her on Twitter at @Sherenk.

Israel denies visas to staff from 'hostile' Human Rights Watch


The Balfour Declaration – The Tragedy of a Single Letter

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The idiocies of Karl Sabbagh

This was a meeting to launch Gilad Atzmon's The Wandering Who? book which I reviewed.  Karl Sabbagh was one of the speakers

Karl Sabbagh
 Karl Sabbagh is a living example of the saying that there’s no fool like an old fool.

I came up to London on the NHS March train and it was a difficult decision – to go on the march or go to a conference at University College London entitled ‘Balfour – 1 Letter 100 Years Later.’  I decided that on balance the march would probably suffer less from my absence than the conference would gain from my presence!
Atzmon's book
Unfortunately I missed the opening speech from Avi Shlaim, a former Israeli Jew from Iraq and Emeritus Professor of International Relations at St Anthony’s College, Oxford University.  I did however catch the speech of Karl Sabbagh, a former BBC producer and author.  It was not a fair exchnge.
Gilad Atzmon - anti-Semitic ex-Israeli - was once on the periphery of the Palestine solidarity movement
Sabbagh was one of those inflated egos who gave credibility to a man caused Gilad Atzmon some years ago.  Atzmon’s brilliant thesis was that Zionism was not a settler colonial project and Israel was not a settler colonial state.  Good gracious no.  Israel was the product of some mysterious but long lasting elixir called ‘Jewishness’.  Jewishness explained the Holocaust and the same terrible personality defect that the Jews possessed (all except Atzmon that is) that caused the Nazis to murder them was on display once more in Israel where the Jews, once again, were behaving badly.

It would be churlish to ask whether Gays, Russian POWs, Poles, Gypsies etc. were also guilty of bad behaviour since they too suffered large casualties at the hands of the Nazis in WW2.  But for crusty reactionaries who find nothing wrong with imperialism per se but don’t go a bundle on Jews, then Atzmon is just for you.  So Sabbagh in the Q&A session made the stupid comment that since Israel is a Jewish state, then if we criticise Russians for what Russia does then why not blame the Jews for what Israel does.
I managed to get in to try and explain to the buffoon why the analogy didn’t fit.  Russians were those who lived within the borders of Russia, regardless of religion.  Not that it is a good idea to blame all Russians for the crimes of Putin but at least he is their President.  Israel is a Jewish state, in so far as being Jewish mean possessing privileges over and above the Palestinians.  It is a racist state and a state of racial supremacy.  But although it is part of the Zionist creed that Israel is a state of all Jews, including those who live in the diaspora, this is not something which is accepted by Jews outside Israel. 
When Netanyahu went to speak to the American Congress as Prime Minister he claimed to speak on behalf of American Jewry, this was not a claim accepted by most American Jews.  Only Zionists and not all of them either accept this canard.  And when he went to France after the killing of 4 Jews at a kosher supermarket he claimed to speak on behalf of French Jews.  This was not accepted by French Jews either.

As Anshel Pfeffer reported, Netanyahu statedthat:
“I went to Paris not just as the prime minister of Israel but as a representative of the entire Jewish people.”
This bald statement by Benjamin Netanyahu, at a gathering of French-speaking Likud supporters in Jerusalem on Sunday, should be astonishing. He was saying that when he insisted on taking part in last month’s solidarity march of world leaders in Paris, against the wishes of French President Francois Hollande, he was acting on behalf of French Jews. He is now planning to do the same in Washington: “Just as I went to Paris, so I will go anyplace I’m invited to convey the Israeli position against those who want to kill us.”
Sabbagh's vacuous blurb
It’s not a claim that either American or French Jews accept.  It is, however one more racist Zionist trope, that Israel is the state of all Jews  It is not a minor matter either since the claim to be a Jewish state as opposed to a state of its own citizens rests upon this trope and that is fundamental to the Apartheid state of Israel.  Of course it has no legal or political basis.  No Jews outside Israel voted for the Israeli Prime Minister.  But it is an essential component of Israel and Zionism’s racist ideological superstructure.  It is therefore sad that Karl Sabbagh should effectively adopt one of Zionism’s foundational ideas and then use it for what is a cheap anti-Semitic jibe.  One would have hoped that Sabbagh would have learnt something from the stirring declaration of Ali Abunimah Granting No Quarter: A Call for the Disavowal of the Racism and Antisemitism of Gilad Atzmon, but as the saying goes it is difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.
Miko Peled
What Sabbagh had to say about the duplicity of the British in the promises they made and broke and their imperial cynicism was interesting, which is why it is a great pity that he can’t understand the poisonous and reactionary character of much of what Atzmon stands for.  However it is also a question of his wider bourgeois politics.

Ghada Karmi, who was on the same panel, spoke movingly about the attachment of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland and how many of them still possess keys to the houses they were evicted from.  Her daughter Salma Karmi-Ayyoub, who is co-chair of the Palestine Lawyers Association, spoke on Palestine and international law.
Leanne Mohammad
In the afternoon the session opened with the 16 year old star of the Jack Petchie world debating competition, who won her regional contest with a speech entitled ‘Birds not Bombs’ but then was subject to the normal vicious tweets from Zionists who abused her as ‘Miss ISIS’.  Leanne is a remarkable young woman, highly eloquent but with an excellent grasp of the difference between being Jewish and Zionist.  It’s a pity that Sabbagh isn’t able to grasp what a 16 year old takes in her stride.
Miko Peled
Miko Peled, the son of General Mattiyahu Peled, a dissident Israeli General, gave a speech that can only be described as a tour de force.  He was quite clear that Israel has no right to exist as a racist state and that its desire to claim this ‘right’ was a product of its colonial mentality.
Malia Bouattia speaking and Jonathan Rosenhead to her right
In the final session Jonathan Rosenhead spoke from Free Speech on Israel.  Jonathan outline the threat that the new IHRA definition of anti-Semitism poses to free speech, with the University of Central Lancashire having banned Israel Apartheid Week because of a misinterpretation of the law but in any event this definition poses a threat to the right to organise around Palestine.  NUS President Malia Bouattia spoke about the fight inside NUS which faced a disaffiliation campaign from the Israeli funded Union of Jewish Students, for BDS.

In all a surprisingly good conference, marred only by Sabbagh’s stupidity.  I did approach him in the interval to try and talk to him but he steamed off in a huff.  Clearly not a man who takes a rebuke lightly!


Tony Greenstein 

Zionists Outraged that Guardian Prints My Tribute to Gerald Kaufman

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The Zionists didn't like my letter in the Guardian and being reminded of what Gerald Kaufman said

Kaufman compared Israel in Gaza to the Nazis in Poland

The Guardian printed a letter I sent to them yesterday.  It has set the cat amongst the Zionist pigeons, one of whose main objectives is to silence the Palestinian voice.  Only this last week we have seen 3 University Israel Apartheid weeks disrupted or prevented altogether.

The letter  which I sent to the Guardian had the 3rd and final parargraph cut.  In it I said that today Gerald Kaufman would have been defined an anti-Semite under the new IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.  Of course various Zionist black propagandists, led by the misnamed Campaign Against Anti-Semitism are already doing their best to traduce Gerald Kaufman's memory.  That is why we have to build a resistance to this McCarthyite definition of anti-Semitism.

The letter which I sent to the Guardian read contained a 3rd paragraph which was cut. 
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, which Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have recently adopted, states that ‘Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.’ are anti-Semitic. It is ironic that at the same time as paying tribute to its late Father of the House, the House of Commons effectively called him an anti-Semite.
I also described the 1,400 Palestinians who died in Operation Cast Lead as being murdered, not killed!

Zionists really don’t like free speech.  Sometimes their hasbara organisations (UK Censorship Watch/Campaign Against Anti-Semitism etc. etc.) really do imagine that they are in Israel where everything has to be passed by the censor first.  


Zionist McCarthyite organisations didn't like being reminded that Gerald Kaufman compared Israel in Gaza to the Nazis
Actually for Jews it is still possible to get away with quite a lot in Israel.  But their counterparts in Israel, like the fascist Im Tirzu, are also busy closing down free speech for leftist and anti-occupation activists.  Zionism is closing in on itself as the McCarthyists get the upper hand.  And they want to spread their police state mentality to Britain by redefining any opposition to Israel as anti-Semitic.
It should be a no brainer - but Gideon Falter thinks its ok not to rent to non-Jews - would it be anti-Semitic to refuse to rent to Jews in UK?  Uri Ariel is now agriculture Minister in the Israeli Cabinet
Let us remind ourselves of what Zionism in Israel really means.  In Safed the Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu, a state official, paid by the state, called for inhabitants of this Jewish city (because most towns and cities in Israel are segregated) not to rent their flats or apartments to Arabs.  What was the reaction?  When there was international criticism and Netanyahu made a token criticism (never followed up, Eliyahu continues to have his salary paid by the state to this day) hundreds of rabbis joined in to support Eliyahu.  That is Zionism - the purification of Israel in order that it it as Jewish as possible.

These Zionists imagine that they are on the West Bank where the exercise of free speech and telling the truth is classified as ‘incitement’ by the occupying authorities and is met by detention without trial and a little torture for good measure.
Gideon Falter is trustee of the JNF UK Ltd, which refuses to rent or lease land to non-Jews?  Racist?  It's anti-Semitic to ask it! - as the above, which is found on the JNF site said, 70% oppose allocating JNF land to non-Jews and over 80% of Israeli Jews prefer a Jewish to a democratic state
The Zionists have done their best to vilify Gerald Kaufman, a Jewish MP, Father of the House of Commons and someone who understood his Jewish heritage to mean that if you oppose anti-Semitism then you must oppose Israel’s racism towards Palestinians.  We can see the hypocrisy of these groups from the fact that the Chair of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, Gideon Falter is also a trustee of the Jewish National Fund,  The JNF, which owns and controls 93% of the land in Israel, does not allow non-Jews to access, rent or benefit from that land.

Racism?  Perish the thought.  

Better Late than Never - Jewish Socialists Group Finally Supports Jackie Walker

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Unfortunately the statement is extremely weak and it fails to come to terms with Jewish racism
Well it was a long time coming and followed a particularly tetchy response by David Rosenberg to queries by Debbie Fink as to why the JSG was not supporting Jackie Walker.  Our questions were reasonable ones to ask of a group that calls itself socialist.  Why, when the Jewish Labour Movement, the British wing of the racist Israeli Labour Party, had engineered Jackie's suspension from the Labour Party, had the JSG said nothing about either that or Jon Lansman, who was a JSG member and who had been actively complicit in the campaign against Jackie? The latter question is still unanswered.
Gideon Falter - Racist Chair of the racist 'charity' Campaign Against Antisemitism and Trustee/Director of the Jewish National Fund UK, who has been spearheading the attack on Jackie Walker and other anti-Zionists
It would be easy for this blog to claim credit for the fact that we have embarrassed the JSG leadership into finally, reluctantly agreeing to write to the Labour Party supporting Jackie Walker.  However this is a pyrrhic victory in many ways.

i.           The JSG have not publicised their support for Jackie.
ii.          The JSG have not disowned Lansman
iii.         The JSG have still treated aspects of the ‘anti-Semitism witch-hunt’ as bona fide rather than as a disgusting racist witch-hunt of Black and Asian people.

The racist nature of the witch-hunt has been largely ignored.  We can see this in the disgusting attacks on Malaka Mohammed by the McCarthyite Campaign Against Antisemitism.  [see Character assassination as a tool to silence a Palestinian activist].  Malakha is a student from Gaza at Exeter University who has been subject to the same character assassination by the CAA as many other people.  She is someone who has experienced  particular traumas as a result of her experiences at the hands of a self-declared 'Jewish' state.   

Character assassination as a tool to silence a Palestinian activi - See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2017/03/character-assassination-palestinian/#sthash.s74QmIp7.dpuf
Character assassination as a tool to silence a Palestinian activi - See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2017/03/character-assassination-palestinian/#sthash.s74QmIp7.dpuf
For a long time the JSG has basked in the golden warmth of a Jewish group seen to say the right things and make the right noises on Israel in progressive circles whilst rarely getting its hands dirty.  It has largely remained absent from the fight for BDS, against Zionism and for Palestine solidarity in this country, apart from carrying its banner at different demonstrations.  It has in particular failed to understand that much of what is called 'anti-Semitism' is a product of the fact that the role of the organised Jewish community institutions and its representatives in this country has been to undermine the Palestine solidarity movement.  
Ian Saville speaking in May 2016 at a Momentum/LRC meeting in Brighton in support of Jackie (pictured)
Despite having a nominally good position on the false anti-Semitism campaign in practice the JSG have not contributed to the campaign.  The first reactionof Dave Rosenberg to questions about what its position on Jackie was that such inquiries were:
‘‘based on ignorance and vituperation, they were not worth responding to. The JSG is solely accountable to its members, not to you, nor to FSOI, nor to any other groups we may or may not be connected with or work with.’ 
Realising that this was hardly adequate, David then issueda ‘Statement of Clarification re Debbie Fink’s questions re JSG, Jews for Jeremy, and John Lansman. This is for information. We won’t be making further comment on this matter as we have more important work to do.
David Rosenberg - has issued the JSG's a succession of statements concerning the JSG's position on the witch hunt
Unfortunately the 'Statement of Clarification' was anything but clear.  Apart from informing us that 'Our group is anti-Zionist but does not go in for gratuitous and childish demonisation of those who identify as Zionists', which in practice has meant avoiding the subject altogether and defending its removal of critics from both the JSG's own Facebook page and that of Jews for Jeremy it said very little.

David wrote that 'we have, reluctantly, had to block people for misusing our page by posting anti-Corbynmaterial, abusive sectarian political material, or re-posting material by those who they know have been blocked from the page. [me!] It is for these reasons that J4J collectively decided to block Debbie Fink.' It would be churlish to even try to unpick this but J4J has never decided anything 'collectively' unless that means David, Julia and Ian Saville having a conversation!

The inadequacy of this statement meant that despite saying it was the last word on the subject, it clearly wasn't, thus why the statement below was issued.  It seems however that the JSG have decided to keep its circulation to the minimum. It is titled ‘For information (and to dispel misinformation which continues to be put about)’ which makes it clear that its purpose is not one of solidarity but an attempt to protect the JSG's reputation.

The first paragraph is unexceptionable but it really doesn’t seem to grasp the magnitude of the problem, as the Al Jazeera programmes ‘The Lobbyillustrated.  What we have seen is an exercise in state-sponsored destabilisation of the Labour Party and we are also witnessing a wholesale attack on the Palestine solidarity movement using the weapon of 'anti-Semitism'
Julia Bard - has been the policewoman of both the JSG and J4J Facebook groups removing anyone who dissented from or criticised the JSG's refusal to speak up over the racist witch-hunt of Jackie Walker
Julia Bard's instruction to JSG anti-racist activist Ruth Appleton not to associate the JSG with opposition to Lansman's witch-hunt of Jackie Walker - it has taken nearly 5 months for the JSG to make up their mind
The statement says that ‘there are a small number of cases of genuine antisemitism expressed by Labour party members that the Party must deal with firmly’.  I have seen no expressions of explicit anti-Semitism or Holocaust denial.  Where people have expressed themselves clumsily using anti-Semitic language or concepts this is entirely due to the fact that the Zionist propaganda campaign deliberately conflates the Jewish community and Israel.  It is not surprising that if you consistently associate Jews with Israeli war crimes and tell people that to oppose Zionism or support the Palestinians is anti-Semitic, that some people, very few, will make that false choice and take them at their word. 

For example I picked up a comrade in Brighton who attended a Momentum meeting for his belief that the Rothchilds were behind the dirty tricks campaigns and the anti-Semitism witch-hunt.  The person concerned was not in any way anti-Jewish or hostile and he would have been horrified to be accused of anti-Semitism.  Nonetheless he had imbibed this particular piece of nonsense, as have a number of other people, as a way of explaining the powerful attack by the Zionists on people like Jackie.
Jeremy Newmark of the Jewish Labour Movement has worked in close collaboration with the Israeli Embassy in furthering the 'anti-Semitism' witch-hunt
The present campaign, led by the Jewish Labour Movement and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism to tar all Palestine solidarity work with the brush of anti-Semitism is nothing less than a defence of white privilege and racism.  That is the meaning of an alliance that includes  Theresa May, Eric Pickles, figures on the Labour Right such as Chuka Ummuna and Tom Watson, Jeremy Newmark of the JLM and Gideon Falter of the CAA.  I classify someone like C Ummuna as White politically. Included for example in the dossier against Jackie Walker is a statement of condemnation by five figures from the Zionist community including Gideon Falter of the CAA, an out and out racist who is a trustee of the Jewish National Fund.    

This alliance also includes the Police establishment who have happily adopted the Zionists' IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.  It is a campaign that carries the full support of the British state and unfortunately Jeremy Corbyn.  Corbyn’s support for the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is disgraceful and should have been called out long before.  Corbyn’s acceptance of the IHRA definition and the legitimacy of the false anti-Semitism campaign is a weapon that will  and has been used against him.   
Free Speech of Israel picket of Momentum meeting where Jon Lansman, a JSG member, moved the removal of Jackie Walker as Momentum Vice Chair - JSG statement doesn't mention Lansman's role
To try to suppress criticism of Corbyn on this and other matters does not strengthen, it weakens the Corbyn leadership.  In the 'Statement of Clarification' David Rosenberg wrote that 
'The J4J page is NOT a place for those who wish to attack, disparage, abuse or insult Corbyn and the political stance he represents.... On a very few occasions since then we have, reluctantly, had to block people for misusing our page by posting anti-Corbynmaterial,'
What that means in practice is that as Corbyn has retreated over Zionism and Palestine, going along with the witch hunt whilst assuring people that he himself is not anti-Semitic, it has been impossible on the J4J FB page to criticise him because the whole political purpose of the page, as defined by a small coterie of JSG leaders, is to engage in nothing more than sycophantic adulation of Corbyn.  Regardless of whether his going along with the anti-Semitism witch hunt is actually harming his position, no one is allowed to criticise this.  It has meant that there has been no pushback in a group that could have been influential.  J4J could have put to Corbyn that the 'anti-Semitism' that Falter, Arkush and co. was talking about had nothing to do with discrimination against or hostility to Jews as Jews.

The campaign around the false ‘anti-Semitism’ campaign represent white privilege and white racism in this society and the fact that the JSG have finally, belatedly, come on board suggests that they still don’t get it.  Opposition to anti-semitism is an establishment form of anti-racism.  It is an anti-racism entirely divorced from how society operates and is organised. It is a depoliticised form of racism, which substitutes difference for oppression and exploitation.  It counterposes the identity of White minorities like Jews to the very real oppression of migrants, refugees and students from Palestine.

It is no coincidence that those most affected by it have been Black members of the Labour Party and Black Connexions - people like Marlene Ellis and Marc Wadsworth.  Wadworth was set up at the Chakrbarti press conference by that disgusting State agent Ruth Smeeth MP.  

As Asa Winstanley notes in an article for Electronic Intifada, a 2009 US embassy cable from London, revealed by Chelsea Manning and published by Wikileaks, states that Smeeth is a source they should “strictly protect.”  Speaking to the Telegraph in 2011, Smeeth admitted to being at a breakfast meeting in the embassy but said “I have no recollection of saying what has been attributed to me. I would not consider myself to be a source for the US government.”  Perhaps not but clearly the US consider her a source!

There have been numerous Asian activists and councillors such as Cllr. Obaid Khan, who have been targeted as part of this witch hunt.  Yet JSG fails to acknowledge that the witch-hunt was racist and seems to ascribe to it benevolent albeit mistaken intentions.  Part of the reason for this is that they put Jewish people in Britain on the same pedestal as Black people when it comes to racism.  As part of the idea of not having a 'hierarchy of oppression' this results in there being no differences between the oppressed and oppressors.  All difference is oppression.

British Jews however are not the victims of racism or imperialism.  They are White and possessors of privilege in this society.  They are not subject to or victims of state racism in this society.  They are very marginal victims of fascist or far-Right groups and there are many examples of where Zionist activists openly work with far-Right individuals and groups despite their anti-Semitism.  I have pointed before to the collaboration between Jonathan Hoffman, the former co-Vice Chair of the Zionist Federation and the English Defence League.  

To use fake racism against Jews in order to perpetuate a very real racism directed at e.g. Palestinian students in this country is unforgivable.  It is also unforgivable that David Rosenberg on behalf of the JSG has treated the Jewish Labour Movement as some kind of counter culture cuddly Jewish group.  

As Chair of the Cable Street commemorations he clearly had a hand in the fact that the JLM had a speaker at these anti-fascist celebrations despite the lamentable role of the Zionist movement in 1936 at the Battle of Cable Street.  Most Zionist organisations supported the Board of Deputies position of opposition to the anti-fascist mobilisation, not least because they were part of the Board although not yet nominally in control of it.  The Labour  Zionists of Poalei Zion and Dror did not oppose the policy of not confronting the British Union of Fascists although a few Zionists were participants in the Jewish Peoples Council against Fascism and Anti-Semitism.

Yet when supporters of IJAN heckled the JLM speaker, Sarah Sackman, David criticised them not her.  Likewise his position on the JLM sponsored letter criticising Jonathan Arkush of the Board of Deputies for welcoming for Trump was entirely misplaced.  The JLM has a need to strike a radical pose as a way of legitimising their role in the witch hunt of anti-racists.  This so-called letter was a PR exercise.  It was a one-off. The JLM, which never officially endorsed it, has never called out the welcome by Israel Herzog of the Israeli Labour Party, its self-declared 'sister party' for Trump's election.  The JLM is a hostile, reactionary organisation, not an organisation of progressives.

The very fact that the Tory establishment has pioneered the acceptance of a definition of anti-Semitism that conflates anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism whilst demonising opposition to Israel as anti-Semitic, suggests that anti-Semitism in practice is a marginal form of prejudice in this society.  That is why it has become the false anti-racism of the Right, used to beat the real victims of racism such as Malaka Shwaikh, a student from Gaza, who is at Exeter University.  Malaka is the latest victim of this ‘anti-Semitism’ witch-hunt perpetrated by groups like the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.

Although the JSG statement supporting Jackie Walker is welcome, it is unfortunate that it had to be dragged out of the JSG.  In particular the last sentence suggests that they resent having to do the right thing: 
We hope too that us sharing this information will dispel misinformation/conspiracy theories about our group that have been spread for malicious and dubious purposes, and which can only serve those who have a political interest in attacking and discrediting Jewish leftists.’
It is to be hoped that the statement supporting Jackie is the first and not the last and that the JSG doesn’t fail to protest Jewish racism too. 

Tony Greenstein

Jewish Socialists Group Statement on Jackie Walker and anti-Semitism 

The Jewish Socialists’ Group in its public statements, articles by members, and submission to the Chakrabarti Inquiry, has consistently opposed the false and distorted charges of antisemitism targeted at Labour members. We have decribed most of these charges as being weaponised by forces hostile to the Labour Party to damage Labour (especially its democratically elected leader, Jeremy Corbyn), and to undermine free speech by Labour Party members on the Israel/Palestine conflict.

We have acknowledged that there are a small number of cases of genuine antisemitism expressed by Labour party members that the Party must deal with firmly, but stated that the majority of cases we were aware of fell into the categories of being forthright expressions of support for Palestinian rights, which condemn Israeli government policy and aspects of Zionist ideology, and are not antisemitic; or Incidents where genuine critics of Israeli policy unintentionally blur distinctions between Jews and Zionists or between the Israeli government and Israeli people; or unknowingly borrow and apply traditional antisemitic tropes to Israel and its supporters. In such instances argument and education were far more appropriate responses than severe disciplinary measures such as expulsions, suspensions or bans. 

We expressed our support for the Chakrabarti Report based on the Inquiry, which we and many others made submissions to, especially with regard to: 

• its insistence that members against whom complaints are made are absolutely entitled to a transparent, fair and just process; 
• that free speech within the party must be protected, 
• and that conflicts and disagreements are to be approached primarily through education.

Last week the JSG made a submission to the Labour Party with regard to Jackie Walker’s case in which we called for her suspension to be lifted.

In that submission we explained that our group has a long record of opposing antisemitism and other forms of racism from whichever corner; that we reject the equation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism (and indeed acknowledged that certain forms of pro-Zionism sit happily with antisemitism);and reiterated the positions and principles above. 

We stated that we did not believe that Jackie Walker has been treated to a transparent, fair and just process and condemned the manner in which “evidence” against her was collected by secretly filming comments she made in an exploratory workshop, and presenting them in a manner where they are removed from their context, and open to distortion.

We stated that although there was no consensus within our group on the merits of Jackie Walker’s statements with regard to slavery, Holocaust Day commemorations, or the security requirements of Jewish schools,  and that her interventions did not necessarily reflect the tone in which we would comment on such matters, we feel that it is legitimate to discuss such issues.

We added that through our involvement in anti-racist/antifascist activism, we are aware of Jacqueline Walker’s impressive record in this sphere, especially with regard to her work against UKIP in Kent.

We hope our submission will help to bring about the right result at the hearing. We hope too that us sharing this information will dispel misinformation/conspiracy theories about our group that have been spread for malicious and dubious purposes, and which can only serve those who have a political interest in attacking and discrediting Jewish leftists. 

Satire by Israeli TV Host Assaf Harel on Channel 10

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‘Of course Israel is an Apartheid society'


In the current climate, this is a must watch film.  In it Israeli TV host, in a satirical programme say that of course Israel is an Apartheid society.

In Britain, in the current climate it is now – thanks to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism – anti-Semitic to call Israel an Apartheid state.  This ethno-supremacist state is treated as a ‘liberal democracy’ according to the Home Affairs Select Committee Report on Anti-Semitism which first recommended adoption of a definition of anti-Semitism which conflates anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

It says:
23.      It is clear that where criticism of the Israeli Government is concerned, context is vital. Israel is an ally of the UK Government and is generally regarded as a liberal democracy, in which the actions of the Government are openly debated and critiqued by its citizens.
It goes on to say that:24.   
•           It is not antisemitic to hold the Israeli Government to the same standards
as other liberal democracies,

In other words if you don’t treat Israel as a liberal democracy then that is anti-Semitic. 


Assaf Harel's scathing indictment of Israeli society has gone viral.

An Israeli comedy show host's searing indictment of Israeli society has gone viral on social media, raking in over 5,000 shares in the two days since it was posted on the show's Facebook page on Monday.

In the video, Assaf Harel of "Good Night With Asaf Harel"castigates Israelis for ignoring the occupation and claims that Israel is an apartheid state.

"Good Night," which was aired by Channel 10, was one of Israel's most controversial shows on mainstream television in recent years. In one instance, the show was fined after Harel ridiculed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for exploiting his brother's death for political gain.


The episode was "Good Night's" last, as the show was not renewed for another season due to poor ratings, even though the show has gained a strong following on social media.

Lansman's Ally on Labour's National Executive Committee, Rhea Wolfson. Knife's Jackie Walker in the Back

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Jeremy Newmark, Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement expresses his eagerness to see Marc Wadsworth, a well-known Black activist and myself expelled from the Labour Party - the Press Conference was for a Report on all forms of racism not just an 'anti-Semitism event'

At Monday's meeting of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee we had the ludicrous spectacle of two well-known Black anti-racists being referred to Labour's Star Chamber otherwise known as the National Constitutional Committee.  Their offence was to upset Labour's Zionist lobby.  I am told that Jeremy Corbyn did not bother to make an appearance at the meeting.  

Jackie Walker questioned who was included in the holocausts that Holocaust Memorial Day commemorates and the IHRA definition of 'anti-Semitism' that is really a means of conflating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism [see DEFEND FREE SPEECH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE - Telling the truth about why Israel is an Apartheid State is 'antisemitic'] was referred to a NCC which includes Pete Mason a member of the Jewish Labour Movement that has been at the fore of demanding Jackie's expulsion.  No doubt he will recuse himself on the grounds of bias.

The Huffington Post article below is an example of the wilful distortion and ignorance surrounding Jackie's remarks.  Huffington states that Jackie 'had wrongly claimed that the annual holocaust day did not include non-Jewish genocide victims,' before going on to quote her as saying '“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Holocaust day was open to all peoples who’ve experienced Holocaust?”  Clearly she wasn't saying that the Holocaust didn't include non-Jews.  What she was saying was that some non-Jewish victims of genocide, i.e. those murdered before WW2, were not included.  Like for example the 10 million Africans who perished in the Belgian Congo early in the last century or the 14 million or so Africans who perished as a result of the Atlantic slave trade.
Rhea Wolfson - Zionist ally of Jon Lansman - also on Zionist Trot Group AWL's Clarion Editorial Board
The fact that the 'training session' was secretly recorded and that someone contributing to what was supposed to be a genuine discussion  is allowed to be singled out for discipline is 
outrageous enough.

Instead we had precious Rhea Wolfson, who Jon Lansman was responsible for putting on the Left slate last year, without any prior discussion, speaking passionately by all counts over the anti-Semitic harassment she has experienced.  She may well have been the object of anti-Semitism but that doesn't justify her supporting the racist expulsion, because that is what referral to the NCC means in practice, of Jackie Walker.  Jackie Walker was not responsible for Wolfson's harrassment, if that is what it was. What we have is a White woman who supports the racist Israeli state scapegoating a Black woman.

Wolfson is a member of the Jewish Labour Movement, which calls the Israeli Labour Party its 'sister' party.  The Leader of the ILP, Isaac Herzog is a notorious racist.  He recently spoke of his nightmare scenario - having an Arab Prime Minister in Israel.  Isaac Herzog also said that the Israeli Labour Party should not be seen as an ‘Arab lovers party’ .  The National Front and assorted fascists used to talk about people being 'Jew lovers' or 'Nigger Lovers'.  This is the racist swamp that Rhea Wolfson and the Jewish Labour Movement play in and then they have the audacity to accuse Black anti-racists of 'anti-Semitism'.  Only one member of Labour's National Executive voted against the referral, Peter Willsman.

Christine Shawcroft voted to refer Jackie, on personal as much as political grounds.  Ann Black is a lost cause and it is a wonder why she ever was on a 'left' slate having been party to the suspension of Brighton DLP last year for not voting for Progress candidates.  It is abundantly clear that neither Black nor Wolfson should be supported for elections to the NEC next year.

Marc Wadsworth was set up at the Chakrabarti press conference when he called out Ruth Smeeth MP, someone who has been named as a US state asset, for liaising with that well-known Labour supporting paper, the Telegraph.

Tony Greenstein

POLITICS

Momentum Activist Jackie Walker Facing Labour Expulsion Over Anti-Semitism

Among more than a dozen cases considered by party


Matt Crossick

Momentum activist Jackie Walker is facing expulsion from the Labour party after allegations of anti-semitism were referred to a full disciplinary hearing.

Walker will have to give evidence to the National Constitutional Committee (NCC), a quasi-legal body which has the authority to kick out members accused of the most serious breaches of party rules.

An ex-vice chair of the steering committee of Momentum, her Labour membership was suspended after HuffPost UK published a video of her making remarks about Holocaust Memorial Day at the party conference last September.

She had wrongly claimed that the annual holocaust day did not include non-Jewish genocide victims, claimed she had not found a definition of anti-semitism she could “work with” and questioned the need for security in Jewish schools.


International Womens Day in the Open Prison called Gaza

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Dreams are universal




I am happy to post this video from the women and girls of Gaza, living in what is a concentration camp that is the sitting target for Israeli missile attacks, without clean water or electricity for most of the day.

This ongoing war crime is tolerated by the Western powers who cry 'anti-Semitism' whenever protests are made about it.

Tony Greenstein

Fake Zionist ‘charity’ Campaign Against Anti-Semitism targets female Palestinian student from Gaza

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CAA’s Falsely Alleges that Malaka Mohammed supports terrorism and ‘anti-Semitism’ 



There is nothing that the fake ‘Campaign Against Anti-Semitism’ charity’ likes to do than to bully and harass someone who is vulnerable.  The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism twisted and distorted what Malaka Mohammed has said, in tweets over a year old in order to portray as racist , a victim of Israel’s racist and murderous regime.

Malia Bouattia is the latest target of the racist Campaign Against Anti-semitism as it attacks Malaka as a 'terrorist'
The target is a 26 year old PhD student at Exeter University.  Malaka lost 66 members of her family in Israel’s murderous attack on Gaza in 2014, the so-called Operation Protective Edge.  The CAA has, since it was founded in August 2014, continuously smeared and libelled opponents of Zionism and Israel’s murderous and racist regime as anti-Semitic.  Its targets have ranged from the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, to the late Sir Gerald Kaufman and myself.

What is the evidence that Malaka is an anti-Semite?  Has she accused Jews of being blood suckers interested only in money, of having undesirable social and sexual traits, stereotyped them as rich and powerful, accused them of killing non-Jewish children for religious rituals (the ‘blood libel’) or called for physical attacks on them?  Of course she has neither said nor done any of these things.
The CAA's disgusting posts attacking Malaka
When a swastika was carved into a student door at Exeter University and a ‘rights for whites’ sticker was put up on campus, Malaka organised a demonstration against racism and fascism.  But you would never know this from the tirade of lies that the CAA puts up on its website.

The CAA admittedthat ‘After a spate of antisemitic incidents at the University of Exeter, students decided to organise a protest march. They did what came naturally to them and asked Malaka Shwaikh, exposed by Campaign Against Antisemitism as a terrorist-supporting antisemite, to address the crowd and make Jewish students feel safe. Whilst professing an admirable desire for solidarity, Shwaikh took the opportunity not to renounce any of her views and to instead berate those “attacking” her as simply venting their “Islamophobic” prejudice.’
Perhaps there was nothing to renounce and perhaps the ‘exposure’ by the CAA consisted of nothing but smears and lies?  After all, why would students ask a ‘terrorist-supporting anti-Semite’ to address them if the CAA’s lies were true?

The CAA posted a video made in a style which Leni Refenstahl, the Nazi producer of Triumph of the Will would have been proud of.  It had dramatic martial music, the sound of explosions and a scary voiceover attacking Malakha.  Included on this video was Malaka addressing the said students, in a passioned speech against racism that was met with whoops and cries.  Clearly it was yet another lie of the CAA to say that she ‘berated’ those present.
Another vile CAA post attacking Malaka warning of the perils of democratic 
What really concerned the despicable Zionist propagandists of the CAA is Malakha’s consistency, her opposition to racism and with it what Israel has done to her people, the Palestinians. 

A good example of the way that the CAA twisted and distorted what Malaka said was in their article 


The CAA print all their titles in capitals, the Internet equivalent of shouting – because shouting is what the CAA is best at.

Malaka (the CAA call herShwaikh, a name that she doesn’t use so as to avoid problems for her family)  tweeted in 2015: “If terrorism means protecting and defending my land, I am so proud to be called terrorist. What an honour for the Palestinians!”  The CAA use Malaka’s family name because it is their intention to try and ensure that further Israeli repression falls on Malaka’s family.

The key word here, which CAA purports not to understand, is the word ‘if’ which is the conditional.  True Zionists aren’t the brightest of sparks but there is nothing in her statement which justifies terrorism.  What she said was that if defending and protecting her land was terrorism, then she would be happy to be called one.  In other words, what she is saying is that the legitimate right of an occupied and oppressed people to defend themselves against the occupier is not terrorism.

It is a sophisticated argument, which obviously causes CAA some difficulty.  When you are in business to distort facts and engaged in the ‘art’ of smearing and defaming people, then subtlety and sophistication go out the window.  Complex arguments are not what Zionism’s propagandists and smear merchants are into.  It’s like a Frenchman during the war responding to Nazi accusations of ‘terrorism’ by saying that if defending themselves against fascism was terrorism then so be it.
The CAA’s real concern was that Malaka was ‘about to become Vice President of the Students’ Guild’.  The idea of Palestinians being elected to a student union position is too much for the racists that make up the CAA.

Even worse Malaka tweeted that “The shadow of the Holocaust continues to fall over us from the continuous Israeli occupation of Palestine to the election of Trump”. 

What can possibly be racist about this?  Drawing lessons from the Holocaust is the best way one can pay tribute to those who were murdered.  Ah but Malaka also claimed that “Zionist ideology is no different than that of Hitler’s”.  Well there are many similarities between Zionism and Nazi ideology, just as there are between Nazism and other racist and colonial ideologies.  The belief in racial superiority, building a state based on only one exclusive ethnicity (Aryan vs Jewish) is common to both Nazism and Zionism.  There are many other similarities between Zionism and Nazism in the way it views the untermenschen.

It is a widespread fallacy that Nazism was only about the Holocaust but the Nazi regime lasted from 1933-1945, the Holocaust took place from 1941 onwards.  For the first years of the Nazi  regime, from 1933-39  much of the British press was extremely supportive of the regime.  The Daily Mail and Express supported much of what Hitler did.  The Times under Geoffrey Dawson refused to print criticism’s of Hitler’s anti-Semitism.

The fact is that many Jews and Israelis have made comparisons with the Nazis.  Malaka wrote that “Hitler did his deed and the Palestinians had to pay for it.”  Apparently this too is anti-Semitic.  Not only is the CAA nasty and vindictive, but their racist Chairman, Gideon Falter, is not only spiteful and malicious but stupid too. 
The CAA posted an article saying that Jackie Walker had posted text saying that Hitler wasn't to blame for the Holocaust.  In fact the quotation below was from Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion!
This 'Hitler justifying quotation' was from David Ben-Gurion, quoted in the autobiography La Paradox Juif (the Jewish Paradox) of Nahum Goldman, President of the World Zionist Organisation and the World Jewish Congress
It was not long ago that the CAA accused Jackie Walker of being anti-Semitic on the basis of a quotation from Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion.  The reason being that Ben Gurion had said that the Palestinians could hardly be blamed for the anti-Semitism of the Nazis, even though they were paying the price.  When the CAA found out who they were accusing of making anti-Semitic statements, they deleted the post, but not before we took a screenprint.  Ben Gurion’s statement was:

Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been antisemitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?

The CAA asserted that  ‘according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is antisemitic.’  If that is so (the IHRA definition isn’t so categorical, it says ‘might be anti-Semitic’) then the definition is wrong.  But the CAA believe that anything they disagree with is automatically anti-Semitic, which is why they accuse so many people of being anti-Semites.

Saying that the shadow of the Holocaust continues to fall over us simply means that the racism of the Nazis still continues in one form or another.  Quite why this is anti-Semitic, even accorded to the polluted channels of Gideon Falter’s mind is baffling.  But Falter is nothing if not a dishonest cutter and paster, because as Malakha says below, this was a follow-up to a tweet which stated that“the Holocaust was one of the bleakest chapters in the history of the 20th century”.  Perhaps the latter was also anti-Semitic?   The CAA found it more convenient not to mention it.

Like the Police State organisation that they are, the CAA boast that they have appealed to Exeter University to expel Malakha, thus demonstrating that they hold freedom of speech and thought in utter contempt.  They inform us that

Disgracefully, the University of Exeter has told Campaign Against Antisemitism that it “cannot comment on individual cases.” We are not so easily deterred.’ 

What can possibly be disgraceful in refusing to comment to a group that has no business interfering in the internal politics of Exeter University to begin with?

CAA were even more put out that Malaka had received ‘the glowing endorsement of Malia Bouattia, the President of the National Union of Students’.  As Malia is another Black woman who has been the target of the CAA for ‘anti-Semitism’ one can understand their discomfort! 


Malaka Mohammed on March 4, 2017 

Malaka Shwaikh (Photo credit: Jeremy Abrahams)

The past month has been an incredibly difficult time as I have had to endure an apparent organised campaign against me, a 26-year-old student. The campaign hinges around a false belief that I am a racist and is designed to silence and punish me for my Palestinian activism. Not only have I been smeared, but my work in anti-racism, including recently co-organising a march against anti-Semitism, has been completely ignored as clearly it does not fit the narrative used to discredit me and my activism for Palestine.
Signs posted around Exeter campus announcing Anti-Facist March, co-organized by Malaka Shwaikh, in response to racist vandalism on campus including a swastika carved into a door. Photo Credit: The Tab
I have been subjected to bullying, harassment, threats, and serious defamation of character. There have been multiple articles written about me including one by an Exeter student for the Times of Israel in which I am called a terrorist supporter. I do not need to explain how serious this is in the current global atmosphere of Islamophobia.

These attempts at character assassination are part and parcel against those involved in the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality. As I will show below, there is no truth in them whatsoever.

Malaka Shwaikh addressing the Lammeh Conference, Istanbul Feb. 25, 2017.
However the point of these attacks is not to determine the truth, but rather to bully those who speak up for Palestinian rights, in order to scare others away from Palestinian activism.

The ‘evidence’ used to smear me is largely based on my tweets, taken entirely out of context and manipulated to create the worst possible picture of me. Most of these tweets were posted back in 2012–2015 and have previously been brought to discredit me in other institutions.

For example, my tweet on Holocaust Memorial Day:

“The shadow of the Holocaust continues to fall over us from the continuous Israeli occupation of Palestine to the election of Trump”
was a follow-up to a tweet where I said:

“the Holocaust was one of the bleakest chapters in the history of the 20th century”

Both tweets are inter-linked and cannot be separated. I have never denied the horrific crime of the Holocaust that was inflicted upon the Jewish people and others, neither have I ever made light of it. The tweet in question was referring to how following this genocide in Europe, and in an attempt at making amends, European powers supported a settler colonial project which would see Palestine wiped off the map. The message of the tweet was that Palestinians have been made to pay for a genocide that was committed in Europe. The tweet prior to that recognized undoubtedly the horrors of the Holocaust. 140-character tweets are not enough to elaborate on the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but my social media audience usually has a strong contextual background. Conveniently the first tweet was ignored by these media outlets that have been attacking me.
Three tweets from the 8th February 2013 were inserted by a hack. The tweets follow the same format and content, and they were all tweeted in a short space of time. I also had other social media accounts hacked at some other time. As soon as I saw these tweets, I removed them, changed all of my passwords and took further security measures for my social media accounts. It is very common for social media accounts of Palestine solidarity activists to be hacked in this way and the false content used to smear.

Without understanding the wider context, the ‘terrorist’ tweet:

“If terrorism means protecting and defending my land, I am so proud to be called terrorist”

Posted in January 2015, it may appear as a radical statement that could raise serious concerns at both the University of Exeter and its Students’ Guild. However, it is my honest belief, and as I will attempt to explain, these kind of statements by Palestinians in general, and me in this instance, are most commonly in response to efforts by Israel advocacy groups and the Israeli government to demonize and dehumanize Palestinians. This is done by using the emotive dog whistle by Israeli descriptors of ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ whenever referring to the ‘Arab’ population. Palestinians who throw stones in response to Israeli soldiers invading their villages are labelled violent thugs, rioters and terrorists. Palestinians who nonviolently protest the illegal occupation are portrayed as violent individuals who terrorize Israeli Jews. Practically any Palestinian who resists the Israeli occupation and its plethora of human rights violations, war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law is stigmatized in this way. It is absolutely vital to understand the wider issues before making a judgement on that particular tweet. So far the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) has not demonstrated anywhere that I condone or support violence against civilians in any way — nor for that matter have they produced any evidence that I have incited violence towards anybody, since clearly I have not. How this particular tweet has anything to do with anti-Semitism is beyond me — this connection also wasn’t explained by the CAA in any of their publications or communications.
Other social media posts that have been brought up by individuals attempting to discredit me were written between 2012–2015. During these years, the Gaza Strip was still devastated by heavy Israeli bombing campaigns, as well as subjected to a heinous Israeli military attack in 2014 in which over 2000 Palestinian civilians were killed. As a Palestinian from Gaza, during these years I experienced trauma and devastation that I would not wish on anyone. Many family members, friends and neighbours of mine were killed by the Israeli Army. My posts were written in an incredibly emotional state when my very existence and that of my loved ones were in danger.

Like most people, as I gain more life experience, I express myself differently and all these posts if written today would reflect this.
Attacks published against Malaka Shwaikh accusing her of anti-Semitism directly prior to Exeter University Students’ Guild elections did not deter the student body from electing her to various positions, including member of the trustee board (for the 2nd year), as well as National Union Student delegate.
I believe the attacks against me have been an attempt to defame my character, particularly as a Palestine activist and as a Muslim woman. It is no coincidence that they coincide with my election to various positions in Exeter University Students’ Guild.

Current NUS president Malia Bouattia faced similar, if not worse, attacks when she ran for and won her position. This pattern of attacks against Muslim women of colour who are elected into positions of power serves to silence and exclude us and demonstrates that racism is not a thing of the past, it continues to infiltrate our institutions at all levels.
Richard Brook, Vice President of the UK’s National Union of Students (NUS) was filmed covertly by Al Jazeera admitting to conspiring to oust NUS President Malia Bouattia, as part of a sting operation involving the Israeli embassy. Working in “secret” with Michael Rubin, Parliamentary Officer for the Labour Friends of Israel(LFI) and Russell Langer, campaign director for Union of Jewish Students (UJS). (Screenshot: MEMO)
I should also point out that these unfounded charges against me will certainly have an effect on my freedom of movement. Countries do not need much of an excuse to refuse visas to Muslims and a simple google search of me reveals many of these inflammatory and abusive articles calling me an anti-Semite and a terrorist. The fact that mainstream media has, in an extremely one-sided way to date, reiterated these untruths gives further weight to the slurs and defamation. It will also have serious implications when I return to Gaza — threats have already been sent to my family back home. Gaza is under siege by Israel and all movement in and out is controlled by the Israeli military occupation making it highly likely that they will not let me out again, that is if I ever manage to get back in.
One of several signs posted around Exeter campus announcing the Anti-Facist March, in response to racist vandalism on campus including a swastika carved into a door. Photo Credit: The Tab
Even this current horrendous attack will not stop me continuing fighting against all forms of racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. My activism for Palestine is not contradictory to, but indeed is totally compatible with fighting against all forms of racism. In fact the struggle for Palestinian human rights is part of a struggle against racism and for all human rights globally. My commitment to equality will guide me in my newly elected positions as Trustee, NUS delegate and VP Postgraduate Research. I will represent all students equally regardless of their faith, or none, race, gender and sexual orientation.
“Rights for Whites” (Photo Credit: Susannah Keogh/ Exeposé)
Just last week, I co-organised a march with my friends in Exeter University against fascism in response to a swastika and a “Rights for Whites” notice that were found in halls of residence earlier in February. The march was an attempt to send a clear message to all those whom these racist attacks were intended to incite against, including all my Jewish colleagues and friends, that you will never be alone. We stand in solidarity with you and we will defend you. A few weeks earlier, I co-organised the largest protest in Exeter in twenty years against the USA Muslim travel ban (My name is Malaka Mohammed in both articles — I have not used my family name ‘Shwaikh’ previously since this can have serious consequences to the safety of my family back home in Gaza because they are under Israeli military occupation and siege). However, conveniently, my role in organising these protests has never been mentioned by the Campaign Against Antisemitism. I have been attacked, threatened, and bullied throughout without a single attempt to clarify with me the true facts. After I changed my Twitter username @MalakaMohammed, it was hijacked in an attempt to discredit me even more (my current Twitter username is @MalakaShwaikh).

The attacking media defamed me without even seeking my response, denying me the right to reply. While in Gaza Israel used its military arsenal and now in the UK I’m targeted by the media. Every tweet, post and comment I ever said is sifted through in search for ammunition to tarnish my reputation and silence me. With all these resources going into what I said, or didn’t, the attacking media showed no appetite to find out my thoughts and beliefs. For example, as a campaigner for justice and equality I believe in a One-State Solution, a state that is based on equality and justice for all regardless of their ethnicity, political identity, religious beliefs or none. But this is really what Israel fears, a solution with equal rights for all the people, without apartheid. The reality is that Israel imposes apartheid even against the Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.

Why are the CAA and so much media dedicated to attacking me? Is it because I’m a Palestinian woman from Gaza daring to speak out and enjoying the respect of many? It’s natural that we Palestinians resist the Israeli occupation and oppression, like in all struggles for freedom. This is why I support the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), which is modeled on the boycott campaign against apartheid South Africa. BDS is a human rights based campaign, to bring non-violent international pressure on Israel to abide by international law. As governments have failed to push for justice, people of conscience are supporting BDS, including Israelis and people across the world.

On the other hand, the media has shown little interest in scrutinizing the Campaign against Antisemitism (CAA) — an organization with a large credibility gap, which is currently facing serious complaints. There is also a national petition against the Campaign. It is a great pity that the CAA act in this way, because at this time especially, we need a proper campaign against anti-Semitism, rather than a group which seeks to defend Israel by attacking its critics by falsely accusing them of anti-Semitism.

I’m inspired by the letter of support signed by over 130 students’ leaders and PhD researchers at Exeter University in solidarity with me:

“Following the recent defamation, attacks, and threats that our new VP research postgrad has received based on 140-character tweets posted some four years ago, mistranslated and taken out of context, we, the postgraduate and wider student community in Exeter, wish to show our support and solidarity with Malaka.”

Shwaikh is a popular inspirational Palestinian human rights speaker who has addressed international audiences in close to 100 cities about her experiences in activism, anti-racism, BDS, and the power and influence of women and youth.

This article was originally posted on Medium.

Letter of support for Malaka Shwaikh following the recent attacks, threats, and defamation
To be forwarded to the University of Exeter and the Exeter Guild of Students:
Following the recent defamation, attacks, and threats that our new VP research postgrad has received based on 140-character tweets posted some four years ago, mistranslated and taken out of context, we, the postgraduate and wider student community in Exeter, wish to show our support and solidarity with Malaka. Some of us have known Malaka since she came to Exeter some two years ago; during that time, she has been a non-stop activist fighting all forms of racism, from Islamophobia to antisemitism. She has been a loud voice against discrimination and bigotry for a long time. As a Palestinian herself, she has been touring the world to speak up for justice and to defend the Palestinian right to freedom, justice and equality. We firmly believe that seeking justice for and defending the rights of Palestinians is important. Smears of antisemitism to counter this and digging up tweets from several years ago and taking them out of context are disingenuous. We in the student community can disagree and still respect each other, unless our disagreement is rooted in oppression and denial of basic human rights.

We are calling on the University and the Guild to:

•       Recognise that fighting for justice in Palestine and the Palestinians does not equal antisemitism.
•       Publish a statement in solidarity with Malaka against all the attacks and threats and defend her as a student, activist, trustee, and an elected member of the Guild.
•       Guarantee legal protection for Malaka including against the calls to have her deported.

Signatories:
Postgraduate students:
Yara Hawwari - PhD student, fourth year
Ayat Hamdan, PhD student, second year
Lamees Felemban, MA student, second year
Rama Sahtout, PhD student, fourth year
Francesco Amoruso, PhD student, second year
Niklas Haller, PhD student, second year
Charlotte Sefton, PhD student, second year
Sylvia A, PhD student, second year
Hanadi H, PhD student, fourth year
Gabriel Polley, PhD student, first year
Schluwa Sama, PhD student, first year
Mohammad Affan, PhD student, first year
Richard Wilson, PhD student, second year
Raafat S, PhD student, first year
Aparna Mahiyaria, PhD student, second year
Daniya J, PhD student, second year
Yaar Paretz, PhD student, second year
Ana Castillo, PhD student, third year
Mohammed A. PhD student, second year
Sinibaldo De Rosa, PhD student
Veronica Garbarini, PhD student
Stephen Nutt, PhD student
Andrea Battistello, PhD student
Zhala Khader, PhD student
Alexander McDonald, PhD student
Zubir Ahmed, PhD student
Jihad Mashamoun, PhD student
Geradus Johannes Hoetjes, PhD student
Hussein AlAhmad, PhD student, second year
Jana Mechurova, PhD student
Megan Pallagrass, PhD student
Monica Ronchi, PhD student
Isobel Kingscott, PhD student
Marta Marsano, PhD student
Nikusha Naridashvili, PhD student, 66005259
Kate Holmes, PhD student
Giorgia Ferrari, PhD student
Rachel Houseago, PhD student
Bogdan Nicolae Brebeanu, PhD student
Asier Arrate Irusquieta, PhD student
Vito Morisco, PhD student
Francesco Bentivegna, PhD student
Becca Savory Fuller, PhD student
Rachel Khaled, MA student, second year
Ahmed al-Kinani, MA student, second year
Enrica Fei, PhD student, 650001645
Asma Char, PhD student, first year
Omenya Nabil Muhammad, PhD student, second year
Allan Hassaniyan, PhD student
Kubra Irmak, MSC Student, 660037613
Ahcene Adjeb, Postgraduate Student, 660061860
Emine Enise Yakar, Phd student, third year
Sumeyra Yakar, PhD student, third year
Tessa Crossley, Masters student, 610028200
Cagkan Ozturk, Masters student, 660061490
Marcel Goltan, Masters student
Zaynab Z, PhD student, fourth year
Mohammad Sabbah, PhD student, fourth year
Adam Hogan, PhD student, first year
Officers-elect and societies’ members
Katalina Karamani, VP welfare elect, the Students’ Guild
Tessa Crossley, postgraduate taught officer, the Students’ Guild
Cameron Rose, Society executive for Political, Campaigning and Causes
Charlotte O'Halloran, NUS delegate elect
Aida Magluba, Trustee Board, the Students’ Guild
Hayden Cooper, Socialist Society, 640007627
Victoria Amanfo, Feminist Society
Habib Rahman, Islamic Society President
Lizzie Harman, 640039969, Amnesty Society and the World Music Choir
Eaindra Cho, Debating Society and Feminist Society
Mayassa Hamdan, Islamic Society 650019791
Mateo Peyrouzet, Spanish Society
Alejo Black, Socialist students
Clare Engenio Smyth 630014478, Creative Writing Society
Arwa Al rashdi, 660058194, Omani Society
Loucha Hmd, Palestine Society
Aaron Moreno, 650045055
Charlotte O’Halloran, fourth year
Sanghyuk Kwon 660020074
Guler Cansu Agoren 610045537
Ana Al Muedo
Rebcca Fraser 560008896
Francesco Orlandi 660057204
Alyette Tritsch 660043494
Eceaytan Ani Kiziltan 650059271
Lelloucha Hamadache 650055729
Waheed Ahmed 650009992
Hasan Sukkar 660054395
Nada Wefati 650040972
Nikusha, 660052591
Ellen Boivin 630001616
Hana Elias 640053403
Calgar Karaca 640057702
Ines Fernandez 660053220
Muna Buhari, 650054921
Hasan Sukkar, 660054395
Tayyib Mubashar, 640007402
Iqra Ali, 650041047
Zohrah Khan, 630007836
Haroon Bilal Khan, 640029099
Abdulhamid Shaker, 650040697
Mubashir Siddiqui, r 640002203
Mahera Al-Mahmood, 650023808
Liala Abdelrahman, 650013179
Ammarah Fattani, 650055622
Nada Wefati, 650040972
Asha Hassan, 650008454
Dalia Al-Saadi, 650006838
Reyhane Mousavi, 650045389
Andrea Battistello 660056202
Giselle Garcia 660058039
Jiwon Choi 630046839
Giusy Urbano 630042425
Davide Scarpignato 640010667
Theodore French 640010667
Caterina Versari 640050377 Irene Ivanaj 650043027
Owen Fagundes 630004276
Muhammet Saygi 660033837
Salah Ouadi 630058307
Candace Bansair 640037470
Sofia Miah 650006692
Sophie Thompason Smith 630005013
Aaron Moreno 650045055
Rebecca Broad 630003766
Mohammed Kareem 610019596
Saimah Afzal 650006973
Rena Almosaiwi 650006977
Elizabeth Burrell 640027216
Elisabet Goernitz 660062297
Daniel Barrio Martinex 686327996
Elliot Delahaye 630007112
Whitney Little 650018688
Hyoshin Kim 660057657
Matt Hoare 650014246

Could you think of a more suitable Foreign Minister for Israel?

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A good well researched story by Richard Silverstein of Tikkun Olam on the pedigree of Israel’s fascist foreign minister.  A former night club bouncer from Moldova, he beat up a 12 year old child and was convicted in Israel.  But none of this stopped him from being elected, along with other racists, to Israel’s Knesset  Previously he has been known for extreme anti-Arab racism including wishing that thousands of Palestinian prisoners might be drowned in the Dead Sea.  See Lieberman Blasted for Suggesting Drowning Palestinian Prisoners

Tony Greenstein

March 7, 2009 By Richard Silverstein 
Former bouncer and child abuser
While it is well known perhaps to Israelis, few outside know that Avigdor Lieberman, whom Israel’s new prime minister is poised to name as foreign minister, plead guilty in 2001 to beating a child.  I’d heard of this story but never read any news coverage about the event nor read a confirmation that Lieberman was actually convicted.


One of my readers challenged my claim that he was and another confirmed that he had been.  But I still could find no reference in Google or the Haaretz English language site.  So in the interest in filling that gap on the English web, I decided to write this post.  Of course, an added important element is letting the world know that Israel’s likely next foreign minister is a convicted child beater.
The September 25, 2001 Haaretz reports (translated from Hebrew):

Lieberman acknowledged yesterday in the Jerusalem District Court that he attacked a 12 year old boy from the Tekoah settlement, who had hit his son.  He was charged with assaulting and threatening him.  Lieberman was convicted based on his own confession in the context of a plea bargain.  His attorney asked the judges, in the context of the arrangement, to restrict his punishment to a fine [17,500 shekels] and the defendant’s promise that he will not commit such an act in the future.
Lieberman - Israel's fascist Foreign Minister
The beating occured in December, 1999 at the Nokdim settlement.  His son told him that three boys hit him.  Lieberman located one of the boys in a trailer and hit him in the face.  After the boy fell and was injured, the defendant grabbed him by the shirt-collar and arm, took him back to his parent’s home in Tekoa and threatened that he would attack him again if he returned to Nokdim.

Another article notes that the complainant received his head injury when he was thrown into a wall by Lieberman.

The article notes that one of the reasons the prosecutor accepted the plea bargain rather than pursue the matter to trial was that Lieberman’s actions were not “characteristic” of his normal behavior.  I guess she momentarily forgot he’d been a nightclub bouncer in Moldova and ignored his threats of death leveled against Arab MKs semi-regularly.

The court record in Hebrew can be found here.  Thanks to Gershom Gorenberg for helping with this research.

Discerning minds will recall that Lieberman has already settled on who will be his number 2 at the foreign ministry: none other than his legal “fixer” in the child assault case, Dov Weisglass.  The latter is best known for telling an Israeli newspaper, while he was Ariel Sharon’s political fixer, that the Gaza disengagement was like “formaldehyde” which would put the peace process with the Palestinians into a deep freeze.  This Weisglass keeps coming back like a bad penny.

Another interesting incident from Lieberman’s recent past should prove relevant to his ability to do his job as foreign minister: while complaining that Hosni Mubarak refuses to visit Israel, he told the Knesset that the Egyptian president can “go to Hell for all I care.”  Would you say we have a problem of a lack of diplomatic temperament here?  Egypt is Israel’s most important interlocutor in all matters pertaining to the Palestinians.  Having cursed that nation’s leader, how will Yevgeny be able to have any sort of working relationship with him?

A sign of the bankruptcy of Netanyahu’s political calculations in forming his new government is that this incident either didn’t enter into his considerations; or, if it did, he dismissed it.  That tells you quite a bit about Netanyahu.

A Fighting Start but It is Only the Beginning

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Report of Grassroots Momentum Conference – March 11th


Kelly Rogers from the Picture House Strikers addresses the conference

The Conference was scheduled to start at 10.00 but got underway shortly after 11.00.  Which is just as well as we were delayed by about an hour because someone decided to kill themselves by jumping in front of a train at East Croydon.


The first decision of the Conference was that all attendees from Momentum groups, delegates or not, could vote.  The delegates, including myself, voted by 43-24 to allow everyone to vote which meant that just less than 200 people were eligible to vote.  That was sensible and of course in marked contrast to the Lansman rally that is planned for later this month when there will be no votes on anything.
Despite the best efforts of Lansman the Conference was packed out
A Momentum  Conference was originally called back in November last year but Jon Lansman fought bitterly to prevent it.  Originally his pretext was One Member One Vote but we found out what OMOV really was when he imposed a Constitution on Momentum without any prior discussion at all. OMOV meant  that only 1 member would have a vote - Jon Lansman.   Lansman's coup received the support of people ranging from Owen Jones to Blair's adviser John McTernan thus showing exactly what its anti-democratic character was like.  
The difference, which was spelt out during the day is that the Grassroots Momentum will not be simply an echo chamber for Corbyn and McDonnell, applauding their every concession to the Right. We are not a personality cult but a socialist movement.  We have in many ways to act as the counter-pressure to the Right on the leadership.  Corbyn has already surrendered to the Zionist lobby and its witch hunt, which originally accused him of consorting with holocaust deniers.  He has backtracked over nationalisation and has ended up supporting Theresa May over Brexit.  However the Lansman owned Momentum will not discuss policy and will therefore be content to let Corbyn cruise to defeat either electorally or at the hands of the Right, most probably the latter.
Derbyshire Teaching Assistant strikers Nicol Hutley and Kate Walker explain how a Labour Council has cut their wages by 25%
Delia Mathis, the London Secretary of Momentum chaired the conference and she was accompanied on stage by Jackie Walker and Matt Wrack.  Given some of the sectarian wrangling she chaired very well.
The conference was addressed by FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack, Picturehouse/Ritzy cinema striker Kelly Rogers and Derby Teaching Assistant strikers Nicol Hutley and Kate Walker. A collection was held for both strikes..
The conference agreed a statement of aims and various campaigns including fighting school cuts; campaigning for the NHS and social care; supporting the Derby TAs, Picturehouse workers and others workers’ struggles; and fighting expulsions and suspensions from Labour.
Despite opposition from the Zionist Trotskyists (!) of the Alliance for Workers Liberty, the original statement to the conference opposing ‘unjust’ expulsions was amended to make it clear that fake allegations of anti-Semitism should be resisted.  I proposed this amendment and Graham Bash from the LRC seconded.  Both of us Jewish unlike the largely non-Jewish AWL whose concern about 'left anti-Semitism' is so touching.
There was debate about defending migrants’ rights as distinct from workers’ rights in general: this was resolved by moving support for workers’ rights and struggles to the top while maintaining a clear distinct point about migrants’ rights. It was also agreed that there should be a further conference in the Autumn.

There were 3 position that Conference had to vote for in the afternoon regarding future structure.  The first was in essence a repetition of the old Momentum structure of a National Committee which was rejected by a large majority  It came down to either Option 2 -  a proposal to have a six-strong coordinating committee consisting of officers such as Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.  This was defeated by 89 votes to 83 votes in favour of an absurd proposal put forward by the Alliance for Workers Liberty that there should be a ’15-20’ strong Steering Committee (it was 20). Conference agreed this should be voted for by first past the post as opposed to STV (proportional representation)).  My understanding of this is that a National Committee will not be put in place but I was out of the debate for most of the time so I can't be sure.
Momentum banners adorned the hall as about 40 groups sent delegates
39 candidates stood and the following were elected:
Matt Wrack – Waltham Forest (member of pre-coup Steering Committee)
Sahaya James – Lambeth (member of new National Coordinating Group)
Tracy McGuire – Darlington (pre-coup National Committee)
Jacqueline Walker – Thanet (pre-coup Steering)
Nick Wrack – Southwark (pre-coup NC)
Simon Hannah – Wandsworth
Delia Mattis – Enfield (pre-coup NC)
Kevin McKenna – Tower Hamlets
Jill Mountford – Lewisham (pre-coup Steering)
Graham Bash – Thanet
Rosie Woods – Harrow
Rida Vaquas – Oxford (member of NCG) (pre-coup NC)
Lee Griffiths – Tower Hamlets
Alec Price – Medway (pre-coup NC)
Pete Radcliff – Broxtowe
Ed Whitby – Newcastle (pre-coup NC)
Tina Werkmann – Sheffield
Jan Pollock – London, not sure of group
Richard Gerrard – Southwark
Joan Twelves – Lambeth
Myself and another candidate from Brighton weren’t elected and from a cursory reading at least 3 of the above were from the AWL (only 1 of whom declared their allegiance) suggesting it will be an interesting Committee!


Tony Greenstein 

Comparing Israel, the Holocaust and Nazi Germany

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How the Zionist movement tries to have it both ways

You might think it is a no-brainer that refusing to rent Israeli state land to non-Jews was racist but in a Jewish state such logic doesn't apply
According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism,
‘Contemporary examples of antisemitism ... could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to: ....Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.’
This definition, first proposedby the Home Affairs Select Committee last year, was subsequently adoptedby Theresa May and, not wanting to feel left out, Jeremy Corbyn.

The IHRA was based on the Working Definition of Anti-Semitism [WDA], which was junkedin 2013 by the Europe Union's Fundamental Rights Agency, after vehement opposition to its conflation of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.  The WDA has resurfaced, like the undead in a Dracula horror movie, in the guise of the IHRA.
I decided on a bit of graffiti on the IHRA Facebook page - this definition is backed by a host of far-Right anti-Semitic governments such as that in Poland
So if were to accuse Israeli Jews who chant Death to the Arabs’on demonstrations of being no different from Nazi demonstrators who chanted ‘death to the Jews’ 80 years ago, then according to the IHRA, this too is a clear example of ‘anti-Semitism’.
The Imperialist leadership of the Labour Party - Corbyn and McDonnell have, like Theresa May, supported the IHRA definition of 'anti-Semitism' which defines anti-Zionism as anti--Semitism 
Notwithstanding this, Zionists and supporters of Israel are allowed to claim that the Holocaust justifies Israel’s apartheid practices.  Only last week Baroness Deech sent a letterto the Jewish Chronicle concerning a new national Holocaust memorial and learning centre which it is being proposed should be built next to Parliament.  Costing £50m you might think that Deech was enthusiastic in welcoming this project?  Not  a bit of it.  What was the point of such a centre if it had nothing to say about Israel?  Deech whinged that:

“We already have in this country about 10 Holocaust memorials. None has prevented the recent rise in antisemitism and attempts to delegitimise Israel.”

Note how the purpose of learning about the Holocaust is not to prevent racism or anti-Semitism.  It is to prevent ‘delegitimisation’ i.e. criticism of Israel as a Jewish state. 

Deech wondered ‘why some students, who have studied the Holocaust at school, seem not to have made the connection between that event, and Jewish people and their state today.”  A good question.  Perhaps the reasons might lie in the fact that many people find it hard to reconcile the Nazi state’s pre-1941 discrimination against German Jews with Israel’s discrimination against Palestinians?  The good Baroness explainedthat “you have to improve the relationship between Holocaust education and attitudes to Jewish people and to Israel.”
Netanyahu used the meeting of the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj al Amin Husseini with Hitler in November 1941 to suggest that the Mufti had forced Hitler into the Final Solution - except that the Holocaust began in June 1941
In other words Holocaust ‘education’ should concern itself not with historical understanding of the Holocaust and why it happened but with propaganda aimed at supporting the Israeli state.  A state which has two separate legal systems – one for Jewish settlers and another for Palestinians on the West Bank.  A state which seeks to ethnically cleanse not simply Palestinians living in Jerusalem but Arabs and Bedouin within Israel itself.  According to Deech any Holocaust memorial should be modelled on Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust propaganda museum which has a picture of the Palestinian Mufti of Jerusalem prominently displayed.  As Tom Segev noted, its purpose being to ensure that ‘the visitor is left to conclude that there is much in common between the Nazis’ plan to destroy the Jews and the Arabs’ enmity to Israel.’ [The Seventh Million p.425]

The purpose of Holocaust education is not so much to foster an understanding of the iniquities of racism and the singling out of an ethnic group for blame or scapegoating but rather to help bolster support for a state based upon the same principles of ethno-religious discrimination as Nazi Germany.
The article below was originally publishedon February 10, 2017 by The Clarion, which describes itself as an unofficial magazine by Labour Party and Momentum activists.  It would fairer to describe Clarion as the magazine and web journal of the Alliance for Workers Liberty, a Zionist ‘Trotskyist’ group and its sympathisers.  Its Editorial Board includes Rhea Wolfson of the Jewish Labour Movement, who was elected to Labour’s National Executive Committee as part of the grassroots slate of 6. 

Are Comparisons Between Israel and the Nazis Anti-Semitic?

According to Shami Chakrabarti in her Report on Racism and Anti-Semitism in the Labour Party:
In day -to-day political debate , it is always incendiary to compare the actions of Jewish people or institutions anywhere in the world to those of Hitler or the Nazis or to the perpetration of the Holocaust. Indeed such remarks can only be intended to be incendiary rather than persuasive.’
Shami Chakrabarti knew nothing about Zionism or the background to comparisons between Zionism and the Nazi era.  What has been compared is not the treatment of the Palestinians to the Holocaust, because clearly Israel isn’t attempting to exterminate millions of Palestinians, (though there are powerful elements, especially amongst religious Zionists who would like to see their physical elimination) but three things:

i.              The ideological congruence between Nazi attitudes to the Jews from 1933 onwards to the Jews and Zionist attitudes to Palestinians as manifested in Israeli Apartheid today.

ii.             The fact that sections of the Zionist community in Israel have adopted a genocidal attitude towards the Palestinians.  For example in 2010 Rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur wrote a book ‘Torat Hameleh’  [The King’s Torah] which explainedthat:

The prohibition 'Thou Shalt Not Murder' applies only "to a Jew who kills a Jew," write Rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. Non-Jews are "uncompassionate by nature" and attacks on them "curb their evil inclination," while babies and children of Israel's enemies may be killed since "it is clear that they will grow to harm us."

iii.            The repeated comparison by Zionists of the Palestinians with the Nazis and those who perpetrated the Holocaust.  This has been most evident in the portrayal of the Mufti of Jerusalem, who was a Nazi collaborator and war criminal, as representative of the Palestinians.  In his address to the World Zionist Congress in 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu laid the blame for the Holocaust at the feet of the Mufti not Hitler (see Rewriting the Holocaust – Jacobin). 

The Zionist suggestion that the Mufti of Jerusalem was representative of the Palestinians and that opposition to Zionism is therefore motivated by anti-Semitism, is an example of the hypocrisy of Zionism.  The Mufti was never elected by the Palestinians.  It was the ardently Zionist British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel who appointed Haj al Amin Husseini as Grand Mufti in 1920 despite him coming fourth in the elections for the position, However this kind of double standard is perfectly acceptable to the Deeches of this world.

As the article below explains, the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is worse than idiocy.  It is based on a combination of ignorance and malevolence.  The 31 governments which agreed to this definition include the states of Hungary, Poland, Croatia and the Baltic republics, all of which have manifested differing degrees of anti-Semitism and racism towards refugees.  Like most such governments they combine anti-Semitism and support for Zionism.

The IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is designed to suppress free speech and close down debate.  In Israel the use of the Holocaust as a metaphor and an insult are legion, precisely because the Holocaust has helped shape, in the distorted context of settler colonialism, Israel’s Jewish self-identity.

For example on March 10th in Ha’aretz Carolina Landsmann described how a new piece of legislation from Israel’s Knesset, a bill which sought to ban the Muslim call to prayer on the grounds of ‘noise’, brought to mind what the Zionist historian, David Bankier had said when describing how ‘Nazi propaganda deliberately fostered a sense of collective guilt among the Germans. Starting in 1942, the Nazis provided hints about what was happening to the Jews so that the Germans would feel they had crossed the bounds of morality along with their leaders.’

 What we have is a situation where the Holocaust is repeatedly used to justify Zionist crimes against the Palestinians but any attempt to reverse the equation and show how the depiction and scapegoating of the Palestinian minority of Israel bears a similarity to the treatment of the Jews of Germany is ‘anti-Semitic’.

These are the double standards of Zionism and its Tory apologists – unfortunately Jeremy Corbyn has also signed up to this Establishment hypocrisy.

Tony Greenstein


By Tony Greenstein, Brighton Momentum activist
 (This is a reply to Michael Chessum’s explanation of why he voted to remove Jackie Walker as vice chair of the Momentum steering committee. It does not reflect the view of the Clarion editors or most of our contributors, but we publish it in the interests of debate on the left.)

When Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the JNF could no longer bar non-Jews from state lands, it issued the above statement on its web site - its survey showed that 70% of Israeli Jews oppose allocating state and JNF land to non-Jews and 80% of Jews prefer a Jewish to a democratic state of all of its citizens 
The JNF has an openly racist constitution - it is for the benefit of Jews only (it has now changed this to the people of Israel, but still defines its purposes as Jewish in nature)

The JNF's priorities - benefiting the 'Land of Israel' not the State of Israel.  The Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) is code for a Greater Israel whose borders extend into Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.
Introduction

The present split in Momentum can be traced back to the night of the 3rd October when Jon Lansman moved to remove Jackie Walker from her post as Vice-Chair of Momentum. The pretext for this were comments that she had been secretly recorded making at a Jewish Labour Movement ‘training session’ on anti-Semitism at the last Labour Party conference. It is clear, in hindsight, that Jackie had been the victim of a political ‘sting’ by the Jewish Labour Movement, which is the emanation of the Israeli state inside the Labour Party.

None of the comments Jackie made were in the least anti-Semitic but a climate was created in which anything she said about anti-Semitism or the Holocaust would be twisted by the JLM into an allegation of ‘anti-Semitism’.

We saw how this was done in the third programme of Al Jazeera’s ‘The Lobby’ when Joan Ryan MP, Chair of Labour Friends of Israel concocted an ‘anti-Semitic’ incident at their stall when questioned by Jean Fitzpatrick as to what their ‘support’ for 2 States in Israel/Palestine meant in practice. In practice, as she found out, not a lot. It is mere rhetoric designed to cover up for their support for the existing status quo and the military occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Jackie’s ‘anti-Semitic’ statements that led to her removal as Momentum Vice-Chair were:

1. ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful if Holocaust Day were shared by all people who had experienced genocide’.

2. ‘I haven’t heard any definition of anti-Semitism that I could work with’

It is difficult to understand how either statement could be said to be anti-Semitic. They are expressions of opinion. Whether or not they are true is immaterial. It was as if Jackie had been urging a Pharaonic cull of the Jewish first born. The sincerity of her main antagonist, the JLM, can be judged by its silence over Israeli Labour Party leader Isaac Herzog’s effusive welcome for the election of Donald Trump and the anti-Semites he has brought in his wake in the form of Steve Bannon and the Alt-Right.(1)

Of course the Zionist lobby and their friends in the media have an unerring ability to create a synthetic symphony of outrage about ‘anti-Semitism’ out of nothing. All the newspapers – from the Tory tabloids to the Guardian were eager to damn Jackie. Instead of defending her, Jon Lansman threw her to the wolves. Stephen Pollard of the Zionist Jewish Chroniclereported that Lansman had ‘reached the end of his tether”. Lansman informed the Independent that “I spoke to Jeremy Newmark of the Jewish Labour Movement this morning, he’s very upset and I can understand that – I work closely with Jeremy…’

I can certainly believe that Lansman works very closely with Newmark, a man who works closely with the Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev, whose previous job as spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu included justifying the murder of hundreds of children and two thousand civilians in Gaza two years ago.

One would have expected, as a matter of course, that Jill Mountford of the AWL and Mike Chessum, who is politically close to them, to have opposed Jackie’s removal as Momentum Vice Chair, even if they didn’t agree with her comments. In agreeing to the Lansman witch-hunt back in October, they opened the door to Lansman’s support for the witch-hunt of the AWL and his coup in Momentum itself. You cannot be on both sides of a witch-hunt.

Despite their protestations it is obvious that both Chessum and Mountford voted to remove Jackie Walker as Momentum’s Vice Chair because they deemed her remarks anti-Semitic. There is no other conclusion. All the stuff about ‘losing confidence’ is a mere circumlocution.

The Holocaust and Israel

The Holocaust has played a formative role in the creation of Israel’s own self image and its ideological legitimation. Is Chessum unaware of the role the ship the Exodus played in 1946 in opening the gates of Palestine and its use of Jewish refugees from displaced person’s camps to open the gates of Palestine to Jewish settler immigration?

Holocaust imagery pervades Israeli political dialogue.(2) The Holocaust has played a key role in the justification for a Jewish ethno-supremacist state. Where else is there a state, which defines itself on the basis of an imagined ethnicity of part of its population (Jewish) rather than on all those who reside there? A fictive nation (Jewish) that crosses every national boundary and language?
We often hear that Israel is the only Jewish state in the world. True but of course irrelevant. Britain is a Christian state but all its citizens, Christian and non-Christian are equal. In Israel being Jewish means that you possess privileges that non-Jews do not have and this is justified by reference to the trauma of the Holocaust.

Idith Zertal, one of Israel’s revisionist historians(3), wrote about how ‘there has not been a war in Israel, from 1948 till… October 2000, that has not been perceived, defined and conceptualised in terms of the Holocaust…. Auschwitz is not a past event but a threatening present and a constant option.’(4) The Holocaust has been consciously utilised in order to defend its actions against the Palestinians and to ward off criticism.

Examples of how the Holocaust has been used are legion. Menachem Begin, Prime Minister during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon and siege of Beirut, compared Yassir Arafat to Hitler in his bunker. According to Begin the alternative to Israel’s genocidal war was ‘Auschwitz’. Israeli Labour’s Foreign Minister, Abba Eban told the UN that “I do not exaggerate when I say that it [the June 1967 map] has for us something of a memory of Auschwitz.” The Green Line between Israel and the West Bank is referred to in Israel as the ‘Auschwitz border’. Netanyahu told the 2015 World Zionist Congress that it was the Palestinian Grand Mufti who was responsible for Hitler’s Final Solution. Netanyahu has repeatedly compared Iran to Nazi Germany.

As Tom Segev, a critical Israeli historian explained, the only image of a Palestinian in Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum ‘(is) a photo featured prominently on a wall depicting the Mufti sieg heiling a group of Nazi storm troopers’. Its purpose being to ensure that ‘the visitor is left to conclude that there is much in common between the Nazis’ plan to destroy the Jews and the Arabs’ enmity to Israel.’(5) Effigies of Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, were dressed in Nazi uniform by his political opponents as a prelude to his assassination.

As Zertal persuasively argues, the Israeli state has effectively nationalised the memory of the Holocaust and in the process ‘it directly excluded the direct bearers of this memory – some quarter of a million Holocaust survivors who had immigrated to Israel.’(6) This is why you have the terrible phenomenon of Israel, a rich and prosperous state, bristling with state of the art weaponry including nuclear weapons, condemning the actual survivors of the Holocaust to live out their life in penury as it keeps them in dire poverty despite having received reparations to provide them with a comfortable old age.(7)

Zionism has defined the Holocaust as something exclusive and unique to the Jews because of its ideological usefulness in Israel’s propaganda wars. Elie Wiesel held that to compare the Holocaust with the sufferings of others was a “betrayal of Jewish history”.(8) In a debate with Sybil Milton, the Senior Resident Historian at the US Holocaust Museum, Yehuda Bauer, Professor of Holocaust Studies at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem argued that the Nazis only attempted to annihilate one people, the Jews: “Roma were not Jews, therefore there was no need to murder all of them.”(9) To this day the US Holocaust Museum refuses to include the Roma victims of the Holocaust.

If you go to the Holocaust Memorial Day site and click on Holocaust you will be taken to a page that says ‘Between 1941 and 1945, the Nazis attempted to annihilate all of Europe’s Jews.’ There is no mention that the Holocaust began in 1939 with the extermination of the Disabled, the T4 Euthanasia program. The Roma and Gypsies are not mentioned either. If you click Nazi Persecution you will come to a page which begins ‘Singling out Jews for complete annihilation in the Holocaust was not the full extent of Nazi persecution.’ Although it goes on to mention other groups, they do this in the context of the ‘persecution of disabled people and gay people’. They do not mention that they too were exterminated. There is no mention of the extermination of 10 million Africans in the Belgian Congo or the estimated 14 million Africans in the slave trade.

This is why when Jackie Walker made criticisms of how the Holocaust is presented and used or how anti-Semitism is defined it has a direct bearing on how, in this country, Israel’s propaganda war is conducted.

Notes

3. That group of historians in the 1980’s onwards who began to challenge the foundational myths of Israel, most notably about the flight of the refugees in 1948. Until then it had been the consensus that they had voluntarily left at the urging of the Arab leaders whereas it is now accepted that they left forcibly and as a result of massacres

4. Israel’s Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood, p.4, Idith Zertal, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

5. Tom Segev, The Seventh Million, p.425,Hill and Wang, 1991, USA

6. Zertal, p.5

7. See for example Israel is Waiting for Its Holocaust Survivors to Die, Ha’aretz 6.2.13. Ironically my quoting of this article formed part of my investigation hearing as the Labour Party Compliance Unit assumed that this must be some wicked invention by anti-Zionists seeking to libel the Israeli state.

8. Wiesel, Against Silence, p.146, Schocken Books, 1988

9. The History Teacher, Vol. 25, No. 4., August 1992 pp. 513-521

Just an Everyday Example of Israeli Racism - The Boycott You Never Hear About

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It’s barely worth commenting on.  It is just one more example of the everyday racism in Israeli society.  A bar putting on a Palestinian beer in Haifa, one of the few mixed cities in Israel, is the subject of a Boycott because it’s subsidising the ‘enemy’ and it is like ‘drinking Jewish blood’ (the old blood libel resurfaces with a vengeance).

Ironic when Israeli propagandists tell us, and their faithful Tory/New Labour supporters echo, that Boycott=Anti-Semitism and these disgusting racist hypocrites never once tell us about the real Boycott – the Boycott of Palestinians by Israel.

Tony Greenstein

An Israeli Bar Put a Palestinian Beer on Tap. Then the Depressingly Expected Happened

Roni Kashmin Feb 09, 2017 4:13 PM

Customers sampling Palestinian- and Israeli-made beer at the Libira Brewpub in lower Haifa, in northern Israel, February 2017.

The Jewish owners of the Libira Brewpub, located in downtown Haifa, faced an online hate campaign after it stocked alcohol from a Palestinian brewery in the West Bank. Libira Brewery
The owners of the Libira Brewpub in lower Haifa just wanted to give their customers a chance to sample a Palestinian beer from the Shepherds Brewery in Ramallah, and made it available for a month. They never imagined that it would become a political hot potato and evoke angry reactions. Indeed, for the past week, there has been a growing number of calls online to boycott their establishment completely.

 “We don’t want any beer made from Jewish blood!!!” one person wrote in a post, going on to curse the owners and call for a boycott of the pub. Other comments included “All proceeds go to terrorism,” and, “Let me know when you stop selling this beer so I’ll think about coming back.”
Palestinian- and Israeli-made beer at Libira Brewpub in Haifa. “Whoever sells beer from the PA should be boycotted by Israel,” wrote one commenter. Courtesy Libira Brewpub
 “It all started with two posts [by us] on Facebook,” says Leonid Lipkin, one of the three owners of Libira, which is located on Hanamal Street and open daily. “One was a post about how we we’re going to host beers from the Shepherds Brewery in Ramallah, and the second was a post we shared from that brewery – about the beer festival they were having in Ramallah. I just left it as was, without getting into any politics.”

Beers from different breweries are frequently featured at the Haifa bar, explains Lipkin, whether it’s beer from the West Bank, or the Judean Hills in Israel, or abroad. It's all part of the open approach he developed when running an earlier incarnation of Libira, which also went by that name.

Lipkin: “I thought it would be nice, as part of the concept of the place, for us to offer a changing selection of beers from other breweries. It’s also interesting to taste a different beer each time, and I thought this was important, too. And so natural – a good way to get to know the surroundings. The same kind of thing can happen with food from different places, through getting to know other people’s culture and customs, as well as by means of the beer they make. It’s all part of the same picture.

Angry social media backlash and calls for a boycott followed the sale of Ramallah-made brew at a pub in Haifa. But the owners remain steadfast.
“When we opened the new place, there was no question that we would continue the tradition of featuring a selection of beers from guest breweries, and we did so from the start. In addition to our own five beers, we always offered different varieties from other breweries in Israel and abroad.”

Among the beers Lipkin's pub has offered are products of breweries like Srigim in the Elah Valley, southwest of Jerusalem; Dancing Camel in Tel Aviv; BrewDog in Scotland (“a real role model”); and beers from the Taybeh and Shepherds breweries, "which both happen to be in what’s known as ‘the territories’ or ‘Palestine’ or the ‘Palestinian Authority,’” as he puts it.

Once, he notes with some irony, he had to go to Tel Aviv to drink beer produced by the Taybeh Brewing Company – though he says he has had a long personal connection with its owners. Taybeh is a predominantly Christian village located northeast of Ramallah, and its brewery hosts an annual Oktoberfest event.

 “Taybeh and Shepherds – they’re both breweries of our neighbors, and if they make good beer, I don’t see what the problem is with drinking it. In fact, I think we should all have a natural interest in the people around us, especially in Haifa, with its mixed population of Jews and Arabs,"Lipkin continues. "As far as these breweries in the PA territory are concerned, it’s kind of sad, without getting into politics. Because who makes beer? The Christians. And one can imagine that they’re sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

Without speculating further on why beer producers in the territories should be the target of so much criticism, he adds: “It seems so natural and obvious to me to want to know one’s neighbors, that it shouldn’t even need an explanation. And yes, the same goes for here, when some of the neighbors are Arabs.”

However, for some of those commenting after Libira's posts about offering Shepherds' beer, Palestinians are apparently enemies, first and foremost.

“You support the enemy and are proud of it! You’re the lowest of the low!” ranted one. “Keep on supporting Palestine,” protested another. “Whoever sells beer from the PA should be boycotted by Israel,”wrote another.

If this wasn't bad enough, angry commenters have also made sure to give the brewery a one-star (out of five) rating, and added a (Hebrew) tag: “Boycott Libira.” The pub's status began to be affected.
Still, despite everything, Lipkin seems to be quite calm (“Even though the racist and inciting comments are still trickling in”).

 “Obviously, it’s not pleasant and of course I reported [the ratings] to Facebook,” he says. “But only about those who I knew for certain gave the pub a low rating just because of the recent events and not because they had a bad experience there. Still, I’d like to maintain an objective rating."

How can he know the reasons behind the different ratings? “It’s easy to tell, and not just because of the timing, but because the comments posted with these recent ratings directly indicated it – you can see the prejudice. They’re full of incitement and racism or, in the best case, pure rubbish. When you see something like, ‘We won’t drink beer that’s made from the blood of Jews’ – come on! And you know what? If we get less customers who think like that, we won’t really be sorry – the air in the place will be fresher,” says Lipkin, barely pausing for air himself.

 “We usually love all our customers at Libira, but we don’t need everyone to come here. And the customers that we do want? They won’t let such reactions affect them, so we’ll keep on doing things the way we want to.” 


From small Christian village, Taybeh beer has its sights set on American market
jn1.tv|Published:  05.01.13 , 08:02


Taybeh beer, the only beer brewed in the Palestinian territories, has become a shining success story out of the small Christian village where the brewery operates in the West Bank.

Started after the Oslo Accords in the mid 1990s by the Khoury family, Taybeh Brewing Company began in the optimistic time when it looked like Palestinians and Israelis would soon find a solution to their ongoing conflict.

While the hoped-for solution proved elusive, Taybeh beer has kept on brewing, carving out a market for itself even in quite challenging business circumstances.

Says Nadim Khoury, co- founder and master brewer at the Taybeh Brewing Company, “Well, I want to make something for my homeland, for Palestine. I'm a risk-taker, I'm an entrepreneur. I believe I just want to do something different than any others in Palestine.”

The beer is a proudly local product. Its name, "Taybeh," which means delicious in Arabic, is also the name of the brewing location. Crushed barley from the brewing process is given to local farmers who feed it to their livestock.

The brewery, which can produce 4,000 bottles per hour, plays a role in the local economy and Taybeh beer has made the village more well-known.

Since 2005, Taybeh has been holding an Oktoberfest each year, bringing scores of visitors from across the West Bank, Israel and abroad to this small, but welcoming locale.

 “Taybeh beer became the famous number one product in Palestine," says Khoury. "Palestinians have lost their nationalistic feeling for so many years because we've been under the wars, under occupation, and now they are proudly serving Taybeh beer in bars and we create a good market in Palestine.”

Beyond its local role, Taybeh is also making a mark globally. The Japanese have developed a taste for the beer and it is also brewed under license in Germany.

Taybeh is produced with equipment that had to be imported from all around the world, but the beer retains a local flavor. Master brewer Nadim Khoury, an engineer by training, fixes all the machinery himself and his signature appears on every bottle of Taybeh.

According to co-owner Madees Khoury, “People all over the world don't know that Palestinians maybe drink beer or drink alcohol or produce high-quality products. Our beer made Taybeh famous and people now know the name Taybeh, know the beer, know the town. It's internationally recognized; it's sold internationally. It's a high quality product.”


From this village of 2,000 nestled in the West Bank, Taybeh beer has made a name for itself in the West Bank and in Israel, and has now set its sights on the American market.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is a campaign against Palestinians

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Fake Zionist 'Charity' Demonises Anti-racists and Anti-Zionists

The UK-based Campaign Against Antisemitism was formed after massive protests against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza were held in London in the summer of 2014.  Andy Rain EPA

The Campaign Against Antisemitism is a British propaganda organization and registered charity that specializes in defaming Palestine solidarity campaigners. When I launched a petition calling for the group to be deregistered, it responded in a hostile manner.

It first tried to persuade the website Change.org to take the petition down. When that failed, its supporters attacked the petition in an article published by the Daily Mail, a paper which once praisedAdolf Hitler for having “saved Germany from Israelites of international attachments.

Originality not being its strong point, the Campaign Against Antisemitism then alleged that I was a “notorious anti-Semite.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism was formed in August 2014 during a major Israeli offensive against Gaza. Its purpose was to paint Palestine solidarity campaigning and opposition to Zionism, Israel’s state ideology, as anti-Semitic.

There was massive opposition to the attack on Gaza among the British public; an estimated 150,000 people took to the streets of London in one protest. Such was the climate of opinion that Sayeeda Warsi, then a Foreign Office minister, resigned from the government, describing its support for Israel as “morally indefensible.

For some time, there had been a constituency within British Zionists who felt that establishment groups such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews were not active enough in defending Israel.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism organized a demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London in late August 2014, which it claimed was 4,500 strong. Its purpose was to link the protests against the attack on Gaza to anti-Semitism.

Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi, spoke at the event, as did Vivian Wineman, then president of the Board of Deputies. Wineman was loudly booed.

Promoting harmony?

If it was true that there was an increase in anti-Semitism as a result of the attack on Gaza, then the obvious thing to do would be to emphasize that Britain’s Jewish community is not responsible for Israel’s actions, and that despite its claims, Israel does not act in the name of all Jews, many of whom strenuously oppose its policies and actions. The Campaign Against Antisemitism had no interest in doing so.

One of the campaign’s stated objectives is to “promote racial harmony.” In practice, its activities are designed to achieve the exact opposite.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism consistently targets Muslims.

A search of the campaign’s archive reveals just two articles that mention Britain’s main fascist organizations – the British National Party, the English Defence League and the National Front. Those groups include Holocaust deniers within their ranks.

By way of contrast, there are some 77 articles attacking Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party leader and a veteran defender of Palestinian rights.

Meanwhile, 32 articles in the archive attack Shami Chakrabarti, a civil liberties campaigner and now a prominent Labour politician serving as shadow attorney general. In a 2016 report, she concluded that the Labour Party was “not overrun by anti-Semitism,” while acknowledging a “minority” of “hateful or ignorant attitudes and behaviors festering within a sometimes bitter incivility of discourse.”

That conclusion didn’t confirm the prejudices of the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism reserved special animus for Gerald Kaufman, a longstanding lawmaker who died recently. In 2009, he compared the tactics of Israelis then attacking Gaza to those of the Nazis who killed his grandmother.

No less than 22 articles in the campaign’s archive attack Kaufman. The latest one – titledSir Gerald Kaufman MP’s words have left a rotting stain on our institutions”– shows that even death doesn’t prevent the Campaign Against Antisemitism deploying all its dirty tricks.

There is no one the Campaign Against Antisemitism hates as much as a Jewish opponent of Israel.

Serving the right

The campaign is at the service of the political right wing.

Rebecca Massey, a prominent Labour Party activist in Brighton and Hove, has been accused of anti-Semitism for tweeting articles critical of Israel.

Ivor Caplin, a former defense minister who supported the illegal invasion of Iraq, is among those who have slandered Massey. Her real offense? She is a Corbyn ally, who has (successfully) contested an election to be a local party officer.

In its attack on socialists in the Labour Party, the Campaign Against Antisemitism, as a matter of course, talks about “racist Labour,” thus demonstrating that it lacks the political neutrality expected of a charity.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism is chaired by Gideon Falter, who is also a board member of the Jewish National Fund UK. The Jewish National Fund has a long history of supporting ethnic cleansing in Palestine.

Far from promoting racial harmony, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has sought to stir up conflict between Muslims and Jews.

“Littered with flaws”

Last year it published a report on “British Muslim anti-Semitism.” The report included a “profile” of the kind of person that the campaign was making allegations against. The profile was highly racist and offensive; according to the campaign, the typical Muslim anti-Semite was likely to be a first-generation immigrant and living in public housing.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism's Typical Muslim

If someone had posted a similar portrayal of Jews, the campaign would have been the first to claim “anti-Semitism.

The report alleged that “many British Muslims reserve a special hatred for British Jews.”

“On every single count, British Muslims were more likely by far than the general British population to hold deeply anti-Semitic views,” it added.

The conclusions were based on a poll conducted for the TV station Channel 4. Yet even the Community Security Trust, a staunchly pro-Israel group, raised doubts about the conclusions to which the Campaign Against Antisemitism jumped.

In a blog post for the Community Security Trust website, Dave Rich wrote: “This latest poll showed something else that is interesting, and is not specific to Muslims: that people who believe anti-Semitic things about Jews rarely think of themselves as anti-Semitic.”

What is perhaps curious, though, is that this is not reflected in a more basic question that was asked in the same poll about how favorable or unfavorable Muslims feel towards Jewish people as a religious group,” Rich added. Asked what their feelings were towards Jews: on a sliding scale from 0-100 – where 0 is the least favorable – British Muslims scored 57.1 in their feelings towards Jews.
This hardly suggests rampant anti-Semitism.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism specializes in distorting statistics. In its annual “anti-Semitism barometer”report for 2015, it claimed that an opinion poll showed that “almost half (45 percent) of British adults believe at least one of the anti-Semitic statements shown to them to be true.”

The questions were carefully chosen to elicit the required answers. As Anshel Pfeffer from the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretzobserved– regarding the statement that Jews talk about the Holocaust too much in order to gain sympathy – “too many Jews … are often too quick to bring up the Holocaust in order to make a point. … Holding that opinion doesn’t necessarily make you an anti-Semite.”

Another statement was that “Jews’ loyalty to Israel makes them less loyal to Britain than other British people.” Is it surprising that one in five people believe this given that Jewish anti-Zionists are regularly accused of being “traitors”?

Clearly, many Zionists believe that their first loyalty is to Israel. That was why Israel’s ministries for foreign affairs and immigrant absorption distributed a questionnaire to American Jews a few years ago, asking where their loyalties would lie in the event of a crisis between the two countries.

Pfeffer’s conclusion was that the Campaign Against Antisemitism created “its own definition of anti-Semitism, which is more a reflection of what is impolite to say in public than what is actual bias against Jews.”

Anti-Semitism is hostility to Jews as Jews, not the holding of ephemeral beliefs.

The Institute for Jewish Policy Research in London has found that the Campaign Against Antisemitism’s “barometer” report was “littered with flaws” and the group’s work “may even be rather irresponsible.”

The institute has criticized the way that the Campaign Against Antisemitism has used data collected by the polling agency YouGov to make the “rather sensationalist claim that almost half of all British adults harbor some sort of anti-Semitic view.” YouGov had been commissioned to undertake the poll by the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

According to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, “a far more accurate and honest read” of the data would “highlight the fact that between 75 percent and 90 percent of people in Britain either do not hold anti-Semitic views or have no particular view of Jews either way, and only about 4 percent to 5 percent of people can be characterized as clearly anti-Semitic.”

“Bordering on hysteria”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism has claimed that one in four British Jews had considered leaving the country in the past few years because of rising anti-Semitism.

Even The Jewish Chronicle– an unmistakably pro-Israel publication – poured cold water on that claim. The newspaper’s own poll published in 2015 concluded that 88 percent of British Jews had no intention of emigrating.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism has also claimed that more than half of all British Jews felt that anti-Semitism echoed that of the 1930s. Anshel Pfeffer witheringly observed that if the Campaign Against Antisemitism and most British Jews “actually believe that, then it’s hard to take anything they say about contemporary anti-Semitism in their home country seriously.”

Pfeffer added that the conclusion showed “a disconnect bordering on hysteria … not only are they woefully ignorant of recent Jewish history but have little concept of what real anti-Semitism is.” Which just about sums up the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism has claimed, too, that 84 percent of Jews believed boycotts of businesses selling Israeli products to be intimidation. This “finding” contrasts sharply with a rigorously controlled, academic survey on “The Attitudes of British Jews Towards Israel” by the sociology department at City, University of London.

That 2015 survey found that 24 percent of British Jews would support some sanctions against Israel if they thought it would encourage Israel to engage in the “peace process.” A “sizeable minority” (34-41 percent) among the young, the highly qualified academically and those who were not affiliated to a synagogue were in favor of sanctions under such circumstances, according to the survey.

The City survey also found that while 59 percent of British Jews identify themselves as Zionists, nearly a third – 31 percent – didn’t.

Other “findings” that have alarmed the Campaign Against Antisemitism were that 45 percent of Jews felt their family was threatened by Islamist extremism, 77 percent of Jews have witnessed anti-Semitism disguised as a political comment about Israel and 82 percent of respondents said that media bias against Israel fuels persecution of Jews in Britain.

These were not only replies to loaded questions, but ideas planted in the heads of people with the goal of obtaining the “right” answer. No attempt was made to put a question based on countervailing assumptions such as “Do you agree that criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism?” The result of such an approach would have been interesting, but it wasn’t on the agenda of the Campaign Against Antisemitism.

No doubt, the campaign is unconcerned with the criticisms that have been made of its work. The purpose of its work appears to be to make Jewish people feel insecure and encourage them to leave for Israel.

Zionism is founded on the “negation of the diaspora” – the belief that Jews do not belong in a non-Jewish society. After the killing of four Jews in a Paris kosher supermarket two years ago, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, flew to France and told French Jews to emigrate.
Fighting anti-Semitism has never been part of Zionism.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism has stated that it was formed to tackle anti-Semitism of “both a classical ethno-religious nature and also a political nature related to Israel.” In fact, the campaign devotes virtually all of its time to the latter and what it calls the “international definition of anti-Semitism.”

This definition is virtually identical to a working definition of anti-Semitism drawn up by the European Union’s Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (now the Agency for Fundamental Rights) in Vienna. The definition was not formally adopted by the EU and was removed from the website of the agency several years ago.

The “definition,” previously vanquished, has come back to life. Originally drawn up in consultation with the pro-Israel lobby, the definition has now been given a veneer of respectability having been endorsed– with minor amendments – by an intergovernmental body called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which consists of 31 countries including the far right and anti-Semitic Polish and Hungarian governments. The definition conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.

Not only Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May, but Jeremy Corbyn too has lent his support to this bogus definition of anti-Semitism.

All Britain’s major political parties are signed up to this definition. The Campaign Against Antisemitism is one of the beneficiaries.

Our task is clear. Palestine solidarity activists have to build a campaign against this definition of anti-Semitism, just as they did with its predecessor.

Tony Greenstein is a founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the author of The Fight Against Fascism in Brighton and the South Coast.
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