Straw Men and “Hard Zionists” in UK Political Race

While Americans keep a close eye on Republican and Democratic presidential primaries, the big political story in the UK is the likely election of a hard-left candidate, Jeremy Corbyn, as the leader of the opposition Labour Party, only one potential step away from prime minister of one of the USA’s most important international allies. Tough questions are being asked by the UK Jewish community as well as the wider media concerning Corbyn’s associations with a variety of characters who are not only hostile towards Israel but also explicitly anti-Semitic.

Columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown goes on the attack in an opinion piece in The Independent titled “Fling mud if you must, but don’t call Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite.” She begins by suggesting that “hard Zionists” are involved in dirty political machinations against Corbyn:

Is Jeremy Corbyn the enemy of Israel and British Jews? That is what the The Jewish Chronicle, some MPs and various sections of the media would have us believe. It is an accusation that is both absurd and menacing. The right, Blairites and hard Zionists have formed the most unholy of alliances to slay the reputation of the next likely leader of the Labour Party. They thought he was a bit-part player, but he has unexpectedly became the front-runner; now every political trick in the book is being used in an attempt bring him down. I hope honest democrats see through the contemptible tactics. If Corbyn is an anti-Semite, I am a white supremacist.

Alibhai-Brown refers to the Jewish Chronicle. So what exactly did the Jewish Chronicle write? Here is a significant part of its editorial:

Because, although there is no direct evidence that he [Corbyn] has an issue himself with Jews, there is overwhelming evidence of his association with, support for — and even in one case, alleged funding of — Holocaust deniers, terrorists and some outright antisemites.
 
If Mr Corbyn is not to be regarded from the day of his election as an enemy of Britain’s Jewish community, he has a number of questions which he must answer in full and immediately. The JC asked him earlier this week to respond. No response has been forthcoming.
 
1. Did you donate, as alleged by its founder, to Deir Yassin Remembered (DYR), a group that publishes open antisemitism, run by Holocaust denier Paul Eisen — an organisation so extreme that even the Palestine Solidarity Campaign refuses to associate with it?
 
2. Have you, as Mr Eisen claims, regularly attended DYR’s annual conference?
 
3. Why have you accepted an invitation to appear at a conference on August 22 alongside Carlos Latuff, the notorious anti-Semitic cartoonist?
 
4. Why did you write to the Church of England authorities to defend Rev Stephen Sizer, a vicar banned from social media because of his habit of posting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, telling them that Rev Sizer was “under attack” because he had “dared to speak out over Zionism”?
 
5. Why do you associate with Hamas and Hezbollah and refer to them as your “friends”?
 
6. Why have you failed to condemn the anti-Semitic posters and banners that dominate the annual Al-Quds Day rally, sponsored by the Stop The War Coalition, which you chair?
 
7. Why did you describe Raead Salah, a man convicted of the blood libel, as an ‘honoured citizen’?

These are all legitimate questions for an increasingly concerned UK Jewish community. Despite Corbyn’s penchant for mixing with racists and extremists, the Jewish Chronicle pointedly does not accuse Corbyn of being an anti-Semite.
Yet, out of all of the legitimate questions about Corbyn posed by the newspaper, Alibhai-Brown ignores all but one that she can find any semblance of doubt, in this case concerning the anti-Semitism of Carlos Latuff, a Brazilian cartoonist who came second in an Iranian Holocaust cartoon competition in 2006:

Corbyn shared a platform with Carlos Latuff, the Brazilian-Arab cartoonist who condemned Israel’s oppressive policies in Palestine. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has declared Latuff anti-Semitic but the Jewish daily Forward claims he is a “furious” critic of the state of Israel, not an anti-Semite. So no consensus there.

In fact, the reference to the Forward relates not to the paper’s own view of Latuff but to a book review written by Eddie Portnoy for the paper in 2008 where he disagrees with the author of the book’s assertion that Latuff is anti-Semitic. No prizes for Alibhai-Brown for research – Portnoy’s statement is the one and only reference on Latuff’s Wikipedia page that opposes the consensus view of Latuff by many Jewish organizations and experts that the cartoonist is, indeed, anti-Semitic.
Nowhere does Alibhai-Brown address any of the other questions posed by the Jewish Chronicle. Instead, she has created a straw man argument to cover up the very real issues that Jeremy Corbyn’s candidacy has exposed.
Why would Alibhai-Brown claim that Jews are accusing Corbyn of being an anti-Semite himself even when this is not the case? It soon becomes clear that it is all about Alibhai-Brown’s pet hate when it comes to Israel:

But the overreactions of some extreme Zionists these days is tantamount to an attempt to censor all criticism of Israel’s political and military tactics. And the position has hardened since British public opinion has softened towards Palestinians. The last cruel demolition of Gaza played badly for Israel. So here is the new claim being put about assertively: those who want to destroy Jewry hide behind the Palestinian cause. They are right, up to a point. Veiled anti-Semitism is around us, and most of all on university campuses, where Palestine is a burning issue and convenient alibi. Attacks on Jewish Europeans are also rising.
 
Just as pernicious is the way Zionists use the charge of anti-Semitism to block probes into Israel’s oppressive practices, its weaponry, and its influence in Western parliaments. Some public intellectuals and politicians – who should have some understanding of nuance – have become propagandists for Israel, be the country’s actions right or wrong. They use images of Nazism and excruciating memories to whip up fears of a new horror, an impending extermination of the plucky nation by its cruel colonial neighbours. I myself have been subjected to such intimidation and branded an anti-Semite over the years. More such muck will be thrown at me when this column appears.

So for Alibhai-Brown, it’s not about Jeremy Corbyn, but a vicious plot by Zionists to tarnish the candidacy of someone who is critical of Israel. Based on her previous form, this isn’t surprising.

She continues:

Most depressing of all is the collusion between the powerful right and Zionists. They seem determined to crush all alternatives to neoliberal economics and Western hegemony.

What exactly does Alibhai-Brown mean by this? Having complained at being branded an anti-Semite, she then goes and indulges in conspiracy theories that appear more in tune with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion buttressed by a final claim that the “forces of darkness” have turned on Corbyn. While the real questions revolve around Jeremy Corbyn, questions also need to be asked about Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s obsession with Zionists engaged in dirty political conspiracies to destroy well-meaning critics of Israel.


http://honestreporting.com/straw-men-and-hard-zionists-in-uk-political-race/

Anti-Israel activists attack JC for challenging Jeremy Corbyn







By Marcus Dysch, August 18, 2015

Miriam Margolyes signed the open letter
Dozens of prominent anti-Israel activists have signed an open letter attacking the JC for highlighting of Jeremy Corbyn’s links to antisemites and Holocaust deniers.
It follows the publication last week of seven key questions for Mr Corbyn to answer regarding his alleged ties to Holocaust denier Paul Eisen, his defence of controversial Anglican vicar Stephen Sizer, and support for blood libel cleric Raed Salah. Mr Corbyn has also previously called Hamas and Hezbollah “friends”.
Signatories to the letter include Tony Greenstein, Professor Haim Bresheeth, Abe Hayeem, Miriam Margolyes, Professor Ilan Pappe and Michael Rosen.
It states: “Your assertion that your attack on Jeremy Corbyn is supported by ‘the vast majority of British Jews’ is without foundation. We do not accept that you speak on behalf of progressive Jews in this country. You speak only for Jews who support Israel, right or wrong.
“There is something deeply unpleasant and dishonest about your McCarthyite guilt by association technique. Jeremy Corbyn’s parliamentary record over 32 years has consistently opposed all racism including antisemitism.”
The activists claim Mr Corbyn has “nothing to apologise for” following his meetings with representatives of Hamas and Hizbollah.
The letter continues: “Hamas was democratically elected in Palestinian elections generally accepted as fair, and Hezbollah also has strong electoral support in Lebanon.
“You report Paul Eisen as saying that Jeremy Corbyn donated to Deir Yassin Remembered. So did many people before discovering the existence of anti-Semites and Holocaust-deniers in the organisation. Many people attended the occasional fundraising concert that DYR organised, without either knowing of or sympathising with Mr Eisen’s views.

Michael Rosen also signed the letter attacking the JC
“As supporters of Israel, perhaps you agree with the racist statements of Israeli government ministers such as Eli Dahan that Jews have higher souls than non-Jews? Or Miri Regev’s belief that asylum seekers are a ‘cancer’? Or, would this be guilt by association, as in your character assassination of Jeremy Corbyn?”
The signatories:
Tony Greenstein
Ruth Appleton
Graham Bash
Prof Haim Bresheeth
Rica Bird
Mike Cushman
Laurence Dreyfus
Nancy Elan
Tom Eisner
Deborah Fink
Kenneth Fryde
Lynda Gilbert
Claire Glasman
Michael Gold
Abe Hayeem
Rosamine Hayeem
Selma James
Riva Joffe
Michael Kalmanovitz
Ros Kane
Paul Kaufman
Richard Kuper
Leah Levane
Dr. Les Levidow
Deborah Maccoby
Miriam Margolyes
Beryl Maizels
Diana Neslen
Esther Neslen
Dr. Daniel Ozarow
Prof Ilan Pappe
Dr. Susan Pashkoff
Roland Rance
Valerie Remy
Frances Rifkin
Dr. Brian Robinson
Michael Rosen
Prof Jonathan Rosenhead
Ben Samuel
Glyn Secker
Prof Avi Shlaim, FBA
Inbar Tamari
Dr. Philip Ward
Sam Weinstein
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi
Devra Wiseman
Miriam Yagud

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/142553/anti-israel-activists-attack-jc-challenging-jeremy-corbyn

So how is that answering any of the questions asked?
Its trying to say well we support who he is.
Whoopdedoo, the point is some questions need answering

So a few people claim its unfounded, where nobody is accusing him of being antisemtic.

How odd inddeed that a few people run to his defence yet still offer up no answers.

A list of some names does not mean the majority are not concerned:

These are all legitimate questions for an increasingly concerned UK Jewish community. Despite Corbyn’s penchant for mixing with racists and extremists, the Jewish Chronicle pointedly does not accuse Corbyn of being an anti-Semite.

The Kingmaker
August 18, 2015  /  Gilad Atzmon

By Gilad Atzmon
Paul Eisen, until a week ago anonymous as far as most Brits were concerned, is now a kingmaker. The UK Jewish Lobby is convinced, for some reason, that the nature of Eisen’s relationship with Labour’s leading candidate Jeremy Corbyn will determine the future of this country.
As we witness the most important political debate in Britain for generations being hijacked by the Zionist media and ‘Jewish sensitivities’, the time is ripe to ask: who is Paul Eisen?
Eisen has been described by the Jewish press and its acolytes as an ‘anti Semite’ and a ‘holocaust denier’, but peculiarly, no one mentions that Eisen is actually a Jew who sometimes even speaks ‘as a Jew’.
Eisen’s ‘crime’ seems obvious - he doesn’t adhere to the Zionist orthodox Shoah narrative. But Eisen doesn’t dispute the fact that German National Socialism despised the Jewish race, he doesn’t dispute the mass deportation of Jews, he doesn’t condone German National Socialist racism against Jews and others. Eisen doesn’t dispute the fact that many Jews died under the Nazi regime in some horrid and unfortunate circumstances. However, Eisen is sceptical on issues to do with the homicidal nature of the Nazi operation. He is not convinced that the Germans used gas chambers as a death factory.
Eisen could be right or wrong (as he himself admits in his writing), but does such a belief mount to ‘anti Semitism,’ racism or ‘hate crime’? Can the questioning of the past be considered a hateful act under any circumstances?
It’s quite the opposite: the ability to revisit and revise the past is the kernel of ethical, humanist and universal thinking. It is the attempt to grasp ‘what really happened’ which helps us to form the prospect of a better future.
Eisen calls himself a ‘holocaust denier’ but did anyone within the (free) British press care to perform the minimal journalist duty and investigate what Eisen means by his ‘denial’? The answer is no.
Eisen is obviously an opponent of the Holocaust industry, Holocaust religion and Holocaust exploitation. Eisen was tormented (as a Jew) to find out that the Israeli Holocaust museum Yad Vashem was erected on the lands of Ayn Karim, a ethnically cleansed Palestinian village. Eisen was tortured when he realised that Yad Vashem was built in proximity to Deir Yassin, a Palestinian village that was erased along with its inhabitants in a colossal cold-blooded massacre by Jewish paramilitaries in 1948.
Just three years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the newly born Jewish state wiped out a civilization in Palestine in the name of a racist Jewish nationalist ideology. It is this vile cynicism that turned Eisen into a denier – a denier of the primacy of Jewish suffering. In his eyes, if the Jews could commit the massacre in Deir Yassin after Auschwitz, the holocaust must be denied because it failed to mature into a universal ethical message. 
Again, you may agree with Eisen or you may not, but his humanist and critical approach qualifies him to be the Labour kingmaker. We can only thank British Jews and their forceful media to position Paul Eisen exactly where he belongs.  

http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/2015/8/18/the-kingmaker

Cuchulain wrote:So how is that answering any of the questions asked?
Its trying to say well we support who he is.
Whoopdedoo, the point is some questions need answering

So a few people claim its unfounded, where nobody is accusing him of being antisemtic.

How odd inddeed that a few people run to his defence yet still offer up no answers.

A list of some names does not mean the majority are not concerned:

These are all legitimate questions for an increasingly concerned UK Jewish community. Despite Corbyn’s penchant for mixing with racists and extremists, the Jewish Chronicle pointedly does not accuse Corbyn of being an anti-Semite.

Points still stand, are you sayinhg some British Jews do not have the right to ask legitimate questions that concern them?