Michael Rosen is bemused by former JC editor Stephen Pollard
JVL Introduction
Richard Burgon MP has submitted an Early Day Motion on the creeping annexation of the West Bank which has attracted 60 supporters.
Former editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Stephen Pollard, in a one-line comment on it simply says: “Useful list of the leading Jew haters in the Commons.”
In a response, Michael Rosen muses on the readiness of people like Pollard to associate all Jews collectively with the actions of the state of Israel, including all its crimes.
JVL has also called for action against fast accelerating annexation
A parallel misuse of an allegation of antisemitism from the USA is described in today’s update from Mondoweiss. A David Frum response to Ro Khanna shows how hasbara culture has warped the Jewish community’s response to antisemitism reports how a comment that the Democratic Party review of the 2024 presidential election defeat “deal with the hard truths about the genocide in Gaza.” elicited an accusation of a modern blood libel from the pro-Israeli lobby group AIPAC ands a further allegation from Frum.
RK
This article was originally published by Facebook on Wed 11 Mar 2026. Read the original here.
What on earth does Stephen Pollard actually mean?
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After explaining Stephen Pollard’s definition of “Jew-haters” could Michael enlighten us what a “self-hating Jew” actually is? And why seemingly the only faith group producing “self-haters” is the Judaic faith? I’ve never heard of “self-hating” Buddhists, Hindus, Christians or Muslims.
Or – come to think of it – neither have I heard of “self-hating” Brummies, Londoners, LibDems, Tories…
Not sure the West Bank will be saved by parliamentary motions alone. Palestinians need to be armed and able to defend themselves.
Thank you Michael for picking your way gracefully through the contortions so beloved of people like Pollard. They take every opportunity to make it appear that Jews are indivisible from Israel and its crimes, in order to justify their only line of defence – that criticising Israel or its crimes is attacking Jews. What bothers me most is that by doing this, they give heart to the growing number of conspiracy theorists who see Trump, Starmer et al as mere puppets dancing to the tune of a Global Jewish Cabal. Protocols of the Elders of Zion anyone?
Nothing ‘bemusing’ about this – it’s long been Israeli policy to elide Jewish identity with Israel – making criticism of Israel in and of itself antisemitism. The Labour Friends of Israel buy into this, and it’s always informed the Starmer government.
I cannot improve on Michael Rosen’s comments regarding the subject at hand but I would observe that Stephen Pollard’s comments, like so many offered these days, will do nothing to further his cause.
“Jew haters”: one can only know what they hate themself, unless of course the accused says directly what they hate. A perverse logic held by many a falsely accuser imo.
So long as name-calling continues, while it may well be said that antisemitism will never go away anyway, name-calling of this nature as we’ve seen over the last 10 years has done nothing to bring antisemitism down.
It really wouldn’t hurt for Mr Pollard to grow up a tad and progress beyond the infant school playground.
Linda, Yes! Let’s talk about the self-hating Jew trope! Before WW2, and even in the 1950s, it used to mean Jews who did seem to be uncomfortable about being Jewish. In fact, it was clear that some Jews had, during that period helped those who persecuted and killed Jews. It is psychologically possible to hate oneself and to express it through hating people you perceive as like the thing that you hate about yourself! However, in the present phase of Zionism and the onward and upward march of the state of Israel, we’ve seen the notion of the self-hating Jew spread to meaning any Jew who expresses dislike of, or hostility towards the state of Israeli, its actions and/or Zionism. The claim being made is that the state of Israel and Zionism are ‘intrinsic’ to Jewish identity. The problem with that is that there are thousands of Jews for whom neither Israel or Zionism IS intrinsic to their identity. There are lot of things that one might say about anti-zionist ‘Torah Jews’ (and I am most certainly not buying into their beliefs) but they are clearly both devoutly Jewish and anti-zionist. Again, they clearly don’t hate their Jewish identity or the fact that they are Jews. For that matter, neither do I! So, the long and short of it, is that ‘self-hating’ has become a self-justifying form of abuse for defenders of Israel. With that one phrase, they can avoid engaging with the argument about Zionism because, ‘obviously’ the Jew making the antizionist argument is not a Jew, those kinds of Jew negate themselves! But I, says the Zionist Jew, ‘realise’ myself through Zionism. Sorted.
Looks a bit like Pollard presenting it as a hit list to me.
Thank you, Michael & JVL, for patiently explaining this murky tale. It seems to me that zionists are still using a discredited weaponisation of antisemitism to threaten all of those of us who are sickened by Israel’s genocide of indigenous people to clear the land for colonialist settlers from Europe or America etc.
Excellent musing from Michael Rosen, I’ll shall carry it in my head so that I can unpick other illogicalities.
On a serious note well done Richard Burgon and your group of 50 to making such a badly needed stand for the West Bank Palestinians.