Actually, it all began under Ed…
Published
by
Richard Kuper
JVL Introduction
Well, well, well.
This article from 2014 shows clearly that many Jews were deserting Labour long before Jeremy Corbyn became leader.
It all began under Ed Miliband. There was no claim that antisemitism was a problem then. The issue was clear: it was Miliband’s “toxic” anti-Israeli stance over Gaza and Palestine that caused the offence.
Why aren’t we surprised?
This article was originally published by The Independent on Sun 9 Nov 2014. Read the original here.
Labour funding crisis: Jewish donors drop 'toxic' Ed Miliband
The leader’s ‘principled’ stance on Palestine deters backers, forcing party ‘to go to unions with begging bowl’
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According to Survation, Ed Miliband’s Labour obtained only 14% of the ‘Jewish’ vote in 2015 and the Tories got 67%.
In 2017 Survation put Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour at 11% of the ‘Jewish’ vote and the Tories still around 67%
So it seems the ‘Jewish’ vote was primarily lost in 2015 over Palestine.
Maybe the allegations of an ‘antisemitism crisis’ in Labour are just a proxy claim to shield Israel from its legitimate critics? Bernie Sanders says this is happening in the US too.
“Maybe the allegations of an ‘antisemitism crisis’ in Labour are just a proxy claim to shield Israel from its legitimate critics?
It’s always been the case that it’s this and also just a general purpose tool for the right to hit the left with. The obvious test is that if there were real antisemitism, left wing Jews in the party would be leading the charge against it. Instead there’s JVL.
Note too that, with the exception of the already notorious Maureen Lipman, not a single ‘source’ is named – we have ‘one prominent Jewish financier’, ‘a number of senior Labour MPs’, ‘Prominent Jewish supporters’ etc etc etc
In 2014 or 15 Miliband, Labour’s first Jewish leader was slow handclapped by a Jewish audience at a social function. What had Miliband done to warrant that treatment by fellow Jewish people. He had made a declaration that be supported an independent Palestine. No issues that he had taken part in any antisemitic act or statement.
However that did not stop Stephen Pollard of the Jewish Chronicle from writing a front page headline of the ‘crisis of antisemitism in the Labour Party’. Apparently Jews were no longer safe in the UK as explained by Maureen Lipman who was going to have to flee for her safety.
Absolutely no evidence was provided for the scare stories. A little like now. It does suggest that the current ‘crisis’ has been taken down from the shelves and reissued. In any event, as some of the community have changed their economic status, they have also changed parties. Working class Jews are still likely to support the left
The history in Britain of (mainly left-wing) supporters of the Palestinians’ alleged “antisemitism” goes back a long way. This includes the Guardian and the BBC. Some of this is chronicled in Michael Adams’ and Christopher Mayhew’s book “Publish it Not”, first published in 1975.
Really interesting. I wasn’t aware of this.
It is just too easy for people who disagree with Israel’s policies over Palestine to be labelled anti Semites. It has been shameful to see those on the Labour right using this situation to score points over the left.