Bad News For Labour: Boycotts, Book Launches and Abuse

James Daunt of Waterstones has admitted that the cancellation of the book launch was taken by the London management of the company and that the decision to cancel was neither “necessary” nor the result “of any external pressure”. But he does not deny that in the days before the book was due to be launched members of staff at the Brighton bookshop received threatening and abusive messages from people demanding that the event be cancelled.

Certainly the authors of the book – experienced and distinguished media academics – seem to believe that this was the case, presumably because they had discussed the cancellation with Waterstones’ staff in Brighton.

I sent the following protest to the Press Office/PR department of Waterstones on Wednesday,25 September.

“I do not know the precise nature of the threats which your company and members of your staff were subject to, but the purpose of those threats is clear enough – to silence all discussion about the origins, sources and purposes of the campaign alleging anti-semitism in the Labour Party.

By cancelling the launch event – presumably because you decided that freedom of speech is less important than the economic success of Waterstones – you have submitted to terrorism. Not the terrorism of guns and bombs , perhaps, but terrorism in the sense that you submitted to threats; you submitted to the will of people or groups of people who
wish to silence all criticism of the state of Israel and its ideological supporters in this country.

At a moment in our history when the rule of law is under scrutiny as never before, you have a greater responsibility than most to uphold freedom of speech and to resist those who use fear and intimidation to silence voices of which they disapprove.

As someone who has been buying books on and off for almost 80 years, I would like to have your response to this protest.”

So far I have received no answer.

Over the last three years, the Society of Friends (the Quakers) have cancelled meetings after receiving threatening and abusive phone calls and recently a Member of Parliament was prevented from speaking at a meeting called to discuss allegations of anti-semitism within the Labour Party because the hotel venue was cancelled, also after threats of violence. The cancellation of the book launch in Brighton is the latest example of a new and disturbing political phenomena in Britain.

These are not isolated and unrelated acts. This kind of intimidation appears to be systematic and well organised. I don’t know if Jewish Voice for Labour is the right organisation to monitor and publicise this kind of unlawful behaviour, but at the moment no-one seems to be doing it.

The use of threats of violence and psychological harassment to frighten people, to silence discussion and prevent debate is not something of which we have much experience in this country over the last 50 to 60 years. All the more reason, then, I believe, to see it as an emerging form of terrorism which should be dealt with under the law. After all, the only defence we have against acts of terrorism – whether physical or psychological – are agreed and recognised codes of personal rights. We are entitled to demand that those rights are enforced by law.