Exposing the weaponisation of antisemitism
JVL Introduction
Jonathan Cook reports on a wave of highly damaging but unsubstantiated allegations of antisemitism that have seriously undermined freethinking and debate on the left and called expressions of solidarity with Palestine into question.
The recent findings by Brismes (British Society for Middle East Studies) show that in 38 out of 40 recent cases against lecturers, students, student unions and societies there was no evidence to support the accusations of antisemitism – the other two cases are ongoing.
Cook also reports on JVL’s formal complaint to Labour, accusing it of “discriminating unlawfully against its Jewish members and unlawfully harassing them”.
“Weaponised antisemitism is still serving its purpose”, writes Cook, crushing “the left politically, using Israel as the cudgel, and is now busy stifling discussions on campuses that might have exposed how bogus and politicised the campaign against the left really was.”
So, he concludes, the fightback matters, not just to put the record straight, but to expose how rigged British politics truly is.
This article was originally published by Middle East Eye on Mon 25 Sep 2023. Read the original here.
UK and Israel: Has the fightback against weaponised antisemitism begun?
Jewish groups and academics are finally exposing the UK establishment’s smear campaign to silence criticism of Israel and destroy the left
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This excellent article should be sent to Sarah Montague whose interview with Ken Loach, broadcast today on World at One BBC Radio 4, showed how misled the establishment media are about anti semitism and the Labour Party . I admired how Ken, who was there apparently to talk about his film on Syrian refugees in the North East, but was in my view ambushed on the topic of anti semitism. If you can try and listen to the interview.
A useful and pertinent summary of the issue. What shocks me is the non-interest , or deliberate turning of the back, by the considerable majority of Labour MPs and local branches, to what is clearly a misdirection of logic and language in order to promote the weaponising of ‘anti-semitism’. The seemingly deliberate effect is to isolated and condemn alternative voices. But, It is not just the central powers that are guilty here, It is also the ‘silent’ membership majority. Sad to witness the effective death of a great democratic movement. What on earth has happened? Even more sad is that the general public are unaware of this serious breach of democratic ethics.
We all know why CAA and JLM push for the acceptance of the IHRA. To legitimise the conflation of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
What I don’t understand is, why more is not being done to publicise The Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism, and The Nexus Document on Israel and Anti-Semitism. The obvious counters to the IHRA.
Throw into the mix, Kenneth Stern’s opinion on his own document, and it may, at least, mean CAA and JLM would have to have an open discussion about what constitutes anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism, instead of hiding behind the captured, and docile Labour Party.