Greens reply to JLM attacks – “Who do they think they are?
JVL introduction
There was a time when some in the Green Party joined in the weaponisation of antisemitism allegations against Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters to undermine Labour for electoral advantage. It’s good to see them now taking a robust stand against laughable accusations from the Jewish Labour Movement over choosing a Jewish ex-Labour councillor to address fellow councillors about antisemitism.
UPDATED at 18.50 to include additional Jewish Greens statement,
NWI
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The Green Party has stood up for one of its local councillors after the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) publicly denounced them for allowing her to lead a training session about antisemitism. Jo Bird, who is Jewish, originally won her seat on Wirral council for Labour, but was then hounded out of the party for refusing to tow the line over Israel and antisemitism.
She has since been welcomed by the Greens and won a creditable 20 pct of the vote as parliamentary candidate in Birkenhead in the general election last July.
On November 26 an article by pro-Israel zealot Lee Harpin in Jewish News quoted the JLM accusing the Green Party “of displaying ‘a deep denial about the left antisemitism crisis’ after enlisting the councillor Jo Bird to deliver a talk on combating Jew hate.”
She had addressed a meeting of Green councillors on Understanding and Combating Antisemitism and on Dealing With Accusations of Antisemitism, delivering training developed in collaboration with the Jewish Greens group, which, the party said in response to JLM’s attack, “shows that the Green Party takes antisemitism incredibly seriously.”
They added: “As a prominent and experienced Jewish councillor, Jo Bird is considered by the Association of Green Councillors as ideal to deliver such training. We have complete confidence in Jewish Greens and those Jewish councillors who developed and delivered this training programme at our conference.”
In a separate statement, Jewish Greens said: “Jo was welcomed to Jewish Greens as a great councillor and for her commitment to both Green Party policies and combating antisemitism. That JLM has commented on our training is completely irrelevant. We offer one-to-one education when we believe a member has crossed the line and will make a complaint if that isn’t taken up or doesn’t pan out. We support party members when false accusations of antisemitism have been made.”
Clearly the Greens recognise antisemitism as a form of racism that must be combated, in all parties including their own.
But the JLM, which led a campaign of antisemitism smears against the Labour left under Jeremy Cornbyn, accused the Greens of making excuses for “cranks who were kicked out of Labour.” Their spokesperson said: “The Green Party should stop doubling down and try and learn from us,” claiming to have been “at the forefront of getting the Labour Party to take antisemitism seriously and get it in a state fit to govern.”
Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski, who is himself Jewish, was not taking any nonsense from the JLM, writing on social media: “Why would the Jewish Labour movement – a group standing alongside a government enabling genocide – comment on training within the Green Party? Who do they think they are?”
In defence of Jo Bird he said: “The absolutely incoherency of it aside – there’s a much darker edge to this. It’s about hounding a Jewish woman for being a socialist and not matching their politics. It’s vile behaviour & it should be treated with nothing but absolute contempt.”
The Green Party has not always taken a creditable stand against fake accusations of antisemitism. There were occasions when it joined in the weaponisation of allegations against Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters to undermine Labour for electoral advantage. Now it seems they have learned lessons from the past – though not the lessons the Starmerite JLM would wish.
The party spokeperson said:
“By interfering with internal Green Party matters the Jewish Labour Movement is playing politics which does not serve the Jewish community well. The Green Party agrees that the Labour government is complicit in genocide in Gaza and has called for the suspension of all arms exports to Israel.”
Yes this is very welcome and I hope that it continues because too many in the Green Party, including Caroline Lucas, went along with the smears of the JLM.
There is also the absolutely shocking behaviour of the German Green Party whose Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has been a cheerleader for genocide in Gaza.
There are still some in the Green Party who are determined to conflate anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, as I experienced at the last election in Brighton! A start could be made by ditching the IHRA and recognising that its sole purpose was to weaponise anti-Semitism against anti-Zionists and opponents of Israeli apartheid
The Jewish Labour Movement is Zionist. t is actually anti-Labour in its actions.
It’s such a pity that Jeremy Corbyn hadn’t got the courage to denounce the ridiculous nonsense from the JLM in the same manner as Zack Polanski.
… and …
No – I’m neither a member nor a supporter of the Green Party.
The JLM’s continued pursuit of Jo Bird to me constitutes a vendetta. One could even cogently argue their actions are a breach of their own beloved ‘IHRA’ code.
It is utterly ludicrous that anyone, anywhere takes any drivel from the so-called JLM seriously. It should be pointed out every time it raises its head that it was created by a long-discredited Labour councillor and requires its members to be neither Labour nor Jewish.
It exists to shill for Israel and demonise anyone who criticises it.
And we should never forget their contribution to the Panorama hatchet job, one of the most disgusting programs ever made and aired by the BBC, and on a par with Nazi propaganda.