Labour must treat antisemitism as a human problem, not just a political one
Published
by
Richard Kuper
JVL Introduction
Vashti is one of the new kids on the block of the Jewish left. Welcome! And thanks for letting us repost this article.
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In this article Rivkah Brown urges us to treat antisemitism as a human problem, not simply a political one, that the “problem” is as much about feelings as about facts.
This article was originally published by Vashti on Wed 27 Nov 2019. Read the original here.
Labour must treat antisemitism as a human problem, not just a political one
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Has Vashti perhaps not seen the JVL article “The Panorama programme – a compilation of critical comments” which features a transcript of a recording of the interview where Westerman says he was asked “Where are you from?”? https://jewishvoiceforliberation.org.uk/article/the-pannorama-programme-a-compilation-of-critical-comments/#ref6
“Former Labour Party investigator caught lying in BBC Panorama interview.”
Source: Johnny Beggs, Facebook 12 July 2019
“No-one knew Mr Westerman was Jewish, and no-one asked him about coming from Israel. He is attempting to use his Jewishness to smear another (Jewish!) Party member.
“It is a provable lie because all the interviews were recorded by us.
“The transcript of the conversation with an elderly Jewish comrade, who was acting as the interviewee’s silent friend, goes like this. The initials R signifies the interviewee’s Silent Friend, present at the interview.
“Ben W: (To R) Ok. Do you want to…?
“R: No, I’m just curious cos I haven’t been in the Labour Party for very long and I certainly haven’t been to anything like this informal interview before, erm, so I’m just curious, just, like what branch are you in?
“Ben W: I don’t think that’s relevant.
“R: Oh, ok.
“Ben W: I hope that’s ok -, I’m sorry I just don’t think, I don’t think where I’m from is at all relevant to the investigation… [NOTE He hasn’t been asked ‘where he’s from’, he’d been asked what branch he is in – Johnny Beggs]
“R: Yeah, I just, I just misunderstood, I thought the investigation bit about me not being a silent witness was…
“Ben W: No, no it is, you’re more than welcome to ask questions, but I reserve the right to not answer them and I feel that’s a, that’s a question about my personal situation which I don’t think is relevant to the situation in Riverside.
“R: Oh. No, it might not be. Just but, it might be interesting.
“Ben W: I’m, I’m not prepared to discuss my, my address, basically. [NOTE: He had not been asked for his address! – Johnny Beggs]
“R: Mmm. [EXTRACT ENDS]
“After a few more brief sentences from the interviewee (also Jewish) the exchange ended. Nothing was said after the interview, as was claimed by Mr Westerman on PANORAMA.”
Thank you for this which I found moving and convincing. I do not want to detract from your powerful message but I must point out that I believe you are mistaken about Ben Westerman’s testimony. He frankly misrepresented what had happened when he stated in the documentary that a Liverpool Riverside interviewee asked him “where are you from? Are you from Israel?” Although presented as one of the most sinister revelations of the film, this never happened. Not one of the six individuals interviewed by Westerman asked this question, nor suspected at the time that he might be Jewish. The recording reveals that Westerman is misrepresenting an innocent incident where a party member (herself Jewish) asks him what branch (of the Labour Party) he is a member of, a question Westerman refuses to answer. This is well-documented and recordings show the truth of what happened. I suppose following your argument above, it is possible that Westerman genuinely thought that was what was said, but he was wrong.
Sorry but this article is mostly babble. There is no lack of empathy on the part of Corbyn and the left – that’s one of the defining elements of socialists and evident as much for people subject to racism as for people subject to class war as the two are intertwined. What is hard and can be impossible to do is to express empathy for concerns that are based on fake news – that’s where we should have been more robust from the start in stating the facts. Now we are in the trap of being asked to apologise for things we haven’t done.
Take Margaret Hodge – her attack on Corbyn was nothing to do with antisemitism. As for Ben Westerman, is it not the case that JVL has helped debunk his ‘Israel’ story as faked?
We hear a lot about the ‘genuine concerns’ of the ‘Jewish community’ – it helps no one, least of all Jews, to persist with the myth than these concerns are based on reality by pretending to be empathetic.
And the proof is that by so persisting over 4 years has only led to the opposition escalating the ‘concern’, which we see only too well now. Corbyn had clearly had enough in the Neil interview – but it was way too late.
It is necessary to take account of peoples’ feelings. BUT, these are being exploited by pro-Israel elements and added to with lies and distortions. Ben Westerman’s testimony is one such piece – see the comments above. For me the question is this: was Westerman just play acting? Was he serious? Or did he really imagine the conversation he maintains he had? Was it simply propaganda – or did he actually imagine and believe his own propaganda. All good propagandists are to some degree actors in that they genuinely believe their own propaganda. That doesn’t make it right. It may make it more convincing.
In this whole debate I have found a disturbing trend to focus on ‘feelings’ rather than ‘facts’. Perhaps because the facts about Corbyn’s antisemitism are rather thin on the ground. And Westerman’s allegations of antisemitism made on the Panorama programme is clearly undermined by the tape. They would not stand up in a court of law.
I understand what this article is getting at BUT facts are not feelings. The facts have to be given prominance. I concede (as do most actors) that the way facts are presented and the tone they are presented in is important. I found the remarks of the Chief Rabbi vicious in the extreme as well as dangerous for those he criticised as well as the Jewish community. Let’s be clear about this – this has been initiated by pro-Israel elements who are anxious to deflect criticism from Israel because of its appalling record and because Corbyn has bravely supported justice for the Palestinians. Corbyn was identified as ‘an existential threat to Jews’. When we talk about feelings, do you not take account of his and the rest of us who have spent years and years watching people being blown to pieces by the IDF?
I have watched over the last more than 50 years as Israel has drifted from being a refuge built on hope to a fortress built on racist hate. I most certainly do not blame Jews for that. I do blame a succession of Israeli right wing politicians.
I wonder about the effectiveness of setting up all these mini- and sub-groups within the Jewish community?
It is starting to resemble something like Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” movie with the daggers-drawn relationship between the Peoples Front for the Liberation of Judea and the Judean Liberation Popular Front – all the while ignoring the real enemy of Roman expansionist colonisation.
Ring any bells?
The real progressives within the UK Jewish community should all unite behind Jewish Voice for Labour.
That is the way to bring about real change.