Would Sir Keir Starmer have Suspended Someone like Nelson Mandela?
JVL Introduction
In his Skye City blog, R.D. Hale argues for a grown-up conversation if we are ever to defeat racism.
Nelson Mandela, he believes, would very likely have been expelled by Labour’s current regime had he ever been a member. His criticism of Israel was so scathing, his solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians so unstinting.
Others have been disciplined for less. Can this be fair or reasonable?
The lessons he draws is that we must learn to listen to each other more, and blame less; that context is so important; that people need to be allowed to make mistakes in which an apology and clarification is sufficient without need for accusations of racism.
“We must focus on education and understanding and avoid spurious and counterproductive accusations of racism, if we are ever to defeat racism.”
This article was originally published by Skye City on Sat 18 Jul 2020. Read the original here.
Would Sir Keir Starmer have Suspended Someone like Nelson Mandela?
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What an excellent well expressed article. How can anyone argue with that. .a shame Nelson Mandella is not here to give his approval.
“Antisemitism is unquestionably one of the great evils of this world but so too is anti-Palestinian racism ….The Israel/Palestine issue is a sensitive matter and one must strike a fine balance.”
Oh dear! Far too morally equivocal in identifying the persecutor and the victim.
“Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. ” Shakespeare : Macbeth
Unfortunately the issue of mixing up criticism of ‘Israel’ and ‘Jews’ is done intentionally by supporters of Israel, The late Abba Eban an Israeli leader said “One of the chief tasks of any dialogue with the Gentile world is to prove that the distinction between anti-Semitism and Anti Zionism is not a distinction at all”. Noam Chomsky replied “that is a convenient stand, it cuts off a mere 100% of critical comment” Quoted by Menachem Weker ‘In defence of self hating Jews’ May 2007.
Of course, according to the IHRA working definition, failing to make that distinction is anti Semitic. Here is example 11 “Holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel. There you have it, Both Abba Eban and Keir Starmer are Anti Semites.
Just a reminder. Freedom fighters are always portrayed as terrorists by right wing politicians. In the past Mandela was called a terrorist. The same is true of Yasser Arafat and Gerry Adams. Now we have Trump using the same claim to crack down on the BLM movement in the US. The Israeli attempt to present their oppression of the Palestinians as part of the wat on terrorism is no different.
Let’s be fair: before John Cleese says “special subject the bleedin’ obvious,” if Marc Wadsworth was chucked out without further to do under Corbyn, Nelson Mandela would have found himself hanging from one of Labour’s poplar trees under Starmer.
Maxine Peak`s statement did not contain “partial truths” but whole truths. Look into JINSA, Jewish Insitute for National security of America, where there are mentions of American law enforcement being trained in Israel. Also Krav Maga, an Israeli counter-terrorism technique taught to American forces. Both these sources lead on to others which also corroborate that Israeli training of Americans was a fairly accepted practice. Micky Rosenfeld, a prominent figure in Israeli security states that Americans come to Israel for instruction. Although he denied that “knee on neck” was on of the restraints used.
Yet Krav Maga IS an Israeli combat training, many videos of “knee on neck” performed by Israelis are available. Most relevantly Jonathon Fader, a “leading Krav Maga trainer has a video demonstrating the correct usage of “knee on neck” this was posted after George Floyd`s death. Presumably to show the difference between what Chauvin did and what he should have done!!
Please research ANY of these sources and you will be in no doubt that all statements from Maxine Peak are factually accurate. Or, like Keir Starmer are you too unable to access the internet??
Thank you, JVL, for being the voice of calm reason. Excellent article.
Well written! Funnily enough I made just this point about Mandela when our EC of our CLP questionned the credentials of the speakers we invited to our Windrush event as they wanted to control the content and language in case it was anti-zionist. I accused them of probably asking for credentials if they had been faced with Nelson Mandela. They were very angry but they didnt expel me! They know they’re wrong.
RThis article is like the curate’s egg .To talk of Arafat and Mandela in the same breath is a bit rich .Mandela was a man of outstanding integrity and decency who never believed in revenge .His reaching out to the Afrikaners avoided a blood bath.Arafat ,on the other hand,was corrupt and revelled in bloodshed .He couldn’t make the difficult step from terrorism to statesmanship.His wife is living a luxurious life in Paris on money stolen from the impoverished Palestinians .Indeed his legacy of corruption and inept governance paved the way for Hamas to take over Gaza.And compared to the latter Arafat is a Tzaddick ( a righteous man )
PS I was a member of the ill fated Rhodesian Olympic Games team in Munich in 1972 .One of my friends Yosef Romano was the first Israeli athletes murdered by Arafat’s terrorists. I was with him the day before he died.
I can’t help but recall that Israel supplied apartheid South Africa with the means to make nuclear weapons.
I didn’t vote for Starmer. Nor any other leadership candidate, in fact – for the simple reason that I couldn’t endorse anyone who cowered in the face of the Israel lobby.
But I did genuinely suspend ultimate judgment and was willing to be persuaded by action.
It looks now that this was a vain hoped-for possibility, and the man is, indeed, a moral vacuum who shames the principles that lie behind the Labour Party, which now forms no ideological opposition to a corrupt and truly awful government intent on abrogating basic civil and medical rights.
The self-serving belly-crawling involved in withdrawing from the case against the Panorama documentary is close to the last straw – at the opposite pole to Mandela.
What is happening today is intended to prevent Labour Party members from speaking out on Israels treatment of the Palestinians. Ordinary members are to be silenced. I voted for Starmer but I am now very worried about our future.
I don’t recall Mandela ever being ” scathing ” in his critism of Israel. Scathing criticism was not his style or character . After his release he had a warm friendship with many in the SA Jewish Community and this included those who were active or involved in SA Zionist organisations. No finger wagging, no scathing comments and no vitriol It was not his style. He also was very clear that Israel had the right to exist within agreed and secure borders.
When SA opens to visitors again I would recommend a visit to Lilislief Farm
Where he spent time in hiding with others who went on to be imprisoned with him. Also the Gallery and Museum at the Constitutional Court. His private Diaries, letters and notes can be seen. Scathing comments, this is man who took tea with Bettsy Verwoed!
Until we prosecute vexatious claims of anti semitism and punish Israel for interfering in our democracy , throw in BDS and War Crimes
It’s called leverage and in the right hands could resolve all of these issues
My grandmother was Jewish and I was brought up to be proud of that connection. I watched the rise of the kibbutz movement with pride. The present Israeli government is a different kettle of fish. I find myself a critic of the way the Palestinians are treated and the way that Israel is expanding at the expense of those who have no defence disgusting. My heritage is undermined and I am sad.
If Nye Bevan was alive today would there be pressure to deselect him, because he was an enthusiastic Zionist.