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| Jackie Walker |
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| David Rosenberg of the Jewish Socialists Group |
To: David Rosenberg, National Secretary, Jewish Socialists Group
Dear David,
Over 3 months
ago, I posted links to my post The
Strange Silence of the Jewish Socialists Group on the JSG’s Facebook group. The post concerned Jackie Walker, the Black-Jewish
activist who was suspended by the Labour Party and the actions of Jon Lansman,
who is a member of the JSG. As a result I
was removed from the JSG’s FB group.
Jackie was a victim
of the Jewish Labour Movement’s anti-Semitism smear campaign. Other anti-Zionists and anti-racists,
including myself and Ken Livingstone, have also fallen victim to this Israeli-state
driven campaign which labels support for the Palestinians and anti-Zionism as anti-Semitic.
Al Jazeera is now showing a series of programmes
documenting some of
the leading actors in this campaign and their links to the Israeli Embassy.
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| Julia Bard, journalist, JSG member whose main role is to remove dissenters from JSG associated FB groups |
Jackie was
suspended from the Labour Party as a direct consequence of Lansman’s attack on
her in the media. Lansman informed the Independent
that “I spoke to Jeremy Newmark of the
Jewish Labour Movement this morning, he’s very upset and I can understand that
– I work closely with Jeremy...’ Jackie
was removed as Vice-Chair of Momentum at the instigation of Lansman, Momentum’s
Chair and latter-day Caudillo.
The admission by
Lansman that he works closely with Newmark, something he has also told me, is
shocking enough. The JLM are the British
wing of the Israeli Labour Party and affiliated to the World Zionist Organisation. Their role is to prettify Israel’ racism and
repression. The ILP were the original party
of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.
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| Jeremy Newmark, Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement who has played a major role in weaponising anti-Semitism - friend of Jon Lansman |
Newmark is one
of the principal authors of the false anti-Semitism campaign in the Labour
Party and by his own
admission he works very closely with the Israeli Embassy. He was criticised
as a liar by the Employment Tribunal in Fraser
v UCU when he attacked the University College Union for supporting the
Academic Boycott of Israel.
The JSG has a
long and honourable record of fighting fascism and racism. Although we often disagreed I counted the
late Steve Cohen, a member of JSG and a tireless campaigner in support of
refugees and asylum seekers, as a good friend.
Only today
Debbie Fink, a long-time Jewish activist in the BDS movement and JfJP wrote to
you asking ‘why the JSG has not challenged
Lansman, let alone expelled him, and why of all groups, the JSG has remained
silent on the fate of Jackie Walker.’ She
referred to the series of programmes that Al Jazeera are currently showing and
asked ‘what side-of history does JSG want
to be on?’
In response you stated that
Debbie’s comments were ‘based on
ignorance and vituperation, they were not worth responding to. The JSG is
solely accountable to its members, not to you, nor to FSOI, nor to any other
groups we may or may not be connected with or work with.’ Of course it is true that you are only
accountable to your members but any group that claims to be socialist and anti-racist surely owes an
explanation to more than just its members for its behaviour? It is shameful that you are remaining silent
about a member who has actively colluded in racist attacks on a fellow Jewish socialist.
On September 17th, over a week before the Labour Party Conference
and the ‘training session’ that led to her suspension, I wrote a post The Jewish Labour Movement and its Political Lynching
of Jackie Walker. It was
clear to me, that the JLM, as part the campaign that was organised by the Israeli
Embassy, was engaged in what I called a political lynching, a campaign of race
baiting, against a Black-Jewish comrade.
It was incumbent upon you as socialists to support her, not to remain
silent.
If you are not aware of the
details of the framing of Jackie Walker you can consult my The
lynching of Jackie Walker and
Professor Jonathan Rosenhead’s Jackie
Walker: a suspense mystery, both of which are on Open Democracy.
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| Guardian letter from Jewish LP Members that Ruth Appleton was instructed to remove her name from |
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| email from Julia Bard instructing Ruth Appleton to remove the JSG from her name to a letter to the Guardian |
On 5th
October last year, the Guardian printed a letter from Jewish members of
Momentum defending Jackie Walker. When one of your members, Ruth Appleton,
sought to add ‘member of JSG’ after her name she was instructed by Julia Bard
to remove any reference to the JSG. Julia wrote that ‘The JSG is not commenting at the moment
and, because the situation is so complex and volatile. Under the circumstances,
I think it would be better if you just signed in your own name, without
mentioning the JSG, for now.’
Today I
understand that Debbie Fink has been removed from the Jews for Jeremy Facebook
group, which is not a JSG group, although you, Julia and Ian Saville are the
sole moderators, because she posted a link to my post criticising Lansman’s attempt
to dissolve all Momentum’s elected bodies.
I assume that either yourself or Julia Bard removed Debbie.
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| Malia Bouatthia - NUS's Black President who JSG have refused to defend |
Last year I was
also removed from the J4J FB group by you and Ms Bard for defending Malia
Bouatthia, NUS’s Black President, in a letter to the Guardian. Malia has also been the subject of a racist
witch hunt by the Zionist UJS, which Al Jazeera has documented.
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| Letter defending Malia Bouathia that JSG members objected to |
At the end of
April last year, the JSG issued a Statement
on “Labour’s problem with antisemitism” in which you stated that
Accusations of
antisemitism are currently being weaponised ... with claims that Labour has a
“problem” of antisemitism.... The Jewish Socialists’ Group sees the current
fearmongering about antisemitism in the Labour Party for what it is – a
conscious and concerted effort by right-wing political forces to undermine the
growing support among Jews and non-Jews alike for the Labour Party leadership
of Jeremy Corbyn, and a measure of the desperation of his opponents.
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| Ian Saville of the JSG speaking to a Brighton meeting in support of Jackie Walker in May 2016 |
This was a fine statement
of principles. In May of last year Ian Saville, a
member of the JSG, spoke at a Momentum meeting in Brighton alongside Jackie after
she had been suspended for the first time.
Nothing has changed since that time other than the fact that the Zionists
refused to accept her reinstatement into the Labour Party and conducted a race-baiting
witch-hunt against her. It is a pity
that you have resiled from the position you once held. I hope you reconsider.
In Solidarity,
Tony Greenstein
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