Defending Free Speech on Palestine and Israel with Norman Finkelstein and Tariq Ali – Meeting Tuesday July 28th 7.00 p.m.

Why I Have Submitted a Complaint Against Keir Starmer to the Labour Party for his anti-Semitism and racist attacks on the Palestinians

Today we are witnessing a wholesale attack on Free Speech in the Labour Party by its new leader ‘Sir’ Keir Starmer. On 30^th April Starmer reprimanded Dianne Abbot and Bell Ribeiro-Addy for speaking in the same zoom meeting as Jackie Walker and myself, two Jewish anti-Zionists!

On 24^th June Starmer sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey for retweeting Maxine Peake’s statement that American Police learnt the neck hold that killed George Floyd from the Israeli Police. This despite the abundant evidence that Israeli Police, who have trained hundreds of thousands of US Police, regularly use the neck hold.

More recently he removed Lloyd Russell-Moyle from the Shadow Cabinet for saying, in 2009, that Zionism was a nasty and dangerous form of nationalism.  A statement of the obvious.

Both Moyle and Bailey were expressing their opinions about Israel and Zionism. It had nothing to do with Jews, yet they were sacked.

Contrast this with Starmer’s toleration of Shadow Cabinet member Steve Reed’s use of the anti-Semitic term ‘puppet master’. As Tory MP Andrew Percy recognised

“Alluding to Jews as puppet-masters is an age old antisemitic trope and for a Shadow Cabinet member to use this trope is totally unacceptable. If Keir Starmer was serious about tackling antisemitism he would sack Steve Reed on the spot.’

Even worse was the tweet by Rachel Reeves, also a member of the Shadow Cabinet, in support of notorious Hitler lover, Nancy Astor.

Astor once told MP Alan Graham that "only a Jew like you would dare to be rude to me". Astor also told US ambassador Joseph Kennedy that it would take much more than Hitler giving "a rough time" to "the killers of Christ" before Britain entered the war.

Yet despite this Reeves has refused to delete the tweet. Starmer refused at the last National Executive Committee to even discuss the matter.

Skwawkbox's take on Starmer's attitude to Rachel Reeve's praise of a Nazi supporter 

Starmer’s toleration of anti-Semitism at the same time as he calls any support for the Palestinians or opposition to Zionism ‘anti-Semitic’ is unacceptable.

That is why the Campaign for Free Speech in the Labour Party is organising, next Tuesday, the second in a series of meetings as part of a campaign in defence of democratic rights and free speech in the Labour Party. It is unacceptable that anti-Semitism is now acceptable under Starmer whilst anti-Zionism is outlawed.  We refuse to accept that racists can determine who can and cannot speak on Israel and Zionism.

Steven Reed - used antisemitic trope 'puppet master'

We have 7 speakers (Ken Livingstone has been forced to pull out). Top of the bill is Jewish anti-Zionist Norman Finkelstein, author of the Holocaust Industry and a renowned academic. Finkelstein, both of whose parents were concentration camp survivors, has been a fierce critic of the fake Zionist ‘anti-Semitism’ campaign in the Labour Party.

Tariq Ali, famous for his leadership of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign and a long standing Marxist, film maker and author will also be speaking.

Professor David Miller of Bristol University, co-author of Bad News for Labour, who was recently suspended under Starmer’s witchhunt and has now resigned from the Labour Party will also be speaking.  Also speaking is ChrisWilliamson, former MP for Derby North. In addition Jackie Walker, Tony Greenstein and Marc Wadsworth, all of who were expelled from the Labour Party under the ‘anti-Semitism witchhunt will be speaking.

If you wish to attend, and places are limited, please register here.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PbVtnO7YQMK-t5N1Dd9mIw

Anti-Semitism Complaint Against Sir Keir Starmer MP and Rachel Reeves MP

To: complaints@labour.org.uk

Complaints

The Labour Party

Southside

105 Queen Victoria St,

London SW1E 6QT

Dear Sir or Madam,

I wish to submit a complaint against Keir Starmer, who is currently the leader of the Labour Party. When Starmer was elected as leader in April he promised to root out anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. Instead he has made it clear that not only is he happy to tolerate it but that he himself is anti-Semitic.

Instead Starmer has redefined anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism whilst giving a carte blanche for the Shadow Cabinet to repeat anti-Semitic tropes and praise notorious anti-Semites.

On 30^th April Starmer’s reprimanded Dianne Abbot MP and Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP for breaching the McCarthyist 5^th of the Board of Deputies’ 10 Commandments, which stipulates that members of the Labour Party must not speak on any platform with members suspended or expelled for ‘anti-Semitic incidents’. This was despite the fact that the 2 expelled members Abbot and Ribeiro-Addy spoke with, Jackie Walker and myself, are Jewish.

On 24^th June Starmer sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey for retweeting Maxine Peake’s statement that American Police learnt the neck hold that killed George Floyd from the Israeli Police. Starmer called this an ‘anti-Semitic trope’ despite the fact that the Anti-Defamation League, one of the main US Zionist groups openly boasted of arranging the training US Police forces by the Israeli Police.

Starmer obviously has difficulty understanding the difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Even if the statement by Peake was wrong it clearly wasn’t anti-Semitic unless he considers Jews and Israel as being synonymous. If that is the case then Sir Keir is breaching the IHRA misdefinition of anti-Semitism which states that: ‘Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel’ is anti-Semitic. Clearly Starmer is in need of anti-Zionist training as equating all British Jews with the Israeli state is anti-Semitic.

My complaint focuses however on Starmer’s toleration of anti-Semitism amongst members of the Shadow Cabinet and his own past record in protecting a prominent paedophile.

1.     Steve Reed, the Shadow Communities Secretary tweeted on 4^th July a reference to Richard Desmond, who is Jewish, as a ‘puppet master’. ‘Puppet Master’ has been repeatedly used against George Soros and is associated with Jewish financiers pulling the strings behind the scenes. It is unacceptable to say, ‘Steve deleted the tweet and did not mean to cause any offence.’ An example should have been made of Reed.

2.     The other example of Starmer’s toleration of anti-Semitism is more serious. On 24^th February Rachel Reeves tweeted a tribute to a Nazi supporter, Nancy Astor.  She once told MP Alan Graham that "only a Jew like you would dare to be rude to me". Astor also told US ambassador Joseph Kennedy that it would take much more than Hitler giving "a rough time" to "the killers of Christ" before Britain entered the war.

Despite this veneration of a Nazi Reeves has refused to delete or apologise for her tweet. Starmer, who promised to crack down on anti-Semitism, refused to dismiss Reeves from the Shadow Cabinet.  NEC member Lara McNeill asked Starmer “Are you going to continue to allow Rachel Reeves to serve after her campaign to erect a statue to Nancy Astor?” Starmer responded “I’m not going to discuss an individual member of cabinet on a zoom call”.

Clearly Starmer doesn’t know the difference between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Even worse it would appear that he is sympathetic to anti-Semitism. The fact that the Board of Deputies and all the usual Zionist suspects have said nothing is irrelevant. Zionist groups have never had any problem with genuine anti-Semitism.

I am therefore calling for the immediate suspension of Starmer. In view of his egregious behaviour I am requesting that he is dealt with under the Labour Party’s fast-track procedures so that he can be expelled as quickly as possible. It is incredibly damaging for the Labour Party to have an anti-Semite as its leader.

Was Jimmy Saville Protected by Keir Starmer?

I also wish to raise the issue of Starmer’s behaviour with respect to the prominent paedophile and child rapist, Jimmy Saville. Starmer was the Director of Public Prosecutions who oversaw the decision not to prosecute Saville. In 2013 Starmer issued what was called a ‘personal apology’ for the failures of the Crown Prosecution Service whilst he was in charge. It is clear that there was a Police and CPS cover-up of Saville’s crimes and that Starmer was at least in part responsible.

Given the circumstances, the presence of Sir Keir as leader of the Labour Party can only be incredibly damaging. It sends a message that the Labour Party does not take rape or child sexual abuse seriously.

I look forward to your confirmation that Sir Keir Starmer has been suspended pending investigation and expulsion. I would hope that the previous leader, Jeremy Corbyn, would agree to take over as Labour’s caretaker leader. Clearly he cannot do worse than someone who, despite Britain having the highest European death rate from COVID-19, has not laid a glove on Boris Johnson.

I look forward to your reassurance that this matter is being dealt with expeditiously.

Yours faithfully,

Tony Greenstein