Kim Bolton, Hove Labour Party's racist Chair, thinks nothing of using Jews as a political football in pursuit of her right-wing agenda

Bolton decided that debating a motion on Sanctions Against Israel would make Jews feel ‘unsafe and unwelcome’ –why should that be? Are they not British?

Soldiers enter Hebron homes at night, order to wake children, 24/02/15

Goldsmid and Hove Park branch of Hove and Portslade CLP passed the motion below at their meeting last week:

 “The Hove and Portslade CLP call upon the leader of the Labour Party and the Shadow Foreign Secretary to strongly urge the government to (1) Call on the Israeli government for an end to its violation of the human rights of Palestinians and for an end to the illegal occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank (2) Impose legal sanctions on Israel for its repeated violations of international law, and, in particular, place an embargo on arms sales and end trade with illegal settlements”

Support for Sanctions against Israel, as with South Africa in a previous era, is hardly controversial in the Labour Party. A survey by You Gov in March 2021 found that 61% of Labour members support BDS against Israel against only 8% opposed to it. (even if the Survey Questionnaire called it ‘Boycott, Diversity and Sanctions’ movement)

The faces of the child victims of Israel's latest attack on Gaza - American Zionist leader Abe Foxman accused the NYT of a 'blood libel'  i.e. anti-Semitism

Even Keir Starmer, Labour’s Zionist leader ‘without qualification’, as far as I know, hasn’t claimed that 61% of Labour Party members are anti-Semitic. Perhaps the purge is about to take on new dimensions.

In the normal course of events democracy would take its course and the motion would have been discussed at the next General Committee of Hove Labour Party. However, led by their pro-privatisation MP Peter Kyle, the Zionists immediately sought to stop the motion from even being discussed.

Peter Kyle is also Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Israel which, as Al Jazeera’s documentary The Lobby demonstrated, is both funded and controlled by the Israeli Embassy.

The child victims whose murder Kim Bolton is defending

The Political Education Officer of Hove is Jon Pike, a Zionist fanatic and member of Engage, a group formed directly as a result of the Association of University Teachers (UCU) supporting the Academic Boycott in 2005.

One of the characteristic features that distinguishes the Left from Right in the Labour Party is their attitude to democracy. I know of no example where the Left has banned the Right from moving a motion.

What we are seeing, both locally and nationally in the Labour Party, is an attempt by the Right to clamp down on all discussion and debate. And always the excuse is... the Jews!! We have become the Right’s political football, pawns on their chessboard.

This is what Kim Bolton & Peter Kyle MP are defending

In Israel the Police use tear gas, water cannon, bullets and batons against government opponents if they are Palestinians. Palestinians cannot demonstrate without the dogs of war being let loose upon them. 3 worshippers at the Al Aqsa Mosque lost an eye when the Israeli police invaded firing sponge tipped bullets directly at them.

The Labour Right don’t shoot their opponents, at least not yet. They simply forbid the discussion of certain topics. They even outlaw motions calling for freedom of speech! Regional Officials literally pull the plug on zoom meetings they don’t like. You might remember the days when they called us ‘conspiracy theorists’ for suggesting that ‘anti-Semitism’ allegations were really about Israel.

This is what Bolton & Kyle are defending

Kim Bolton’s Outlawing of Discussion of BDS on the grounds of ‘Anti-Semitism’ is itself Anti-Semitic

Kim Bolton prevented the Goldsmid resolution from even being discussed. In the Executive Committee minutes it states:

"“As CLP chair , on the advise (sic!) of Scott Horner , Labour South East officer, I rule the motion on Sanctions Against Israel out of order

Scott’s email stated

“While we encourage comradely debate, I feel that this discussion would act as a flashpoint for the expression of views that would undermine the Party’s ability to provide a safe and welcoming space for all members, in particular Jewish Members.” (my emphasis)

I support that view. The motion from Goldsmid and Hove Park branch requesting Sanctions against Israel risks opening a debate that will stir up internal conflict in our CLP and may lead to further anti-Semitic behaviour. At a branch level it maybe a safe space can be created to debate this motion.

That will not be the same in the CLP GC meeting"

Another casualty of Israel's 'right of self defence' which Bolton & Kyle are defending

Exceptionalising Jews in this way as especially vulnerable if Israeli war-crimes are debated (has this ever been applied to resolutions on other oppressive states?) is clearly and obviously anti-Semitic. It assumes that Jews form one monolithic bloc. That Jews all think the same way when it comes to Israel. This is the continuation of the idea of the ‘wrong sort of Jew’.

But of course it’s not about Jews at all. It’s about British foreign policy in the Middle East which is based on Israel’s role as a strategic watchdog and its industrial-military complex

How you might ask does a resolution calling for sanctions against Israel make Jewish people in Britain feel unsafe? In The Attitudes of British Jews to Israel survey in 2015 of British Jews and their views on sanctions against Israel, 24% supported sanctions and 66% were opposed. But amongst secular Jews this rose to 40% and amongst under 30s support for sanctions was 41%.

Palestinians also face repression from Israel's subcontractor - the Palestinian Authority

So the reactionary non-Jew Kim Bolton decided that she knows better than British Jews themselves what is and is not anti-Semitic. Some might say that this kind of arrogance is, in itself, a demonstration of racial supremacy.

According to the IHRA misdefinition of anti-Semitism that was foisted on the Labour Party, ‘Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel’ is anti-Semitic. That is the one of the few things in the IHRA we can agree on.

It therefore follows that saying that Jews will suffer from some kind of trauma if sanctions against Israel is discussed assumes that they bear some responsibility for what Israel does. Bolton is hoist by her own petard.

Minutes of Hove CLP's Executive Committee

If Bolton had any integrity or honesty she would resign forthwith along with the rest of her Executive Committee. But in the present purge, when lies and dissembling become the new truth, integrity and honesty among Labour’s Right is as rare as snow in the Sahara.

Bolton and Scott Horner are also anti-Semitic for assuming that Jews, are uniquely incapable of debating the question of Israel rationally. What is shocking is how Jews are treated by the Right as their moral alibi. This is how Jews were used by French colonialism as intermediaries and scapegoats in Algeria.

Members of Hove Labour Party's Executive Committee

Imagine that there was a debate on Northern Ireland becoming part of a United Ireland. Northern Ireland was a Protestant Supremacist State just as Israel is a Jewish Supremacist State (see the recent B’Tselem Report). Would anyone rule out the motion on the grounds it would offend Protestants? So why the pretence that Jews would be offended if sanctions aganst Israel were discussed.

The real question is what have Bolton and Kyle got to hide?  And the answer is, of course, quite a lot. How do you defend the military arresting, blindfolding and beating, in the middle of the night, children as young as 12? You don’t. You cry ‘anti-Semitism’.

Both B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch have this year described the Israeli regime as one of Apartheid. Imagine 30 years ago a motion calling for sanctions on South Africa being ruled out of order because White people might be offended.

The racist Right, not just in Britain but in Germany too, carry around with them guilt about their role in the holocaust. They relieve their consciences on the backs of the Palestinians who are caricatured as the new Nazis.

In Germany Alternative for Germany, a far-Right party which contains neo-Nazis, pushed for legislation making BDS illegal. Whilst many of their members deny the holocaust altogether it nonetheless describes itself as ‘‘Israel’s one true friend in parliament’. I have no doubt that Kim Bolton would find a home in the AfD!

Jews today are seen as a stand-in for the holocaust dead, whereas the truth is that to most Jews the holocaust is a memory kept alive by the way Zionism uses it politically as a justification for its war against the Palestinians.

Scott Horner - Labour's racist Regional Organiser

If Labour was a democratic party Horner would be dismissed. Hove Labour Party members should take steps to remove an open racist from being Chair. I was told by one member that:

‘Goldsmid and Hove Park Labour Party branch discussed a motion calling for the Israeli government to end its violation of the human rights of Palestinians. 

After a good and healthy discussion it passed with a huge majority. 

As a result Labour Party rules mean the motion should go to the General Committee of the Hove and Portslade Labour Party for members to discuss and vote upon. 

The CLP Chair (Kim Bolton) ruled that members are not even allowed to discuss this motion. Regional Labour Party backed up Kim Bolton. 

What a sad day for “democracy” in the Labour Party. 

Kim Bolton was also the chair of the November 2020 meeting of Hove Labour Party where she took the decision to ban a resolution of the Unite SE/6246 branch calling for the reinstatement of Jeremy Corbyn. Bolton simply left it off the agenda and didn’t bother to inform members that such a resolution existed. When challenged by Unite delegate Ben Armstrong, she then explained why she had not tabled the motion as part of the agenda. It was not ‘competent’.

The decision of Bolton was later condemned unanimously by Brighton and Hove Trades Union Council at its 2021 A.G.M which demanded free speech for trade unionists.

The excuse given by David Evans, the unelected General Secretary of the party, for ruling that motions supporting Corbyn are ‘non-competent’ was that Jews might be offended! The assumption that Jews are all right-wing bigots in hoc to nonentities like Evans (who previously suggested that the Labour Party should dispense with members and simply have supporters) is also anti-Semitic.

Those of us with longer memories in Brighton and Hove remember Jewish councillors like the late Jo Townshend who considered himself anti-Zionist. Anti-Zionism has always been strong amongst Jewish socialists in the Labour Party. Supporters of Poale Zion (JLM) have always been in a minority for the simple reason that if you are a Jewish racist the Tory Party is your natural home.

The video below shows the routine search, in the early hours of the morning, of a Palestinian home. This happens to thousands of Palestinians each year. They have no recourse against this behaviour. Children are expected to get out of bed. This is what is called a ‘training’ exercise whose sole purpose is to intimidate the population.

The idea that Jews will be upset by criticism of such behaviour is anti-Semitic. If there are some Jews who are upset by exposure of Israel’s war crimes, so what? They deserve to be offended and left to ask simple questions such as whether they would like it if they and their families were subject to such behaviour.

Today the majority of Jews in Britain are right-wing and pro-Zionist. That is why they voted for the Tory Party by large majorities even before Jeremy Corbyn became leader.

Under Ed Miliband, Labour’s first Jewish leader, 69% of British Jews voted Tory and only 22% Labour. That reflects the fact that British Jews are overwhelmingly White, prosperous and privileged.

Soldiers enter Hebron homes at night, photograph kids, 24/02/15

The documentation of Israeli human rights abuses is commonplace today. The idea that Jews will be upset by such discussion suggests that Jews are especially fragile. See for example the latest Amnesty Report in the Guardian.

Streatham Labour Party, which is controlled by the right wing, unanimously passed last Thursday a resolution supporting sanctions on Israel. The All Member Meeting was attended by over 250 members. Even this group of Starmer loyalists realised that Labour can’t abstain from calling for justice and peace in Palestine.

Perhaps there are no Jews in Streatham?  Or maybe they are made of sterner stuff?  Who knows but I haven’t heard of any Jews fleeing Streatham in terror!

 Streatham AMM welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Palestine/Israel and a halt to the deaths of civilians

This AMM notes that the ceasefire does not address the incidents that triggered the recent round of fighting and the serious underlying issues it revealed.

1.       The attempted seizure of Palestinian homes in Shaikh Jarrah by militant Israeli settler organisations while Palestinians are denied rights to tier property seized by Israel following the Nakba

2.       The attack on rights to religious observance by assaults on worshippers in the Al Aqsa mosque

3.       The intimidation of Palestinians by denial of the right to assemble in the open space by the Damascus Gate

4.       The deep and pervasive inequality in ‘48 Israel that led to unprecedented uprisings in the Al Aqsa Damascus Gate, and the the deep and pervasive inequality in ‘48 Lydd, Yafa and other ‘mixed cities’

5.       The failure of Israeli Police to defend Palestinian citizens of Israel against violent assault by ultra-right-wing Jewish mobs.

6.       The continuing immiseration caused by the blockade of Gaza and the intensification of misery resulting from the destruction of so much property and infrastructure by the recent bombardment

This AMM believes that progress can only result from negotiations but that negotiations in good faith will not happen while Israel feels it has external support from Europe and the US for its intransigence.

Consequently this AMM proposes that the Labour leadership put pressure on Israel to negotiate a settlement that enshrines the rights of Palestinians in Israel, the Occupied territories and the diaspora as well as the rights of Jewish Israelis to a peaceful life whether through one-state, two-state or any other arrangement. The leadership should:

1.       Support the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

2.       Call for the end of arms sales to and from Israel

3.       Support the ICC in investigating war crimes by all parties in the conflict.

4.       Demand an immediate end to the settlement programme

5.       Support Palestinians who are seeking immediate free and fair elections to the Palestinian Authority

There are a couple of other articles on the racist activity of Bolton and Horner. There is a short report in Skwawkbox and an article by Asa Winstanley Labour bans Israel sanctions debate on Electronic Intifada which points out that it was Hove CLP that in 2019 proposed a landmark motion on Palestine to Labour Party conference, which passed almost unanimously.

Asa also quoted Becky Massey, a former member of Hove CLP, who was expelled from Labour after the Board of Deputies of British Jews – a pro-Israel lobby group – sent the party a hit list of activists. The Board demanded that she be kicked out of Labour. Now some would say that the BOD, by calling for the expulsion of left activists on behalf of all Jews is doing its best to promote anti-Semitism.

Tony Greenstein

Why the Labour Party Candidate Kim Leadbeater Deserves to Lose in the Batley & Spen By-Election

Why I Support George Galloway as the best placed Left Candidate to Defeat Starmer Labour on July 1^st

This is what Starmer Supports When He Says he is a Zionist ‘Without Qualification’

Today the Labour Campaign for Free Speech Steering Committee unanimously issued the following statement:

The statement from a ‘senior Labour source’ during the Batley & Spen by-election that Labour was “haemorrhaging” Muslims voters, because of “what Keir has been doing on antisemitism” implies that Muslims are antisemitic – when in fact many voters oppose Starmer’s Labour, because he is bowing to the Israeli government and refuses to support the Palestinian struggle. That is not antisemitism, it is anti-Zionism. 

That this statement was issued has not been denied by Angela Rayner and the suspicion must be that it emanates from Starmer’s office if not Starmer himself. In the forthcoming Batley & Spen by-election, we refuse to support the Labour candidate, an incredible apolitical and nondescript candidate who was chosen by Keir Starmer directly.

There is no doubt that Starmer and his apparatchiks have been suspending and expelling people for supporting the Boycott of Israel and anything that is seen as critical of Israel. Calling Israel a racist state is guaranteed to get you expelled even though it’s true.

In the Daily Mail of 19^th June, Dan Hodges quoted a ‘senior Labour source’ as saying that:

'We're haemorrhaging votes among Muslim voters, and the reason for that is what Keir has been doing on antisemitism. Nobody really wants to talk about it, but that's the main factor. He challenged Corbyn on it, and there's been a backlash among certain sections of the community.'

The implication is clear. Muslims are anti-Semites who resent Starmer’s promise to ‘root out anti-Semitism’ in the Labour Party. Except of course that Starmer has done no such thing. There is no anti-Semitism to root out.  He has been ‘rooting out’ supporters of Palestine and anti-Zionists and he has been doing so at the behest of the Israeli state and its local pawns, the Board of Deputies.

If Starmer was seriously concerned about ‘anti-Semitism’ in the Labour Party he wouldn’t have suspended and expelled dozens of Jewish members of the Party or in my case welcomed my expulsion (which was the first time that this apology for a mannequin came to my attention!). In an interview with the Times of Israel Starmer gave away his real motives, namely that he is a ‘Zionist without qualification’.  In other words a racist without qualification.

The reasons are clear as to why Labour is going to lose another Red Wall seat. To all intents and purposes, the Labour Right acts like it is on a suicide mission. They lost working class Scottish voters under Ed Miliband, they forfeited much of the support of the Northern working class at the last election and now Starmer is determined to say goodbye to the votes of Britain’s 3.3 million Muslims.

At first glance it might seem as if Starmer is more concerned with the 300,000 Jews in Britain than a Muslim population over 10 times as big. However that would be a misreading. The Labour Right’s concern is not with the Jewish vote, not least because for 60 years (with the temporary exception of 1997 and 2001) the Jewish community has voted heavily for the Tories.

The real reason is that New Labour is wedded to slavishly following US foreign policy which is to support Israel as imperialism’s armed watchdog in the Middle East. Batley & Spen is the price they are going to pay for Starmer’s craven submission to imperialism.

police beat man

In addition, at the very beginning of his misleadership, Starmer tore up Labour’s policy to support Kashmiri independence. He preferred to cuddle up to Hindu racists who, like the Zionists, wish to colonise Kashmir and who have put it under martial law for the past two years. Starmer was more interested in supporting the communalist government of Narendra Modi of the BJP than supporting self-determination for the Kashmiris.

In the forthcoming Batley & Spen by-election, we are taking a leaf out of the Jewish Labour Movement’s book. The JLM refused to support Labour candidates who were seen to be pro-Jeremy Corbyn. They were supported in that by the Labour Right so they can’t complain now the boot is on the other foot.

Angela Rayner did not deny that the statement emanaged from the Labour Party. Indeed she all but admitted that the comments were genuine when she said that

“I will be ensuring that the party investigates this reported comment in line with our party’s rules and processes. Anybody who has made these comments should and will be dealt with in line with our independent disciplinary procedures, which I have no role in as deputy leader.””

However there is no need for an investigation. Dan Hodges is on good terms with Starmer and the Labour leadership. A ‘senior Labour source’ is code for either Keir Starmer himself or his advisers. Perhaps the hapless Rayner could have a quiet word with Sir Keir?

As the Guardian reported Labour’s candidate Kim Leadbeater,

received a hostile reception from voters who are unhappy with the party’s stance on foreign policy issues such as Palestine and Kashmir, amid a perception that the party takes some forms of racism more seriously than others.

The accusation “you’ve taken our votes for granted” was repeatedly levelled at Leadbeater and Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary and Wigan MP, who joined her on the campaign trail.

Perhaps the final straw was Starmer pulling out of a virtual Iftar event on the last night of Ramadan. The Jewish Chronicle had engaged in its usual Islamaphobic witchhunting. It reported that the CEO of the Muslim group which had organised the event, Omar Salha, supported the prisoner support group CAGE. Even worse, he had supported a boycott of Israeli dates!

In Starmer and the Board of Deputies view, boycotting Israeli Apartheid is anti-Semitic. Presumably boycotting the produce of South African Apartheid was also racist?  He might be a QC but Starmer is an intellectual lightweight.

Starmer and the Labour Right simply expected Muslims to take these insults on the chin and still support the Labour Party at the ballot box. They are in for a rude shock.

When a couple of idiots shouted anti-Semitic slogans, allegedly, in North London, Starmer rushed to condemn it in a joint statement with Boris Johnson and yet he had nothing to say about the hundreds of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza, including 67 children, the pogroms against Palestinians in Israel itself and the massive Israeli Police violence in Jerusalem against worshippers.  To say nothing of the ethnic cleansing of Sheikh Jarrar and East Jerusalem. 

As a group of prominent Palestinians in the Labour Party wrote:

“The leader is practically treating the whole community as outcasts and is refusing to meet or even respond. We cannot separate this from the alarming shift in Labour’s approach to issues of race, or the shift in Labour’s position on Palestine.

“The message is loud and clear: I don’t care about you or your issues.”

Labour has elected not only a liar but an open racist in Starmer  A man who hid the funders of his leadership election campaign until it was over. Starmer received hundreds of thousands of pounds from rich businessmen including £50,000 from Trevor Chinn, a prominent Zionist. Labour simply doesn’t deserve to be supported as and until Starmer and Rayner are removed from the leadership and the posts are occupied by socialists.

I support George Galloway but not without criticisms. George has without doubt capitulated to a backward political consciousness amongst the white working class with his attack on ‘woke’ politics. His opposition to free movement of labour and his support for Brexit is a capitulation to British chauvinism.  In particular his previous support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party.

Nonetheless George has been a staunch opponent of the Iraq War, US imperialism in the Middle East and above all a supporter of the Palestinians. Weighing all this in the balance I have no doubt that George Galloway, who let it not be forgot was expelled by Tony Blair, would make a good MP in comparison with the appalling Leadbetter. I also share his detestation of identity politics which alienate working class voters.

I have no hesitation in supporting George Galloway and I hope anyone living in Batley & Spen reading this does likewise.

Tony Greenstein

2 Years Ago I Sued Dartford Councillor Josh Jones for Slander for Accusing Me of Being a Holocaust Denier - I Lost on a Legal Technicality – However He was Landed With £20,000 Costs!

Today Jones Claims He Was the Victim & Suffered Depression as a Result – the Evidence Shows That Not Only Is He a Liar But That He Obtained Money by Deception

Knowing how sensitive readers of this blog are, I recommend that before you read any further that you have a box of paper tissues handy.

Earlier this week my attention was drawn to an article in the Weekly Liar about an action for slander that I brought against ex-councillor Josh Jones of Dartford Labour Party.

According to the Weekly Liar I brought a bogus legal action against Jones alleging that he had called me a holocaust denier. Despite JJ denying my accusations I nonetheless proceeded with my claim forcing him to hire expensive lawyers, Peter Carter-F*** of Private Eye fame. When the High Court came to examine my allegations they threw them out and awarded Jones £20,000 costs.

As my courts costs were zero, being on benefits, I suffered no financial loss whereas Jones was let footing the bill. It is, as you will appreciate, a tale of wickedness and malice on my part. I picked on an innocent man who only wanted to do his bit fighting anti-Semitism.

As a result Jones became depressed at having to spend his entire savings defending his reputation. According to the Weekly Liar my actions had ‘a significant impact on his mental health and forced him to delay his dream of buying a house.’ At this point you are probably reaching for those tissues as this is nothing if not a morality tale.

However this story has a happy ending. After having suffered in silence for over a year, afraid of bringing his plight to my attention, Jones launched a crowdfunder. Helped along by an article Fury over £20k bill after failed Greenstein lawsuit Jones crowdfunder reached its £20K target in 4 days. His savings are now safe thanks to the gullibility of British Zionists!

It is noticeable that the main donor is ‘anonymous’. Most donors being too ashamed to give their names. The largest donor, Sir Trevor Chinn, who funds Labour Friends of Israel and other Zionist causes, was not so shy. He gave £1K. Chinn has previously given £50K to Starmer’s leadership campaign.

So is it true that I harassed and nearly bankrupted an innocent man? Should I hang my head in shame and forever shun polite company? Or is Josh Jones a liar, a conman and a fraud?

The evidence below makes it quite clear that JJ is all of those things and more. He is now employed by John Lewis. They might like to consider whether employing a fraudster, who has obtained via his crowdfunder money by deception, is a fit and honest person.

What happened in Dartford LP on Friday 27 April 2018?

A motion was brought by the Labour Group to Dartford General Committee that the racist Jewish Labour Movement should be asked to conduct ‘anti-Semitism’ training. Which was like asking Tommy Robinson to give a talk on the fight against Islamaphobia or the late Harold Shipman giving a lecture on how to care for the elderly!

The last time I made the front page of the Weekly Liar was some 14 years ago when I successfully proposed to UNISON’s conference that it should adopt BDS. This was the pre-Stephen Pollard era when the Jewish Chronicle was still a newspaper as opposed to a propaganda rag. Its reporter, Bernard Josephs, came up to congratulate me on what he termed my excellent speech.

However Bernard was a journalist of the old school who had this annoying habit of ringing you up before writing a story about you.  Under the Stephen Pollard, a friend of fascists and anti-Semites everywhere (as long as they are Zionists) such quaint habits have long since died a death.

The motion from the Labour Group was amended by Paul Field to add Jewish Voices for Labour and the Jewish Socialist Group to those who should be invited to help train people in anti-Semitism.

My own view is that this ‘anti-Semitism training’ is a complete nonsense. If you don’t know what anti-Semitism is then you should consult the OED – ‘hostility to or prejudice against Jews.’ You don’t need to define racism to fight it. Those who want to define anti-Semitism have a hidden agenda – conflating anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism. That is the purpose of the IHRA.

Replying to Paul JJ opposed the amendment because the JLM didn’t contain holocaust deniers. The implication was that JVL did contain holocaust deniers. The meeting then voted to reject the Councillors’ motion in favour of Paul’s amendment. Paul then got up to say that he hoped JJ was not implying that JVL contained holocaust deniers.

It was at this point that Jones got up to directly allege that both Tony Greenstein and Alan Bull were holocaust deniers and members of JVL. In fact neither Alan nor myself are members of JVL.  Nor are we holocaust deniers.

What is the truth?

Whoever took the minutes excised Jones’ naming of Tony Greenstein and Alan Bull. A subsequent meeting failed to amend them for the sake of accuracy. However the minutes nonetheless confirm that Josh Jones did make the comments about holocaust deniers. They quote Paul Field as saying:

Paul Field believes that Josh Jones earlier comments regarding holocaust deniers not being part of the membership of the JLM is slanderous as it infers that there are such deniers in other groups, such as the JSG.

The minutes then go on to quote Josh Jones:

He (JJ) states that only the JLM is affiliated to the Labour Party, is the only group without holocaust deniers.’ (my emphasis)

It is clear beyond doubt that JJ was making an allegation that Jewish anti-Zionists were holocaust deniers, contrary to all his protestations.

Paul emailed me after seeing the Jewish Chronicle article to say:

The perpetrator presenting himself as victim again!  8 of us signed witness statements (including the then Chair of the Party) saying we heard Jones call Tony a holocaust denier. He managed to get that struck from the minutes but the fact that Jones also said JVL should not be asked to talk to members because it 'harboured holocaust deniers' was not removed. It prompted JVL to complain that this was grossly offensive and that many of its members had relatives who died in the holocaust.

In fact there were 9 not 8 independent witnesses. Graphical extracts from their statements are below. All names have been removed.

The statement of the Chair encapsulates what happened:

1.            At the start of the meeting Steve Nunn, Chair of Dartford Labour Party, stepped down from the Chair because he wished to contribute to the debate....

2.            When Paul Field’s amendment inviting Jewish Socialist Group and Jewish Voice for Labour as well as Jewish Labour Movement to a future meeting came up for discussion, Councillor Joshua Jones spoke against extending the invitation beyond the JLM which he said was the only group which is formally affiliated to the Labour Party and does not contain holocaust deniers. 

3.            Paul Field then spoke, and said he hoped that Joshua Jones’ earlier comment regarding Holocaust deniers not being part of the membership of the JLM was not intended to infer that holocaust deniers are among the membership of JVL and Jewish Socialist Group as it would be offensive and defamatory for him to suggest that they were.

4.            Joshua Jones, then replied directly to Paul Field in the debate, saying JVL contains “holocaust deniers such as Alan Ball and Tony Greenstein.”    Paul Field objected that his comments were defamatory and said “I hope you have a good lawyer”....

6          On 20 May 2018, I emailed Paul Field supporting his amendment to April minutes as as a true and accurate account of what was said in the meeting.  A Copy of Mr Field’s amended minutes are at Exhibit One and a copy of my email to Mr Field is at Exhibit Two of this statement.

Jewish Voice for Labour Complaint

Not only was I defamed by JJ but Jewish Voices for Labour too were accused by this pathetic liar who parades himself as a ‘victim’, of being holocaust deniers. JJ personifies the fake Labour ‘anti-Semitism’ allegations of the Labour Right. The bigger the lie, the more they play victim. Except that in this case I didn’t let the lie pass quietly by.

JVL also submitted a complaint to Dartford Labour Party complaining about JJ. However the party chose to do nothing about what was an anti-Semitic attack. It is difficult to think of anything more disgusting than calling Jewish people holocaust deniers. But that is the irony. Non-Jewish supporters of Zionism, like Trump and Orban, are usually anti-Semites just as some of the most ardent Evangelical opponents of gay rights in the United States turn out to be gay!

Starmer’s Racism May Rebound in Batley & Spen

Today we are seeing Keir Starmer, who promised to ‘root out anti-Semitism’ in the Labour Party on the brink of losing Batley and Spen by-election as Muslim voters turn against Labour for its Islamaphobic and anti-Palestinian stance. Starmer’s war against anti-racism and anti-Zionism have proved disastrous. In his efforts to cuddle up to the British Establishment he has failed to lay a punch on Boris Johnson despite the COVID disaster.

This is where the poisonous politics of Blair, Mandelson and Starmer are leading. In the Chesham and Amersham by-election last Thursday, according to the BBC ‘Labour had the worst by-election result in the party's history, with 622 votes’ and 1.6% vote. At the 2019 election Labour was in 3rd place with 7,166 votes and 12.9% of the vote. And that was after two years or right-wing sabotage. In 2017, Labour gained second place with 11,374 votes and 20.6%.

As I pointed out in the middle of the attacks on Corbyn, attacks which he failed to stand up to, the Labour Right has nothing to say and nothing to offer. It is in danger of going the way of much of European social democracy. That is why the refusal of the Campaign Group and Momentum to call for Starmer’s resignation is so pathetic and cowardly.

What Happened Next?

I immediately sent (28 April 2018) what is known as a pre-action letter to JJ threatening him with legal action unless he apologised and withdrew his comments. On 13 May 2018  JJ sent me what can only be described as a pathetic reply blaming everything on Paul Field!

I therefore decided that I would sue him. As I was also involved in litigation with the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism I had little spare time and it was not until 25^th April 2019, two days before the time limit expired, that I issued my claim form. I was fortunate in securing the services of an excellent pro-bono barrister Carol Addy.

Although leaving it to the last minute was not deliberate, the arrival of my claim must have been a shock to Jones who thought he had got away with it and that I was bluffing!

Immediately Jones solicitors applied to strike out my application as having no reasonable prospects of success. The 3 grounds were particularised in their skeleton argument.

3.1.    C is unable to particularise the words complained of with the precision necessary to found a successful slander claim and, even if amendment is permitted, C will remain in a position where he is unable to prove the actual words spoken.

3.2.    The words that C complains of in these proceedings are not words that are actionable without proof of special damage, and C has put no evidence forward throughout this litigation to evidence such damage.

3.3.    C’s position (both pleaded and actual) on serious harm to reputation is such that C is unable to fulfil the “serious harm” requirement as set out in section 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013.

Although Jones application failed on the 1^st and 3^rd grounds he succeeded on the 2^nd. For slander to succeed it must constitute ‘the commission of a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment’.

Jones legal team then applied for £27K costs but because they had failed on 2 of the 3 grounds this was cut by Master Eastman to £20K.

Suffice to say that when his solicitors wrote to me asking for a cheque I pleaded poverty.  Even if I had had the money wild horses would not have persuaded me to cough up a penny!

According to the Weekly Liar Jones claimed he had suffered from stress, anxiety and depression:

The stressed caused by Mr Greenstein taking him to court meant he needed to take time off work due to anxiety and depression.

“It got so bad at one point I was put on medication. I was having to use all my savings to defend myself, I closed down my ISA and I was living pay cheque to pay cheque,” Mr Jones said.

“Nothing like that has ever happened to me.”....

 “I suppose it was just old fashioned standing up to bullies. The whole experience has been an education for me and I’ve learnt .. about antisemitism and how it manifests itself.”

Mr Jones, who now works for John Lewis in their head office, was reluctant to go public about his case or ask for help at the beginning because he didn’t want to draw attention to Mr Greenstein.

I have no knowledge as to whether JJ did indeed suffer depression. Given his record of lying I wouldn’t believe anything he says. But even if he did then that is nothing compared to the suffering of the people in Palestine whose torment JJ was defending. 

False allegations of ‘anti-Semitism’ have but one purpose. To deflect support from the victims of Israeli Apartheid to bogus accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’.

As for the suggestion that JJ was ‘standing up to bullying’ I can only suggest that he consults a dictionary. Responding to false allegations is not evidence of bullying.

As for his having ‘learnt .. about antisemitism and how it manifests itself’ this unstable narcissist has clearly learnt nothing at all if he thinks making false accusations of anti-Semitism against Jews is combatting anti-Semitism.

I have also sent a letter to the Jewish Chronicle but since they don't print letters from anti-Zionists I let it expand to 800 words as I told a few home truths to its editor Stephen Pollard!

Tony Greenstein

Redacted Witness Statements 

Witness 1

Witness 2

Witness 3

Witness 4

Witness 5

Witness 6

Witness 7

Witness 8

Witness 9

Witness 10