If You had Fought Back Against The Zionists’ False ‘Anti-Semitism’ Narrative Keir Starmer Would Not Be Prime Minister Today
Three
months ago I proposed to Jackie Walker, Marc Wadsworth and Chris Williamson
that we send a joint letter to Jeremy Corbyn saying that it was time for him to
admit that the ‘anti-Semitism’ narrative that was used to destabilise his
leadership had no basis in fact and was devised purely to destroy his
leadership. The chosen instrument was the Jewish Labour Movement which was refounded
in 2015.
Marc Wadsworth's response to the idea of an open letter
Although Marc
was at first on board with us he then decided to do his own thing, citing his
memoirs as an excuse for not joining us. We also approached Asa Winstanley, a
journalist on Electronic Intifada, who
was suspended and forced to resign and Anne Mitchell, the former Chair of
Brighton & Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who was expelled, to add
their names.
This was the Goebbel's type stuff that was aimed at Corbyn
The
‘anti-Semitism’ smear campaign, which was fronted by Britain’s racist tabloids,
the Guardian and the Labour Right, to say nothing of the Zionist lobby which today
denies genocide in Gaza, had one purpose and one purpose only – to get rid of
the only left-wing leader that the Labour Party has ever had. Unfortunately
Corbyn and those around him did not push back against this racist and pro-imperialist
narrative. Instead they appeased their accusers.
If it was
true that Corbyn had attracted anti-Semites to the Labour Party why would the
British press and people like Suella Braverman and Priti Patel, who talked
about an ‘invasion’
of refugees, be so concerned? What is it about anti-Semitism that distinguishes
it from the Islamaphobia that these people revel in?
Corbyn & Marc Wadsworth
The answer
is obvious. ‘Anti-Semitism’ today is not a form of state racism. It is a
marginal prejudice which is why it is ideally suited to becoming the standard
defence that Zionists use to deflect any criticism of Israel. A majority of Jews
today support the Israeli state so ‘anti-Semitism’, the conflation of Jewish identity
with criticism of Zionism and Israel, is an ideal way of attacking Palestinian
supporters in the name of British Jews, who are happy to be the moral alibi for
imperialism in the Middle East.
This has nothing to do with genuine anti-Semitism, which has nothing to do with Israel. The standard definition of anti-Semitism is ‘hostility to or prejudice against Jews as Jews.’
The false allegations of ‘anti-Semitism’ made against thousands of Labour Party members were malicious and contrived. Misspeaking and confusion between Jews and Israel, which after all calls itself a Jewish State, was used to brand people as anti-Semites.
In order to
sustain their false allegations of ‘anti-Semitism’ the Zionists pushed for the
adoption of the IHRA
‘Definition’ of Anti-Semitism which was created in order to conflate
anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Its 11 ‘illustrations’ of anti-Semitism were
about hostility to and criticism of Zionism and Israel not the anti-Semitism
that led to the gas chambers.
In December 2016 Corbyn made a rod
for his own back by voluntarily adopting
the 38 word IHRA definition. ‘A
spokeswoman for Corbyn said he and Labour agreed with the IHRA’s definition’.
Today it is clear to all but the politically blind, even Owen Jones, that ‘anti-Semitism’ is being weaponised in order to justify genocide. When the International Criminal Court finally agreed to investigate Netanyahu for war crimes his response was that this was ‘pure anti-Semitism’. The same happened when arrest warrants were issued.
Corbyn’s
leadership of the Labour Party was like a ship heading for the rocks. Instead
of the captain ordering the ship to change course, he urged his crew to speed
up. The results were all too predictable.
I was the
first Jewish member to be expelled. It was only when I read the Labour
Leaked Report that I realised the depths to which Corbyn had gone in order
to appease the Right and the Zionists.
Corbyn and his staff had actually urged that the expulsions
of Ken, Jackie, Marc and myself be sped up because
‘these cases were of great concern to Jewish
stakeholders and that resolving them was essential to “rebuilding trust between
the Labour Party and the Jewish community”.
What Corbyn
did was not the product of some personal weakness. John McDonnell was even
worse in urging that Labour expel everyone in sight. He even defended
Margaret
Hodge after she called
Corbyn a ‘fucking anti-Semite’.
He said she ‘had a good heart.’
When it
came to the suspension of Chris Williamson, the only MP to stand up in defence
of those who had been witch-hunted, McDonnell and the Campaign Group refused to
defend him as Tom Watson mobilised right-wing
MPs and peers to demand that Chris be re-suspended after having been
reinstated.
Corbyn never got it
On 19th June 2019 I wrote a blog: ‘We
Are Witnessing the Slow Death of the Corbyn Project’. The Labour Left, or what was left of them, had effectively given up. I
said:
I sometimes feel that it would be both cheaper and more efficient if Jeremy Corbyn replaced his advisors, Seamus Milne and Andrew Murray, with a tape recorder with a few pre-recorded messages, ‘I surrender’ ‘I apologise’. ‘I promise to do better’.
Throughout Corbyn’s leadership I
posted over 70 blogs urging that he fight back. Together they make for a
fascinating history of how Corbyn and the Labour left surrendered to the
narratives of the Right.
It should have been obvious to Corbyn and the Campaign Group that an anti-Nato candidate gaining the position of leader of one of the two major political parties in Britain would be seen by the United States and its racist Rottweiler, Israel, as a threat to their interests.
It took time before the Labour
Right settled on ‘anti-Semitism’ as its favoured tactic in the destabilisation
of Corbyn. Disloyalty to the monarchy, ‘terrorism’ and patriotism had all been
tried and had ended up in the near
victory of June 2017.
Yet Corbyn and the Labour left were
not able to capitalise on the general election result. Their whole strategy was
based on reforming capitalism in tandem with the Labour Right. It was Tony Benn
himself who had said
that the Labour Party was a plane that needed two wings – left and right – to
fly. Yet how could you reconcile those who support capitalism and those opposed
to it? In practice the left had always
surrendered to the right in return for minor concessions.
A rare voice of sanity and honesty among the Zionists was Prof. Geoffrey Alderman - despite being a columnist of the Jewish Chronicle for 14 years he was banned from the paper
In January and March 2016 I wrote
two blogs: Jeremy
Corbyn and the Retreat from Palestine. I wrote
however much Jeremy Corbyn appeases the Zionist
lobby in the Labour Party he will never be acceptable to them unless he dances
the hora.
I
concluded apropos Corbyn’s appeasement of the Zionists that ‘In politics you cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.’ In March I wrote in Weekly
Worker that:
Jeremy Corbyn's recent statements to the Board of
Deputies of British Jews... that he recognises Israel's 'right to exist'
is a formula indicating acceptance of Israel's right to be an Apartheid state....
it is clear that Corbyn has retreated in regard to his previous support of the
Palestinians....
Instead of responding to the Zionist attacks on him
by pointing to their hypocrisy, Corbyn has chosen to appease his critics by
playing down his support for the Palestinians and retreating into meaningless
soundbites.
Corbyn sent a letter to a Zionist heckler at a Labour Friends
of Israel meeting at Labour Party conference reassuring him that he was pleased
to
have the opportunity to
express how I felt about progressing the peace process in the Middle East …
Israel has always, and will continue to be, recognised by both myself and the
Labour Party.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews responded to Corbyn’s appeasement by saying that
they
were pleased that Mr
Corbyn gave a very solid commitment to the right of Israel to live within
secure and recognised boundaries as part of a two-state solution to the
Israel-Palestine conflict
An article I wrote in the local Brighton & Hove Independent
whilst demanding “more clarity” that the Labour Party
“will maintain its longstanding opposition to boycotts against Israel”. I wrote that:
People need to face up to
the fact that one of the consequences of the attacks on Corbyn has been a
retreat from his previous political positions. I have never heard Corbyn
previously speaking about the need to recognise the state of Israel. He used to
be more concerned about recognising its repressive qualities. Instead of
distinguishing between the oppressor and the oppressed, the coloniser and the
colonised, Corbyn has depoliticised the issue, calling for peace in the
abstract.
It is as if Corbyn had
called for peace between white proponents of apartheid and black South Africans
rather than supporting the abolition of apartheid. ... Instead of opposing
imperialism and Zionist settler colonialism, Corbyn imagines that ‘conflict
resolution’ via United Nations diplomacy will solve what is at heart a
political problem - the racist oppression, dispossession and expulsion of the
Palestinians....
Corbyn retreats into the
weasel words of Israel’s ‘right to exist’. The problem is not Israel’s
rights, but the lack of Palestinian rights....
Jeremy Corbyn, as a patron of PSC, was a supporter
of boycott, divestment and sanctions. But this is an issue over which he has
recently gone very quiet.
I concluded thus:
Appeasement of Labour Friends of Israel will not
serve the cause of either socialism or peace in the Middle East. Nor will it
help Corbyn’s own precarious position as leader. Quite the contrary.
The question is why Corbyn’s
leadership of the Labour Party turned out to be a disaster and whether it was
simply a product of his own character or something more fundamental to the
Labour Left and socialists in the Labour Party.
Why is this important? Because Zionism
will always weaponise anti-Semitism and the memory of the Jews who died in the
Nazi holocaust, in order to deflect criticism of their racist and genocidal state.
‘Anti-Semitism’ can only be
weaponised because of two factors: firstly the holocaust and secondly because Jews
themselves have changed. Where once being Jewish was a metonym for radicalism, the
conclusions drawn from the Nazi holocaust being ones of anti-racism and
anti-imperialism, today it anti-Semitism is all too often a metonym for all
that is reactionary and racist .
Captain Corbyn
My blog during the Corbyn years is a
diary of how Corbyn, the Campaign Group and Momentum blew the best chance the
Left had in a generation to shift politics to the left. It is a story of how to
snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. The failure to confront reactionary
identity politics, spearheaded by the likes of Jonathan Freedland, enabled a
colourless, characterless and humourless apparatchik like Keir Starmer to
become Prime Minister.
My coverage was a damning indictment
of the Labour Left’s refusal to grapple with the politics of neo-liberal capitalism
and imperialism and how to effect change, indeed whether change is possible via
the ballot box.
When the JLM threatened to disaffiliate from the Labour Party Corbyn begged them to stay rather than say 'good riddance'. They repaid him by passing a vote of no confidence in him!
Our purpose in writing the letter was
not to attack Corbyn but to engage him in a discussion of what went wrong.
However Corbyn’s refusal to respond to our letter demonstrates that he, like the
Labour Left, is adamant in its refusal to draw any lessons from what went wrong
between June 2017, when Corbyn achieved the largest swing to Labour since 1945
and the defeat in November 2019, when Labour sank to one of its worst defeats.
The fact that Starmer gained half
a million less votes in 2024 than Corbyn did in 2019 demonstrates that
there is nothing attractive about Starmer and his acolytes and Labour’s subsequent
drop in the opinion polls shows how the Left could pose a serious alternative
to a capitalist system based on exploitation, war and privatisation.
Tony Greenstein
Blog Posts I Wrote During the Corbyn Years (2016-2019)
2.
The Hypocrisy of Ephraim Mirvis’s
Attacks on Corbyn’s ‘Anti-Semitism’ November 2019
3.
Why Anyone Who is Jewish and on
the Left Should Have no Problem Voting for Jeremy Corbyn November
2019
4.
The Hypocritical War by the
Jewish Chronicle and the Jewish Establishment on Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour
Party 09-Nov-19
5.
Rabbi
Jonathan Romain, A Senior Reform Rabbi, Urges Jews To Vote ABC – Anyone But
Corbyn November 2019
7.
Drifting
Without Direction – Are these the Dying Days of Corbyn’s Leadership? 02-Oct-19
8.
The BBC’s War on Corbyn – Panorama would
have made Pravda Proud 15-Jul-19
9.
Corbyn’s Latest Anti-Semitism Proposals
Prove that He is a Victim of the Stockholm Syndrome 23-Jul-19
10.
If You Can’t Defend Chris Williamson, You
Can’t Defend Jeremy Corbyn 07-Jul-19
11.
Jeremy Corbyn Must Defend Chris
Williamson Instead of Appeasing Tom Watson July 2019
13. Once again Corbyn Has Betrayed his Friends
& Appeased his Enemies - Today Corbyn’s very leadership is at stake June 2019
14. We Are Witnessing the Slow Death of the
Corbyn Project - June
2019
15.
Jewish Chronicle Columnist Geoffrey
Alderman Nails the Lie that Corbyn is an anti-Semite May 2019
18. The Lie of Labour Anti-Semitism has but one
purpose – the removal of Corbyn (I) April 2019
19.
Ha’aretz's War Against Jeremy
Corbyn – Gideon Levy & Amira Hass are the exceptions not the rule
March 2019
20. John McDonnell Has Become Tom Watson’s
Useful Idiot as Watson Openly Defies Corbyn and Prepares a Coup March 2019
21. The Suspension of Chris Williamson MP is
Shameful – This May Be the End of the Corbyn Project February 2019
22. In Office But Not in Power – Jeremy Corbyn
seems to have become Tom Watson’s Understudy February 2019
23. Joan Ryan Resigns from Labour – Xmas Comes Early for Corbyn February 2019
24.
Shock Horror - Jeremy Corbyn is
accused of ‘nodding’ when a Rabbi said that Zionism and Judaism have nothing in
common!! January 2019
25.
Corbynism without Corbyn –
Lansman’s new strategy begs the question – what is the purpose of Momentum?
January 2019
26.
29 Rabbis of the Union of
Orthodox Hebrew Congregations issue statement supporting Jeremy Corbyn – for
some reason it is ignored by the BBC and the MSM! September 2018
27.
We are facing a Coup by Attrition
as the Zionists and the BBC pore over every last word Corbyn has ever uttered
August 2018
28. Jeremy Corbyn Must STOP Apologising to the
Zionists - he has NOTHING to apologise for August 2018
29. Are there any limits to Corbyn’s ritual
self-humiliation? Being a Leader means standing up to your opponents not
appeasing them August
2018
30.
Nick Lowles and Hope not Hate
Join the Zionist attack on Jeremy Corbyn August 2018
33. Just when Labour pulls ahead of the Tories,
Margaret Hodge makes false allegations of antisemitism against Corbyn July 2018
34. SCOTTISH LAW TOUR - The 'antisemitism'
witchhunt has many victims but only one target - Jeremy Corbyn June 2018
35. If Corbyn Doesn’t Slay the ‘Anti-Semitism’
Dragon It Will Slay Him June 2018
36.
Jewish Chronicle Editor Stephen
Pollard Compares Jeremy Corbyn to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis May
2018
37.
The Incremental Coup – How the
Labour Right Successfully used ‘anti-Semitism’ to attack Corbyn May
2018
38. Jeremy Corbyn throws Marc Wadsworth
overboard in a desperate attempt to save his leadership April 2018
39. Corbyn Should Refuse to Meet Jonathan Arkush
and the Board of Deputies as and until they take anti-Semitism seriously! April 2018
40. Jeremy Corbyn Stabs Himself in the Back as
the Fake News Anti-Semitism Campaign Gathers Strength April 2018
41.
Avi Gabbay, leader of Israel’s
Labour Party cuts links with Jeremy Corbyn alleging ‘anti-Semitism’
April 2018
42.
If Momentum expels me today they
will be joining the false anti-Semitism campaign whose target is Corbyn
March 2018
43. A Very British Coup – How the British
Establishment and the Israeli Embassy are Using ‘anti-Semitism’ to Destabilise
Jeremy Corbyn March 2018
44.
EXCLUSIVE - The letter that
Corbyn intended to send to Jonathan Arkush at the Board of Deputies
March 2018
46. The Guardian and Jonathan Freedland's
tedious Campaign against Corbyn November
2017
47.
Corbyn Rally Attracts Thousands
in Brighton - But He Refuses to Speak at Labour Friends of Palestine Meeting
For Fear of Offending Zionist Lobby September 2017
48. The false 'anti-Semitism' allegations at
Labour Conference have one purpose only - to destabilise Corbyn's leadership
September
2017
49. Corbyn Must Defend Chris Williamson MP
Against False Accusations of Anti-Semitism September
2017
50.
Jeremy Corbyn and the Humiliation
of Nick Cohen June 2017
53.
DEFEND KEN LIVINGSTONE – DEFEND
CORBYN - SIGN THE LETTER BELOW April 2017
58.
Corbyn's Disastrous Brexit
Strategy - Labour’s slow moving car crash February 2017
59.
Sign the Petition - Call on
Corbyn to sever all ties with Labour Friends of Apartheid Israel
February 2017
60.
Fake
claims blown apart – Al Jazeera’s The lobby exposes the establishment’s
‘anti-Semitism’ claims for what they are, writes Tony Greenstein January
2017
61.
Letter from 112 Labour Party
members to Jeremy Corbyn January 2017
62.
Jon Lansman’s Xmas Punch Could
Sucker Corbyn January 2017
63.
As the Guardian's 'anti-Semitism'
campaign against Corbyn continues its time to BOYCOTT the Guardian
October 2016
64.
Victory
for Ken Livingstone Despite Corbyn’s Shameful Silence September
2016
65. The
Calm Before The Storm – As Corbyn Wins the Right Intensifies Its
Destabilisation Strategy September
2016
66.
Corbyn Abandons 30 Years of Support for
Palestine - But Despite Grovelling He Was Still Booed September 2016
67.
Over 1,500 at Brighton Rally for
Jeremy Corbyn August 2016
68.
Thousands Queue 4 Corbyn In
Liverpool August 2016
69.
Massive Pro-Corbyn Rally in
Brighton & Hove as Left Sweeps to Victory in AGM July 2016
70.
Jeremy Corbyn – In Office but Not In Power -
Right Gerrymanders to Prevent 130,000 from Voting in Leadership Ballot
July 2016
71.
The Times & Jewish Chronicle Report our
Story on Corbyn Backtracking on Palestine May 2016
72.
When Jeremy Corbyn Supported a Democratic,
Secular State & Breaking Links with Poale Zion (JLM) May 2016
73.
Labour’s Election Results Give Corbyn only a
Temporary Reprieve May 2016
74.
Open Letter to Jeremy Corbyn on Witch-hunt
as McDonnell Tacks to the Right April 2016
75.
Brilliant Momentum Rally Says
Corbyn Stays March 2016
76.
Jeremy Corbyn and the Retreat from Palestine 5 March 2016
78. Jeremy Corbyn & the Retreat from
Palestine Jan 20 2016
80.
Oxford University Labour Club – An Old Story – Support
Palestinians Cry Anti-Semitism – 20 Feb 16
81.
Jeremy Corbyn & the Retreat from Palestine –
20 January 2016
82.
The Witchhunt of Gerald Kaufman - Crucified for Supporting
the Palestinians – 28 November 2015
83.
The Board of Deputies Invites Anti-Semitic Attacks on
British Jews 10 October 2015
84. The Sad Delusions of New Labour 23 August 2015
It's understandable you'd want to seek answers from Corbyn, although ultimately, an exercise in futility. JC's reluctance to respond is because his loyalty is and will always be with the Labour Party, not to socialism. He's a mild social democrat, not socialist, and it's likely the smears came about because the more right wing members started to panic about him being leader, which both him and them know was never meant to be.
ReplyDeleteAs for any anti imperialism he supposedly had - in all the years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, he had plenty of time to resign, but he didnt, so I'm really not sure the man was serious, and the smear happened and he was at the peak of his popularity, he could of left Labour to start his own party, but again, didnt.
Surely, the best thing to do now is to well and truly move on from JC and the wretched Labour Party.
Where to? The old Corbynite left is as disorganised and fragmented as ever.
DeleteWhat do you mean "where to" and what makes you think that the fight against imperialism should depend on "the old Corbynite left", who, although well meaning, seem to just be various flavours of social democrat ?
DeleteIt seems more than reasonable to assume Tony's letter's intended readership is JC's supporters (who else would be interested) so please do not contaminate this open letter discussion with the knackered 'fight against imperialism' trope, JC and the LP never signed on for that, did they?
Delete"It seems more than reasonable to assume Tony's letter's intended readership is JC's supporters"
DeleteWhich means what, people can't comment on it ?
"please do not contaminate this open letter discussion with the knackered 'fight against imperialism' trope"
In what way is the antisemitism smear campaign of a few years ago not linked to imperialism ?
"JC and the LP never signed on for that, did they?"
He just happened to be an imperialist party.
And you still havent answered the question - what makes you think that the fight against imperialism should depend on "the old Corbynite left"?
Deletedid I say that? They should be part of the fight but I didn't say it should depend on them
DeleteI know. I was replying to this 'PhilWagstaf' character who was stating "the old Corbynite left is as disorganised and fragmented as ever" in response to my first comment.
DeleteFor the record I am clearly a person, you are the 'character', and did I say that, I do not think so. All comments abt imperialism are yours. I dismissed the subject as irrelevant to this open letter.
DeleteYou keep stating as fact and dismissing imperialism, but never really explaining how.
DeleteA Labour mp who criticised inequality and imperialism became leader, the party's membership surged, but the establishment were having none of it, so ousted him. Why do you think the establishment wanted to remove him ?
What can we conclude by his remaining in the Labour Party ?
How is imperialism "irrelevant" to his being removed ?
What a very sad state of affairs which illustrates completely how ineffective democracy is in this country and how easily the right can discredit and neutralise any serious political challenge from the left. Israel’s preposterous chorus of accusations of AS for anyone in power who doesn’t sufficiently support their genocide matched with their fascist threats against those upholding international law, must surely have irreversibly opened the eyes of so many now to the real intentions of Israel and their US imperialist backers in the Middle East. It could have been all so different. The challenge now is how we can best ensure that we learn from past mistakes to prevent a repeat of this tragedy and an honest acknowledgment of past failures is a necessary first step. I hope that this letter receives the attention from those on the left that it deserves and is the start of a real fight back, and soon, as the authoritarian, warmongering, imperialist right are wasting no time in shrinking democracy worldwide.
ReplyDeleteWell said Tony. We must learn from past failures if we are serious about saving the planet from delusional imperialist policies, the cause of so much destruction and misery around the world. Wishful thinking is not a strategy. We are running out of time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony. Your blog today is a harrowing reminder of what vile scum the Labour Right can be when it doesn't get what it wants. Imagine a Labour government today that supported the rights of Palestinians and wasn't complicit in the genocide in Gaza! Instead we have more vague 'pledges' from Starmer, and we know what those are worth. Huge numbers of people who supported Corbyn are now demoralised and furious about Starmer's government. The Labour attack on working class people, disabled people and refugees shows them up as thugs and bullies yet again. Keeo yo the fight.
ReplyDeleteAnd of utter weakness of the Labour left, who seem to have a fixation on some mythical glory days of 'old Labour'.
DeleteLook at the bigger picture. Submarining Jeremy was a MASSIVE priority for the folks who really run the world (look at what happens to inconvenient election winners in other countries..). There was NO way they would have allowed him into Downing Street, because they could not buy, sell or control him, and at this stage of their game, that is absolutely crucial for them. They must have pliable, obedient puppets in office to enact the nightmare they have planned. Bearing in mind what happened to Robin Cook after he spoke out - and the convenient passing of John Smith just in time for tony blair to sail in on the crest of a Labour win - how do you think Jeremy and/or his family would have fared..?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are putting bodies up before your firing squad Tony, leave room at the front for Corbyn's Beria, Jennie Formby.
ReplyDeleteI agree
DeleteAnd Noravirus Media.
DeleteThank you Tony. Very clear and complete account of the Labour War on itself.
ReplyDeleteYes, you make a very good case, Tony. We are reluctant to criticise Corbyn, he's a steadfast anti-racist and supporter of Justice for Palestinians and Corbyn's weak pushback against this obvious scam (weaponised anti-Semitism) is generally thought of as coming from an inclination to try to be even-handed, respectful of others' opinions and objective. However, come to examine the way that obvious frauds were treated "objectively" as if they had a modicum of validity, that excuse just doesn't cut it. In any case, it was not a performance one would associate with strong, decisive leadership.
ReplyDeleteexcellent Tony, well said.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said on numerous occasions during the past seven/eight years, Jeremy was in a no-win situation, and the reason he was in a no-win situation is because the corporate media and the semi-corporate, Tory run-and-controlled BBC, have total control of the narrative and, as such, gave a platform to Jeremy and the left's enemies, and credibility to their lies and falsehoods and smears. And as another poster above said, in effect, there was no way on this planet that the establishment were ever gonna let Jeremy win a GE and become PM, and they did everything they did to make sure he didn't (and would have done MORE if it had been necessary). In other words, to blame Jeremy for Starmer now running the country is unresonable and fallacious. It was never gonna happen (much as we all hoped and believed that it could, and hoped and believed that it would).
ReplyDeleteThe PTB obviously got a fright when Jeremy came so close to winning in 2017, and that of course is why they then trebled down with theiir smears and demonisation afterwards (albeit not immediately, as that would have been too obvious to many of those who voted for Labour and him).
If Jeremy had defended Ken and Jackie and Marc and Chris etc he would have been attacked and condemned and vilified for doing so, of course, and it's disingenuous to blame Jeremy instead of those who conspired to sabotage his leadership and destroy him and, as such, subvert democracy. Jeremy is not a fascist of course, the complete opposite, but THEY *are*. And believe me, if they thought they could get away with it, they'd be locking us up in concentration camps.....
That may well be true regarding him having no choice, but he did have agency about what to do following the smears, which was when he was still at his most popular, and he just rolled over, remaining in the party that dragged him. That's a big indication that his real loyalty is to Labour, not socialism, which isn't a surprise as he's actually more of a mild social democrat.
DeleteAs an aside, you don't really get more racist than bombing, invading, and looting non European countries, yet, the apparently heroic anti racist Jeremiah never got it together enough to leave over all those year that Britain, under Labour, was plundering Iraq and Afghanistan.
Time and time again, his defenders seem to think Labour could be good if it just had him back, never really grasping that the party is bad regardless of leader.
Forgot to 'sign' my post... Allan Howard
ReplyDeleteThis discussion is about JC what he did and did not do, not imperialism etc. The very fact everyone knew he was a dedicated pro-Palestinian, anti-racist etc was why his treachery over Ken et al was so shocking, virtually unbelievable, later made worse by what we discovered about his instructions to his woman Formby who he protected. After his years in Parliament he knew exactly what the Parliamentary party was like. He was elected by the membership in the teeth of Parliamentary and MSM opposition. Why did not he use that mass support to crush his opponents exactly as he did with Hilary Benn. But his most egregious failing was to take his supporters up the garden path for years about the likelihood of a new party, only to leave them marooned, grasping at passing flotsam and jetsam independent candidates but with nothing on the horizon other than a rising neo-fascist tide.
ReplyDelete"This discussion is about JC what he did and did not do, not imperialism etc"
DeleteThe antisemitism smear campaign is very much linked to imperialism, even if indirectly, as it was an attempt to discredit pro Palestinian sentiment. The pro Palestine movement is part of the wider anti imperialist struggle. JC was never meant to be leader and I think even he knew it.
"The very fact everyone knew he was a dedicated pro-Palestinian, anti-racist"
So anti racist that he remained in the imperialist Labour Party, sure.
"his treachery over Ken et al was so shocking, virtually unbelievable"
No it wasnt. This is the man who at the start of the Iraq War, appeared pretty silent, opting instead to take his Anglican vicar approach, while you had a maverick like Galloway getting himself kicked out the party for saying "victory to the Iraqi resistance".
"After his years in Parliament he knew exactly what the Parliamentary party was like"
After his years in Parliament, it should be apparent that that's where his loyalties are, not with socialism.
"Why did not he use that mass support to crush his opponents exactly as he did with Hilary Benn"
Because he's a typical social democrat, so loves the Labour Party more.
"But his most egregious failing was to take his supporters up the garden path for years about the likelihood of a new party"
And all they seem to now do, is naval gaze about this episode, rather than moving on, forever believing that Labour would be good if he led it again.
To my dismay I do not see any attempt to create a united national or even constituency level left response in 2024 or now to the looming electoral threat from Reform/Badenoch when Starmer inevitably crashes, and that matters to ex-Corbinites.
DeleteI agree entirely. I intend to devote a blog to this shortly
DeleteSt Jeremiah should of left Labour to start his own party when the smears came about. If he'd done that, many of his supporters would of probably followed. Even more recently, I think Galloway was trying to get him to join the WPB. Their by no means perfect, but way better than Labour.
DeleteInterestingly, ex-Corbynites like JVL were promoting Fiona Lali in the last general election, but stayed silent about Halima Khan, even though the former, who I'm certain is well meaning, was a bit later on the scene and was going to risk splitting the left vote.
'What did Jeremy Corbyn say before Britain's invasion of Iraq and what are the consequences?'
Delete*"his treachery over Ken et al was so shocking, virtually unbelievable"
No it wasnt. This is the man who at the start of the Iraq War, appeared pretty silent, opting instead to take his Anglican vicar approach, while you had a maverick like Galloway getting himself kicked out the party for saying "victory to the Iraqi resistance". *
-----------------
The Reality:
In 2003, Corbyn spoke in front of a huge rally to say 'no justice' would be served by invading Iraq.
The MP for Islington North vehemently opposed the war and delivered a rousing speech to thousands of people in Hyde Park in 2003 in what was the biggest ever political demonstration in British history.
So let's rewind 13 years to 15 February 2003 to hear what Corbyn said before the invasion of Iraq. The rally was a truly global event, with people from cities all around the world uniting to voice their opposition to the war.
"Everybody in the world has a chance today to say no. Absolutely no to war on Iraq," said Corbyn.
"We are a force that's not alone, not isolated and very, very relevant to today's world. Those –George Bush, Tony Blair, Aznar, Berlusconi – who want war, they are the ones who are isolated and alone and desperately searching for friends. Because there is no justice whatsoever in the planned war against Iraq."
Highlighting who would pay the price for the war, Corbyn added: "I find it deeply distasteful that the British prime minister can use the medieval powers of the royal prerogative to send young men and women to die, to kill civilians and for Iraqis to die.".....
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/what-did-jeremy-corbyn-say-before-britains-invasion-iraq-what-are-consequences-1569085
And much, much more besides the demo!
Forgot to 'sign' it...
DeleteAllan Howard