By Banning Parents for Palestine after Zionist objections. Presumably the Death of 25,000 women & children in Gaza isn’t enough
Genocide in Gaza through the eyes of Israeli soldiers
On 5 November 2023 Anita Patel wrote a guest blog Women’s Place UK : Whitewashing Zionism. Anita wrote, in reference to their statement of 28th October “Israel & Palestine – Peace, Equality, Freedom, Justice”, that it was:
an
evasive and impossible fudge, between advocates of apartheid, ethnic cleansing
and genocide on the one hand, and a people who are fighting for their survival
on the other. The statement frames the
attack on Gaza as a conflict between two equivalent hostile parties, failing to
distinguish the oppressor and the oppressed, and making the same demands of
both those parties, on the grounds that all the women involved share the same
experience of war. It is as though
Israeli women were not part of the oppressor and Palestinian women were not
part of the oppressed people.
Brighton Women's Centre
BWC has provided a good example of how this statement
has been interpreted by radical and liberal/bourgeois feminists when they
banned Parents for Palestine from having a stall at their celebrations in Brighton
Dome.
I understand that it was Zionist Lobby group, UK Lawyers for Israel, which in December
2019, brought
the far-right settler NGO Regavim to Britain, that objected. As Israel’s +972 Magazine wrote ‘Why are British Jews
opening their doors to far-right settler groups?’
UKLFI is
a far-right Zionist organisation. Listed among its Directors is Daniel
Berke, lawyer for Tommy Robinson. As the film below makes clear he is politically
close to Robinson. Berke was also the solicitor for Jonathan Hoffman, the link
person between British fascists and far-right Zionists.
Regavim was founded in 2006
by Bezalel Smotrich, the then leader of the far-right National Union party.
Smotrich calls himself a “proud homophobe” and is an open fascist. Today Smotrich is Israel’s
Finance Minister and the Gauleiter of the West Bank.
In February this Judeo-Nazi called
for the ‘wiping out’ of the Palestinian town of Huwara where the settlers had staged a
pogrom.
Others involved in
alleging ‘anti-Semitism’ and support for Hamas were Sussex Friends of Israel and
its alter-ego the Sussex Representative Council.
I have written before on the
theme of Zionist Feminism in articles such as
Ahed
Tamimi Exposes the Refusal of Western Feminism to Come to Terms with Zionism
and Imperialism and
How
Identity Politics Turned the Victims of Sabra & Chatilla into the
Antisemitic Oppressors of Zionist Feminists - A Reply to Erica Burman
BWC not only refused to
talk to P4P about the allegations, they refused to disclose who had made the
allegations or what they were. Instead they just went ahead and cancelled P4P’s
stall.
This is the kind of ‘justice’
that Palestinians receive in the West Bank where you can be detained without trial
(Administrative Detention) without knowing who has made the allegations or what
those allegations are. So well done BWC. You are certainly good Zionists.
What BWC did was to cave
in to the supporters of genocide in Gaza taking their side. BWC has always been
a nest of right-wing radical and Zionist feminism and so it’s no surprise that
they were happy to cover for the supporters of Israel.
When I was Secretary of
the local Anti-Nazi League 40 years ago I wrote to them suggesting that we work
together in combating the National Front which was active in Brighton at that
time. Their response was that since fascists and anti-fascists were men they
were going to abstain!
In practice BWC has been
abstaining from the fight against racism and fascism ever since. Now they have
taken it a step further and openly declared their sympathies with those who are
perpetrating genocide in Gaza.
🚨Harrowing scenes document the moment Israeli soldiers execute elderly civilian inside a home west of #Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/jZCv0v1nN8
— Nour Naim| نُور (@NourNaim88) March 8, 2024
Little Boy Describing the Execution of his Parents
According to the UN’s
Office of Human Rights
Palestinian women and girls
have reportedly been arbitrarily executed in Gaza, often together with family
members, including their children, according to information received. “We are
shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of
Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge, or while
fleeing. Some of them were reportedly holding white pieces of cloth when they
were killed by the Israeli army or affiliated forces,” the experts said.
The experts
expressed serious concern about the arbitrary detention of hundreds of
Palestinian women and girls, including human rights defenders, journalists and
humanitarian workers, in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October. Many have
reportedly been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, denied
menstruation pads, food and medicine, and severely beaten. On at least one
occasion, Palestinian women detained in Gaza were allegedly kept in a cage in
the rain and cold, without food.
The Guardian reported
on 22 February that there was evidence
of at least two cases of rape of Palestinian women captives, alongside other
cases of sexual humiliation and threats of rape. Reem Alsalem, the UN special
rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said the true extent of sexual
violence could be significantly higher.
In 2020 Save the
Children reported
that:
Palestinian children in the
Israel military detention system face physical and emotional abuse, with four
out of five (86%) of them being beaten, and 69% strip-searched, according to
new research by Save the Children. Nearly half (42%) are injured at the point
of arrest, including gunshot wounds and broken bones. Some report violence of a
sexual nature and some are transferred to court or between detention
centres in small cages, the child rights organisation said.
The haunted face of a 10 year old who died of starvation
In answer to
a question on the religious website Kipa when asked if soldiers
were permitted to rape women during war. Karim replied that, as part of
maintaining fitness for the army and the soldiers' morale during fighting, it
is permitted to
"breach"
the walls of modesty and "satisfy the evil inclination by lying with
attractive Gentile women against their will, out of consideration for the
difficulties faced by the soldiers and for overall success."
It is no surprise that
the sisters of BWC have, given the choice, chosen to side with those who have
forced Palestinian women to have caesarean sections without anaesthetic, who
are deprived of basics hygiene such as sanitary towels, wipes and above
all, of food. To these racist harridans, Palestinian women are lesser human
beings compared to their White counterparts.
The fact that BWC lied when
it said in a statement that it had offered to speak to P4P when it hadn’t and
then accepted the allegations from the Zionists at face value demonstrates
beyond doubt where their sympathies lie.
.jpg)
The Zionist Apologists for Rape & Violence Against Women
Radical feminism has always given cover to imperialism,
be it in Ireland or Palestine so we shouldn’t be surprised. The darlings of
American feminists – Betty Friedan, Letty Pogrebin and Andrea
Dworkin – were all Zionists.
American feminism has until recently, and under the pressure of Black Lives
Matter and third world women, been a bastion of support for imperialist ventures. For example Susan Nossel. former head of Amnesty USA justified the Afghan
war with feminist arguments.
Feminism
as a western movement has, by its very nature, viewed society as primarily divided
into men and women. Race and class has been largely absent from Western
feminist narratives and it is no accident that the racist trollops of Brighton Women
Centre have come to dominate the women’s movement and feminism.
Western
feminists such as Betty Friedan fought hard against Palestinian demands for
liberation and in practice what was called second wave feminism ended
up in the right-wing feminism of the ‘Blair
babes’ who voted overwhelmingly in Parliament for the Iraq War in 2003.
The
election of 100 Labour Women MPs in 1997 resulted in a
situation where 25% of women MPs (mostly old-style socialists like Alice Mahon)
voted against the war compared to 40% of male MPs. So much for the sexist idea
that women are more peaceful.
In
more recent years it has been female Zionist MPs such as Margaret Hodge, Louise Ellman,
Luciana Berger and Ruth Smeeth who led the ‘anti-Semitism’ fight against Jeremy
Corbyn and the left in the Labour Party.
.jpg)
The Zionist counter-picket
This
is why on Saturday March 9 we held a silent picket of the IWT
celebrations at the Dome. Opposite us were a group of Zionist women chanting ‘Rape
is not Resistance’. Their message was
that the break-out from Gaza on October 7 had been an orgy of
rape.
Dabke
at Womens Day Celebrations
Allegations
of systematic rape have been the main narrative of the Israeli state in order to
demonise Hamas and justify its genocide in Gaza. BWC has gone along with this
false narrative. It has been comprehensively
debunked.
Palestine Solidarity Lobby
However
allegations of rape have always been the stock-in-trade of racists and imperialists against
indigenous people from Southern Africa ‘the black peril’ to the
lynch mobs of the Deep South. Indeed allegations of rape and sexual assault
were common to Nazi propaganda against German Jews. So it’s no surprise that Brighton
Womens Centre has adopted this narrative.
URGENT!
— Brighton PSC (@BrightonPSC) March 9, 2024
Further to the disgraceful decision by @BTNWomensCentre & @brightdome to cancel a stall celebrating Palestinian women for #InternationalWomensDay, Parents 4 Palestine are calling for local people to join them in solidarity to protest.
From 10am outside #Brighton Dome. pic.twitter.com/QXIdDO4FrJ
On
Saturday March 8th Palestine solidarity activists and other
anti-racists therefore held a silent demonstration outside the Dome. Opposite
us was a small band of Zionists chanting ‘rape
is not resistance’ thereby playing into this deeply racist trope.
Ironically
when a woman went up to them to say that she was a victim of rape and she found
their demonstration upsetting and disturbing a male Zionist told her that she
should be raped again. It was reported
to the Police but the man in question was protected by the Zionist women thus
demonstrating that their concern was not rape but support for Israel’s genocide
in Gaza.
The 2 men suspected of telling a woman she should be raped again
People
may wish to consider whether a demonstration should be held
outside BWC to highlight their complicity in support for
genocide but in the meantime you might wish to contact these racists feminists at admin@womenscentre.org.uk.
There
was an interesting discussion on Mumsnet
in the Feminism thread on BWC’s cancellation of P4P’s stall.
Brighton Women’s
Centre cancelled a stall celebrating Palestinian women for #IWD
Fortitudinal · 09/03/2024 12:06
What the fuck? Brighton Women’s Centre and the Dome
cancelled this stall at the last minute. How can they possibly justify this?
It’s heartbreaking.
Brighton Women’s Centre is a captured male-including
organisation now anyway. A long way from its fantastic beginnings as a truly
feminist space.
Cynical, corporate-controlled bullshit.
TodayIsNotMyDay
· 09/03/2024 14:38
White / Imperial feminism strikes again.
The ”we stand for ALL women” has always been bullshit,
but it has been a true mask off during this genocide.
WhereAreWeNow · 09/03/2024 17:41
What reason did they give? That seems really weird.
fakeprofile · 09/03/2024 17:42
What is going on in Brighton?? The blatant misogyny on
display in recent years has been shocking
Fortitudinal · 09/03/2024 18:26
I know. I don’t know if they gave any reasoning at
all. I suppose in a cowardly bid to avoid anything ‘controversial’ with regards
to Israel/Gaza?
It’s fucked up.
TodayIsNotMyDay
· Yesterday 12:59
It’s fucked up.
It truly is.
How can someone keep a straight face and claim to
support women if they don’t support all women?
The women and girls are going through the worst anyone
possibly could*.
I think this IWD has turned into Valentine’s Day #2,
it’s mostly just another day to buy stuff and some chant about being strong
woman, without any actual substance.
(*I do not mean
to make this into a competition who has it worst)
ssd · Yesterday 13:09
That is really not on.
And
that is right. What Brighton Women’s Centre has done is really not on.
Tony
Greenstein
