Showing posts with label IJV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IJV. Show all posts

2 January 2024

An Open Letter to Stephen Fry whose 'Alternative' Xmas Message on 'Antisemitism' Flew in the Face of Everything He Once Stood For

Fry's Message Was an Embrace of the British Establishment’s Support for Genocide in Gaza under the Pretext of Opposition to Antisemitism


Stephen Fry’s Xmas Message on Behalf of the British Establishment

Dear Stephen,

As you are all too aware, ‘anti-Semitism’ is the standard defence, the only defence, that Israel has for its genocide and sadism in Gaza today. ‘Anti-Semitism’ is the stock response to torture, imprisonment and abuse of Palestinian children and the creation of a state which Netanyahu boasts is a state, not for all its citizens but only those who are Jewish.

When I refer to sadism I mean things like Israel’s removal of anaesthetics from aid lorries resulting in over 1,000 Palestinian children having to undergo amputations without anaesthetic. This is what your ‘Alternative’ Xmas Message was condoning.

Fortunately we were privileged to have a genuine Alternative to the Establishment’s Xmas that you delivered and it was by a fellow Jewish comedian, Alexei Sayle.

 Alexei had a few choice words for you and it is this that I am pleased to publish. As an aside you mentioned how, as a Gay man attitudes in Britain, especially amongst those you hang out with, have improved immeasurably in the past 25 years. I wonder whether the radicalism that was engendered all those years ago led you to support the Palestinians whereas acceptance by the Establishment of your sexuality has resulted in you turning your back on the oppressed.


Alexei Sayle’s Xmas Message

There has been a trend in recent years for elderly Jewish comedians to bloviate without going through any artistic process on various topics....

Now the other elderly Jewish comedians follow the line that entirely plays into the establishment ruling class narrative. They are an alternative to nothing. ..

One of the elderly Jewish comedians has urged us to stand with the Jewish people. Well fair enough.

The Jews I’m going to stand with are those of the Jewish bloc who I’ve marched with on all the pro-Palestine demonstrations. Over 1000 Jews and we’ve always been greeted with love, kindness and support. ...

We were marching with thousands of people – Muslim, Christian, Atheist, Black, white, brown, gay, straight, trans you name it. Everyone was marching together wanting an end to war and slaughter. In their leaflet the young Jews said ‘instead of looking to Israel to make Jews safe, we look instead to solidarity, freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians and Jews everywhere’...

If you see anybody advocating for Israel on the TV or radio. One of their repellent spokespeople say, then they will be lying because that’s what they do.  They lie and they lie and they lie.... So let’s keep Palestine in our hearts and minds this Xmas.

As Caitline Johnson writes concerning the ‘anti-Semitism’ smear against those who oppose Israeli war crimes:

If I saw someone murdering a child, there are many things I might say and do, but the very last thing that would ever occur to me would be to wonder what religion he is. It’s the silliest, most nonsensical narrative in mainstream politics and media today.

Your ‘new’ anti-Semitism has nothing to do with traditional anti-Semitism. Its sole concern is about defending Israel – right or wrong.

Anti-Semitism historically was hostility, prejudice or discrimination against Jews. In 2005 a campaign was launched by Israeli and Zionist academics to redefine anti-Semitism as anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel. The resulting was the IHRA misdefinition of anti-Semitism, a definition which anti-Semites like Victor Orban of Hungary supports.

When Stephen Fry was an Anti-Racist

In February 2007 you signed the Founding Statement of Independent Jewish Voices. You were number 217 on the list of signatories, I was number 259. A total of 735 Jews signed the declaration which said:

1. Human rights are universal and indivisible and should be upheld without exception. This is as applicable in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as it is elsewhere....

5. The battle against anti-Semitism is vital and is undermined whenever opposition to Israeli government policies is automatically branded as anti-Semitic.

Instead of standing up for Palestinians who are being massacred in Gaza, you have chosen to support their killers. This is shameful. You are famous as a comedian but what you have done is no joke. By propagating a false narrative of increasing ‘anti-Semitism’ you have sought to distract attention from the 21,000 who have been murdered, including 9,000+ children, on to British Jews whose idea of discrimination is not getting a good seat in a restaurant.


 

You’ve held hands with those who torture children, bomb hospitals & ambulances & murder church worshippers. It wasn’t always like this:

In April 2008 you signed a letter with 104 other Jews, including me, headed We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary. The letter said:

We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another people from their land. We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human rights and national aspirations.

We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East.

How is it that in the intervening years you have parted company with anti-racist Jews in favour of racist Jews (Zionists)? Why do you think that neo-Nazi Tommy Robinson, ex-member of the holocaust denying BNP wanted to join the Zionist march against anti-Semitism recently? He says he is a Zionist. I think we can believe that.

Zionism’s Anti-Semitic Supporters

Have you ever wondered why neo-Nazis and White Supremacists admire Zionism and Israel? Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 young members of Norway’s Labour Party in 2011 was an ardent Zionist .

Or neo-Nazi Richard Spencer, founder of the alt-Right, who organised the ‘Jews Will Not Replace Us’ march at Charlottesville. That hasn’t stopped him claiming that he is a White Zionist. 

What is it that attracts racists and anti-Semites from Trump and Bannon to Bolsonaro and Orban, to the Israeli state if not its ethno-nationalism and Islamaphobia? Why is it that the fascist Geert Wilders, who has just won the election in Netherlands, sees Israel as the last defence of civilisation?

By supporting the Zionists’ false accusation of ‘anti-Semitism’ you have also joined hands with Zionism’s anti-Semitic supporters. You have become, not everyone’s favourite uncle but an aged bigot.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague

False Accusations of Anti-Semitism

If you have any doubt Stephen about the weaponisation of anti-Semitism then the Times of Israel article ‘Blood libel’: Israel slams South Africa for filing ICJ genocide motion over Gaza war’ should convince even the most obtuse Zionist. It might even convince you.

South Africa’s crime? Filing a claim at the International Court of Justice against Israel. Zionism is once again using Jewish victims of anti-Semitism past in order to justify present day war crimes. This illustrates just how cynical Zionism is towards actual anti-Semitism.

The Blood Libel was the false accusation made against the Jews of Medieval Europe that they baked matzot, unleavened bread, with the blood of Christian children.

There is nothing false or imagined about Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. If referring to Israel’s war crimes in Gaza is a ‘blood libel’ then that can only mean that the accusations against Jews in times gone by were also true. This is Zionist anti-Semitism and this is what your Christmas message amounted to.

Stephen Fry’s Failure to Understand Anti-Semitism

Despite saying that you consider yourself Jewish you clearly weren’t brought up as one.  I noticed in your Xmas Monologue that you said that as a child you were almost unbearably fascinated by Xmas trivia.

In my Orthodox Jewish family Xmas was not celebrated. My rabbi father used to spit on the ground every time Jesus name was mentioned. Jesus was the ultimate heretic.

You are an atheist which implies that your reason for claiming to be Jewish is political or racial. In practice you have become a Jewish nationalist. It is no surprise that you claim that you are racially or genetically Jewish. 52% Ashkenazi no less!

It seems that Fry's Zionism has gone hand in hand with toleration of child abuse

You began your Xmas message by recalling how you grew up as gay and saw a ‘long and lonely’ life ‘exclusion, exile and disgrace’ ahead because of the homophobia of the time.

Yet, as you observe, during your ‘short lifetime’ society has ‘moved towards an understanding and acceptance’ of those who are gay. Yet when it comes to anti-Semitism, which was widespread in the 1940s and 50s you refuse to accept that attitudes have changed.

You begin your rant by asserting that anti-Semitism is a ‘light sleeper’ and you go on to say that it has now ‘woken up’. But has it? Anti-Semitism is not a person but a political phenomenon. Racism never sleeps but it does change and anti-Semitism has changed.

In the 1930s there was a large anti-Semitic fascist party, the British Union of Fascists, led by a member of the aristocracy Sir Oswald Moseley, which was supported by many other members of that class.

The British Establishment then was riddled with anti-Semitism. In October 1936 the BUF decided to stage a march through the Jewish East End and the Metropolitan Police, which contained many fascist sympathisers, tried to baton their way through the 200,000+ Jewish and non-Jewish working class demonstrators.

This became known as the Battle of Cable Street. However your friends in the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Chronicle, were strongly opposed to Jews taking part in counter-demonstrations to fascism. They advised Jews to ignore the fascists and stay at home. Moseley’s Blackshirts were genuine anti-Semites not today’s fake variety.

Your Support for Israel’s Genocide

You refer in your tirade to ‘the horrendous events’ of October 7, and ‘the Israeli response.’ Let us stop there. The latest casualty figures for October 7 are 1,147 and of those one-third were soldiers and the majority of the civilians were, it seems, killed by the Israeli military when tanks fired shells at kibbutz houses in order to prevent anyone being taken prisoner and swapped for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Whilst you condemn the events of October 7 as ‘horrendous’ you say nothing about the murder of over 20,000 people, 9,000+ of whom were children. These deaths and the massive number wounded do not seem to trouble you in the slightest. It seems that you have become a Jewish exceptionalist and racist.

You assert that October 7 and Israel’s attack on Gaza (the word ‘genocide’ never passes your lips) has led to a rise, according to the Metropolitan Police, of 1350%.

If this is true, then it is clear that strenuous efforts must be made not to associate British Jews with what Israel does. The advent of a ‘Jewish’ state has been a disaster for Jews everywhere.

But the Board of Deputies has gone out of its way to support the attacks of the Israeli state on Palestinians. Since the Board claims to represent British Jews is it any wonder that some people take them at their word and attack Jews because of what Israel does?

In 2018 when Israeli snipers murdered over 300 unarmed Palestinians in Gaza the Board chose to criticise Hamas not the killers. A subsequent statement placed all the blame on the victims.

An Open Letter by over 100 Jews made our position crystal clear:

We are appalled that the Board of Deputies (BoD) which claims to be “the voice of British Jews,” has once again attempted to justify the massacre of unarmed Palestinian people by the Israeli military. 

Is Anti-Semitism On the Increase in Britain?

There are good reasons for doubting that there has been a massive increase in anti-Semitism. By its own admission, the Metropolitan Police are using the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. As such its statistics are worthless.

If someone is attacked because they support Israeli genocide is that an anti-Semitic attack? Obviously not. The person has been attacked for their politics not their religion or race. I don’t condone attacking anyone, not even Zionists, but any such attacks are not anti-Semitic.

If however someone is attacked for no other reason than that they are Jewish, on the assumption that they support Israel’s genocide, then the attack is anti-Semitic. The blame for the attack lies equally with your Zionist friends as with the attackers because they gave people the idea that all Jews support war crimes against Palestinians.

We should ask ourselves why the Met are so eager to inflate the number of anti-Semitic incidents when in the 30s they operated as an adjunct to the BUF? Have they changed? All the evidence is that the Met are as racist now as they were 90 years ago. The only difference now is that their racism is directed at Muslim and Black people.

The Black Widow!

There are many other differences. Suella Braverman, the most racist Home Secretary Britain has ever had was vociferous in her opposition to anti-Semitism (in fact anti-Zionism).

xxxx

 

In 1936 Home Secretary Sir John Simon, insisted on the fascists being allowed to march on the Jewish East End. In March 2023 Braverman was the guest of honour at the Annual Dinner of the CST, a Mossad Project that compiles statistics of anti-Semitic incidents. The CST work closely with the Met. Their statistics are, in the immortal phrase of Disraeli, ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’.

You paint a picture of anti-Semitism today that bears no relation to reality: swastikas daubed on buildings, shop windows smashed, Jewish schools forced to close. It seems as if Nazi Germany is around the corner. ‘There is real fear stalking the neighbourhoods of Britain’.

You say of your Jewish grandparents that:

I’m glad they aren’t alive now to read newspaper stories that would have reminded them of the 1930s Europe that they left. 

I am reminded of what Anshel Pffefer wrote in Ha’aretz during the height of Labour’s ‘anti-Semitism’ smear campaign. This was when the Campaign Against Antisemitism was claiming that polls showed more than half of British Jews felt that anti-Semitism echoed that of the 1930s. Pfeffer observed that if the CAA and British Jews

“actually believe that, then it’s hard to take anything they say about contemporary anti-Semitism in their home country seriously.”

Pfeffer added that such a belief showed

“a disconnect bordering on hysteria … not only are they woefully ignorant of recent Jewish history but have little concept of what real anti-Semitism is.” 

Twice in recent years you have signed letters for Israeli lobby group CCFP/Stand with Us. As Black rap artist, Lowkey, asked:

Can Stephen Fry be an authority on racism if he puts his name on the letters of a lobby group which functions as a proxy of a racist regime, exacting a genocidal war on the Palestinians?

The statement that you signed in 2007, began:

We come together in the belief that the broad spectrum of opinion among the Jewish population of this country is not reflected by those institutions which claim authority to represent the Jewish community as a whole. We further believe that individuals and groups within all communities should feel free to express their views on any issue of public concern without incurring accusations of disloyalty.

The Producers of Your video were involved in recruiting and training members of the Israeli Defence Force


What makes your behaviour even worse Stephen is that your video was produced by Fulwell73 Productions, which was founded by 4 members of B'nei Akiva, which runs pre-military programmes to enrol members in Israel’s occupation forces. They have also spoken at events for Israel lobby group, the Jewish Leadership Council.

When I was a child, I was a member of Bnei Akiva, which was then the youth group of the National Religious Party which was in coalition with the Israeli Labor Party. After 1967 and the occupation of the West Bank the NRP moved steadily to the settler right and was part of the Greater Israel Movement.

Bnei Akiva functions as an adjunct to the far-right neo-Nazi settler movement in Israel. This is who produced your Alternative Christmas Message and this Stephen is who you have allied with.

Channel 4 should hang its head in shame for allowing fascists to produce their ‘alternative’ Christmas message. Perhaps next year they will invite the KKK to say what White Xmas means to them?


 

At least some people have retained their integrity in this sordid affair. Tamara Abood, a former Channel 4 commissioning editor, who is now a psychotherapist working with people in the entertainment industry, criticised Channel 4’s decision to screen the message.

She was also critical of Fulwell 73, the production company that made the programme:

“The asymmetry of the conflict was not remotely reflected in what Stephen Fry had to say. It was carefully worded lip service.”

Ms Abood added that Channel 4’s broadcast about anti-Semitism “demonstrates where the power lies”. Her LinkedIn post was ‘liked’ by Deborah Williams, the head of Creative Diversity Network, a diversity and inclusion charity to the Zionists chagrin.

In response to criticism by racist former colleagues Abood observed that “Historically the spectre of anti-Semitism has been used to silence debate and I see a lot of that on here.”

If British Jews were treated even a hundredth as badly as Palestinians by Israel then you would have good reason Stephen to complain of anti-Semitism. As it is you should shut your mouth and keep it shut.

Just imagine that you were told that the British state only belonged to its Christian citizens and that Jews were considered a fifth column. You would be the first to complain. Yet your ‘alternative’ Xmas message had but one purpose – to reinforce the false ‘anti-Semitism’ message that criticism of what Israel does equals hatred of Jews. In making that claim it is you, not Israel’s critics, who is anti-Semitic .

xxxx

Stephen. You were once considered a national treasure. Today you are a national disgrace mouthing the same platitudes as Braverman whose concern over ‘anti-Semitism’ was in inverse proportion to her racism against everyone else.

Braverman’s demonization of refugees crossing the Channel was a genuine example of racism. Your invocation of anti-Semitism was fake and contrived. Your Xmas message a mixture of maudlin, lachrymose sentiment totally at odds with the experience of Jews in Britain today

Tony Greenstein



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2 September 2021

PART 2: The Union of Jewish Students Portrays Itself as the Voice of Jewish Students – It isn’t - It is the Voice of the Israeli State on British Campuses

For 40 Years UJS has been Weaponising Anti-Semitism & Harassing Anti-Zionist Jews – now it’s turning its attention to Anti-Zionist Academics





In my blog on Bristol University’s use of a kangaroo court to effect the dismissal of Professor David Miller by using the vitriolic attacks of the British Establishment, I pointed to the role played by UJS. UJS portrays itself as a cuddly organisation whose sole concern is the 'safety' of ‘vulnerable’ Jewish students who are ‘upset’ by lecturers who hold anti-Zionist views.

This is the image as portrayed by the British press and the BBC. However the reality is entirely different. What is never mentioned is that UJS’s constitution specifically commits it to ‘inspiring’ Jewish students ‘to make an enduring commitment to their Jewish identity, Israel, and the community.’

UJS is affiliated to the World Zionist Organisation via the World Union of Jewish Students. The WZO is a funder and co-ordinator of the settlements in the West Bank. It has a ‘land theft division’. Of this UJS says nothing.

If Jewish students in Britain were subject to the persecution that Palestinian students face on the West Bank, including arrests on campus, beatings and torture, then they would have just cause to complain of anti-Semitism.  As it is we should treat members of UJS for what they are - spoilt White racists.

Al Jazeera’s documentary ‘The Lobby’ showed how Adam Schapira, a candidate for the Presidency of UJS openly admitted that UJS was funded by the Israeli Embassy.

The campaign against David Miller has been waged on behalf of the Israeli state. That is why a raft of MPs, none of whom have ever had the slightest concern about racism, like Ian Paisley, signed a letter to Vice Chancellor Hugh Brady, demanding the dismissal of David Miller.

I understand from sources at Bristol University that the panel which will be hearing his case is nothing more than a formality. That a consensus has already been formed that in order to relieve the pressure on the university, Miller must go.

Among the racist signatories to the letter are Baroness Cox and Bob Blackman, Tory MP for Harrow East.

Cox is the Queen of anti-Islamic bigots. In February 2009, Cox and UKIP peer Lord Pearson invited the fascist leader of the Dutch Freedom Party Geert Wilders, who supports banning the Islamic religion outright, to show the anti-Islam film Fitna at the House of Lords. Wilders was banned from entering Britain. Cox accused the Government of appeasing militant Islam.

In 2010 Cox and Pearson hosted Wilders and his film with 200 members of the fascist EDL marching in support of the screening.  Cox said in a speech in Israel that “Islam is using the freedoms of democracy to destroy it”

Cox is prominent in the Henry Jackson Society and is a director of the far-Right Gatestone Institute which hosts her writings online. In 2007, she told the Jerusalem Summit, of which she has been co-president since 2005, that “Britain has been deeply infiltrated” by Islamist extremists, who have converted the country into “a base for training and teaching militant Islam”. She added that “Britain’s cultural and spiritual heritage are under threat.”

Cox also told the Jerusalem Post she was concerned about “the disturbing alliance between the Islamists and the Left in the UK,”

According to Craig Murray, Cox is “a prominent supporter of organisations which actively and openly promote the ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians from Gaza.’

Bob Blackman MP is the most racist member of the House of Commons. And this is a hotly contested title. MP for Harrow East, Blackman was accused of Islamophobia after posting an anti-Muslim article on Facebook for which he subsequently apologised. Blackman had shared a story: “Muslim Somali sex gang say raping white British children ‘part of their culture'.”

Blackman had previously retweeted an anti-Muslim post by Tommy Robinson. Vice revealed that Blackman had been a member of several far-right Islamophobic Facebook groups such as "Britain for the British", "For Britain Political Party" and "Pendragons Fight Back".

"Britain for the British" is administered by BNP supporter Steven Devlin. It features numerous pro-Hitler comments and others which wish violence upon London Mayor Sadiq Khan, accusing him of being an "Islamofascist" and "traitor", and hoping that he dies.

Blackman is also a patron of the racist far-right Zionist group the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.

Blackman is a supporter of the BJP Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. When the Conservative Friends of Kashmir began, Blackman urged Boris Johnson not to recognise them.

When the BJP declared martial law and occupied Kashmir, Blackman wrote to Johnson describing it as an ‘excellent decision’. It would, he said allow the Kashmiri people ‘to enjoy the benefits of being part of India.’ Strangely enough the people of Kashmir weren’t so appreciative!

Blackman also hosted Hindu racist Tapan Ghosh in the Commons. Ghosh called for the UN to control the birth rate of Muslims, praised the genocide of Rohingya Muslims and said that Muslims should be forced to leave their religion if they come to a western country.

The Milli Gazette described Blackman as a ‘rabidly pro-Hindutva Tory MP’.  Untouchables in India are treated as sub-human yet Blackman sought to remove protection against caste discrimination in the Equality Act. Blackman succeeded in this.

Blackman also opposes ‘Hinduphobia’. Anyone who challenges caste discrimination or supports Kashmiri self-determination is a ‘Hinduphobe’. They have taken a leaf out of the Zionists’ book.

Baroness Cox - a bigot for all seasons

TheyWorkForYou described how Blackman almost always voted against laws to promote equality and human rights.

Ø   On 18 Jul 2019: Blackman voted not to legalise abortion under any circumstances in Northern Ireland.

Ø   On 9 Jul 2019: Blackman voted not to permit same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.

Ø   On 26 May 2016: Blackman voted to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

Ø   On 16 Apr 2013: Blackman voted against making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of caste

In Bob on caste as a protected characteristic Blackman revealed how

‘MPs received a written ministerial statement making it clear that this protected characteristic is going to be removed from the Equality Act. Bob urged the Minister to bring forward, without delay, proposals to remove this unnecessary, ill-thought-out and divisive move in the Equality Act 2010.’

Sunny Hundal of the Hindustan Times ‏tweeted “Astonishing. Tory MP in London playing Hindu divide-and-rule caste politics with leaflets for Hindus. Nasty”.  See Blackman not supported!

These are some of the supporters of dismissing David Miller at Bristol University. But what of the Union of Jewish Students?

The Experiences of Emma Clyne, Chair of SOAS J-Soc

Emma become Chair of the Jewish society at SOAS in 2006-7 despite not being a Zionist. Emma described the ‘intense pressure’ from UJS:

Before she became the chair of the SOAS Jewish Society, she had found it was like an Israel Society…. She took over the chair on condition that there was to be a clear distinction between the Jewish Society and the Israel Society. This led to a furious reaction from UJS which told her: “That’s not what the Jewish Society does. You can’t separate Israeli politics from Jewish identity. It is all the same.”

The antagonism reached a peak after she went to the launch of Independent Jewish Voices in 2007 and found the speakers “honest articulate and inspirational.” When she invited some of the speakers [like Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC] to a meeting at SOAS to discuss “the impact of nationalism on Jewish identity” the pressure on her increased, and she was told that UJS and the Israeli Embassy were very concerned about the meeting.

I described in an article for the Guardian’s Comment is Free [before Jonathan Freedland banned anti-Zionists] what happened next:

According to... Emma Clyne, posters for a meeting the society put on were repeatedly torn down. Ms Clyne told a meeting of Independent Jewish Voices on May 15 that she had to put new ones up every day.

A clue as to the reason for its silence might lie in an article in the Jewish Chronicle of April 27 ("Students in censorship row over IJV debate").

The then Chair of UJS, Mitch Simmons, made clear ‘"It is the view of the UJS that certain views are not acceptable under free speech." This is what UJS really stand for. My own experiences were similar.

Despite having been Vice-President of Brighton Polytechnic Student Union for 2 years, on the National Union of Students Polytechnics Committee, also for 2 years and a delegate to NUS Conference 13 times, UJS tried to ban me from campuses.  Why?  Because I was anti-Semitic! 

Some of the delightful material I was regularly sent

No matter that I was a founder member of Brighton & Hove Anti-fascist Committee, Secretary of Brighton Anti-Nazi League from 1979-1982, on the Executive of Anti-Fascist Action from 1986 onwards and the victim of a number of attacks by fascists (some of whom were convicted of assault), that I received regular death threats from fascists including making a guest appearance on Red Watch, a neo-Nazi site which prints details of anti-fascists in order that they can be attacked.  

I am even the author of the only book on the Fight Against Fascism in Brighton and the South Coast. According to UJS I am anti-Semitic! This is from people who have never lifted a finger to fight fascism.

Meeting at the LSE 5 November 1986

Throughout the Lebanon invasion and its aftermath I spoke up and down the country at Student Union Union General Meetings and on campuses.  UJS never failed to try to get me banned!  Being Jewish most people cottoned on to what they were trying to do and they failed without exception.

But it was at the London School of Economics in 1986 that UJSs tactics came unstuck. I had been invited to speak to a meeting of the Palestine society and sure enough, the well oiled-machinery of UJS sprang into action.

I was portrayed as a racist and anti-Semite.  Why? Because the then NUS President David Aaronovitch, who is currently the pro-war neo-liberal columnist for The Times but who was then in the Communist Party (although equally right-wing!) had banned me from NUS Conference.

Naturally the LSE J-Soc expected everyone to take their word for it that I was what they said I was. The problem was that the local Labour society decided to investigate for themselves and quickly found out that UJS were not telling the truth. Comrades in Anti-Fascist Action such as Unmesh Desai, (who is now a right-wing Blairite on the Greater Labour Assembly but was then a socialist), testified that I was anything but a fascist. So too did friends at the Institute of Race Relations and in other campaigns. 

The result was that the Labour Club printed a leaflet which gave both sides of the story which was the last thing UJS and LSE J-Soc wanted. UJS often forgets that this is not Israel. There is still, at least the remnants of free speech in Britain. There is no such thing as a 'gag order' or censorship in Britain unlike Israel.

As an anti-fascist organiser I was subject to a number of physical attacks - whereas UJS spend most of their time defending Israeli fascists

I was grateful for what UJS did, both at the LSE and on other campuses, because they helped to build my meetings! Instead of 20+ people over 100 people crowded into the lecture theatre where I was speaking. The Zionists were shown up for the liars they were.  What was their reaction? Judging by the letters in the Beaver of 10.11.86. extremely angry. [See the Report]

James Paget described how a friend of his was accosted by 5-6 Zionists: ‘When he turned around he was greeted with a viciousness I have rarely seen.’ When Paget defended him he too was labelled a fascist. Paget described how his friend

Has been a supporter of anti-fascist organisations since he was 16 and he has been a strong and fervent activist against all forms of racism. To accuse someone who has fought so clearly and consistently against racism of being a racist naturally causes great distress and I can only describe it as disgusting. My friend was apparently abused because he was involved in the Labour Club’s examination of the Tony Greenstein affair.’

The Labour Club Executive itself issued a statement on this affair and it is worth reprinting in its entirety because it casts a light, not only on what is happening in Bristol with the attack on David Miller but the ‘anti-Semitism’ allegations which played such a pivotal part in undermining Jeremy Corbyn.

Dear Editor,

Regarding the Friends of Palestine meeting with Tony Greenstein the Labour Club was approached by several members of the UJS. We contacted several national organisations for information about Tony Greenstein and as a result produced a leaflet with the two contradictory accounts of his views and activities. We distributed this outside of the meeting where a speech was made condemning the Labour Club for being racist and anti-Semitic. The members who heard this left in a distressed state after the insults and the ruthless accusations.

One of the Labour Club members who had left earlier was approached in Houghton St. by several members of the UJS who proceeded to insult him publicly, calling him a racist, anti-Semitic, fascist. He was deeply distressed and grossly insulted  as he has been involved in anti-fascist groups for nearly 10 years.

We are firmly opposed to all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism. We utterly condemn this slanderous public intimidation of members of our club.


The LSE Labour Club Executive 

What happened at the LSE is standard tactic of the UJS. If you don’t agree with them then you too are a racist. It is an example of racists calling anti-racists ‘racist’. I was often called a racist by members of the National Front who said I and my comrades were ‘anti-White’. There is nothing new in this form of abuse and people should stopped falling for this. They wouldn’t have done so when it came to Apartheid in South Africa and they shouldn’t because supporters of Israeli Apartheid are Jewish. They trade on the memory of the Holocaust.

Tony Greenstein

See Guardian Comment is Free Vetting in Practice

OPEN LETTER TO CAROLINE LUCAS MP – Why Have You Signed a Parliamentary Letter Attacking Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech in Support of Apartheid Israel?

The alliance between Israel, Zionism and Hindu Nationalism is based on a shared belief in ethnic cleansing and ethno-nationalism  and UK: Corbyn, the Hindu far-right and Israel’s partisans

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