Unfortunately, everyone who is critical of Israel, is labeled as
anti-semitic or anti-Jewish. This is a very useful tactic employed by
Israeli propagandists. Boycott and divestment are peaceful ways of fighting
against injustice. Yet, apologists for Israel's occupation do not accept the
BDS movement as legitimate. They also don't accept it when Palestinians turn
to other means of resistance which tend to be more violent. It is as if the
Palestinians have no right to object to having been displaced and turned
into refugees or into second class dwellers with no rights in the land where
they've lived for centuries. It is as if, because Jewish people have been
treated as outsiders in the past and have been the victims of genocide, they
have earned the right to treat the Palestinians as if they were an inferior
people with no human rights of their own.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
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Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 9:14 PM
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Subject: [blind-democracy] London meeting debates Jew-hatred, Israel boycott
http://themilitant.com/2015/7947/794751.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 79/No. 47 December 28, 2015
London meeting debates Jew-hatred, Israel boycott
BY ÓLÖF ANDRA PROPPÉ
LONDON There was a lively debate on Jew-hatred the danger it poses and
if its being advanced today by some of those claiming to speak for the
Palestinian struggle for national rights at a Nov. 3 meeting here titled
The Left and Jews in Britain Today. About 120 people came to the event at
Birkbeck University, organized by the Pears Institute for the Study of
Anti-Semitism.
The meeting was called in response to the controversies that swirled around
the candidacy of Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership of the Labour Party, said
David Feldman, the Institutes director. He was referring to remarks by
Corbyn referring to Hamas and Hezbollah as friends and defending the 2012
visit of Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, to the
U.K.
The speakers panel included Alan Johnson from Britain Israel Communications
& Research Centre; Lesley Klaff, lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University and
UK Lawyers for Israel; David Rosenberg from Jewish Socialist Group; and
Nadia Valman, lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and Independent
Jewish Voices.
Johnson said that while Corbyn is not anti-Semitic himself, if Jew-hatred
doesnt come wearing a uniform and speaking German he doesnt seem to
recognize it. Adding, Salahs vile Jew-hatred is a matter of public
record. Johnson also peddled allegations of anti-Semitism by communist
leaders from Karl Marx to Vladimir Lenin.
Rosenberg protested the demonization of the left by the Jewish right
in the smears, allegations and innuendo thrown at Jeremy Corbyn, and
praised the Labour leader for opposition to racism and fascism and his
commitment to multiculturalism. Rosenberg said he created a Facebook group
Jews for Jeremy that had attracted several hundred supporters, including a
few Israelis.
A problem with the anti-Zionist left, Klaff said, is an unconditional and
thoughtless acceptance of anybody who speaks as an enemy of Israel.
Participants also debated the boycott Israel campaign. An ad signed by
more than 300 academics in the liberal daily Guardian Oct. 27 stated they
were boycotting Israeli universities, which are at the heart of Israels
violations of international law and oppression of the Palestinian people.
A week earlier, in a letter entitled Israel needs cultural bridges, not
boycotts, writers, academics, Members of Parliament and others, including
writer J.K. Rowling and actress Zoë Wanamaker, argued, Cultural boycotts
singling out Israel are divisive and discriminatory, and will not further
peace.
Speaking from the floor, Jonathan Silberman, Communist League candidate for
mayor of London, condemned the Israel boycott. The rise of Jew-hatred today
is an international question, he said. It doesnt stem from the existence
of the state of Israel but is an inevitable consequence of the slow-burning
capitalist depression.
In contrast to the lefts we are all Hamas views, Silberman defended the
historical record of the communist movement in opposing Jew-hatred,
including the leadership of the Cuban Revolution. The salvation of the
Jewish people is bound up with the struggle to overthrow capitalism, he
said.
The discussion took place in the context of an increase in reported
anti-Jewish attacks in the U.K. Meeting participants cited a number of
incidents and debated whether the existence of Israel and the course of the
Israeli government were behind the rise of Jew-hatred.
Several people cited remarks the previous week by Labour MP Gerald Kaufman
at a Palestine Return Centre event in Parliament. Kaufman said that many of
the recent stabbings of Jews in Israel by Palestinian youth had been
fabricated, and that Jewish money was influencing the Conservative Party.
Many in the audience considered themselves part of the broad left, and
some supported Corbyn. Others described themselves as Conservative Party
voters.
Two participants picked up copies of Abram Leons The Jewish Question and
six bought copies of the Militant.
Related articles:
Communist League: Oppose attacks on Muslims, Jews
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