Surely the test for Corbyn and the Labour ‘Left’ is not whether they compare Israel the same as South Africa, the UK, USA, France, China or Saudi Arabia, but whether Corbyn and the Labour ‘Left’ compare Israel to Putin’s Russia, Saddam’s Iraq, Gaddafi’s Libya, Assad’s Syria, Zimbabwe, Serbia (under Milosevic), Iran, the IRA terrorists and other ideological regimes and groups that they appear to condemn less than any brutal state policies that are White capitalist State or Arab Monarchy led. Despite the Israeli State’s brutal, violent, racist, land stealing policies comparisons with Nazi Germany, or the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin, are simply ridiculous – those regimes and their Leaders and minions are off the scale for evil. But Jeremy Corbyn and many on the Labour authoritarian Left seem unwilling to compare their favourite repressive leaders, dictators and violent groups to the same standards that they rightly apply to the Israeli government and its actions.
I disagree that this is anti-semitism:
“• Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” I agree with the right of the State of Israel to exist but it can be a valid political position to disagree with a Jewish State established by force in Palestine (just as it is historically fair to point out that the United States of America stole Texas from Mexico after a colonial war). I disagree in general with changing international borders by force because of all the problems that that brings, even though usually arbitrary borders as accidents of history bring themselves many problems. I am not a great fan of the nation state, however denying a right for people who want to be Israelis a state in Israel (excluding the settlements, occupied territories and East Jerusalem) when that state has existed for seventy years is ridiculous.
To my mind it is these points from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism and examples that the British political far Left have a problem with
• Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
• Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
The latter often by language and tone if not directly or even deliberately.
Ironically on the latter they are in company – along a spectrum of extremism – with so-called ‘Islamic’ extremists, and so-called ‘Christian’ far right racists in the US and Europe, and Russia. One thing that separates many US far right from the Russian state backed racist Eastern and Western European far right is that the US ‘evangelical’ ‘Christian’ far right is often very pro the brutal Israeli government. The Russian backed narrative is the same as the racist blame messages rife in the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union and across much of Eastern Europe “Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.” A view shared by many ‘Muslim’ racists. Just as the people of different neighbouring countries with political or popular antagonism often have very much in common, authoritarian, religious and ideological extremists do too. It is a reminder to the peace loving, friendly, tolerant majority to stand up to them all the time.
The IHRA definition of antisemitism found here
https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/sites/default/files/press_release_document_antisemitism.pdf via this page
https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/stories/working-definition-antisemitism
As at 7 September 2018.
It is worth Jewish fanatics, those who steal and occupy land with settlements, those who defend the brutal reaction of the Israeli military to peaceful protests & their use of extreme lethal force against peaceful and non-lethal assaults alike, to remember that it was a Jewish fanatic who destroyed the best chance of peace that existed with the two State initiative supported by President Yitzhak Rabin. Here was a genuine Israeli hero, a soldier and a brave politician, a Statesman, murdered by a cowardly extremist. One of the worst political crimes of our era and one that has held Israelis and Palestinians alike in hostage to violence. We should remember the courage of Yitzhak Rabin and the ability of politicians and leaders to talk to enemies and make compromises for the sake of peace.
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