Discussing analogies of Israel or Zionists to Nazis, the Chakrabarti Inquiry on antisemitism in the UK Labour Party concluded that such comparisons are "incendiary", "intended to be incendiary", and "bring the Party into disrepute." It thus took the firm and decisive stand that Labour members should ... "resist" saying such things.
I questioned at the time whether the "temptation [is] really that overwhelming." But apparently the answer is yes: for Labour has just overturned the expulsion of yet another "Nazis were really Zionists" member (recall this is what got Ken Livingstone suspended, but not expelled).
Basically, Labour seems to view comparing Israel and/or Zionists to Nazis the way you or I might view a decadent chocolate dessert. Probably not good for you, and certainly not something one should indulge in regularly -- but can anyone blame you if you succumb to temptation every once in awhile?
It's a good deal worse than merely comparing Zionists and Nazis, something that could possibly be dismissed as hyperbole. Machover actually argues that Zionists colluded with the Nazis, that they were happy with the Nazi program until after the invasion of the Soviet Union, because then (Machover claims) the Nazis started killing Jews rather than merely forcing them to emigrate. Yes, I'm aware this is delusional.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that you apologise for this defamation to Moshé Machover. He is not an anti-semite, has not said anything anti-semitic and wasn't charged with being anti-semitic. If you believe that Moshé is anti-semitic, you should be able to provide evidence that he is, post that here and send it to the UK Labour Party for good measure.
ReplyDeleteMoshé was expelled from the UK Labour Party for only one reason, being a member of another political party, namely the Communist Party of Great Britain (PCC). Moshé appealed, there turned out to be no evidence that he was a member and so remains a Labour Party member in good standing. This has been welcomed by Jewish Voice for Labour. He was not expelled for alleged anti-semitism and so that was not considered by the disputes committee.
The idea that a case that did not cover anti-semitism is evidence of the UK Labour Party's attitude towards anti-semitism is simply bizarre.
If Labour didn't even consider Machover's statements on Nazi/Zionists collaboration (which is what got Livingstone suspended), that reflects more -- not less -- poorly on Labour.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be repetitive, but if you have any words from Moshé Machover that you consider to be anti semitic statements then you need to give that evidence. What you are doing at the moment is talking around the article, linking to other people who say it's anti-semitic and inviting your readers to imagine the words that Moshé must have said to generate such a reaction. Anti-semitism is a serious problem and neither of us want there to be anti-semites in the UK Labour Party so if you do have any evidence, it is your responsibility to forward that to the UK Labour Party.
ReplyDeleteReaders - please go and do your own research, find the articles and consider for yourself whether they are anti-semitic.
Readers - please go and do your own research, find the articles and consider for yourself whether they are anti-semitic.
ReplyDeleteAndy, in the very first comment I link to an antisemitic essay by Machover: Anti-Zionism does not equal anti-Semitism.