The SWP, racism and Gilad Atzmon

My old political sparring partner, Bob from Brockley, has wide intellectual tastes, from anarchism to extraordinary musical endeavours and beyond.

But above all he is very charitable. He takes an interest in what ex-Socialist Workers Party members think and say. Notably the writings of Richard Seymour, one-time SWP intellectual and consummate blogger.

Bob gave space over to a fellow intellectual to examine Seymour’s views on the recent Paris attack.

I can’t say I always agree with Bob’s approach, but I admire his persistence in keeping an eye on (ex) SWPers.
SWPfist1
I am not terribly interested in Seymour or (ex) SWPers as people, rather the ideas that they put forward and represent, critically when it comes to antisemitism. I think it is worth commenting because there is a wider importance to this issue, how such attitudes help create a social climate that is hostile towards Jews.

A few thoughts.

SWPers

It is my view that (ex) SWPers often share many characteristics of 1960s Stalinists in their attitude toward Jews, either disdainful or oddly ambiguous.

I am not the first to come to this conclusion as the socialist Steve Cohen argued it years back.

[NB: I should point out for the sake of clarity and before any misunderstanding occurs that. I do not believe that the vast majority of (ex) SWPers are hardened antisemites, instead the evidence shows they are tolerant of those who are, which is the distinction I am making. I could add I have known some quite decent SWPers when I was an active trade unionist, but this is a discussion about their attitudes and where they lead, not them as individuals.]

My basic problem with SWPers and (ex) SWPers is, how it is very apparent they have learnt little or nothing from their encounters with antisemites or antisemitism.

To learn is normally to admit we don’t know something. Or to concede we might have made a mistake and don’t wish to repeat it. As far as I can see that has not happened with most leading (ex) SWPers. There are two obvious examples, the Stop the War Coalition and Gilad Atzmon.

Atzmon talks with another racist, Ken O'Keefe
Atzmon talks with another racist, Ken O’Keefe

Too close to antisemites

The fact that the Stop the War Coalition couldn’t see any problem using the works of the antisemite Alison Weir (not the historian) is simply astounding.

Further, if you investigate their site you will see only disdain for anything related to Jews (whatever guise that takes or whatever nickname is used). The Stop the War Coalition is run by a mix of ex-SWPers (Lindsey German, John Rees, etc), soft Stalinists and assorted types.

Whereas Gilad Atzmon is a prolific antisemite, despite once being an Israeli. For well over a dozen years Atzmon has had exceedingly questionable views concerning Jews. He never misses a chance to employ barely concealed antisemitic conspiracy theories or support those who do.

SWP hosted a racist

Yet you would be hard pushed to find any really significant critique from SWPers or (ex) SWPers of Atzmon.

That is despite the fact that the SWP supported and hosted this racist for years. Bob provides a great chronological guide, showing SWP’s support from 2004 to 2010.

And this is the disparity: how can people call themselves socialists, say they are opposed to antisemitism, yet allow their organisation to promote and aid an antisemite, Gilad Atzmon?

As far as I know, not a single SWPer resigned over their organisation’s support for that particular racist.

And intelligent people are compelled to ask why? Did their ingrained worship of Leninism override their antiracist principles? Was Atzmon’s racism really an issue for them? Did they grasp why they should oppose such an antisemite? Did it even register with them?

There are plenty of questions to ask, and whilst flippant answers may satisfy the intellectually barren (ex) SWPers, serious antiracists should not stop from questioning why it happened and what is to stop it happening again?

Atzmon is a litmus test as I previously wrote. The SWP and its members seriously failed that test, year after year.

SWPers and modern antisemitism

Any cursory examination of the Socialist Workers Party’s views around the topic of Jews reveal that the SWP have never had a sophisticated analysis of antisemitism. They fail to miss the most obvious signs.

But these are not thugs or ne’er-do-wells. The SWP leadership was over time replete with academics, educationalists and supposed antiracist activists. Whilst they may have been able to explain Marxist capital at great length SWPers couldn’t grasp the complexities of modern antisemitism.

It is not for want of intellectual gumption.

Instead it is how the (ex) SWPer’s view the world. It is a mechanical mindset, where Jews (whatever euphemism used), invariably, fall on one side and the (ex) SWPers and their allies are on the other.

That I find profoundly depressing, it is as if not one lesson has been learnt since their earlier collaboration with the racist Atzmon, even fewer questions have been asked.

In short, (ex) SWPers are really no wiser today than they were in 2009 when they continued to host Atzmon or in 2005 when the SWP issued a defence of him.

It is a truly lamentable situation for socialists to find themselves in, having a panoply of answers how to change the whole of the world for the better, yet not when the topic relates to Jews.

If you doubt my argument then at least consider the evidence or lack of it. On a weekly basis Jews are assaulted in Britain, yet with one small exception the main SWP publication, Socialist Worker, has never covered these incidents of physical antisemitism towards British Jews in any meaningful way.
Dark clouds
A plain disregard

I feel that shows a plain and simple disregard for Jews. However, I am sure that (ex) SWPers will find suitable excuses to explain it away, but would they take such a tack if any other ethnic minority was involved? Probably not.

Briefly, I don’t believe that the majority of (ex) SWPers are active antisemites, rather their political indoctrination means that when they deal with any topic relating to Jews they have a certain blind spot. The Atzmon debacle and the Stop the War coalition use of an antisemite’s material demonstrate this. It is apparent that since the SWP’s chumminess with an active racist, Atzmon, its many members and ex-members have learnt next to nothing.

A climate

Why is that an issue?

Because the SWP’s ex-members run some large organisations and have influence beyond their numbers. In turn their unchanged attitudes towards Jews can lead to a climate of hostility and aid racists, even if that is not their intention.

But more importantly, the SWP are part and parcel of the negative mood facing Jews in Britain. They do not throw bricks at synagogues instead they rant on about “Zionists” ad nauseam and help to perpetuate antagonism towards British Jews.

If SWP members and ex-members couldn’t resign on the principle of opposing racism when it came to Atzmon, what use are they? Have they no embarrassment now? Have they learnt anything at all?

The evidence suggests not, and that should worry anyone seriously opposed to antisemitism.

A few reminders about Atzmon and the SWP:

2004: “Gilad Atzmon will speak and perform on Tuesday 13 July at the Marxism 2004 festival and conference in London. You can find out more about his life and work at his website…”

2004: Richard Seymour on Atzmon. His advice was ignored for the next seven years.

2005:The SWP does not believe that Gilad Atzmon is a Holocaust denier or racist. However, while defending Gilad’s right to play and speak on public platforms that in no way means we endorse all of Gilad’s views. We think that some of the formulations on his website might encourage his readers to feel that he is blurring the distinction between anti-Semitism and anti Zionism. In fact we have publicly challenged and argued against those of his ideas we disagree with.”

2005: “Gilad Atzmon is arguably the most outstanding artist to emerge on the British jazz scene in recent years. ”

2006: “Gilad declared, “I will be playing at the Cultures of Resistance concert because I support the Socialist Worker appeal.”

2007: “Readers of Socialist Review may know jazz musician Gilad Atzmon due to his Coltrane tour with Martin Smith and the Cultures of Resistance gig at this year’s Marxism.”

2007: “Gilad Atzmon is not racist” according to leading SWPers, Hannah Dee, Viv Smith and Lindsey German.

2007: Socialist Worker promoting: “A celebration of jazz musician Charlie Parker with Martin Smith and Gilad Atzmon. Includes launch of Gilad’s new album, Refuge ”

2008: “Gilad Atzmon celebrates Charlie Parker” [with Martin Smith]. Martin Smith was the SWP’s National Secretary and leading Central Committee member.

2009: “Disclaimer – I’ve never previously much liked Gilad Atzmon’s CDs. Live, he can be brilliant, with a bite and intensity that make him one of the best jazz artists working in Britain today. ”

2009: Atzmon hosted yet again at the SWP’s premier bookshop, Bookmarks.

2009: Atzmon argues “Throughout the centuries, Jewish bankers bought for themselves some real reputations of backers and financers of wars [2] and even one communist revolution [3]” A common neo-Nazi theme.

2012: Atzmon joins the neo-Nazi site, Veterans Today.

2013: My short piece, The death agony of the SWP

2014: Gilad Atzmon praises ex-KKKer David Duke

2014: Atzmon support for Holocaust Revisionists.

2015: Atzmon thinks the Paris shooting was a false flag. That is antisemite-speak for “Jews did it”.

Gilad Atzmon praises ex-KKKer David Duke

Most literate adults (or at least those with access to the Internet) would probably know to avoid the opinions of David Duke.

duke1_kkk

Duke, ex-Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, convicted fraudster and semiprofessional antisemite is hardly a reputable source.

Yet the “activist” Gilad Atzmon has a high opinion of Duke:

“…

Now there is something very interesting and it’s again the first time I’m saying it. The left is devastated by David Duke for instance. He was in the KKK when he was young. But here is something quite amazing: I read him and I was shocked to find out that this guy knows more about Jewish identity than I do! How could a supposedly ‘racist’ Gentile who probably never entered a synagogue knows more than I do about Judaism? The reason is in fact very simple : he is a proud white man. He’s interested in nationalism, in the culture of his own people, so he understands things that I am not even allowed to think about. Believe it or not, even as a Jew, I wasn’t allowed to think of myself as a racist. I was a racist, maybe I am still one, but I was not allowed to acknowledge it. Once he acknowledges the he’s talking about white people’s rights, in a way he thinks like Avigdor Lieberma ! But in fact, he is way better than Liberman. David Duke is a humanist because he says, «I want to celebrate my right and you should celebrate your rights» whether you are Muslim or black or whatever. He believes that all people should celebrate their rights, this is his current philosophy. Avidgor Liberman is not a humanist, because he wants to celebrate his rights at the expense of other people.”

Duke hasn’t, really, changed his views over the years, just polished them and tried to drag in the gullible or those seriously hung-up on the existence of Jews.

Bird of a feather flock together?

(H/T: Adam Holland)

Update 1: The SPLC on Former Klan Leader David Duke Expelled From Italy@

“No one wants David Duke.

The former Klansman, Holocaust denier and founder of a series of hate groups was expelled from Italy in early December after a court there deemed him “socially dangerous” for allegedly planning to create a pan-European neo-Nazi group. Duke, who has fled or been expelled from several countries before, was kicked out of Italy this time after a court upheld a finding that he had entered the country on false pretenses by using his middle name, Ernest, in place of his first.”

Update 2: Not forgetting Huff Post Crime’s coverage, David Duke Arrested In Germany, Ex-Klan Leader Faces Deportation:

“Since his release from prison, Duke has traveled and lectured widely, including a 2006 appearance at a Holocaust denial conference in Tehran, Iran. The conference featured numerous speeches denouncing the Holocaust as a “myth.” At the conference, Duke voiced support for discredited, fringe scholars imprisoned in Europe for denying the use of gas chambers against Jews during the Holocaust.

In the United States, Duke continues to speak regularly at gatherings of prominent right-wing groups and writes for Stormfront, a leading white-supremacist website.”

Update 3: Well worth a read, Ron Stallworth, Police Sergeant, Chronicles His Experience As Undercover KKK Member, particularly the slideshow “A day in the life of the KKK”

Ron Stallworth’s blog and his insights make very necessary reading.
protocols1
Update 4: the SPLC looks at a new David Duke project, Anti-Semitism Illustrated: David Duke Working on New ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’:

“White supremacist David Duke has a new book coming out, of sorts – a repackaged and “illustrated” version of the notorious anti-Semitic hoax, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” But unlike previous editions of the text – all of which attempted to claim that the book was a genuine transcript of a gathering of wealthy Jews who conspired to bring about the enslavement of Western civilization – Duke is taking a different tack.

“The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” Duke now claims, is in fact a work of fiction – which means, he says, that the hoax issue is moot. Instead, as he explains in his promotional video for the book, the text is like all “great literature” – a work of art whose value lies in the greater truths it supposedly reveals about the world. ”

In all likelihood Gilad Atzmon will be endorsing that too!

Update 4: Last year the CST blog exposed Atzmon and some of his friends, Truth Movement – “Stupidest People on the Planet”??

Update 5: The SPLC takes on “Dr. Duke”:

“Former Klansman David Duke has made much of his academic credentials of late. On his website, he repeatedly refers to himself as “Dr.” David Duke, a reference to the supposed Ph.D. he “earned” in 2005 at an anti-Semitic Ukrainian institution described as a “diploma mill” by the State Department. Around the white supremacist world, excited accolades to Duke’s scholarship abound.

As the closest thing the radical right has to an intellectual today, Duke claims to uphold the high standards of academia. His website brims with criticisms of plagiarism — although they come, naturally, in the form of repeated attacks on civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who is characterized as a “world-class plagiarist.” Plagiarism, Duke’s site adds piously, is “theft,” a rip-off that the site suggests amounts to “a serious felony.”

Duke, meanwhile, continues to boast of his “Ph.D” — his website, for instance, is now headlined, “The Official Website of Representative David Duke, PhD,” although he hasn’t been a Louisiana state representative for 17 years. As to the Ph.D., well, what Duke actually got at the Ukraine’s Interregional Academy of Personnel Management is a “Kandidat Nauk” degree, which ranks below a full doctorate. It was awarded to Duke for a thesis entitled, “Zionism as a Form of Ethnic Supremacism” and was the second degree given Duke by the university, which had earlier handed the former Klan boss an honorary degree.

I Am Glad For Rev. Sizer.

Rev. Stephen Sizer has put out this statement:

“In response to the CCJ Statement, I welcome the news from Surrey police and CPS that, having “carried out a thorough and extensive review of the material in question” they have concluded that “no criminal offences have been committed. The matter has now been closed and no further action is being taken,” a conclusion which will come as no surprise to those who know and work with me.

My support for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, based on international law and recognised borders, achieved by peaceful and democratic means, has unfortunately left me open to what can only be described as an unbalanced and targeted campaign from certain quarters, a situation which is deeply regrettable.

I care passionately about the safety of the Jewish people. I repudiate racism, anti-Semitism as well as Islamophobia. I would not have posted a link to a website I knew to be anti-Semitic. Having consulted a number of Jewish friends, I now keep a small list of websites to avoid in future. I will be more careful about the origin of material I post on my blog and Facebook, and welcome opportunities for discussion with members of the Jewish community to move forwards in a spirit of mutual respect. “

I am glad that Rev. Sizer has put out this statement.

I am glad that he says he’s going to be more careful in the future, and some might think it would be churlish to asked why he made those mistakes in the past, but let us look to the future.

I hope Rev. Sizer sets an example to others and makes sure not to link to racist or extremist material, directly or indirectly.

I have thought for many years that it is a great pity that the Palestinians’ cause is so often sullied by association with anti-Jewish racism. They deserve much better.

I should point out that criticising the Israeli government, in and of itself, is not racist, as long as dual standards are not applied, historical myths perpetuated or offensive imagery used.

The Israeli government should be open to criticism, as with every government, for their actions, however, it is, how you do it, that is the issue.

When Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause associate with known racists or push their material they bring it into disrepute, as with Baroness Tonge and the conspiracy theorist, Ken O’Keefe.

Nor should we be naive enough to assume that anti-Jewish racists do not try to exploit grievances in the Middle East to foster hatred against Jews. They do, it is their agenda.

That is what Western supporters of the Palestinians’ cause need to engage with.

Some have belatedly seen the issue and try to repudiate it, which is to be commended, but as the PSC conference showed us there is still a problem.

Let us hope that Rev. Sizer, and like-minded individuals, will remember how racists will exploit any conflict with Israelis. That there is a serious need to become sensitive to anti-Jewish racism. To avoid any, however tenuous, connection to racists, extremists or their material. Finally, that ignorance is no excuse.

I welcome Rev. Sizer’s statement and hope others follow that example.

(H/T: Phil Groom)

The “Illuminati Factor”, Racism And The Palestine Telegraph

[Apologies, by necessity this post has links to racist web sites, as a public record. Sorry.]

The Palestine Telegraph is fairly popular amongst Western supporters of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, even the odd liberal Peeress read it.

That’s not too surprising, as its published in the West and has very little connection to the daily lives of people in the Middle East, rather it is a vehicle for racism against Jews.

Its pages are filled with salacious stories, plain lies and tales of “Jewish conspiracies”.

Any literate person, without a racist inclination, would see the mixture of scurrilous rumours printed as facts and conspiracy theories for what they really are, a cover for racism.

Nevertheless, as my recent exchange with a PSC supporter showed some fairly intelligent people seem to like it.

So for the sake of the public record and before it vanishes, here is one of the Palestine Telegraph’s pieces from 2010 in full. Let us hope that the penny drops with a few PSC supporters before it is too late:


Whose world are we really living in?

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World, February 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Our eyes it is said are the windows to our souls and in turn the gateway to our hearts and minds, determining what we see and feel, giving us a Conscience, which helps us to judge right from wrong, good from evil.

But just how many of us exercise this Human Sense, how many of us actually “see” and absorb what is real and what is unreal. Following from this, we must then have to ask a pertinent question- what is “reality”? Whose realities are we all living in and is it one that we, as moral members of the Human Race have willingly chosen to follow?

There are sadly far too many sleeping Consciences belonging to the thousands (if not millions) of people who choose to be Sheeple, as David Icke refers to them, totally oblivious of the “real world,” living in their own makeshift cocoon, their very own Matrix world, and unaware of the suffering and oppression that is being played out in those countries/States so far away from their shores. They perpetuate the sayings “not in my backyard”, “nothing to do with me”, “I am not interested and don’t want to get involved in politics or affairs that do not directly affect myself, my family or my way of life or my financial status!!

Is this acceptable in the 21st Century, which supposedly, has advanced mankind’s knowledge and understanding and tolerance of the Human Family.

How many of these self-centred righteous “me, me, me people” actually know or understand?? Do they not want to know that what affects their foreign neighbours will affect them sooner if not later, that time has a way to catch up, to do to them what they have done to others?

In the last century, we had quite a few devastating and hideous Wars that sacrificed the lives of millions upon millions of innocent people, but how many of the world’s community today understands the real reasons for these past atrocities- what on earth were they all for??

Both World Wars 1 and 2 affected not only the parties involved but had widespread repercussions that through time, brought unwelcome changes to some, and this in turn has caught up with us, avenging some of us savagely. In politics Time alas does not heal old wounds but festers and grows inside some of us, ticking away like a time bomb!!

At school, we all accepted the version of history that we were spoon-fed by the “Establishment”; after all, they knew better than us; they were our “experts, our intelligent academia”. They knew what they thought we needed to know!! But as events have slowly unfolded, some of us, “enlightened” ones, the Light workers, who are inquisitive, like exercising our minds independently and preferring to ask endless questions, do our own research, have found to our dismay that our “History” was and is a myth, a lie, full of deceit, and deliberate propaganda in order to sway our outlook and understanding and perceptions, enhancing and facilitating the agenda of a small group of Elite people in charge of “mind controlling” us!!

It turns out that WW1 and WW2 were planned in advance for the sake of a group following the dictates of Zionism, a non religious socio-political Ideology which puts their leaders at the top of a Pyramid, while the rest of mankind, their “servants” are piled in a heap right at the bottom, unaware of what is being instigated at the pinnacle of this structured pyramid!! It is not too dissimilar to a Social Class Ladder: the working class, that is the masses or, I prefer to use a stronger and more apt term, the Servants/Slaves; then we have the Middle class, the middle men who in turn receive their delegated orders from the higher echelons of society, their MASTERS, the Elite, Aristocracy, the “Illuminati Factor” in fact, the billionaires in Power, who are covertly controlling our world and our communities and lives, choosing methods that are abhorrent to a fair, just ethical moral Society.

These Masters, controlled by such luminaries as the Rothschild Dynasty, have been working in the wings establishing their Corporate Financial and Imperialist ,Colonialist Empire, getting richer by the day, their power increasing by the hour, while their servants, their minions, their puppets do all the hard work, shed blood sweat and tears, and physical and mental sacrifice.

“When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader….This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.” (- Plato )

Along with the increase of their personal wealth and power, their abuse and oppression has also been scaringly increasing at an abnormally fast and alarming rate, a level which has cost the lives of so many millions of innocent people, but then servants/slaves have always been expendable for these Imperial Tyrants who actually thrive on the death and destruction of the unsuspecting Masses under their thumb. We are the unwilling subjects for their sacrificial demonic pyre that is taking our lives to the depths of hell!!

What are we faced with now in the 21st Century?? Have our lives and peace of mind been placated?? Have we learnt from the past mistakes of Man’s History? Is our history inter-linked to our present and the possible outcome of our future??

The first few years of the new century has experienced far too much bloodshed. In the last years of the last century, we faced the Bosnian war and the first Gulf War in Iraq, killing thousands of innocent Iraqis, who then had to face the Sanctions, imposed by the bully and controller of the UNITED NATIONS, the Zionist controlled USA and its partner in crime Britain, whose past colonial practices are accountable for much of what has transpired in the hot bed of bloodshed in the Middle East, against the majority Muslim Arabs, the new CRUSADE of the 21st Century for our new Imperial Neo-Con Tyrants of the Illuminati/Skull/Bones/ Zionist variety. These inhuman sanctions, which the majority of the members of the U.N are shamefully guilty of and a party to, sentenced to death over one million Iraqis, 500,000 of whom were children (children whose death Madeleine Albright cruelly and insensitively proclaimed ” the price was worth it”) and also the Unborn who were deprived of their quality of life due to regular bombardment of Depleted Uranium, causing untold suffering and illnesses, some of which were carcinogenic, producing deformed offspring, tumours etc, even among the cannon fodder soldiers belonging to the Coalition Killers themselves from the USA and Britain, which their respective Governments, still to this day, deny any links with- pathetically and euphemistically called “Gulf war syndrome”, or as I would prefer to rename it – US OPERATION DEATH SYNDROME.

These Elite NeoCon Tyrants (1A) are running the show at present, arrogantly getting bolder and bolder, abusing all moral values and principles of universally accepted and recognized International Law, the tenets of the Geneva Convention, which was supposedly after WW2 intended to protect the Human Rights of all Peoples of all Nations, granting them their God given Right to Peace, Tolerance, Freedom, genuine Democracy with Justice and fair play.p>

But what is the reality for the peoples of Afghanistan, Iraq Palestine?? The former two have been blown to smithereens, especially Iraq, a Nation with an Ancient history and civilization, much, much older than the “creation” of the USA by its White Colonial Settlers!! Very much akin in fact to the “creation” of the “Jewish” state of Israel, both ironically, built on the blood sacrifice of its original indigenous peoples whose history and ancestry dates back to pre biblical times, pre Judaism and the “Biblical Israel” that had only lasted a couple of hundred years prior to the Roman Colonial Empire.

USA and Canada were systematically cleansed of its indigenous people- the Native Red Indians, as were the Aztecs/Incas of South America by the Colonial barbaric Spanish Conquistadors, and the Aborigines of Australia.

Palestine shares the same barbaric history with America’s Native Red Indians, except Palestinian cleansing is still on going and their homeland has been drastically fading away into the brutal Imperialist hands of Zionism and its overall Master “Lord” Rothschild whose Empire stretches across the globe and is not just limited to the Middle East, where, tragically for its people, he has chosen to build his Palace, his Temple, in Jerusalem , the heart of the world, the epicentre from where he plans to rule the world. (1B)

His “Israel” is one we are all told, is where the only “democracy” exists and thrives in the Middle East and where thankfully for us all, George Bush so generously phrased it, resides the “Man of Peace” to whom we owe our gratitude”, Sharon, the Butcher of Palestinians.

“Democracy”- a word Western Leaders breathe with such fiery passion but do they actually understand its true definition and, does it realistically exist or practiced to the letter of its meaning:

1) Government by the people or their elected representatives

2) Control of any organisation by its members

3) A Political or social unit governed ultimately by ALL its members

4) The practice or spirit of Social Equality

5) A social condition of classlessness and Equality

6) The common people, especially as a political force

Do any of the criteria from these various definitions actually exist within Western Society and culture?? Are they all a free classless Society where equality abounds supreme? Do their “elected” leaders truly represent the very people that put them in their privileged positions of authority?? Do they practice the Human spirit of social equality??

Just how many of us have experienced or observed such a Utopian world as this Western democracy boasts so proudly about? Where is it? Which country has it? Why doesn’t the majority of the world’s population live in it if it truly exists?

Certainly it is non existent in the UK where there still thrives a a divided Class tier society- the working/Middle classes, usually the poor within this Community, and then the Upper Class, the Elite, the billionaires, the millionaires. This tier exists and is reflected in the differing standards between the two groups, in their lifestyles, their education and prospects in life, and future well being.

But is one man’s Utopia another man’s hell!!? Perhaps this Utopia can be found in the bastion of all “democracies” that is, in the centre of intellectual, religious Political, Socio- Economic Supremacy, “Israel?” (2)

Here we have a racist State that was “created” for the sole purpose of housing Exclusivity to the morally superior Jews only. This they justify based on what they claim, a bit like George Bush himself, “Divine” intervention and selection, that is, they were the “Chosen Ones”. But what is wrong with this? How can the God of the Universe, the Mentor, Creator and Father of Mankind, in all His infinite Mercy and Love, justify this biased exclusivity, to the tragic cost of the rest of Humanity? Surely God should love us all equally and not turn His back on the rest of His Family??

We then have another scenario where these Jews biblically justify their violent actions against the people of biblical Palestine because it is “ordained to them”, written in their holy scriptures, their Torah/Talmud and the Old Testament in Deuteronomy in which, when they sacked Jerusalem upon arriving from afar, from “distant lands”, God supposedly gave them permission to slaughter everyone in sight, men, women, children, young and old, and only saving and taking for themselves the virgin young girls!!

Numbers 31:13-18, 32-35 (KJV)

“And Moses said unto them: Have ye saved all the women alive?
Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

But all the women, children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. (http://www.come-and-hear.com/supplement/ot-select.html)

This Divine right has perpetuated, throughout history right into the 21st Century.

This Scofflaw State that is America’s greatest friend, her bosom pal, that bleeds dry the taxpayers of the USA and Europe! :

“If you wish to colonize a land in which people are already living, you must provide a garrison for the land, or find some rich man or benefactor who will provide a garrison on your behalf (Vladimir Jabotinsky)

So what is so great about Israel’s boasted “only civilized democracy in the Middle East”?

Here we have a Nation that is comprised of West/East European immigrants, the vast majority of whom have not an ounce of true Semitic Jewish blood or ancestry, but are Converts, and who, for the most part, are totally irreligious and follow, not a faith but a racist ideology/dogma, Zionism.(3)

What does this Zionism represent for us all, especially the Natives of the Middle East and why is it being funded by the USA?

(http://www.palestinemonitor.org/factsheet/Raiding%20the%20US%20Treasury.htm

There exists today a tragedy being played out in Iraq and Palestine which was carefully planned and executed by the Israeli NeoCons of USA. Their illegal war has inflicted thousands of deaths, killing, maiming and turning a nation of people into paraplegics and cancer sufferers, while thousands of others are being indiscriminately imprisoned and tortured and tormented, caged in by Zionist run concentration camps. Palestinians have endured this, not for a year, like the wretched Iraqis, but for gone on 60 years!

Iraq has its Abu Ghraib, Afghanis have Guantanamo and Palestinians have: Facility 1391

“(O)ne of the darker corners of Israel.” (3a)

“No country in peacetime, not even the Soviets or the Red Chinese in the heyday of their Gulags – has held as many prisoners per capita as the nation of Israel. It is one of the few nations that will not officially renounce the use of torture. It has long been high on the list of the offenders compiled by Amnesty International. The London Times Magazine did an extensive exposé on Israeli torture in the 1970s, the 1980s and 1990s. The inescapable fact is that Israel was born and built by invasion, murder, and theft. Such injustice requires the use of force and terror to maintain its power.”

(http://www.solargeneral.com/library/jewishsupremacism.pdf )

Hunger for power and domination is one of their goals, which they are gradually achieving through the unflinching support of such notaries as the U.S.A’s George Bush and the UK’s Blair under the tutelage of their masters- Wolfowitz, Perle, Rumsfeld, Feith, Cheney, Kissinger and of course Rothschild himself no less. These NeoCons have been another “Godsend” for Israel which throughout its creation, in 1948, has expanded its initial borders and has encroached on Palestinian land and Human Rights.(4)

“The removal of Arabs bodily from Palestine is part of the Zionist plan to “spirit the penniless population across the frontier by denying it employment…Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried away discreetly and circumspectly.” Theodore Herzl,

“Zionist colonization must either be terminated or carried out against the wishes of the native population. This colonization can, therefore, be continued and make progress only under the protection of a power independent of the native population – an iron wall, which will be in a position to resist the pressure to the native population. (Jabotinsky) http://www.cactus48.com/verses.html

We are told that Israel is a poor tiny little State, trying to defend itself, surrounded by heathen aggressive neighbours, The Arabs, majority of whom, if not all, are Semites, belonging to both the Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths. (4B)

How can Israel be such a poor defenceless little State when she is the second largest Nuclear country in the world with huge stockpiles of Nuclear warheads, Chemical and biological weapons (5) and is the biggest country that exercises extensive espionage on its Allied friends/supporters/beneficiaries, having stolen highly sensitive military data from the USA and sold it to such partners as China and India.(6). But who holds Israel accountable for her nuclear arsenal (hidden in the Negev (7) which individuals like Vannunu tried to expose to the World and which cost him his freedom, taking years out of his life!

Israeli Nuclear Policies Threaten World Peace which threatens a Worldwide nuclear holocaust, all part of Israel’s foreign policy, defense strategy.

One Israeli Professor and military historian went so far as to state that –

‘We Could Destroy All European Capitals ‘ and hinted that Israel could avenge the holocaust by annihilating millions of Germans and other Europeans.” is this the true realities of Israel .

The only option that has been given to Palestinians is to follow

“the road of Apartheid and the continued Nazification of Israel itself. These are indeed strong words. Israel is guilty of implementing policies of collective punishment, extra-judicial executions (without trials), legalized torture, the creation of Bantustans, the ghetto-ization of entire villages all point to the “Nazification” of Israel’ (7B)

while a Zionist minister calls for incinerating Damascus, Beirut – Avigdor Lieberman, (a cousin of the US Senator Lieberman) said Israel should “incinerate Beirut and Damascus” in retaliation for resistance attacks in the West Bank. An Israeli cabinet minister said Wednesday the Zionist state should carry out devastating air strikes against Syria and Lebanon if Palestinian resistance groups continued to fight Israel’s colonialist occupation. He continues:

“We should take advantage of our military superiority and visit Syrian and Lebanon with destruction for their support of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.” Lieberman had called for bombing several Arab and Islamic capitals including Tehran and the Aswan Adam in Egypt. The current Israeli government includes some of the most extremist right-wing figures who openly advocate ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland.’ (7C)

What kind of democratic Utopia does Israel have when most of its leaders committed massacres throughout their youth/adult lives? (7D)

Why in this perfect democracy that people would just “die for” does Israel have so much drug trafficking, Slavery and prostitution, a country run by mafia gangsters who operate obscene practices, carrying out terror and corruption throughout the country, (and abroad) led by another criminal and self professed murderer, the butcher immigrant Ariel Sharon, along with his fraudulent sons.

“”And you can write that I am disgrace to humanity, I don’t mind, on the contrary. Let’s make a deal: I will do all I can to expel the Arabs from here, I will do all I can to increase anti-Semitism, and you will write poems and essays about the misery of the Arabs and be prepared to absorb the Yids I will force to flee to this country and teach them to be a light unto the gentiles. How about it?” (Ariel Sharon to Amos Oz 1982) (10)

While George Bush boasts the moral virtues of the “Man of Peace”, Sharon and the democracy of Israel, it appears that other communities do not share this high powered view, according to Ed Blanche, a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London:

“Israel has always boasted that it was an island of democracy in a sea of dictatorships and autocratic regimes in the Middle East. But a study by the Israel Democracy Institute and the Gutman Center published Friday showed that support for democracy among Israeli Jews had plunged to its lowest level in 20 years, down to 77 percent from the steady 90 percent of recent years. That reflects what many see as a troubling erosion of Israelis’ perception of democracy and the necessity for it to exist.

In public opinion polls relating to support for democracy conducted in 32 countries between 1999 and 2001, Israel now ranks in the lowest tier.”

Ironically, George Bush reveals some shocking truths which unfortunately he blindly does not acknowledge exists and is rife within America’s greatest friend and ally:

:”There is another humanitarian crisis, spreading and yet hidden from view. Each year, an estimated eight to nine hundred thousand human beings are bought, sold, or forced across the world’s borders. Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as five, who fall victim to the sex trade. This commerce in human life generates billions of dollars each year, much of which is used to finance organized crime.

There is a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life, an underworld of brutality and lonely fear. Those who create these victims, and profit from their suffering, must be severely punished. Those who patronize this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others. And governments that tolerate this trade are tolerating a form of slavery.” (10b)

George Bush ought to take a leaf or two out of his “moral and ethical sermon” and punish Israel for this inhuman behaviour that debases women and young girls. As he himself stated: This commerce in human life generates billions of dollars each year, much of which is used to finance organized crime”. And he should know, as his own father’s business ventures are involved, along with his mentor Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld

Surely Israel does not need the billions it receives from American taxpayers as it receives ample funds from this evil trade as well as the revenue it also gets from its Arms and Drugs smuggling and espionage, selling secrets that its agents, be they Art students or Mossad, sell to such nations as China and India, as well as trading in Human Organs at the expense of dead young Palestinians whose organs are taken out and sold to world markets or used within Israel itself. (10C)

It therefore appears that Human morality applies to Israelis, the “Blood royals”, and not to the “Amalekite children of the Arabs”. .The United States government is being utilized as “the hammer of Amalek. This is the true meaning of the phrase “clash of civilizations” and the Arabs had better prepare themselves for months or years of slow-motion genocide – all this attack is intended therefore, to implement the rabbinic injunction of exterminating “the ArabAmalek (and all those “who act like Amalek”).

“And in this fashion, we will end the war and settle our forefathers’ account with Egypt, Assyria, and Aram -David Ben Gurion where ” Not one village, not one tribe should be left.” Joseph Weitz and so the need for “an iron wall, which will be in a position to resist the pressure to the native population- Vladimir Jabotinsky

America’s NeoCons and the rest of the Zionist crew in the Pentagon, the White House and to a degree the present British Government are steeped in this doctrine.

Have we as collective Humanity reached our point of no return?

“By tricking the population into acceptance of greater and greater atrocities, the dictator will eventually reach a position where the people will be too afraid to examine what they themselves have become. Trapped by the fear of examining themselves, such people turn into the most fanatical of the dictator’s supporters. They dare not look at the dictator’s evil for to do so is to look at their own. Once the dictator can trick his people past that point, they are his slaves” – Mike Rivero

How much longer must we all be subjugated by the arch-terrorist Israeli state”, founded in terror by terrorists, and whose “Zionism”, a “colonization adventure which stands or falls by the question of armed force” is based on Racist ideology and exclusivity!

That is the reality of the State of Israel, its Allies, Partners and offshoots, and it’s so called democracy and love for freedom and peace, whose overall Doctrine works to the detriment, security and Well being of Mankind and World Peace.

Do we in all honesty, want to continue living in this Matrix world of theirs??

maisoon

1A) “Reality has never been a constraint” to Neoconservatives. “They are not the kind of people that America as a nation are proud of.”

On video: Karen Kwiatkowski

1B) http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9DCD41A2-E372-4732-8F1A-411EC28F603D.htm

2) http://www.texemarrs.com/jewish_master_race.htm

3) http://counterpunch.org/christison11082003.html

3a) http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/29_01_04_c.asp

The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1084736,00.html

4) http://www.icahd.org/eng/articles.asp?menu=6&submenu=3

(4B) (http://www.thehandstand.org/archive/december2003/articles/semitic.htm

5) Israel’s Weapons of Mass : http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1082542148627&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724

and http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/18/international0156EST0428.DTL

http://www.aljazeerah.info/26%20o/Israel’s%20Weapons%20of%20Mass%20Destruction%20By%20Hussain%20Khan.htm

6) http://www.alternet.org/members/story.html?StoryID=17820

7) http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=14445

(7B) http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/4826/PHPSESSID=41d39d80ec3ac8c527b990a9cd5906f0

7C) http://www.counterpunch.com/fredman03032004.html

7D) http://www.allaahuakbar.net/jew/israeli_massacres.htm

8) http://www.dailystar.com.lb/opinion/27_12_03_e1.asp gangs

8B) http://www.wrmea.com/html/us_aid_to_israel.htm#STRATEGIC Israel’s worth

9) http://www.rense.com/general34/esde.htm

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=238653

10) http://www.voicesofpalestine.org/ArielSharon.asp

10b) http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=238653

10C) http://www.alkhilafah.info/massacres/palestine/index14.htm

11) http://www.christusrex.org/www2/koestler/

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2003/3007neocon_hoax.html

Behind the Iraq Dossier Hoax:Intelligence Was Cooked in Israel Jeffrey Steinberg

By maisoon August 2006

Thanks to Martin.

Slices Of World

Meant to post this a few days back, but forgot

There are plenty of things going on in the world, but we shouldn’t forget the dog whistles of racism that Jeff Goldberg finds in the race for the US Presidency:

“Dog-whistling — the use of coded, ambiguous language to appeal to the prejudices of certain subsets of voters — is one of the darkest political arts. In this race, Newt Gingrich is streets ahead of his nearest competitor in its use. In addition to his comments about black children working as janitors, he has repeatedly referred to Obama as the country’s “food-stamp president.”

The genius of dog-whistling is its deniability. It would be difficult for a figure such as Rush Limbaugh to run for public office, given his record of fairly straightforward race-baiting. (Limbaugh, who in the words of Harvard Law School’s Randall Kennedy is an “excellent entrepreneur of racial resentment,” has been on a tear lately. He has accused Obama — who he says “talks honky” around white people — and the first lady of abusing public funds as payback for the ill-treatment afforded their ancestors.)

But “food-stamp president” is just indirect enough that Gingrich is protected from detrimental blowback, at least during the largely white Republican primaries.

Kennedy, who studies the role of race in national elections, told me last week of a rule he uses to measure whether a candidate’s appeal to prejudice will succeed: If it takes more than two sentences for a critic to explain why a dog-whistle is a dog-whistle, the whistler wins. Gingrich seems to understand this, and so, despite criticism from blacks, has made the term “food-stamp president” a staple of his stump speeches.”

Elsewhere Celebrity Deathmatch: Who Has More Celebrity Endorsements? makes strange reading, Ron Paul is rather popular.

The ADL’s Center on Extremism and Research’s blog is worth a read, with a fine post entitled Racists and Bigots to Descend on CPAC Conference in Washington, DC

“The February 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual event that features a wide variety of speakers from conservative circles, will host a session on “the failure of multiculturalism” that will include racist Peter Brimelow as a speaker. “

It exposes Pamela Geller’s latest activities:

“The latest outgrowth of the trans-Atlantic cooperation between anti-Muslim activists was announced on January 17 by Pamela Geller, head of Stop Islamization of American (SIOA). Geller announced on her blog that SIOA, an organization that promotes a conspiratorial anti-Muslim agenda under the guise of fighting radical Islam, is joining forces with its sister organization in Denmark, Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE), whose campaigns against Islam in Europe have influenced Geller’s campaigns in the U.S.”

Keith Kahn-Harris’s reviewed Gilad Atzmon’s recent book:

“The book is a peculiar mix of polemic, philosophising and personal narrative which creates a veneer of radicalism and up to date thinking. But, beneath it all, Atzmon is more conventional that he thinks he is. Ultimately, The Wandering Who? boils down to a number of hoary old anti-semitic tropes:

When Jews appear to be assimilating, they are really infiltrating and subverting.

When Jews identify themselves as Jews, they are primitive separatists.

Jews are obsessively concerned with attaining power and influence.

Jews are responsible for the hatred they attract.

The holocaust myth is simply a Jewish strategy to gain power through the world’s guilt. The Wandering Who? is an anti-Semitic book certainly, but is it a dangerous book? So ludicrous are his arguments and so pompous is his tone that it is tempting to dismiss Atzmon as a crank.

More genuinely disturbing is the fact that this book was published at all. Zero Books is a small company that has published some excellent quirky philosophy and intellectually rigorous criticism; they should have seen the book for what it was. (The book is endorsed by figures like Richard Falk, John Mearsheimer and Karl Sabbagh who, while strong critics of Israel and Zionism, should have heard alarm bells ringing when they saw the chapter entitled ‘Swindler’s List’). Ironically, it is precisely Atzmon’s Jewish background that gains him this platform, providing an alibi for his antisemitism.

Surely, that should be ‘their’ not ‘his’, not bad but too charitable toward Atzmon’s allies.

On a related theme, Germany’s old problem, neo-Nazi gangs into focus.

News International and phone hacking is unlikely to die down as the Police have been given access to Data Pool 3.

Belatedly the Guardian admits mistakes, probably printed on page 52, bottom column in small print.

How Afghanistan boys walked to Europe.

At the Debate Link, the tale of rigging the system so your opponents can’t get on the ballot.

Finally, this depressing piece from the JC, Fogel murderer’s family praises ‘hero’ killer.

The Palestine Telegraph And Racism

[Warning, by necessity and as an illustration this post contains links to racist web sites and material. Apologies. ]

One of my readers asked me to “find any racist material in a 4-5 minute trawl of the Palestine Telegraph home page today.”

Cleverly, the request is deliberately restricted to the homepage of the Palestine Telegraph, which we could assume, as with many racist websites, is not going to have the most hard-hitting material.

Often when you study racist websites you find the salacious racism hidden behind a nice facade, and so it is with the Palestine Telegraph.

Readers should bear in mind that racism comes in many different strands and intensities. Those that push it do not always use the crudest methods, as can be seen below.

Firstly, on the front page of the Palestine Telegraph, there is a picture of Newt Gingrich, surprisingly wearing a kippah and the article contains this piece:

“It is generally considered taboo in the United States and even evidence of “anti-Semitism” to talk about the influence of “Jewish” or pro-Israel money in elections. That a former Gingrich advisor and well-known Republican pundit is doing so openly is a notable development.”

So in this piece we see two main messages, one that Newt Gingrich is beholden to Jews and there is ‘the influence of “Jewish” or pro-Israel money in elections‘. Therefore, according to the article, it is Jews that somehow buy elections in the US.

Still it is not that crude, more of what American call a political dog whistle.

Now anyone remotely familiar with old fashion antisemitic imagry will remember the racist lie about “Jews controlling the world”, which has mutated to “Jews control US elections”.

Secondly, there is a piece entitled “The Jews go to war (with themselves)” taken from the well known racist site, Redress.

The piece’s author, Lawrence Davidson, believes there is a dictatorship in Israel as evidence in this contribution “Zionist-Israeli Dictatorship Comes to Full Cycle With Netanyahu” where he argues:

“About five million Jews enjoy full rights while eleven million Palestinian Christians and Muslims have been denied any human rights, deprived of citizenship, and half of them have been forced to live under the brutal Israeli military occupation since 1967.

Only about one and a half million Palestinians were allowed to stay inside the Zionist state with citizenship but without equal rights.

Now the Zionist dictatorship is extending suppression to Jews, showing the dictatorial, racist, apartheid Israeli regime for what it really is.”

I won’t pick apart the obvious mathematical error of 11 million and the monomaniacal tone which aggressively exudes from his work, but suffice to say Dr. Davidson’s hyperbole suggests that he doesn’t know what real dictatorships, like Burma, North Korea, etc look like.

Looking at the opinion pieces in the Palestine Telegraph we are treated to a meandering tract from Laura Booth where she quotes the racist, Gilad Atzmon:

“In 2003, he wrote in an essay; ‘There is no anti-Semitism any more. In the devastating reality created by the Jewish state, anti-Semitism has been replaced by political reaction’. This is a point he returns to this evening. “

That is a common theme found amongst anti-Jewish racists. They don’t want to have to deal with or explain the reality of racial violence against Jews in Britain, which even the BBC and the Guardian report on.

Elsewhere the Palestine Telegraph asks the question, “Which is more evil, al-Qaeda or Israel?” By now readers can guess what the Palestine Telegraph’s answer is.

Not unsurprisingly, the Palestine Telegraph publishes a very sympathetic piece on Fred Toben, well-known Holocaust denier. That’s just for starters.

So racism, yes, you can find it at the Palestine Telegraph. It is not always the crude stuff of neo-Nazi web sites. They learnt their lesson after pushing David Dukes videos. The racism is there, if you are sensitive to it.

One final example from the Palestine Telegraph:

It turns out that WW1 and WW2 were planned in advance for the sake of a group following the dictates of Zionism, a non religious socio-political Ideology which puts their leaders at the top of a Pyramid, while the rest of mankind, their “servants” are piled in a heap right at the bottom, unaware of what is being instigated at the pinnacle of this structured pyramid!! It is not too dissimilar to a Social Class Ladder: the working class, that is the masses or, I prefer to use a stronger and more apt term, the Servants/Slaves; then we have the Middle class, the middle men who in turn receive their delegated orders from the higher echelons of society, their MASTERS, the Elite, Aristocracy, the “Illuminati Factor” in fact, the billionaires in Power, who are covertly controlling our world and our communities and lives, choosing methods that are abhorrent to a fair, just ethical moral Society.

These Masters, controlled by such luminaries as the Rothschild Dynasty, have been working in the wings establishing their Corporate Financial and Imperialist ,Colonialist Empire, getting richer by the day, their power increasing by the hour, while their servants, their minions, their puppets do all the hard work, shed blood sweat and tears, and physical and mental sacrifice.”

The Palestine Telegraph is replete with monomaniacs, racists and 911 truthers, so those that read it should be aware of its authors and their obvious agenda, the advancement of anti-Jewish racism.

I do not believe it is representative of Palestinian opinions as it is published in Britain and many of its authors are not Palestinians, rather people with serious chips on their shoulders, against Jews.

The Palestine Telegraph is filled with negative imagery of Jews, conspiracy theories, the works of racists, etc., it should be avoided by anyone who is genuinely committed to anti-racism and those that wish a peaceful resolution to conflicts in the Middle East.

Jeremy Moodey and The PSC Set Me Thinking

[Warning: by necessity this post contains links to racist web sites, as evidence. Apologies. ]

After my brief exchange with Jeremy Moodey I decided to test a theory.

I wondered how long it would take me to find something really unsavory in the posts of a pro-Palestinian activist? A day? A week? Or even longer?

As I knew Jeremy said he doesn’t “have an anti-Semitic bone in my body”, and I believe him, he seemed a good candidate.

If Jeremy was right it would take ages or be an impossible task.

Sadly, it was shockingly easy.

Exhibit no. 1,
Jeremy Moodey’s Twitter account is following the unusually named wikizionism. They seem to be a neo-Nazi creation as suggested by their publishing of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and a piece by William Pierce. He was the brains behind the National Alliance, the American neo-Nazis and the author of the Turner Diaries. There’s a lot more racist filth there, but that enough.

That took about 30 seconds, allowing for a slow Twitter.

Next, I wondered if Jeremy had pushed any links to antisemitic sites in his tweets, by mistake of course.

That I thought would be harder and take forever, as Jeremy wasn’t some crank.

In fact, Jeremy was a potential Tory candidate and is an ex-Banker. Obviously he’s very smart, not a hothead or flake material, so presumably would see through any disguised racism.

Exhibit no. 2, Jeremy approvingly links to a Palestinian Telegraph article:

“Article on how the Board of Deputies stifles free speech in the UK through unfounded accusations of anti-semitism dld.bz/a88Qb

Readers will remember how the Palestine Telegraph published a David Duke video and wrote revolting articles accusing Jews of organ theft. I could go on, but a quick scan of their articles reveals that same disgusting conspiratorial racist tone. Yuck.

Exhibit no. 3,

“#PSC is under pressure from allegations of a Marxist takeover and (wrongly) anti-Semitism. Should be an interesting AGM bit.ly/z8yIHY

I was going to stop there, but it occurred to me that Jeremy had, conceivably, a dark sense of humour when he linked to the racist Uprooted Palestinians blog. Or perhaps I am being charitable?

It is a Gilad Atzmon fan site and run by the cranks, Stephen Lendman and Stuart Littlewood. If you ever want to see naked racism and 9/11 truthers then such a blog is made for you.

That took about 3 minutes.

So in the space of about 4-5 minutes it was trivial to find how a PSC supporter (and I assume Jeremy is one) used racist material, linked to it or at the very least read it.

I imagine the defence would be something like “these were mistakes, trivia, not of consequence” or something similar. The problem with that excuse is, I should not have been able to find any racist material in the first place, connected to a PSC supporter but I did.

As I said, I believe him when he says “I do not have an anti-Semitic bone in my body “.

But then again maybe we define antisemitism differently?

I am sure that Jeremy is one of that 81% of PSCers that reject Holocaust denial.

I can only guess what would have happened had I looked into the PSC’s 17%. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

[But enough of the humour, just in case people misunderstand me. Having read Jeremy Moodey’s tweets with some care, I do not believe he is an antisemite, or anything close to that. He strikes me as having a genuine concern for Christians in Israel/West Bank.

Yet it is disturbing to find racist material so nearby. Not 100% sure what to make of it.]

The Stupid Host the Racist, Gilad Atzmon

Some stupid people around Bradford have decided to host the racist, Gilad Atzmon.

I say, stupid because it is probably better to assume ignorance than malice in most situations.

However, it is getting harder and harder to understand how anyone with access to the Internet could be ignorant of Atzmon’s racism.

Firstly, Atzmon’s work is peppered with conspiracy theories, a key componant of anti-Jewish racism.

Next, Atzmon constantly denigrates Jews and Jewish history.

Further, his “criticism” such as they comprise, are aimed squarely at Jews.

In short, any considered review of his work would have to conclude that he is a racist towards Jews.

Now the trite response is that “he is a Jew too, therefore can’t be racist against Jews.”

This line of argument conveniently forgets that it is what you do that confirms the charge of racism or not. Not who you are.

A person’s own ethnicity is a quinary consideration at best.

Rather what is most important is the content of what they say, its relationship to traditional racist imagery and myths, and how its fits in the wider scheme of racist thinking.

If you think a Jew can’t invoke racism against other Jews then ask yourself, can Chris Rock/Eddie Murphy invoke racial imagery when they use old stereotypes of African-Americans? Of course they can.

It it what people do, not their own ethnicity, that defines if their actions are racist or not

Or look at it another way, suppose a woman pushed sexism and sexist imagery, the retort “she can’t be sexist, she’s a woman” would probably be ignored by those keen to absolve Atzmon of racism as nonsense, and rightly so. Anyone can be racist, anyone can be sexist.

Any thoughtful person would have to conclude that such a line of argumentation is woefully inadequate as it does not engage with the content of Atzmon’s racism, which is the real point.

So we are back to those stupid people in Bradford at Raise Your Banner.

I think they should read this great piece by Nick Lowles at HOPE not hate.

Update 1: Over at Lancaster Unity, Atzmon Quotes From BNP Website To Attack Hope Not Hate. I wonder what his defenders at Raise Your Banner think of that?

Gilad Atzmon And The Friends of Palestine Society

News has reached us that the racist, Gilid Atzmon, is polluting students’ minds.

According to Exeposé, the Exeter University student newspaper, Atzmon was invited by the student’s Friends of Palestine Society.

Not unsurprisingly they deny that he is a racist.

No doubt the student friends of Atzmon will be able to explain away his conspiratorial statements:

“we must begin to take the accusation that the Jewish people are trying to control the world very seriously…. American Jewry makes any debate on whether the ‘Protocols of the elder of Zion’ are an authentic document or rather a forgery irrelevant. American Jews do try to control the world, by proxy. So far they are doing pretty well for themselves at least.”

Students with access to Wiki and web will be able to research how conspiracy theories are at the heart of anti-Jewish racism.

Hopefully having educated themselves on this form of racism they can not fail to conclude that Gilad Atzmon is a racist.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign Replies

Over at the New Statesman, the PSC replies to Rob Marchant’s critical article.

Hugh Lunning argues:

“This doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is committed to equality, and actively opposes racism and anti-Semitism, because they are fundamentally wrong — this reflects who we are, what we believe in, where we come from.”

Yet Mr. Lunning fails to deal with the specifics of over 10 PSC branches linking to racism, clear anti-Jewish racist material,

Engage provide details of the PSC’s problems with racism in their post, Evidence is emerging that the PSC tolerates antisemitism:

“Follow the links. Make a judgment about whether and why and how the Palestine Solidarity Campaign tolerates antisemitism. Debates on defining antisemitism should begin with a detailed look at the phenomenon being defined.

UPDATE: More from Norwich PSC

Leicester PSC

York and Leeds PSC

Norwich PSC

Norwich PSC

Norwich PSC

Norwich PSC

Liverpool PSC

West Midlands PSC

Scottish PSC

Bristol PSC

Reading PSC

Camden PSC

Waltham Forest PSC

Waltham Forest PSC

PSC backed Gilad Atzmon

PSC hosted repeater of blood libel

Again, all the fine words in the world from Mr. Lunning will not make the facts vanish. He has not address why ten plus branches of the PSC deliberately spread anti-Jewish racism.

Gilad Atzmon And A UFO Cult

I hadn’t appreciated it but the well known racist, Gilad Atzmon is a Honorary Raelian Priest.

Apparently, this weird religious grouping, believes that humans are the product of alien intervention or creation. It is a UFO cult.

Rick Ross has more on these cranks. I liked this piece by Geoff Stead from 1999:

“Sometime soon, aliens will descend on the Earth and snatch 144,000 humans. The chosen thousands will be whisked away to another dimension where they will remain while the world they knew is destroyed.

When the dust of the cataclysm finally settles, the hostages will be scattered back on the planet to begin rebuilding the human race, mostly through cloning methods.

Of course, the theory is totally unbelievable….unless you are a follower of the bizarre UFO-based cult known as the Raelian religion. Surprisingly, more than 40,000 people world wide are devotees.

That includes a Gold Coast group based in Mudgeeraba which met yesterday to discuss their extraterrestrial theories.

Among the planned activities was viewing a video message from the cult’s founder, former French sports journalist Claude Voril-hon, who visited Queensland in 1997.

Voril-hon, who changed his name to “Rael”, claims to have been visited by aliens in 1973 who told him they created the human race through cloning more than 25,000 years ago.

“Human cloning is a way to eternal life,” said the cult’s scientific director Brigitte Boisselier. “We embrace it because the Raelian religion is a religion of science.

The “religion’s” head-quarters is in Montreal where it operates a theme park called UFOland.

Attractions include a full size replica of the spaceship Voril-hon claims visited him, a giant model of DNA and displays on cloning and genetics. What isn’t openly explained is why only 144,000 Earthlings will be taken when the aliens return.

For that information, it seems you have to join the organisation. And there appears to be no shortage of people who have signed up.”

I suppose the lesson is that culties can like racists too?

Not forgetting that David Duke is a fan of Gilad Atzmon as well.

(H/T: Adam Holland)

New Statesman, Examples Of Racism

Rob Marchant’s article at the New Statesman certainly stirred up the bigots.

The comments box there is stuffed full of very questionable reasoning and praise for the racist, Gilad Atzmon.

Elsewhere I found one of Rob’s old posts at Labour List, Our tolerance of extremism will do for us.

The warnings in that post have been born out by the rejection of Raed Salah’s appeal.

The CST has more:

“The tribunal considered five pieces of evidence against Salah: a poem he had authored which we argued could incite hatred of Jews, but which Salah argued was not antisemitic; a speech in which he made a ‘blood libel’ slur against Jews, but which Salah claimed was not about Jews; Salah’s inflammatory claims that Israel intends to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque; the outstanding charges he currently faces in Israel for incitement to violence and to antisemitism; and Salah’s conviction for funding organisations linked to Hamas.

When these allegations were first aired, Salah denied having written the poem; denied making the blood libel comment; denied facing any charges in Israel; and denied any links to Hamas. Only after CST provided evidence to the contrary, did Salah admit to having written the poem and making the blood libel comment, and argued instead that CST’s interpretation of those texts was wrong. He also admitted his conviction for funding organisations linked to Hamas, but claimed this was for “charitable and humanitarian purposes.””

This is Salah’s poem:

“You Jews are criminal bombers of mosques,
Slaughterers of pregnant women and babies.
Robbers and germs in all times,
The Creator sentenced you to be loser monkeys,
Victory belongs to Muslims, from the Nile to the Euphrates.”

I think most considered people would see the racism there, but as Rob points out, that’s not enough.

Atzmon, Racism And His Supporters.

Gilad Atzmon is a litmus test.

Although, he is not a very significant person, Gilad Atzmon does represent a wider problem, the continued existence of racism towards Jews.

Additionally, by gauging attitudes towards him it is possible to tell if people are genuinely interested in peace in the Middle East or they simply have hangups with Jews.

Whilst it is perfectly possible to legitimately disagree with what any Middle Eastern government does, including Israel, and campaign against them, once you get onto the topic of Jewish identity and the delegitimisation of it then you are in another territory entirely.

Once antagonism towards Israel and Israelis has crystallised into antagonism towards the history of Jews then you are squarely outside of legitimate political concerns.

So by looking at Gilad Atzmon’s most vocal supporters it is possible to determine just how far their racism goes.

Many other sites have covered the contents and rantings of Atzmon’s new book, I would recommend the CST’s critique, as it describes in detail the nature of the racism to be found in that odious publication.

Equally, Engage have covered him many times and is worth a considerated read to understand the gestation of this problem.

Bob from Brockley has an excellent summary of the history of events.

But returning to the original point, the litmus test, it comes as no surprise to me that the Britain2Gaza campaign are very keen on Gilad Atzmon, as can be seen from their approving tweets of his nonsense:

“@britain2gaza Britain2Gaza
Gilad Atzmon speaking in North London about his book ‘The Wandering Who, A study of Jewish Identity Politics’ tonight

4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply
Retweeted by ajit8_ and 3 others”

The final word goes to Mark Gardner at the CST:

“CST has consistently warned about the antisemitic route down which some anti-Zionists have careered these last few years. This book shows exactly where they have ended up. Support for this book, while perhaps in a minority amongst anti-Zionists, reveals the shocking extent to which, for some anti-Zionists, their struggle has gone from focusing upon Palestinian rights to focusing upon Jews.