Ho ho ho--doubt UK is slave to k*kes?--50 MPs suspended for "anti-semitism" (criticism of Israel)

Apollonian

Guest Columnist
Labour has secretly suspended 50 members for anti-Semitic and racist comments

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...suspended-50-members-for-anti-semitic-and-ra/

By Kate McCann, Senior Political Correspondent
2 May 2016 • 10:51pm


Labour has secretly suspended 50 of its members over anti-Semitic and racist comments as officials struggle to cope with the crisis engulfing the party.

Senior sources reveal that Labour's compliance unit has been swamped by the influx of hard-left supporters following Jeremy Corbyn's election.

Ranieri tells fans: We want to improve a lot Claudio Ranieri tells fans 'we want to improve a lot' Play! 01:40

The suspensions that have been made public so far are said to be just the tip of the iceberg.

On Monday night Mr Corbyn appeared to acknowledge there was a problem for the first time, while insisting it was "not huge". He told the Daily Mirror: "What there is is a very small number of people that have said things that they should not have done. We have therefore said they will be suspended and investigated."

Nah Shah was suspended for comments she made about the "relocation" of Israel

There is growing pressure on the Labour leader ahead of the local elections on Thursday, in which his party is forecast to lose more than 100 seats.

Senior figures are now so concerned about the row that they are openly discussing the possibility of an attempted coup following the EU referendum.

MPs are said to be plotting a coup to remove Mr Corbyn after the election if things go badly, with shadow chancellor John McDonnell poised to take over.

It prompted Mr McDonnell to issue an extraordinary denial of the claims on Monday night.

“What we see, to our sadness, [is] a pretty serious problem in the current party membership”

Jonathan Arkush, Board of Deputies of British Jews

He said: "Media and right wing dirty tricks and lies trying to divide me and Jeremy. They should know it only unites us even more and makes us stronger."

Also on Sunday night shadow education secretary Lucy Powell became the first shadow cabinet minister to acknowledge the party had a problem with anti-Semitism.

She told Channel 4 News : "There clearly is an issue with anti-Semitism in the Labour Party otherwise we wouldn't have spent the best part of the last six or seven days talking about it.

"I think it is a very small element within the Labour Party and probably a small element in wider society as well. And that's why we are taking swift action to root it out."

On Monday it emerged that the party suspended three councillors within seven hours over a series of allegedly anti-Semitic posts on Twitter and Facebook.

Two of them had called for Israeli Jews to be relocated to America while a third compared a former Premier League footballer to Hitler.

Diane Abbott clashes with Andrew Marr while defending Labour Diane Abbott clashes with Andrew Marr while defending Labour Play! 01:00

A senior source within the party told The Telegraph that the problem went much further and the compliance unit has actually suspended 50 members in the past two months.

They include up to 20 members within the past two weeks alone, with the unit struggling to cope because it does not have necessary resources.

Only 13 Labour members have been publicly named since October after being suspended. The source said: "There are just six people in the compliance unit with one more joining after the EU referendum and frankly, it's nowhere near enough.

"They can't cope with the number of new members that have joined since Jeremy became leader, they need more resources."

John McDonnell once called for an end to the compliance unit

Mr Corbyn is facing one of the most dangerous periods of his leadership after he was last week forced to suspend Naz Shah, a Labour MP, and Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London, over alleged anti-Semitic comments.

Jonathan Arkush, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said that Mr Corbyn's failure to accept that there was a more widespread problem is "an issue in itself".

He said: "Labour will need to consider whether the compliance unit is the right approach or whether there needs to be a stronger mechanism to deal with what we see, to our sadness, to be a pretty serious problem in the current party membership."

John Woodcock, a Labour MP and critic of Mr Corbyn, said: "The Labour party should make public the number of incidents it has had reported in recent years to the present, we mustn't allow any impression that we are seeking to minimise this very serious issue or sweep it under the carpet."

Mr McDonnell has previously called for the compliance unit to be scrapped altogether. His intervention was described as "sickeningly irresponsible".

Jeremy Corbyn denounces racism at May Day rally Jeremy Corbyn denounces racism at May Day rally Play! 00:54

It came as Emma Thompson, previously one of Labour's key supporters, admitted she will not vote for the party in the forthcoming Mayoral election because she no longer feels that the party reflects her views.

Tom Watson, Labour's Deputy Leader, voiced concerns that the anti-Semitism row could damage the party's prospects in the local election.

“We mustn't allow any impression that we are seeking to minimise this very serious issue or sweep it under the carpet”

John Woodcock MP

Sadiq Khan, the party's London Mayoral candidate, has also raised concerns that he may lose because of the row. Despite the row Mr Corbyn and his allies have sought to downplay the problem.

Diane Abbott, the shadow international development secretary, said claims that Labour has a problem with anti-semitism are a "smear" while Len McCluskey, the leader of the Unite union, accused critics of using the row to undermine the Labour leader.

One Labour MP said:"There's clearly a problem that needs to be dealt with and it's not right that well known figures in Labour like Jeremy and Diane and Len are constantly trying to downplay the issue when there is an problem that we need to address.

"People would have much more trust if we set out openly the scale of the issue we are facing and publish the number of people who have been suspended."

Labour was on Monday forced to suspended three councillors within seven hours over material on Twitter and Facebook.

Mr Aziz posted this image to Facebook

Ilyas Aziz, a Nottingham councillor, was suspended when it emerged that he said on Facebook that “it would be wiser to create Israel in America it’s big enough. They could relocate even now [sic]”.

Salim Mulla, a former mayor of Blackburn, was suspended a few hours later when it was found that he had posted the same graphic proposing Israel’s relocation to the United States.

Shah Hussain, of Burnley council, tweeted to Israeli footballer Yossi Bennayouyn that “you and your country doing the same thing that hitler did to ur race in ww2 [sic]”.

Speaking to The Telegraph Mr Aziz denied that the comments he posted were anti-Semitic and insisted that the media was "trying to stir up trouble".

The compliance unit suspends members who are reported for "bringing the party into disrepute". It assesses material on social media websites and elsewhere and then launches a formal investigation.

A source close to the Labour leader said the party does not comment on the number of suspensions but added that Diane Abbott said on Sunday that there have been "12 reported incidents of anti-Semitism" in the party.

Naz Shah, Ken Livingstone and Labour's anti-Semitism crisis

Wednesday April 27 - afternoon

Naz Shah suspended

To begin with, the Labour party said its MP for Bradford West "didn't mean what she said" back in 2014, and Naz Shah made an apology in the House of Commons for sharing posts considered anti-Semitic on her Facebook wall before she became an MP (see video above).

But by the end of the day, she was eventually suspended from Labour, after widespread outrage inside - and outside - the party.

Thusday 28 April - morning

Enter Ken Livingstone, to defend Naz Shah's comments

The following morning, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone stepped into the media spotlight to defend Ms Shah:

“Let’s remember when Hitler won his election in 1932 – his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel,” he told BBC London. “He was supporting Zionism. This before he went mad and ended up killing 6 million Jews.”

Thursday April 28 - lunchtime

Labour's John Mann MP confronts Labour's Ken Livingstone

John Mann MP didn't appreciate Mr Livingstone's comments, and called him a racist and Nazi apologist - in front of TV cameras and journalists.

All the while, Livingstone was on the phone to LBC radio, attempting to explain his earlier comments to BBC London...

April 28 2016 - afternoon

Livingstone hides in the loo

Ken Livingstone leaves BBC studios - in which he was again confronted by Mr Mann, this time on live TV - to find a pack of journalists waiting for him.

So decides to hide out in a disabled loo.

Thursday April 28 - afternoon

Labour suspends Livingstone

After calls from multiple Labour MPs, including from the front bench, Ken Livingstone is suspended from the party, pending an investigation, "for bringing the Party into disrepute".

Jeremy Corbyn insists "we will not tolerate anti-Semitism in any form" (see vido above)

Meanwhile, Mr Mann was summoned to the Labour whip for a telling off, after his public confrontation with Mr Livingstone.

Thursday April 28 - evening

Livingstone says he's not making a comment until Saturday

Friday April 29 - morning

Livingstone makes a comment...

Despite saying he absolutely wouldn't be speaking to the press before his own LBC Radio Show on Saturday 30 April, Mr Livingstone spoke to the Evening Standard: “Everything I said yesterday was true and I will be presenting the academic book about that to the Labour Party inquiry."

Earlier in the day, he gave reporters on his doorstep an insight into how he would be spending his day: "Taking Coco (his dog) for a walk, then I'm coming back to do the washing, then I'm moving the newts and pond weed from my old to my new pond. I need to move the newts and the old pond is past its sell-by date."

Friday April 29 - lunchtime

'How can the truth be an offence?'

The former London Mayor gives another interview, this time to Sky News, saying Labour should reinstate him, as he was only stating the truth.

"How can the truth be an offence - if I had lied that would be offensive," he said. "I'll just produce the evidence and I mean it's hard for somebody to decide to suspend me from the party here when all this was there 30 years ago in the public domain and nobody raised a peep."

Saturday April 30 - morning

'My critics lied'

In a remarkable 30 minutes of radio, Mr Livingstone is interviewed on LBC and apologises for upsetting people, but says the only reason his comments could have caused offence is because they have been distorted.

"It's caused offence because people have distorted it and said this is anti-Semitic to have said it. They've lied in doing that. It's not caused by me saying the truth", he said, saying the storm had been caused by MPs trying to undermine Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

He has suggested it is all a conspiracy, with some members of the Labour party preferring to see "the Tories elected" than Mr Corbyn.
 

The first national strategy for fighting antisemitism is finally here. What's in it?​

May 25, 20232:08 PM ET
By Rachel Treisman

Link: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/25/1178188513/biden-antisemitism-strategy

gettyimages-1490781416-f8df3c45ef9650453de78a6b8ac1fcba5ebc82ee-s1100-c50.jpg


President Joe Biden shakes hands with second gentleman Doug Emhoff during a celebration marking Jewish American Heritage Month last week. The administration has just released a comprehensive strategy for combating antisemitism.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Biden administration has released the country's first national strategy for combating antisemitism, a landmark plan aimed at addressing a growing problem.
The strategy outlines over 100 steps that federal agencies have committed to completing within a year, and more than 100 specific calls to action aimed at Congress, civil society, state and local governments, academic institutions, businesses and religious communities.
The White House says it was informed by input from more than 1,000 stakeholders from all areas of society. Its four pillars focus on raising awareness, improving security, reversing normalization and building solidarity.
Doug Emhoff has made antisemitism his issue, but says it's everyone's job to fight it

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Doug Emhoff has made antisemitism his issue, but says it's everyone's job to fight it

President Biden called the plan the "most ambitious and comprehensive U.S. government-led effort to fight antisemitism in American history" at a virtual launch event on Thursday.
"It sends a clear and forceful message," Biden said. "In America, evil will not win. Hate will not prevail. The venom and violence of antisemitism will not be the story of our time."
This is the administration's latest in a series of efforts to combat antisemitism, as reported incidents continue to shatter records.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) tracked 3,697 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault in 2022, according to a report released in March. That's a 36% jump from the previous year, and the third time in five years that the tally has been the highest number ever recorded.
Antisemitic incidents are at an all-time high, the ADL reports

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Antisemitic incidents are at an all-time high, the ADL reports

American Jews account for 2.4% of the U.S. population but are the victims of 63% of reported religiously motivated hate crimes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
And while antisemitism most directly affects the Jewish community, the Biden administration stresses that it poses a threat to society as a whole.
"Antisemitic conspiracy theories fuel other forms of hatred, discrimination, and bias — including discrimination against other religious minorities, racism, sexism, and anti-LGBTQI+ hate," said the White House release. "Antisemitism seeks to divide Americans from one another, erodes trust in government and nongovernmental institutions, and undermines our democracy."
Administration officials at Thursday's launch stressed the urgency and historical significance of the 60-page strategy, which they encouraged people to read online for themselves. They pledged to carry out its implementation but emphasized that federal action alone is not enough.
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The administration also announced a slew of commitments by outside organizations and institutions — from professional sports teams to religious groups to the Recording Academy — and is calling on other groups to roll out initiatives of their own.
"Antisemitism is a threat to Jewish communities and all Americans, and it can only be combated with united efforts," said second gentleman Doug Emhoff. "It's on all of us to put an end to the visceral hate that we are seeing across our nation."

There are four main pillars of the plan​

The strategy's main objectives are:
  • increasing awareness and understanding of both antisemitism and Jewish American heritage;
  • improving safety and security for Jewish communities;
  • reversing the normalization of antisemitism; and
  • building coalitions across communities to fight hate.
How to address antisemitic rhetoric when you encounter it

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"In sum," Emhoff said, "this plan will save lives."
Officials at Thursday's event highlighted some of the issues and action items from each category.
The ADL found that 85% of Americans believe at least one antisemitic trope, while a 2020 study showed that more than 3 in 5 millennials and Gen Z didn't know that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, said domestic policy adviser Susan Rice.
As part of an effort to raise awareness, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will launch the first-ever U.S.-based Holocaust education research center in 2024, while the National Endowment for the Humanities will expand investment in K-12 education on Jewish history.
How antisemitic rhetoric is impacting Jewish communities, and what to do about it

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How antisemitic rhetoric is impacting Jewish communities, and what to do about it

And federal agencies will commit to incorporating information about antisemitic bias and workplace religious accommodations into their training programs, and educating their networks about the contributions of Jewish Americans. For instance, Rice said, the Department of Veterans' Affairs will develop programs highlighting the service of Jewish veterans.
When it comes to improving security, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security will meet with Jewish communities to ensure they're using all the available federal training and resources, continue to help with community-based prevention efforts and increase intelligence-sharing with state and local partners, said White House Homeland Security Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
She said the third pillar recognizes the "hard reality that antisemitism is becoming mainstream and acts of violence against Jews are becoming normalized."
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The strategy acknowledges the role that social media plays, and calls on tech companies to do things like meet with Jewish groups to better understand how antisemitism manifests on their platforms and establish a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech.
And, Sherwood-Randall said, the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture issued letters reminding schools, housing programs and feeding programs about their obligations to addressing discrimination.
"Countering discrimination and hate-fueled violence against any race, religion, ethnicity or gender is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue," she said at one point. "It's an American issue."

Jewish groups appear optimistic​

Jewish groups lauded the strategy, for the commitment it signifies, the actions it outlines and even its specific wording.
"It's particularly notable that this approach recognizes that antisemitism is not about politics — it's about principles," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. "We are pleased that this strategy comprehensively addresses hate and antisemitism on campus, online, and from extremists on both the far-right and the far-left."
Notably, there had been some contention among Jewish leaders about what definition of antisemitism the document would use.
A key contention was whether the strategy would adopt International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which is widely accepted by municipalities, state and federal governments around the world.
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Why Is It So Hard To Talk About Israel?

But some on the left who argue it doesn't leave enough room for critiques of Israel, since its examples include forms of anti-Zionism — such as calling Israel a "racist endeavor" or applying "double standards" when criticizing it.
The White House acknowledges in the document that there are several definitions of antisemitism, and that the U.S. has embraced the IHRA's. It says it also "welcomes and appreciates" one prominent alternative, the Nexus Document, and "notes other such efforts."
Several Jewish organizations issued statements celebrating the strategy, describing their role in its development and committing to its implementation.
"The unprecedented spike in antisemitism has caused significant pain and alarm in our communities, and we look forward to working with Congress, the administration and civil society groups to enhance security and fight back against all forms of hate and make our country a safer place," said Jewish Federations of North America Chair Julie Platt.
Others in politics weighed in, too. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the most senior Jewish member of Congress, said in a statement that while the strategy's release marks a historic milestone, "the work is far from over."

The administration has made antisemitism a priority​

The Biden administration has taken steps to combat antisemitism and other forms of hate, including creating the interagency task force charged with creating this particular strategy back in December.
In recent years, the administration secured the largest-ever increase for the physical security of nonprofits, including synagogues and Jewish community centers. Biden signed a 2021 law that helps state and local law enforcement better respond to hate crimes and hosted a White House summit focused on preventing hate-fueled violence in the fall of 2022.
Second gentleman Emhoff visits Auschwitz, part of a push against antisemitism

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Second gentleman Emhoff visits Auschwitz, part of a push against antisemitism

And he nominated Holocaust expert Deborah Lipstadt to be the country's first ambassador-level special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism around the world (the Senate confirmed her in 2022).
Lipstadt hailed the plan on Thursday as a historic moment in the fight against the world's oldest hatred.
"We come together to release a plan for combating Jew hatred in a place where just over four decades ago, a form of Jew hatred took shape as official policy, as state department officials erected so-called 'paper walls' around this country to prevent Jews from entering our borders," she said, referring to the White House building that used to house the state and war departments.
The Biden administration has also focused a new spotlight on Jewish culture. Last year, the White House hosted its first-ever High Holiday reception and added a menorah to its permanent collection — the first time a Jewish artifact was added to the White House archives.
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Emhoff has played a key role in many of these efforts, as the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice president. He visited Poland and Germany earlier this year for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to promote both Holocaust awareness and the administration's efforts.
Emhoff told NPR in February that their main message to Jewish people is: "we have your back."
"I love being Jewish. I'm proud of being Jewish," he said. "I want everyone, however they are, just to be proud of that so they can be able to live openly, freely, safely, without fear."
 

The Hate Crime Purging of “Antisemites” Is Underway!​

by Philip Giraldi | Jun 20, 2023

Link: https://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=270161

Ben-Gvir2-600x400-1.jpg

Philip Giraldi – The Unz Review June 20, 2023

There have recently been a number of incidents that would be of interest if one has concerns about the sorry state of free speech in Europe and the United States, the so-called “democracies” who tend to boast about their freedoms and the rights of their citizens. The chosen weapon in the US and elsewhere in the Anglo-sphere has been the designation “hate speech” which also covers “hate writing,” “possessing hate literature or films,” and even “hate thinking.” In Europe, where “hate speech” is often referred to using the English words, the expression is often preceded by the word “illegal” to make sure that the point about consequences is made and the potential penalty is clearly understood. Some Europeans have in fact been convicted and sent to prison when they have falsely believed they were exercising free speech.

Though the “hate” designation was originally coined to discourage racist language and other forms of expression it has increasingly been exploited by Israel and its associated Jewish support groups to criminalize any criticism of Israel or of Jewish group behavior. It has extended its reach by moving into subsets, notably “holocaust denial” and “antisemitism” which are also regarded ipso facto as hate crimes in a context in which Jews are always regarded as victims, never as perpetrators of violence.

Much of what is going on might be described in fairly simple terms: Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and its unprovoked lethal attacks on its neighbors might reasonably be described as “deplorable” or even genocidal in the case of the Palestinians. Beyond that, Israel, which pretends to be a democracy, operates a system of control over the Christian and Muslim minority within its own borders and also in the area it illegally occupies that is describable as “apartheid,” where the minority is compelled to accept limited resources and consistently harsh treatment from the dominant Jewish population. More to the point, the extremist government coalition headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made the situation even worse for those non-Jews that it controls, with talk of introducing mass expulsions and imprisonments. The death toll of Palestinians at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces has also been going up, with more than 150 Palestinians killed this year, including 26 children.

To be sure, Israel has become a home for Jews that can no longer tolerate anyone else. Some ministers in the new government are particularly vile in their views but it is to be assumed that Netanyahu and others in his administration are genuinely supportive of turning Israel into a truly and even exclusively Jewish state, which is in fact how it legally defines itself. The one minister most cited for his cruelty and racism is Itamar Ben-Gvir of the Jewish Power party. Ben-Gvir has been charged with crimes 50 times, and convicted on eight occasions, including once for support of a Jewish terrorist group. He is a former supporter of the now deceased right wing fanatic Meir Kahane, and, like Kahane, envisions an Israel that is as Palestinian free as possible and centered exclusively on Jewish interests. He has called for deporting Arabs who aren’t loyal to a Jewish Israel, annexing all of the West Bank and exercising full Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount, where the Muslim venerated Al-Aqsa mosque is located. He supports legislation defying international agreements to “divide” the Al-Aqsa site to permit regular Jewish worshippers and there have even been suggestions that the Israeli government will seek to rebuild the so-called Biblical Second Temple, destroyed in the First Century by the Romans, in that location.

Ben-Gvir is notorious for his provocations directed against Palestinian Muslims and Christians. He has led marches of armed settlers flaunting Israeli flags through Arab quarters of cities and towns and has even brought settlers and other extremists to the al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan and to interrupt Friday prayers. To cap the irony, he has been since November 2022 the National Security Minister, which gives him authority over the police, to include the so-called Border Police as well as the police forces located on the illegally occupied West Bank. Indeed, as a practical matter, Ben-Gvir is seeking to have the Knesset pass legislation explicitly conferring legal immunity on all Israeli soldiers for any and all killings of Palestinians. He has also pressed the parliament to institute a formal, judicially administered death penalty for “terrorists”, which would mean any Palestinian who physically resists the Israeli occupation.

Another extremist who has obtained a major ministry in the Netanyahu government is Bezalel Yoel Smotrich who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022. He has recently completed a controversial trip to the United States where he met with American Zionist leaders. Smotrich is the leader of the Religious Zionist Party, and lives in an illegal settlement in a house within the Israeli occupied West Bank that was also built doubly illegally outside the settlement proper. Smotrich supports expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, opposes any form of Palestinian statehood, and even denies the existence of the Palestinian people. He demands a state judiciary that relies only on Torah and Jewish traditional law. Accused of inciting hatred against Arab Israelis, he told Arab Israeli lawmakers in October 2021, that “it’s a mistake that David Ben-Gurion didn’t finish the job and didn’t throw all of you out in 1948.”

The increasing brutality of the Israeli government and its security forces have produced a reaction among many observers worldwide, so the supporters of Israel have engaged in their own first strike frequently using the “hate crime” weapon. They have basically turned the hate crime legislation to their advantage by convincing many nations to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of the “hate crime” antisemitism to automatically include criticism of Israel as being equivalent to hatred of Jews. When that doesn’t work the powerful Israel lobby can also resort to much more brutal threats. When Iceland sought to make illegal infant circumcision five years ago, regarding it as genital mutilation performed on an unconsenting child, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) threatened to unleash Jewish power to destroy their economy and international reputation as punishment for making their country “inhospitable to Jews.”

Now that the “hate crime” genie together with the associated links to holocaust denial and antisemitism have been released from the bottle, they are being used regularly to silence anyone who even indirectly criticizes prominent Jews like George Soros. Conservatives including Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk have recently been on the receiving end of the antisemitism label after referring to Soros and his “Globalist” agenda. It is my belief that Tucker was fired at least in part due to Jewish pressure on FOX as he had been very critical of groups like the hysterical ADL and its hideous director Jonathan Greenblatt.

Roger Waters, the former lead singer of Pink Floyd, has emerged as a powerful critic of Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. As a consequence, he has been hounded by authorities in Europe, has had his concerts canceled, and has been threatened with legal action to make him shut up. The Biden Administration’s antisemitism Czar Deborah Lipstadt has also attacked him, saying “I wholeheartedly concur with [an online] condemnation of Roger Waters and his despicable Holocaust distortion.” She was referring to a tweet stating that “I am sick & disgusted by Roger Waters’ obsession to belittle and trivialize the Shoah & the sarcastic way in which he delights in trampling on the victims, systematically murdered by the Nazis. In Germany. Enough is enough. Holocaust trivialization is criminalized across the EU.” The State Department, speaking for the White House, then piled on adding that Waters has “a long track record of using antisemitic tropes” and a concert he gave late last month in Germany “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust… The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.”

One might observe that the depiction of Waters is basically untrue – he is a critic of Israeli crimes against humanity but does not hate Jews. One might also add how the fact that the United States State Department actually has a Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism speaks for itself and tells you exactly who is in charge in Washington. I wonder how much it costs to run Lipstadt’s mouth from a no doubt well-appointed office in Foggy Bottom each year? Maybe someone should do a cost/benefit analysis and give Debbie her walking papers.
Beyond that, several other recent stories show how it all often works in practice to confront and silence critics. Swedish pop star Zara Larsson is facing what is obviously a coordinated backlash on social media after criticizing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. In an Instagram message to her 6.3 million followers, the 23-year-old declared the ongoing cross-border violence, which is killing mostly Arabs, was a “crime” against Palestinians. Her effort to be somewhat even handed was ignored, in the message, which she later deleted, where she wrote “We have to stand up for Jewish people all over the world facing anti-Semitic violence and threats, but we must also call out a state upholding apartheid and KILLING civilians, funded by American dollars.” She ended the message with the hashtag “#freepalestine.”

Larsson was hardly calling for targeting Jews or anything like that, but the reaction to her comment was symptomatic of the typical overkill response engaged in by Israel and its friends whenever anyone challenges the standard narrative of Israeli perpetual victimhood. Two other instances of comments about Israel leading to an overwhelming response to punish the perpetrators took place during the past month in the United States at college commencement ceremonies. The first was on May 12th, at a graduation ceremony for the law school of the City University of New York (CUNY), where Fatima Mousa Mohammed, a Queens native who was selected by the graduating 2023 class to speak during the May 12 ceremony, praised CUNY for supporting student activism, citing in particular the acceptance of student groups protesting against Israel’s brutality towards the Palestinians. She said “Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshippers, murdering the old, the young and even attacking funerals and graveyards, as it encourages lynch mobs to target Palestinians homes and businesses. As it imprisons its children, as it continues its project of settler colonialism, expelling Palestinians from their homes. Silence is no longer acceptable.”
The response to Mohammed was immediate, including a scathing news report in the New York Post, a call by several Jewish groups to cut funding to CUNY and demands that the law school dean be fired. And the controversy again made news when a second student spoke out at a commencement at El Camino community college in Torrance California. Jana Abulaban, 18, strongly criticized Israeli government policies during her speech on June 9th.

Abulaban, who was born in Jordan in a family of Palestinian refugees, reportedly felt “inspired” by the speech of Fatima Mousa Mohammed and she told the audience “I gift my graduation to all Palestinians who have lost their life and those who continue to lose their lives every day due to the oppressive apartheid state of Israel killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak.’’

There was, of course an immediate reaction to the Abulaban speech coming from a variety of West Coast and New York pro-Israel sources. Brooke Goldstein, a claimed human-rights lawyer founder of The Lawfare Project, said, “This is yet one more example of the systemic Jew-hatred we’re seeing on our college campuses. When a student gives a commencement speech targeting Jews, trafficking in modern tropes of antisemitism, it’s clear that there has been a complete failure in that school to promote social justice for the Jewish people. If any other minority group were targeted like this, there would be consequences for the bigot. The Jewish community deserves no less.”

Of course, both women only spoke the truth about what is happening in the Middle East. Neither attacked the Jewish religion or Jews per se and only criticized Israel’s appalling behavior. When I last checked, Israel was a foreign country with both foreign and domestic policies that are considered very questionable by most of the world, so why should it be protected from being challenged in the United States? The two women were brave to speak up as they did, surely knowing that they would be targeted by the Jewish state’s many friends and supporters. Those of us who continue to speak out on Israel’s genocidal policies can likewise expect no less, particularly as both the federal as well as many state governments and also the media are now on a witch hunt directed against those who seek to speak the truth. But we must persevere. As Fatima Mousa Mohammed put it, “Silence is no longer acceptable.”
 
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