Fiasco In Islington – Part 2
Part 1 is available here
Richard Hugus
More facts have come to light in the case of Gilad Atzmon and his banning by the Islington Town Council from performing at a jazz concert on December 21, 2018. The original scenario was that one e-mail from one person calling Atzmon an antisemite somehow persuaded the Islington council to take the drastic step of removing Atzmon from a town-owned venue. Many who heard the story felt this was a rash decision which would surely be reversed when the facts were brought to light. But the Council voted to uphold its decision and Atzmon was indeed not allowed to play.
Now it appears that the single complainant – Martin Rankoff – was not just an anonymous fan of Israel but the UK director of Likud-Herut. Herut (or ‘freedom’) was Israel’s founding nationalist party from 1948 until it later merged with Likud. It is a militant and extreme Zionist organization whose roots go in a straight line from Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Menachem Begin up to Benjamin Netanyahu today. Jabotinsky and Begin helped form the Irgun terrorists in 1937. Irgun committed notorious massacres in Palestine leading up to and during the Nakba (or ‘catastrophe’) of 1947-1948. These include the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946, killing 91 people, and the massacre at Deir Yassin in 1948 in which 254 unarmed Palestinian villagers were brutally murdered as an incentive for other Palestinians to leave. On its web site Likud-Herut UK lists Jabotinsky and Begin as “visionaries”. Likud-Herut is a member of the World Zionist Organization and the Zionist Federation of the UK who believe in “the inalienable right of all Jews to live and settle in all parts of the Land of Israel.”
In a letter to the New York Times in 1948 Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, and others compared Herut to the Nazis and Fascists who had just been defeated in World War II. Referring to this letter, Ramzy Baroud recently wrote, “the ‘Nazi and Fascist’ mentality that defined Herut in 1948 now defines the most powerful ruling class in Israel. Israel’s leaders speak openly of genocide and murder, yet they celebrate and promote Israel as if an icon of civilization, democracy and human rights.”
The history of Herut and Likud tells us a great deal about who the people are who complained about Atzmon to Islington Town Council. When Atzmon moved to appeal his being banned, formidable opponents again appeared in the form of the Simkins Law firm, one of the most expensive law practices in Britain, with not one but two partners at Simkins being put on the case. These are Gideon Benaim and Tom Iverson. Benaim recently became well known in Britain for winning an invasion of privacy suit against the BBC on behalf of pop singer Cliff Richard, who said he spent ￡3.4m ($4.3 million) on the case.
Clearly, representation by Simkins doesn’t come cheap. Also listed in Benaim’s resumé is his client, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which likely has no problem with Simkins’ fees either. The Sands casino is owned by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who, as it happens, is a primary sponsor of the Likud Party in Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Adelson owns the newspaper Israel Hayom, a mouthpiece for Netanyahu and Likud.
It now appears that Atzmon’s banning was not the result of a casual complaint; it was an intentional attack on a well-respected supporter of Palestinian human rights by the Likud organization, directly represented by Martin Rankoff. The attack was followed up by the hiring of a lawyer who has worked for Likud godfather Sheldon Adelson. The connection to these powerful forces may explain why IslingtonTown Council leader Richard Watts, without any delay or attempt at negotiation, took the step of going straight to a decision to hire an expensive law firm. This is while Islington is facing serious austerity and shortage of funds in its own operating budget. Islington has a population of about 206,000 people. This very month, 43 of those people were counted in one survey as homeless and sleeping on the streets.
Regarding the financial problems of his borough and others around London, Richard Watts, told The Independent in October 2018 :
“As a result less money is being spent on the other services that keep our communities running such as libraries, local roads, early intervention and local welfare support,” he added.
“unprecedented” funding pressures and demand for adult and children’s social care and homelessness services was “pushing councils to the limit”.
Yet, to Watts and his fellow councilors in Islington, backing partisans for a foreign country – Israel — took precedence over the pressing needs of the people whom they are supposed to represent. Either Watts was inexcusably careless with scarce town funds or a deal was made and he knew that he could depend on Likud-Herut to back him. Or, like politicians all across Europe and the US facing the power of the Israel lobby, he knew he couldn’t afford to say no.
According to Simkin’s web site, Gideon Benaim “has extensive expertise in the areas of defamation, privacy, harassment and copyright.” Perhaps it is not a coincidence that immediately after Islington brought in Simkins, identical statements from an unnamed Labour spokesman describing Atzmon as “a vile antisemite” appeared in both the BBC and The Guardian. Perhaps a lawyer experienced in defending people against defamation would also know how to perpetrate it. Perhaps this was Benaim’s opening move. Character assassination is a common tactic in cases that have a weak legal foundation, such as this one, as it goes a long way to convicting the accused before their case ever reaches a courtroom.
The involvement of Likud-Herut in the attack on Gilad Atzmon, and Islington’s official backing of that attack, constitutes a monumental scandal. This wasn’t just a stupid mistake; it was a hit. It is an affront to reason that an an arch-racist organization like Likud, who from the beginning have stood for the removal of the people of Palestine from their own land by means of terror, murder, and forced expulsion, could possibly claim they they were defamed by someone pointing out these very crimes. There is a case of defamation here for sure – the defamation of Gilad Atzmon. For Zionists, defamation is nothing more than a tool to destroy opponents who can’t be dealt with by other means. We are long since tired of truth tellers being accused of antisemitism. We’re tired of national and local resources being used to prop up the criminal state of Israel. Coercion by advocates for Israel is at the center of this issue in Islington, as it is in many other towns and many other countries. For the sake of Palestine and our own sovereignty, it has to be called out and stopped.
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This is my problem. I live in Islington. I want to listen to my favourite music live in Islington. I want to live in a democracy where my voice is heard. That the Leader of Islington Council should ride roughshod over borough residents and make and make such a decision after a nudge and a wink from Martin Rankoff who isn’t a borough resident and didn’t even buy a ticket but is a director of Likud UK carries a very clear message – Likud UK has a direct line to the Council Leader bypassing democratic accountability.
Dear Tom, many thanks for your description. In the video about the event with a short appearance of Santa Claus i see and hear very happy people there. The Islington Council is a very other world. Its not Islington.
Cheers willi!
The late Uri Avnery describes how the US is in thrall to Israel.
“It was all rather disgusting.
There they were, the members of the highest legislative bodies of the world’s only superpower, flying up and down like so many yo-yos, applauding wildly, every few minutes or seconds, the most outrageous lies and distortions of Binyamin Netanyahu.
It was worse than the Syrian parliament during a speech by Bashar Assad, where anyone not applauding could find himself in prison. Or Stalin’s Supreme Soviet, when showing less than sufficient respect could have meant death.
What the American Senators and Congressmen feared was a fate worse than death. Anyone remaining seated or not applauding wildly enough could have been caught on camera – and that amounts to political suicide. It was enough for one single congressman to rise and applaud, and all the others had to follow suit. Who would dare not to?
The sight of these hundreds of parliamentarians jumping up and clapping their hands, again and again and again and again, with the Leader graciously acknowledging with a movement of his hand, was reminiscent of other regimes. Only this time it was not the local dictator who compelled this adulation, but a foreign one.
The most depressing part of it was that there was not a single lawmaker – Republican or Democrat – who dared to resist. When I was a 9 year old boy in Germany, I dared to leave my right arm hanging by my side when all my schoolmates raised theirs in the Nazi salute and sang Hitler’s anthem. Is there no one in Washington DC who has that simple courage? Is it really Washington IOT – Israel Occupied Territory – as the anti-Semites assert?
Many years ago I visited the Senate hall and was introduced to the leading Senators of the time. I was profoundly shocked. After being brought up in deep respect for the Senate of the United States, the country of Jefferson and Lincoln, I was faced with a bunch of pompous asses, many of them nincompoops who had not the slightest idea what they were talking about. I was told that it was their assistants who really understood matters”
Full article at .
https://original.antiwar.com/avnery/2011/05/25/bibi-and-the-yo-yos/
The late Uri Avnery had this to say on how the US Congress is in thrall to Israel.
“It was all rather disgusting.
There they were, the members of the highest legislative bodies of the world’s only superpower, flying up and down like so many yo-yos, applauding wildly, every few minutes or seconds, the most outrageous lies and distortions of Binyamin Netanyahu.
It was worse than the Syrian parliament during a speech by Bashar Assad, where anyone not applauding could find himself in prison. Or Stalin’s Supreme Soviet, when showing less than sufficient respect could have meant death.
What the American Senators and Congressmen feared was a fate worse than death. Anyone remaining seated or not applauding wildly enough could have been caught on camera – and that amounts to political suicide. It was enough for one single congressman to rise and applaud, and all the others had to follow suit. Who would dare not to?
The sight of these hundreds of parliamentarians jumping up and clapping their hands, again and again and again and again, with the Leader graciously acknowledging with a movement of his hand, was reminiscent of other regimes. Only this time it was not the local dictator who compelled this adulation, but a foreign one.
The most depressing part of it was that there was not a single lawmaker – Republican or Democrat – who dared to resist. When I was a 9 year old boy in Germany, I dared to leave my right arm hanging by my side when all my schoolmates raised theirs in the Nazi salute and sang Hitler’s anthem. Is there no one in Washington DC who has that simple courage? Is it really Washington IOT – Israel Occupied Territory – as the anti-Semites assert?
Many years ago I visited the Senate hall and was introduced to the leading Senators of the time. I was profoundly shocked. After being brought up in deep respect for the Senate of the United States, the country of Jefferson and Lincoln, I was faced with a bunch of pompous asses, many of them nincompoops who had not the slightest idea what they were talking about. I was told that it was their assistants who really understood matters”.
For full article…..
https://original.antiwar.com/avnery/2011/05/25/bibi-and-the-yo-yos/
Gilad has been called a holocaust denier which he said he is not, his point is that no major historical events should be closed for discussion. B Netanyahu believes that to be true when in a speech he tried to whitewash Hitler by disgracefully blaming the Holocaust on the Palestinians… “Netanyahu claims that al-Husseini “had a central role in fomenting the final solution. He flew to Berlin. Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, ‘If you expel them, they’ll all come here.’ ‘So what should I do with them?’ he asked. ‘Burn them!’”
There is no record of such a conversation whatsoever, and Netanyahu provides no evidence that it ever took place.
Prof. Meir Litvak, a historian at Tel Aviv University, called the speech “a lie” and “a disgrace.” Prof. Moshe Zimmermann, a specialist of German history at Hebrew University, said, “With this, Netanyahu joins a long line of people that we would call Holocaust deniers.”
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/why-benjamin-netanyahu-trying-whitewash-hitler
Hello everybody, Here is my Happy New Year message. I delve into the ideas that made me into a ‘controversial’ character https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRX55nHmuUQ
Gilad can at least say he wasn’t threatened with arrest. Merseyside police not happy with Latuffs drawings, Peter Gregson threatened with arrest at Labour Party Conference Police ban Scots IHRA petition campaigner from showing “anti-Semite” Banner outside Labour Conference full story here..
http://www.kidsnotsuits.com/police-ban-scots-ihra-petition-campaigner-from-showing-anti-semite-banner-outside-labour-conference/
Whataboutism time! What about the UK, the US, the multi-national corporations? They’re/our actions and policies are no worse, in fact work hand in glove with Israel’s. It is this alliance, like it or not, which is the reality, the realpolitikal policy which is running the big show today. Singling out Israel from the pack is akin to singling out lung cancer from a body ridden with multiple cancers. But like the average American or Brit who believes in fair play and other norms, there are average Israelis and Jews who are offended, who are in fact freaking out that they are targets, possible victims of a future – another – calamity. History does fucking repeat itself. While what happened in Islington to GA is fucked up, the reaction here, the vitriol, the antisemitism (which is in the mind of the offended person and not in your interpretation) is an over-reaction, an almost primal hatred for Israel and average Jews, whom you know identify with the promise of Israel as a Jewish safe haven. Aztmon is no anti-semite because he knows, he speaks as a Jew, as an Israeli, He has a dog in the fight. Most of you don’t. GA is doing what we all should do and that is cleaning up our own messes. That the Isllington city council is corruptible by that asshole Adleson is Islington’s problem. Is it news? Sure, and the article above did a fine job of reporting the facts until the anti-Israel editorializing at the end. I guess this is a plea for the more excitable types here to tone it down, keep shit in perspective. You are freaking out this average Jew and nominal friend of Israel. Thanks. And happy new year.
So just keep your mouth shut and oy vey! never criticise Israel when they create an explicitly racist, genocidal regime founded on terror, corruption, ethnic cleansing and every form of criminality under the sun. Or only criticise it on terms permitted by the hasbara troll factories and the Board of Deputies.
Unlike many, I’m fully aware of the distinction between being anti-semitic (hatred of Jews in general) and detesting Israeli treatment of the Palestinians….I definitely abide by the latter as does Gilad Alzmon….However, from what I’ve read about and by him, I must conclude that whatever twisted reasoning reasoning he uses, he also remains a die-hard anti-semitic at heart.
Maxine, since you don’t give any reasoning, I must conclude that you are either hiding something or making it up.
Capitulating to the Israel lobby is not confined to the Labour party, In late November I watched the BBC’s question time, on the panel was Layla Moran a new UK Liberal Democrat MP, she’s this country’s first British-Palestinian MP – her mother is from Jerusalem – but she wades into the Israel/Palestine debate sparingly “because it’s so emotive”. She made an exception for John McDonnell on Politics Live earlier this month though. “I had to mansplain anti-Semitism to him,” she says. Moran was upset about posters saying that Israel is a racist state. “The people who put it up were called London Palestine Action. As a Palestinian they don’t speak for me, and they are blatantly racist signs. You don’t say a whole country is racist. McDonnell said he’s ‘on a journey’.” She does a droney impression of him. “I was like ‘really?’ You’re 60 something years old, come on. If you haven’t realised by now that this is anti-Semitism no wonder there’s a problem in the Labour Party.”
“I’ve been attacked by people who say you’re not a real Palestinian and your mum’s not a real Palestinian for raising you that way. But when I see someone who is ‘on a journey about being anti-Semitic’ I’m sorry but I’m intervening. Calling out anti-Semitism doesn’t make me any less Palestinian. There’s a nuance in the argument that has been lost and Corbyn not saying antisemitism is wrong has fueled the problem. Some responsibility does lie at his door.” https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/the-bright-new-face-of-the-centre-a-meeting-with-layla-moran-a3940011.html
Moran is well aware of the Israel/Palestinian situation, as a new Lib Dem MP it must be difficult to acknowledge the many crimes the Israeli state is involved in and the second class status of Palestinians living in Israel. A cursory glance at the racist state laws, including its 1950 ‘right of return’ laws [for Jews only] and the recent and racist basic Nation state law prove that the Israeli state is inherently racist, to say otherwise as Layla Moran does, presumably to enhance her career is despicable, like many in the Labour Party, she is a phony. Two points from her statement “You don’t say a whole country is racist” Oh no, what about South Africa, who Ronnie Casrils had this to say “A further comment about the Bantustans. When I visited Yasser Arafat in his virtually demolished headquarters in Ramallah as part of a South African delegation in 2004, he pointed around him and said “See this is nothing but a Bantustan!” No, we responded, pointing out that no Bantustan, in fact not even our townships, had been bombed by warplanes, pulverised by tanks” https://bdsmovement.net/news/ronnie-kasrils-speech-israeli-apartheid-week-2009. Then she said “And Corbyn not saying Antisemitism is wrong” this is a blatant lie but heh what are a few lies to an ambitious politician like Moran who would throw all the Palestinians under the bus, to enhance her career.
Making a “classic anti-semitic” mountain out of a molehill: ATL & BTL.
No wonder Jews are migrating out of the UK in numbers.
Completely wrong on both counts.
Recent legislation in the US as well as numerous attacks on Labour supporters in the UK are part of an orchestrated campaign to silence criticism of human rights abuses in Israel.
Furthermore there is simply no evidence that Jews are emigrating in higher numbers (because of antisemitism) – this is just another trope aimed at deflecting attention from some of the stuff reasonable people have become angry about.
It may astonish you but there is enormous disquiet amongst left-wing Israelis and academics about the manner in which the holocaust is being manipulated for base political purposes, or the way Israeli leaders are tripping over themselves to kiss the arse of horrible, right wing extremists like Jair Bolsonaro.
And you certainly don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out that Islingtons decision to ban Gilad Atzmon did not arise becuse a Blockhead fan turned out to be a bit of a snowflake – no, it arose because a right wing agitator knew full well that public figures are terrified of being tarnished with accusations of antisemitism, so will not think twice about wasting public money to protect their reputation rather than give full consideration to the consequences that ensue when somebody else is labelled with the very thing they are so frightened of.
The underlying question which needs to be addressed is that of the meaning, significance, historical provenance of and utility of the concept of ‘antisemitism.’
A few random observations:
1/ We live, most of us, in post christian societies in which the religious origins of hatred of the Jews is obsolescent.
2/ In most euro-North American societies Jews are a relatively privileged, conservative and prosperous minority, one of several self defined communities, most of which are rapidly disappearing through integration into wider society.
3/ there is very little hatred of Jews per se. And what there is tends to stem from those trying to revive fascist traditions. Paradoxically these anti semites in the classical sense tend to be fervent partisans of Israel, which they quite properly see shares their general political views. Hence the scenes from Charlottteville of fervent Zionist supporters, bearing toy torches, shouting the slogan “Jews will not replace us.”
4/ Those making accusations of antisemitism almost invariable direct them at victims of imperialism, most notably, of course, victims of zionism, so that, without any ironic intention, refugee camps in Gaza , Jordan and Lebanon are held to be rife with antisemitism!
5/ By the same token muslims in Europe are among the victims of an islamophobia which has been deliberately fanned into fire by Zionists who, particularly since 9/11 have pushed the ‘line’ thatwestern nations are now beginning to suffer from the sort of terrorist attacks to which Israelis have long been subject.
6/The idea that muslims are detestable because, unaccountably, they object to being evicted from Palestine in order to make way for a more ‘advanced’ race of colonists, lies at the root of much islamophobia.
This is a very complicated question or knot of questions but what it comes down to is the question of whether any definition of antisemitism is useful, given that hatred of the Jews per se is almost obsolete in this society and only of interest to those who seek to maintain it because it is their raison d’etre.
The problem is that by agreeing to the proposition that antisemitism is a problem we justify the continued existence of heavily subsidised political groups which have no other purpose but to ensure that antisemitism never dies, because, if it did, their sources off support would wither away.
If you are not a rabid zionazi then you are going to be labelled an anti Semite. This is still (for now) an effective strategy for the squatters in occupied, apartheid Palestine.
The Lobby Part One
The Lobby Part Two
The Lobby Part Three
The Lobby Part Four
The difficult things about the Israeli lobby in Britain is not just how extensive its reach is in all walks of life, not least with MP’s most of whom are in Friends of Israel organisations but particularly within the PLP and the party itself. That in itself may be harmless but the second thing about them is their ruthlessness, their immediate recourse to defamation and lying and their willingness to play all manner of race and sectarian cards. It invades our politics and gives dullard Tories ideas best left dormant; they contribute enormously to the lurch rightwards. Apart from the Union Jack the Star of David is a favourite with extreme Right demonstrators. It’s a sad turn of events that is seeing ‘liberal, Left’ British Judiasm sink almost without trace. The respect for that particular community was founded on their experiences in WW2 and not least by their unique contribution to British politics post the war, largely through the Labour Party.
The Lobby Part One
The Lobby Part Two
The Lobby Part Three
The Lobby Part Four
Sorry the film just comes up as “an error occurred”…?
It would appear the main go to group in the Labour party are the Jewish Labour Movement [JLM], Gordon Brown addressed this group when arguing for LP adoption of the IHRA.
Luciana Berger MP is described as Chair of the parliamentary Jewish Labour Movement [JLM] how many Labour members are aware that the JLM is an affiliate both of the Israeli Labour Party which in office has promoted the building of settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories and the World Zionist Organization, which has channelled funds to the illegal settlements. That’s right the JLM are affiliated with groups who the Geneva Conventions 49.6 the ICC and the ICJ [the world court], in the latter all 15 judges including the US Judge] unanimously gave their opinion [in the wall case] that the transfer of civilians into occupied territory were grave war crimes. The UK Labour party sure keep some nice company.
We must also not forget that an enormous amount of money is needed for this manipulation:
for oppressing and censorship.
… and for “buying” public and private institutions with “generous beneficences” or “charities” in order to make them dependent on the subsidies and vulnerable to the threat to pull back this support (which indeed might have happened to Islington).
Where does the money come from?
1) There are these “beneficent” persons, the oligarchs like Adelson (picture in the article), Soros, Gates and so on.
2) Then there is obviously a gigantic Mobster Syndicate – not only, but especially in the USA.
This nowadays “Mobster Syndicate” has nothing to do with this old Sicilian Mafia, let’s say in Chicago (“Friends of the Italian Opera”).
Because we never hear of this new gigantic Mobster Syndicate, we always forget to include it in our political thoughts and discussions. And this new Mobster Syndicate (perhaps even two or three of them) kills persons a lot (not only, but especially in the USA). think of Vince Foster, David Kelly, Chip Tatum, witnesses of 911, Congressman Tom Lantos (https://counterinformation.wordpress.com/2018/11/19/forty-years-after-jonestown-the-people-still-refuse-to-wake-up/) … and a lot of others, often “suicided” victims.
But the main thing is this enormous amount of money they grab with 100 % impunity: Think of this $ 21 TRILLIONS missing in the Pentagon. To this very good: MARK SKIDMORE ON THE PENTAGON’S MISSING TRILLIONS – https://www.corbettreport.com/interview-1407-mark-skidmore-on-the-pentagons-missing-trillions/ .
An excellent video by Corbett again. But he should have also mentioned that on 911 the Pentagon was blown up where at that time a lot of comptrollers went through the Pentagon’s financial transactions. They were all killed – and Osama Bin Laden had certainly no interest in killing Pentagon comptrollers, who knew too much.
If only 1% of this $21 TRILLIONS is put into this Zionist manipulation of our (mainly) western states, that would still be $210 Billions!
There are also other gigantic criminal “robberies” with enormous amounts of money that disappeared: HOW THE 1MDB SCANDAL LED TO GOLDMAN’S FIRST CRIMINAL CHARGES – https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-malaysia-1mdb/
On the Goldman theft from Malaysia see the source at sarawakreport dot org
“Malaysia” rang a bell so I looked up Flamingo’s Link; it led to Malaysia filing criminal charges against Goldman Sachs — a Rothschild bank. Which rang another bell: Malaysia filing a diplomatic initiative against war crimes by Israel — a Rothschild pet project. Which rang 2 other bells: Malaysian aircraft falling out of the sky. Which rang another bell: Israel keeps a copy of 2 Malaysian aircraftof the same type for study. Which rang the last bell — and the one most relevant to this thread on intimidation by powerful Zionazi politicianswith their high priced Lawyers– Malaysia agreed to a heavily censored Dutch “investigation” which assigned suspicion for the downing of Malaysian aircraft MH17 to no other country than Russia.
There should be a law that prevents people as ugly as Sheldon Adelson from walking around unmasked in public. You don’t get to look like that unless you’re deeply ugly on the inside.
Perhaps he could wear a burqa with a kippah sewn on top.
It seems to me that the most important part of Atzmon’s Christmas message is this:
“I have never denied and I do not deny the Holocaust or any other historical chapter. However, I am against all history laws. In my writing I argue that history is the attempt to narrate the past as we move along. Accordingly, history becomes a meaningful adventure once we revisit and revise the past. When history becomes a sealed untouchable chapter it is reduced into a religion. Like a few prominent Israeli thinkers actually (Adi Ophir, Yishayahu Leibovitz…), I do believe that the Holocaust has been reduced into a religion. If this is the case we also deserve the right to be agnostic.”
I think this hits the nail securely on the head. All history must be relayed anew to rising generations – and even within one generation there should be a constant openness to investigate, discover new things, question certain aspects etc. And even the endlessly repeated “We must never forget!” provokes the response “What exactly is it that we should never forget?” But there is a ferociously paranoid faction that is terrified of this very question and can only respond to it with monolithic, totalitarian assertions that are to be taken completely at face value. The Holocaust has indeed become a religion and is therefore closed off from all further discussion.
‘Divide and Conquer’…
Works every time, over and over again..
We are all being ‘played’.
So, stop playing the game.
Let’s start a new game.
‘Racism’. How exactly can another human be accused of racism towards another human, when both are members of the same race, the human race?
If you engage in the game called ‘Divide and Conquer’, which we all do, you will have all the tools available to create false hate wherever you choose.
When you stop and think, how ridiculous is it to dislike a fellow human simply because there skin is a different shade compared to yours?
But people do.
Why, because someone else has told them to think like that…
The concept of ‘racism’ is the greatest game ever.
‘Anti-this anti-that’ is just another layer to confuse and create yet more false hate, create yet more smaller subsections of society who will then begin to argue with each other, desperately trying to outwit each other with smug ‘educated’ words that just re-enforce the game, ‘Divide and Conquer’.
But you know all this.
Problem is, many actually enjoy playing this game.
Problem is, many are paid money to play this game.
Problem is you, and me.
Can you stop playing the game?
History suggests we cannot.
Sad.
Timmy, i feel ya!
I too am sensing the identity political …shepherding? Kettleing?
It feels like being prodded by a electric stick and told to “Yell with AZ indignation you filthy pig”.
I don’t know know if it is triple, quadruple or more – bluff.
The Israeli lobby is building up steam to ensure, if they can, that Labour loses the next election. Their themes are not necessarily the nonsense about anti-Semitism which they know isn’t really hitting home and increasing hostility towards British Jews who are seen as defending one of the worst Governments in the World and fighting for a Rightwing Tory victory. Their main aim is Corbyn the so called Marxist and terrorist supporter who “will bankrupt the country”.
@P12: “Their [the AZC’s] main aim is Corbyn the so called Marxist ….”
Yes, perish the thought that a genuine Socialist might once again Lead Labour to a fairer, more equitable government. If the GINI coefficient of Britain goes down to what it was before Baroness Snatcher and her New Labour heirs, what will become of our Kleptocrats?
At last – My Big Nose has become an asset.
Why did Chris Williamson retract his signature from the petition which was in support of Gilad saying that he was not aware that Gilad was an anti-semite. That does not make sense. It sounds as though he was threatened, probably by the Labour party. Corbyn is MP for North Islington. Is he too scared to say anything?
I retracted my membership of the Labour party after hearing of Chris Williamson’s action. I’ll only rejoin if the LFI are dissolved.
They may get my GE vote. But not my money. Not now.
“I retracted my membership of the Labour party after hearing of Chris Williamson’s action.”
Why? Because the average representative of the people is, like most of them, just another mindless, preconditioned, BTLer or Cnut-in-the-street? Viz:
CW: I am told that in various blogs and in speeches [Atzmon] has adopted anti-Semitic language.”
There are some good reasons for not funding the Labour Party, but the fact that many of their MPs are shitwits behaving like lemmings doesn’t leave many alternative hats for feelgoodgeld.
What Williamson’s uncharacteristic idiocy here reveals is the complete vacuum at the centre of the Labour Party. There is no authoritative forum, of the kind that the old Tribune offered to the left and no party newspaper.
This means that it is left to Labour’s enemies, like the II and the Israeli Embassy, to act as media informing supporters of the Party what its principles and policies are. The Guardian, notoriously influenced by Mossad and MI, is the source of most discussion of issues such as the one under consideration.
There has been no reaction to the assault on Labour’s commitment to justice in Palestine and peace for the middle east, from the Israelis. The notion that Atzmon is antisemitic is only a little more extravagant than the nonsense that Corrbyn is, but nobody will say so..
No doubt Labour’s leadership think that they are being clever by refusing to be drawn into this discussion but it is one that is not only vitally necessary to have but extremely simple to conclude.
What is needed is one authoritative statement along the lines of “The Labour government will demand that Israel obey international law and pull out of its illegal settlements, whilst putting an end to its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza- as called for by successive UN Resolutions. Seventy years after the ending of the UN mandate it is time for Israel’s borders to be defined and for those refugees driven out of their homeland by militias carrying out massacres and aiming at ethnic cleansing to be allowed, in the persons of their descendants as well as themselves to return home.
As the government of the former Mandated Power the UK has a special responsibility to protect the interests of those it took under its protection .
A vote for Labour will be a vote for a foreign policy of which future generations as well as ours will be proud to own. In accordance with the great bulk of Britisjh opinion we will work to bring about a just and lasting peace and a solution to a situation for which previous British governments were partly responsible.
The point is that if Corbyn’s policy is anti-semitism then anti-emitism is right.
It may be difficult to define anti-semitism but it is very easy to tell the difference between right and wrong in Occupied Palestine.
@ willi uebelherr
You are right: “Jews” should be called only people, who follow the Jewish. religion. You are also right that there are no races, but only “language-families” (Sino-Tibetan, Semitic, Indo-European, several African, several of the Native American and so on). Yes, there are racial characteristics like east-Asian “almond eyes” or white, brown. black skin. But like belonging to one blood group or body height, this says nothing more than just that.
To bring this disgusting development – that Nazi ideology was defeated, but that the no less appalling ‘brother’ Zionism rambles to this day – to a halt we must have a clear mind about our own position. And most people don’t. Let’s take for example this brainless and racialist formulation of the Holocaust as “6 Million murdered Jews”.
Why is this formulation of “6 Million murdered Jews” racist?
There are two reasons. While the “Holocaust” doesn’t define ALL humans murdered by the Nazis, but only those who had been murdered because of racialist reasons, it makes sense to capture them especially with the term “Holocaust”.
1) But then also the ½ million of murdered Gypsies – or “Sinti and Roma” as we often say nowadays – must be included! So that we have to speak only of “6 ½ million racialist murdered persons”. Those who – especially in Germany – speak of “6 million” and “Jews” only – to this day didn’t find it necessary to only once grapple with this matter. To forget about this ½ million Gypsies is disgusting – and shows a strong influence by the Zionist, who want to produce their “Jews” as the exclusive victims of the Nazis!
2) Not less evil is that these ‘Holocaust whisperers’ (who permanently charge others while putting on an important face) perpetuate this only RACIALIST NAZI-TERM OF “JEWS”.
But the Nazis counted as “Jews” also those who were “Half-Jews” (Nazi-term) or “Quarter-Jews” (Nazi-term). And nonetheless the Nazis counted them, to “the Jews”, only because of the racialist idea of “spoiled Arian blood”. And our ‘Holocaust whisperers’ of today perpetuate and take over FROM THE NAZIS(!) this disgusting ideology! Even by logic a “Quarter-Jew” (may be one of the grandmothers of this person was considered to be a “Jew” by the Nazis) is at least a ‘three-quarter Arian’. So these ‘Holocaust whisperers’ have at least to talk about “6 million Jews and Arians”. Of course this formulation is absurd. But this only shows where this Nazi-racism of these ‘Holocaust whisperers’ leads to!
More, dear Willi, You’ll find in a pdf-article I wrote some time ago:
“THE GERMAN AND THE ZIONIST ANTI-SEMITES” – http://s14.directupload.net/images/120703/k8b3pr7o.pdf
In German: “DIE DEUTSCHEN UND DIE ZIONISTISCHEN ANTISEMITEN” – http://www.directupload.net/file/d/3598/6nwcywgy_pdf.htm
Please, see also my previous comment: https://off-guardian.org/2018/12/26/fiasco-in-islington/#comment-141798
The whole “anti-semitic” smear has heavily relied on the “Holocaust” propaganda put out by Hollywood film producer moguls on a regular basis since the 1970s (and not a million miles from Sheldon Adelson in Las Vegas).
It will be increasingly difficult to maintain this brainwashing over the years since people will naturally question its continuing relevance to their times. They will also increasingly question why in some countries it’s actually been made a crime to question anything about the Holocaust. They will rightfully ask why this should be – after all it’s not illegal to question anything else in History – and at the very least they will then begin to suspect they aren’t being told the whole story.
Zionists are essentially in a race against time the further we move away from the time of their defining narrative, however many museums and memorial centres they open. It’s not much consolation but it’s some comfort.
I can’t comment on the issue in Islington but I had the privilege of hearing Gil ad Atzmon in the South of France and he is a wonderful saxophonist. So when he came to play locally my wife and I rushed to see him at our local jazz club. I was shocked and horrified that during the gig not only did he criticise Israel something which is his privilege although I didn’t agree with his perspective BUT he was blatantly antisemitic going through the full range of antisemitic memes. This wasn’t pro Palestinian or anti Israel but sheer naked antisemitism. Because of this I confronted him and challenged his reasons for doing this. So let’s be clear Gilad Atzmon us a wonderful saxophonist, he is anti Israel BUT he is also a raging antisemite.
Is that real antisemitism, or IHRA defined antisemitism? It would be helpful if you listed the tropes. By the IHRA definition, everyone is anti-semitic. If not, one of the fuzzy working examples can be redefined to accomodate a counterfeit charge of antisemitism.
To my mind, Gilad is not motivated by race hate …but against it. Commenting on the institutionalised attrocities regularly perpetrated by the state of Israel can easily be twisted. But if he/we do not speak out: we are complicit. It’s a fine line when the oppressor pre-defines what you can say – which is nothing – but silence is not an option.
You haven’t mentioned Gilad’s reply to you which means that you are probably making this up. I have been to six appearances by Gilad. The only time he mentioned the subject of anti-semitism was in Poole Sandbanks the day after Ken Livingstone was suspended from the Labour party. He was disgusted with the Labour party for their attitude to Livingstone.
Perhaps you could also recount these memes and how they were put over. Is it forbidden to say anything about the Jewish religion? Do you know that Gilad is a philosopher who writes on the subject?
If you do not provide an adequate reply then I can only assume that you are a Zionist troll.
Which local Jazz club – and when? Without this information your dubious anecdote will remain just that.
In terms of ‘raging anti-semitism’ what did he actually say or imply which could be construed as such? How did he react when you ‘confronted’ him?
” …. he is anti Israel BUT he is also a raging antisemite.’ But of course, true by definition, no evidence required. It’s what Kant would have called an a priori statement.
You might like to consider that zionist theory and practise gives rise to anti-semitism. They feed off each other. In terms of PR your heavily armed militia are causing some embarrassment , to put it mildly. We used to say during the Vietnam war, ‘hey, hey, LBJ how many kids did you kill today.’ today’s refrain goes something like this: ‘Hey, hey IDF how many kids did you shoot to death.’ Is that anti-semitic or just a statement of fact?
Mike Harris, let’s see some examples of Gilad’s alleged anti-semitic memes. Without such evidence in detail, your assertion amounts to nothing more than an unsupported smear, and should be discounted as such. What did he actually say? And who says it’s anti-semitic? The IHRA people and their zionist backers? The short answer to such peoples’ allegations of anti-semitism is: “Well they would say that, wouldn’t they?”
The Palestinians are Semitic people and many question whether the people that now reside in Israel today are actually Semitic .Many who actually live there or use to live there.Illan Pappe as an example and Arthur Koestler’s book “The Thirteenth Tribe” .
We should stop with this anti Semitic bull$hit . We juts fall in the trap that is set for us .
Nonsense!
You are exactly what this article is about. Challenged to come up with the evidence, you cowardly remain silent, having slimed GA in the most scurrilous way. I am sure you fear that having to explain what led you to claim GA is a “raging” anti-Semite might provoke more contempt for you personally or cause an outbreak of laughter. What horrible people these are who object to the subjugation of their fellow man and the theft of their land.
I have never heard him say one anti Semitic thing.He is,also,not saying things that others have not said.’The Wandering Who’ is no different from ‘The Invention of the Jewish People”.It tallies in with ‘ The Thirteenth Tribe’.His criticism of the politicisation of the Holocaust ties in with ‘ The Holocaust Industry’.Koestler,Shlomo Sand and Finklestein are all Jewish.
His criticism of the Israeli lobby and the power of that lobby is not in dispute,it is in your face.His analogy of Athens being enlightenment,debate and learning, and Jerusalem being the opposite,the closing down of debate is self evident.People like you are the Jerusalemites he talks of,the dogmatist,the closers of debate,the whitewashers..You can suppress history but you cannot suppress the truth,not forever!.
”We are long since tired of truth tellers being accused of antisemitism. We’re tired of national and local resources being used to prop up the criminal state of Israel.”
And in general terms we are tired of a foreign power interfering in the internal affairs of the United Kingdom. Outrageous.
Yeah well I’m afraid ‘preaching to the choir isn’t gonna achieve SFA.
People who are offended by this corruption of england’s political structure must go out of their way to ensure more of their fellow citizens are made aware of the manner by which fanbois of a foreign nation’s oppressive actions have cynically endangered their own nation’s political institutions, for what? To decide who gets to play sax at a dance?
Faced with the reality that the fruits of victory were so pathetic, yet the cost to england’s political structure (i.e. yet another example of pols destroying the credibility of long established institutions merely to safeguard their own miserable & likely forever anonymous ‘careers’) was considerable, most citizens would be appalled by this selfish vandalism.
Fish-wraps such as the graun are forever wittering on at Russell Brand et al, accusing them of biting the hand which feeds them merely for stating the bleeding obvious, that 99% of politicians shouldn’t be pissed on even if their arse catches fire, yet here is a well documented example of extremely expensive lawyers, politicians and other beneficiaries of the current political structure taking a jack hammer to that structure just because they don’t share the same views as one muso in a band.
Well, if this is all correct it basically sums up what we are currently dealing with,
Untouchables part of an evil state. The state of Israel.
This state on Christmas day carried out an attack on Syria. Not only that they are alleged to have used two passenger airlines landing at Beirut and Damascas as cover for the attacks. Given Trumps announcement about leaving Syria you have to wonder if this was a ploy to get one of the airliners shot down by anti-aircraft fire.
The state of Israel is being run by evil. And those who defend these cowards including the stuff here are no better.
They are one of the biggest threats to global peace right now.
In the meantime my Foreign Office advice (which probably is not on the FCO website) would be to not travel to Lebanon or Jordan by plane until US troops leave Syria.
In fact, given the British government announcement that Al Qaeda who we support through income tax are planning an attack on planes, it might be worth being careful more generally.
Dear Richard, many thanks for this extension.
The question ist, do we support the Palestinians or the Israeli. Based on the UN-Charta or on owr own experienxe, we can never accept, that any group of people can occupate the land of another group. Winston Curchill thought, that the white people can do that.
We have to be all Palestinians like Gilad. It is not a specific question, It is a general question about how we want to live together on this planet in the future. We also cannot accept facts created quickly.
“…Martin Rankoff – (is) not just an anonymous fan of Israel but the UK director of Likud-Herut. Herut (or ‘freedom’) was Israel’s founding nationalist party from 1948 until it later merged with Likud. It is a militant and extreme Zionist organization whose roots go in a straight line from Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Menachem Begin up to Benjamin Netanyahu today. Jabotinsky and Begin helped form the Irgun terrorists in 1937. Irgun committed notorious massacres in Palestine leading up to and during the Nakba (or ‘catastrophe’) of 1947-1948. These include the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946, killing 91 people, and the massacre at Deir Yassin in 1948 in which 254 unarmed Palestinian villagers were brutally murdered as an incentive for other Palestinians to leave. On its web site Likud-Herut UK lists Jabotinsky and Begin as “visionaries”….
These points cannot be made often enough.
The people accusing the Labour Party of anti-semitism. The people who have named Jeremy Corbyn one of the most notable anti-semites of the year. The people who seemingly at will have the ability to de-select Labour Candidates and expel members with long and impeccable records of service… are Fascists.
They are the latest in a long line of fascists who flirted with Hitlerism in the 1930s, who, like Netanyahu’s father, called themselves fascists, who have treated Palestinians as fascists would, who march behind slogans calling for “Death to the Arabs” who defend successive massacres in Gaza, who call for the murder of socialists and who sponsor and enact extreme racist measures against Palestinians… These people are fascists.
There really are no two ways about it. What else can they be called? Do they have to wear leather jackets, goose step and speak German before the obvious truth seeps through?
They are fascists. And their word is law in the Labour Party and in Labour run councils. They llie, they cheat, they defame their critics, they torture children, they shoot the wounded, they kill peaceful protesters, they order assassinations, they probably killed Yasser Arafat, they refuse to abide by the rules of war, they pay no attention to the laws of nations, they violate Lebanese air space daily, they bomb Syria at will, they harbour ISIS terrorists in the Occupied Golan, they steal land and demolish schools, hospitals and homes.
They are fascists.
They act like fascists. And they enjoy the support not only of the British government and the Tory Party and media but of the Labour Party too, which is why Ken Livingstone is not a member of the party and Ian Austin, Jess Phillips, Luke Akehurst , John Mann Hodge and dozens of others, as bad, sit in Parliament as Labour MPs.
They deny the most basic human rights, including food and medical care to the children of Gaza but when Gilad Atzmon objects to their foul behaviour Islington Council, a Labour stronghold, cancels his employment and labels him a racist.
If anyone can explain why these things are so, I will be indebted for the ethical discoveries which will have to be furnished.
Luke Akehurst, praise be, is not yet an MP and one hopes never will be. At a meeting during the Limmud festival last Sunday (“Jon Lansman, now regular Limmudnik and founder of Momentum, in conversation with Luke Akehurst, Director of Labour First and We Believe in Israel. This is the first time they will have been on a panel like this! Moderated by Ella Rose.”), Akehurst called for Jewish Voice for Labour to be proscribed from the Labour Party because “it served no useful purpose” and had been set up to delegitimise the Jewish Labour Movement (or Poale Zion as it was more accurately known as).
I’m glad to hear that Akjehurst is not in Parliament, living in Ontario I assumed the worst. No doubt if he lived in the west midlands he would be.
In addition to the Irgun zvei Leumi, There were the even more ruthless Zionist terrorist outfits, the Lehi – Lohamei Herut Israel – ‘Fighters for the Freedom of Israel’ also known as the Stern Gang,. A Zionist paramilitary organization founded by Avraham Stern. Its activities along with the routine murder of Palestinians, included the assassination of the British diplomat, Lord Moyne, in Cairo, and also a plan to carry out the assassination of the then British Foreign Secretary, Earnest Bevin, as well as sending letter bombs to other members of the British cabinet. Fortunately, these were intercepted. One of the star products of this group was Yitzhak Shamir.
To reiterate, this is just a matter of historical record, a matter of recorded fact, not propaganda, or a value-judgement. I’m sorry is Israelis find this embarrassing, but there you are. Killing people in pursuit of political objectives isn’t exactly civilized, the very least you could to is to own up and not try to squirm out of it by reference to past injustices, which were quite real. That’s a good point that Norman Finklestein makes.
Maybe the council feared the “King David Hotel” treatment should they not humbly obey their Israeli overlords? You can’t make this stuff up.
Gary, more likely these Blairite Islington councillors anticipated a reward for following directions from On High, similar to the rewards given to the Masters of Champaign Socialism: a job in one of the umpteen Rothschild companies. Born-again Anglican Evangelical and re-born Catholic TB.Liar, with his Son-of-the-Manse sidekick G.Brownstuff, were rewarded with directorships after handing out death and destruction to Israel’s “existential enemy” Iraq, and debt-enslavement to Britain (wholesale, of course)..
It’s time for straight talking.
Opponents of the Israeli hierarchy’s psychopathy are not ‘anti Semite’
They are PRO LIFE.
“why IslingtonTown Council leader Richard Watts, without any delay or attempt at negotiation, took the step of going straight to a decision to hire an expensive law firm.”
This fact should have been mentioned when introducing the fact Simkins had gotten involved, instead I got the incorrect impressions that these lawyers were working with the Zionist who made the complaint.
It’s not your fault that you misunderstood. Hugus wrote a very poor sentence:
“When Atzmon moved to appeal his being banned, formidable opponents again appeared in the form of the Simkins Law firm, one of the most expensive law practices in Britain, with not one but two partners at Simkins being put on the case.”
Who does what, Hugus? Opponents to whom? Appeared? Put on the case by whom?
Seems people are going to insist on downvoting us for simply wanting a spot more comprehension. Utterly bizarre.
Both overall context and juxtaposition of the first two clauses – “moved to appeal” and “opponents appeared” – of the sentence you cite make clear what is going on..
Clearly, given the fact three readers were similarly confused over who Simkins were working for, the logical inference is that the piece is unclear, just as another logical inference is that you’re not much of a logician.
Well done. You are a logical thinking pedant.
King Felix, I got the same impression as you did: that “that these lawyers were working with the Zionist who made the complaint.”
And our impression was entirely correct, these Zionazis work as a nest of conspirators. “The hand is the hand of Esau but the voice is the voice of Jacob aka Israel”.
Do you imagine that TB.Liar the Leader of New Labour would admit that he was invading Iraq at the behest of a bunch of Anglo Zio Capitalist conspirators, and with the assurance of future directorships in Rothschild companies? Has anyone demanded Mr.Watt to explain why he should have chosen the most expensive shysters in Britain to represent his cash-strapped borough council? “And behold, I looked on High and saw wheels within wheels” — The Prophet Ezekiel.
It seems reasonable to suppose that Mr. Watts didn’t have to approach anyone. I would imagine the offer of help from Simkins was made without him having to lift a finger. I also imagine that the fees will likely not have been paid out of council coffers – or at least some promise made to refund the money in one way or another.
Of course we all remember the mini-godfather Blair, with the actual Don and his pretty moll he was knocking off.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/seeker401.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/tony-blair-is-rupert-murdochs-daughters-godfather/amp/
Bunch of other famous and not quite as yet famous guests – Jared and Ivanka!
Ah happy days.
Perhaps the author assumed some previous knowledge as this is “Fiasco Part 2”. It is always possible that the complainant was also being advised by this company with someone paying the bill.
These Zionist snakes and the 30 shekel whores they have in their pockets need to be cut down to size, or we will soon all have to take US style loyalty oaths to Israel to get a job as a road sweeper or librarian.
‘I’ll give all the Jews wrong meds’ Anti-Zionist tweets get Muslim doctor fired AND haunt her later
https://www.rt.com/usa/447860-doctor-fired-jewish-tweets/
Mark these words “mark” / mohammed….