Is Corbyn really an antisemite?

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Is Corbyn really an antisemite?

Postby Richard A » Sat Aug 25, 2018 2:32 pm

Since a lot of threads on here seem to be about UK politics, let's have another one! A lot of us even outside the UK will have seen the furore over Labour and its alleged antisemitism, to the point where Jewish leaders have said that Corbyn becoming Prime Minister would pose an "existential threat" to the of the Jewish community in the UK. Partly because he was too slow to clamp down on incidents of antisemitism in the past - which he has acknowledged and is doing something about. But mainly because he was reluctant to adopt parts of the IHRA definition of antisemitism relating specifically to the State of Israel. Corbyn's long-standing support for the Palestinian struggle means that he is probably opposed to Zionism. But does that in and of itself make him antisemitic? I would say, the new law in Poland on what you can and cannot say about the Holocaust is far more clearly antisemitic than support for Ahed Tamimi. But others disagree.
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Re: Is Corbyn really an antisemite?

Postby Lianachan » Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:07 am

I think Corbyn's antisemitism is a manufactured product of the right-wing British press. I'm no fan of Corbyn, who is for independence for every country in the world except Scotland and happily lies to further that, but I don't think he's antisemitic.
A-nis bidh fios aig daoine nuair a tha mi a 'mionnachadh aig dhaibh.
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Re: Is Corbyn really an antisemite?

Postby Heid the Ba » Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:21 am

I think that "Corbyn's long-standing support for the Palestinian struggle means that he is probably opposed to Zionism." is the crux of it, the Pro-Israel lobby are very quick to tar anyone anti-Israel as anti-Semitic.
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Re: Is Corbyn really an antisemite?

Postby Arneb » Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:14 pm

I don't think three well-respected Jewish papers publishing a joint statement that they and their readers wouldn't feel secure anymore in the UK if Corbyn became PM doesn't really count as a right-wing press campaign. I can't judge the Labour Party sepecifically, but oever here, I have seen a lot more anti-Semitism masquerading as criticism of Israel than the other way round. The casual ant-Semitism our gauche de salon employs here, supporting the cause of the poor, oppressed, non-racist, non-militant, no-Islamist and totally democratic Palestinians against Israel the oppressor (and we know they have there people in all the places that matter in capitalism, don't we), is revolting.
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Re: Is Corbyn really an antisemite?

Postby Heid the Ba » Wed Sep 05, 2018 9:21 am

The Labour Party have now fully adopted the IHRA definition. The definition itself is anodyne and wishy washy, what is problematic are the examples. To my mind the troublesome ones are:

◾Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
I have no problem with anyone's self determination but the State of Israel is a racist endeavour since Arabs are treated worse than Jews and Jewish self-determination is at the expense of others.

◾Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
Ghettos and clearing Lebensraum make those comparisons hard to avoid sometimes.

I have no doubt that, as Arneb says, much anti-Zionist feeling is a cover for basic anti-Semitism but not always, and Jews are quick to use claims of anti-semitism as a cloak for Israel's worst excesses.
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Re: Is Corbyn really an antisemite?

Postby Richard A » Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:40 pm

An interesting addition to the debate. Some months ago, when I said that many Jews do not support the policies of the Israeli government, I was howled down (not, thankfully, on here) by someone who said, "Thank you for whitesplaining what Jews think." So here's what a number, including a SOAS colleague, think. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... GSSK9VDVfA
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