by
Les May
THE
Jewish Chronicle (JC)
wants to be seen as the only
authentic voice of British Jews. Yesterday
(Tuesday 9 July) its
website carried a piece headed ‘The Guardian's
long standing and shameful tradition of promoting antisemitism
denial’ with
the sub-heading ‘For decades, Britain's most prominent
left-wing paper has promoted those denying antisemitism on the wider
left, contributing to today's toxic climate for British Jews’.
What
becomes clear in reading this is that the writer’s concern is that
people, including Labour people,
are willing to take information about the opinions of Jewish people
from sources other
than
the JC and the people who write for it. In particular the writer
does not like the Jewish
Voice for Labour
(JVL) which is dismissed as a
‘tiny
minority of far-left Jews’.
And
what does this ‘tiny
minority of far-left Jews’
actually have to say when providing guidance about what constitutes
antisemitism?
‘Free
speech is legally protected. Within these legal limits political
discourse can be robust and may cause offence. There is no right not
to be offended. The fact that some people or groups are offended does
not in itself mean that a statement is antisemitic or racist. A
statement is only antisemitic if it shows prejudice, hostility or
hatred against Jews as Jews.’
‘Criticising
Zionism or Israel as a state does not constitute criticising Jews as
individuals or as a people, and is not evidence of antisemitism.’
‘Drawing
such parallels (with
Nazi Germany or apartheid South Africa)
can
undoubtedly cause offence; but potent historical events and
experiences are always key reference points in political debate. Such
comparisons are only antisemitic if they show prejudice, hostility or
hatred against Jews as Jews.’
If
you want to check that I am not just quoting selectively then visit
the
website below.
You’ll
find a robust attitude to antisemitism.
If
you actually talk to people about antisemitism in the Labour party
they are baffled. It simply is not part of their experience, they’ve
not seen it, they’ve not heard it, they have no idea what all the
fuss is about. Note
here that I am not saying that people who are prejudiced against Jews
as Jews are not to be found in the Labour party or amongst its
supporters. Such people exist in all walks of life and
I doubt the Labour
party is
exempt.
The
people who write for the Jewish Chronicle seem to think that the vast majority of
voters
actually care about
the writer’s
opinions and so
will
be swayed in how they vote. I
doubt that the
majority of people
care
one
little bit.
This
isn’t antisemitic, it’s just that we do not feel inclined to take
these people as seriously as they take themselves. And
we are not going to accept at face value the JC’s
exaggerated
claim
of ‘a
toxic
climate for British Jews’.
************
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment