by
Les May
SPEAKING
at the Jewish
Labour Movement
(JLM)
hustings last Thursday Lisa
Nandy
is reported as describing anti-semitism as ‘a
particular sort of racism’
and went on to say, ‘It’s
a sort of racism that punches up not down, that argues that Jewish
people are privileged and powerful, and because there are people on
the left who believe that their job is to challenge privilege and
power, therefore wrongly and disgracefully they argue that Jewish
people are a legitimate target for racism’.
I
doubt that Nandy can provide a single instance of what she claims.
Is she saying that Labour
supporter
should not challenge privilege and power when it is exercised by
people who happen to be Jewish?
She
went on to say that if she became leader she would try to go further
than accepting the IHRA
definition of anti-Jewish hatred. This
is some
of what
the Jewish Voice
for Peace
(JVP)
has to say about that definition;
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is increasingly being adopted or considered by western governments, is worded in such a way as to be easily adopted or considered by western governments to intentionally equate legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism, as a means to suppress the former.
This conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law.
You can find the full text at
the link below.
In
fairness to Nandy it seems that, just
as
she did, Rebecca
Long-Bailey
and Emily
Thornberry
also declared themselves to be Zionists,
and
Keir Starmer’s
comments could be so construed.
What
is clear is that
they
meant
that they believe that the state of Israel has a right to exist and
I don’t think many Labour supporters would disagree. But
whether Nandy’s pledge to go further than the IHRA definition of
anti-Jewish
hatred was altogether wise remains
to be seen.
************************
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