Thread by @davidschneider

OK. Brace yourselves. It’s time for yet another thread about anti-semitism. (How I pray for a time I will no longer have to write these).

Labour people. Can we stop saying that anti-semitism is worse in the Tory party. Or society at large. It’s like cooking a meal for a vegetarian and saying it has some meat but not as much as other meals. Labour is the party of anti-racism. There should be zero tolerance of AS.

Can we remember:
You can fight AS in Labour AND fight for Palestinian rights and freedom.

You can fight AS AND other forms of racism at the same time. It’s not either/or.

You can fight AS in Labour BECAUSE you want Labour to win the next election, not to stop them winning.

If you abuse those who speak out about anti-semitism, keep denying it, see them as the enemy, you're part of the problem. You prove the problem. I look at the responses to @TracyAnnO, @bootstrapcook, @RachelRileyRR in horror. Or this in real life:

https://twitter.com/Labour_Rebecca/status/1040995666888155136

Perhaps you condemned the Jewish papers for calling Corbyn’s Labour an “existential threat”. But as the abuse and the refusal to listen continues, that sense of threat feels ever more real for so many. The response helps create the very atmosphere it decries as hysterical.

Jews aren't asking for special treatment. They’re asking for equal treatment. To be treated like any other minority faced with prejudice.
If you think Jews keep banging on about it (would you say that to any other minority?), it’s only because we feel many people refuse to listen

When JC intervened with his video, I did at least sense a shift in my replies from “it’s all smears” to “it’s a few bad apples”. If he intervened more, and more forcefully, it might make a difference. But does he care enough? Does he truly get it? You tell me. (I’m sure you will)

Meanwhile, Willsman remains in place (and no, he wasn’t just talking about ’severe and widespread’ AS. The second half of his audio has no such qualifier, he says he’d not seen *any* AS); the denial (hello Mark Serwotka) and the abuse continues, despite what JC himself said:

I know there are many of you, including @PeoplesMomentum, working hard to fix this issue. Thank you for your support and to everyone who speaks out on this. I’d love to STFU about it and focus on the Tories. But how can we call out prejudice elsewhere if we ignore it at home?

It feels like things are getting more polarised. Do we really want to get to the point where Jews like me who have been supportive of the Corbyn project feel we no longer belong? Maybe you feel good riddance to the moaning, kvetching Jews. But if so, you’re part of the problem.

For now (don’t worry, this thread is almost over), I’ll try to keep talking to people on all sides with respect. Dialogue is essential. Education is essential - so often the core problem is a failure to understand what anti-semitism is which leads to a denial that it’s occurred.

You can fight racism on the right AND anti-semitism on the left.
You can fight racism against other minorities AND AS on the left
You can fight brutal Tory policies AND AS on the left.
You can fight Israel’s brutal polices AND AS on the left.
You don’t have to choose.

Peace out.