Thread by @docrussjackson

THREAD on the changing attitudes to the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (#BDS) movement.

I’m NOT commenting upon the efficacy, morality or legitimacy of the (BDS) movement – just the shift in attitudes to it, especially within the @UKLabour party, since 2014.

#Israel
#Palestine

Following yesterday’s announcement of the Board of Deputies’ #TenPledges, & the near universal & uncritical acceptance of it by #LabourLeadership candidates, I want to say something about the profound shift in attitudes to BDS within @UKLabour, since 2014.

Legitimate & proportionate criticism of some of the actions of the Israeli govt can & still too often do too easily slide into comments which are understandably construed as antisemitic. ALL of us on the left must obviously try to avoid this.

It should go without saying that @UKLabour has a proud history of fighting prejudice & injustice & should continue in its efforts to rid the party of all antisemitism – as well of course of all forms of prejudice & bigotry.

In 2019 140 Political Parties from across the world endorsed the Palestinian-led call for the BDS movement until it ‘ends its violations of Palestinian rights’, including parties in govt in South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Tanzania, Luxemburg, Iraq & elsewhere.

In 2018, Ian Austin apologised to Israelis, saying he’d seen @UKLabour candidates “single out the world’s only Jewish state for boycotts & sanctions", adding "This is anti-Semitism pure & simple”.

Last year, in Jerusalem, Eric Pickles, Chair of Conservative Friends of Israel, & UK Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues, declared BDS to be “antisemitic & should be treated as such”. Also, Michael Gove said "Antisemitism now finds its expression through the BDS movement”.

Jonathan Arkush, ex-President of the Board of Deputies, has repeatedly criticised support of a boycott of goods from Israeli settlements. In 2015 he condemned new guidelines approved by the EU for labelling products from Israeli settlements:

“The EU labelling guidelines are not only totally misconceived but harmful. They are an attempt to stigmatise & thereby encourage boycotts, which are contrary to Govt policy." And now Boris Johnson has said the Govt will pass a law outlawing public bodies from engaging with BDS.

So have attitudes within @UKLabour to BDS changed?
Yes. On 2/08/2014, Labour MP Shabana Mahmoood took part in a protest in support of the people of Gaza, forcing a Sainsbury’s store to close.

At the time Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Ed Balls said he supported her “110%”.

Shabana posted a video to her You Tube account, filmed as the demonstration took place, apparently saying the store had lost business because it sold goods from Israeli settlements:

business-live.co.uk/economic-devel…

"Sainsbury's is losing for supporting goods from the Israeli settlements which are illegal under international law.. we're calling on Sainsbury's & all other stores that trade settlement goods they stop doing so, that they do not support people who have broken international law."

Shabana continued: "We all agree that Israeli settlements on the West Bank are illegal under international law and they are not part of Israel. As such, they are an obstacle to a two-state solution and a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine."

"My position on the boycott of illegal settlement goods, precisely because the settlements themselves are illegal, is a difference of view with my party that is genuinely & respectfully held. I strongly support Labour's desire to see a progressive lifting of the blockade on Gaza"

Ed Balls backed Shabana: "I support her 110%... In any political party there will be times where PEOPLE HAVE LONG-STANDING ISSUES OF CONFLICT. Sometimes it is about religion, sometimes for family reasons, sometimes for constituency reasons, & ANY PARTY HAS TO RESPECT THAT.”

"Shabana is somebody who has been very loyal to the @UKLabour party... She has one issue that she has had for a long period of time – I HAVE KNOWN ABOUT IT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS & HAVE NO ISSUE WITH SHABANA HOLDING THAT VIEW."

In 2014, BDS was fine with Labour's Chancellor.

So what's the point of this thread?

I’m very concerned we might be witnessing the beginnings of a new Mccarthysim – one that scours every action, every post & every utterance of not just @UKLabour members – but anyone in British society, for any trace of anti-Israel sentiment.

My concern is that if any @UKLabour member - or indeed any member of the public - has ever expressed any sympathy with the BDS movement, in today’s climate it could now be retrospectively be construed as antisemitic.

This should concern everyone - Left, Right or Centrist.

I find a huge contradiction in all of this, especially within the British Right, but also with @UKLabour: it is indeed a noble sentiment to endorse & recognise that 'free speech' is at the very heart of Britain's democracy, but on the other hand...

it seems a time may be rapidly approaching when anyone who has ever shown any sympathy for the plight of Palestinians may find themselves at the centre of a modern witch hunt, potentially having their right to be an active citizen & contribute to our fragile democracy withdrawn.

Finally, it’s clear that the grossly disproportionate amount of attention given to the serious issue of antisemitism over the last four years is out of kilter with much more common yet much more widely accepted forms of other prejudice, which affect many more people every day:

These include sexism, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia & disablism. While complaints about these slurs are all too often dismissed as 'PC over-reactions' by ‘lefty snowflakes’, any perceived antisemitism is jumped upon as a serious threat to the fabric of society.