Thread by @latimer_dale

Ok. Enough. I started this alt account so I could at least see the outpouring of the accounts engaged in the fight against socialism and antisemitism (both described to me as the greatest evils in the world). I have, as far as I could stomach, plumbed the depths of the rabbit

hole and I have a few thoughts. First (though in no particular order), hate. Ever since the Labour Antisemitism scandal broke cover, hate and hatred has been at the heart of the 'debate'. Accusations of hatred, particularly egregious 'Jew hate' have been flying like a volley of

arrows at anyone and everyone daring to raise their heads above the parapet. During my time looking at this, one thing has recurred over and over. The hate, and hatred from the accusers overwhelms the hatred they accuse others of. In almost any conversation, the mere mention of

Israel and/or Palestine sounds a klaxon somewhere. Maybe there's an algorithm monitoring twitter? Once the alarm has gone off, the hatred and dogpiling starts. If you are reading this, you most likely know the escalation. Mention Israel in any context, and 'antisemite' very

quickly appears. Even worse, mention Palestine, or Gaza, and its elevated to 'supporting terrorism'. All of the accusations are delivered in absolute, the boiling hatred seeping out of every tweet or remark. Today I read a thread about the Israel/Palestine situation asking for

people who discuss it to be constructive. I completely agree, knowing how destructive unfounded criticism is. The problem is the contributors responding with 'but Hamas', or 'but rockets' and worse. The heart of this, for me at least, is the twisting of the truth from Israel.

Given that there is going to be propaganda from all sides, I understand the narrative is more complex than most of us understand. Bringing antisemitism into the mix is, in my opinion, deliberate and deeply cynical. If the default is 'Palestinians are antisemitic and hate Jews',

this is being used as a collective catch-22. Guilt by association does a lot of heavy lifting here. IF you support Palestine, YOU are antisemitic by default. It goes much further. IF you criticise Israel, you *hate* Jews and Judaism. IF you don't constantly and repeatedly condemn

every other atrocity in the world alongside Israel, YOU are antisemitic. The accusation has become the proof. The idea that you object to a highly technologically advanced, militarised nation keeping a largely civilian population under severe punitive imprisonment is 'proof' that

you 'hate' Jews is a hideous false equivalence, yet I have seen it wheeled out time and again. The campaign against the left has been waged with a furious energy with antisemitism as its WMD. As an autistic person, I have been struggling to comprehend the mindset of people who

equate bigotry and hatred towards Jews and Judaism with socialism and the left. For a while, we on the left held the narrative. The evisceration of Jeremy Corbyn was a mortal blow to the left in this country. The disbelief of the people who joined Labour following his election as

leader is understandable. The man has a documented, verifiable history of standing up for human rights and the oppressed, at times to his own personal cost. All of a sudden, he was being demonised as the enemy by the media, by pressure groups and by the people in his own party

, accused of effectively hate crimes against the Jewish people and the diaspora. I have pored over the allegations for many hours. It boils down to a catalogue of 'I heard', 'they said', 'we think'. In the case of 'they said', the process has been one of highly selective

reporting, carefully framed and in a majority of cases devoid of context. Just one example of this is the oft quoted 'friends from Hamas', repeatedly thrown out to back up the 'friend of terrorists' trope. For a touch of context, Jeremy Corbyn clearly does not regard Hamas as

friends, any more than he regarded the groups he negotiated with in Northern Ireland regarding the peace process as 'friends'. Friends, in these cases, is and always has been a diplomatic tactic. There's little point in negotiating with warring factions by starting from referring

to them as 'these bloodthirsty terrorist bastards' if you hope to make any sort of progress. Plunging on in my autistic fashion, I want to address some of the other things I have witnessed. Principally the increasing use of othering, dehumanising and gaslighting to flip reality.

In the arena of public 'debate', the far right and their fellow travellers have co-opted the public in a sustained campaign to convince them that they are the 'good guys'. I need to say, right now, they are NOT the 'good guys'. They are vicious, abusive liars. They are people who

celebrate death and disharmony. The division and hatred they sow are part of a wider campaign to normalise fascism both here in the UK and overseas. Brazil has a 'proud fascist' leader, Hungary has Orbán and Israel has Benjamin Netanyahu, who has close ties with the forementioned

far right 'leaders'. This article gives a much more succinct context to the political landscape I refer to -
foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/24/why…

For clarity, Judaism and the diaspora are not Israel. Israel is not Judaism. Any more than the United Kingdom is Christianity, or that Saudi Arabia is Islam. The alignment of the far right and the crusaders against 'left antisemitism' has created curious hybrid lobbies. The edl

march with Israeli flags. Members of Friends of Israel groups join their marches. Right wing racists like Yaxley Lennon have selfies on Israeli tanks. In the UK, Moseley's fascist party has re-emerged. The tumult of condemnation of actual fascism in the UK from the guardians of

decency and the fight against antisemitism has been breathtaking. Really. Have a look for yourself. Crickets. And yet, a lifelong anti racist, human rights campaigner is the enemy? 🤔 The loud, and furious statements that high profile members of the diaspora were preparing to

leave the UK if Jeremy Corbyn's Labour won the election are curiously silent at the prospect of actual fascists marching in the streets. I still wonder what the frightened people thought would happen. Curfew? Armed socialist death squads? Seems like we might reap what we sow,

if the Nazis continue to gain ground. That old chestnut about the devil's greatest trick is chillingly relevant. The fascists' greatest trick might be convincing the people that their enemies are in fact the only people who would defend them. The tsunami of hatred has been shaped

by inversion. Like Orwell's worst nightmare made real. Remember Ingsoc? Newspeak? This is the same, only worse. Black Lives Matter started as a natural response to hundreds of years of brutality, abuse and murder of people of colour living in the United States. Lately, the very

public murder of George Floyd and the subsequent reprehensible response from the 'president' (who called for the death penalty for the Central Park 5), on the heels of his 'good people on both sides' response to the Nazis marching in Charlottesville has ignited the simmering

anger in the community, leading to widespread unrest. This has been hijacked by the far right and turned into a weapon to attack the left. Antifa (literally Anti Fascism) is a disparate group of individuals whose response to Nazis marching in America is to attend and protest.

clearly the decent, human thing to do. And drumpf has declared Antifa a 'terrorist' organisation. In this dystopian fantasy world we now see expressions like 'lefty fascists', 'left extremists', even 'Nazis'. Often quoted by actual Nazis. And yet, and yet... They are gaining

traction. They are being listened to. As their poster boy Goebbels allegedly said, 'tell a lie, make it big enough and eventually it will become the truth'. Dehumanisation too. As Ayelet Shaked said -
archive.is/zWrrG

Many commentators have described the conflict in Israel/Palestine as a 'war'. Another falsehood. If it was a 'war', it would involve two armies engaging each other. It would involve attacks and counter attacks. The Palestinian army, navy and Air force would be actively fighting

Israeli forces on land, sea and air. In reality, Palestine has a disparate, tribal militia, riven with internal conflict and fighting amongst themselves. Israel has a high tech 21st century militarised economy with a heavily protected nuclear program and is a major supplier of

of cutting edge weaponry worldwide. Israel has professional soldiers, sailors and fighter pilots, operating highly effective machines for the disposal of lives and property. Palestinians are permitted to exist in a highly controlled environment under military law. Their land and

property are regarded as fair game by the army of occupation, and taken, violently, often fatally by settlers who want to replace them. The only 'war' I can perceive is the ongoing punitive campaign being waged by Israel on the captive population of Palestinians. I also want to

address some of the frequently quoted antisemitic tropes. The theory that Jewish people 'control' things - the film industry, international finance, there must be others but I don't know what they are. None of it makes any sense at all. Yes, there are Jewish people who make

movies. They also act in them. Pretty much all of my most admired actors, producers and directors (not forgetting the legions of people who support them) are Jewish. I love their work. In many cases I have learned of their lives outside public life and my admiration has just

grown exponentially. From an autistic, secular humanist's point of view, I am sure there are Jewish people in pretty much all walks of life. I'm joyful that they're there, doing what they love, getting on with their lives. I don't think I know any Jewish people (as friends), but

the ones I have encountered through the years have been humans, just like me. Same goes for every faith or religion of any hue. I have met some incredibly shitty, bigoted, homophobic 'Christians' so I don't count religion as any sort of reliable measure. If I say 'the Rothschilds

are in banking, it is nothing more than a statement of fact. What they do (or do not do) as far as I know has zero impact on my life and vice-versa. Thus I am entirely uninterested in them or their activities (not to mention that its none of my business). In short, I celebrate

the work and achievements of the hugely talented people from the diaspora who have entertained and informed me throughout my life. Wherever Jewish people are doing what they do, they have my very best wishes. None of the things that I object to have anything whatsoever to do with

the diaspora. The things I object to are the actions and policies of a nation state towards an imprisoned, beleaguered population. Which has NOTHING to do with religion, and everything to do with humanity (or the lack of). I don't think I have seen the end of this multi level

conflict. The propaganda war is raging. Palestinians are dying. Israel is belligerently defying international law and continuing its pogrom against the Palestinians. The far right is on the rise in the UK again, and the cabal of criminals squatting in Westminster are ushering in

the complete demise of the country while we look on in horror. I wish it weren't so. 😞