Show me evidence of Labour Against the Witchhunt being apologists for antisemitism, says Ben Sellers of Red Labour. I reply with evidence of LAW leaders doing exactly that and even opposing Holocaust deniers being reported to Labour HQ. Sellers blocks me and deletes the evidence.
For clarification, the thread in question was on Facebook not Twitter, hence Ben Sellers being able to delete my comments, which he couldn't do here.
After Labour NEC proscribed four groups, Sellers wrote about Marxists' contribution to the party. Andrew Warburton pointed out the action was being taken to expel apologists for antisemitism not Marxists, in particular Labour Against the Witchhunt. Sellers demanded evidence. >>
>> Others joined in, demanding proof of LAW being apologists for antisemitism. There's no shortage of that, so I gave several examples of its leadership excusing blatant antisemitism and condemning people for reporting Holocaust deniers. Then Sellers blocked me and deleted it. <<
Maginn's article should be renamed "10 strawmen". It cites oversimplified claims about antisemitism in the Labour Party and refutes them. But he chose them BECAUSE they were inaccurate. Eg, Chris Williamson wasn't suspended over Nick Robinson's tweet. The tweet came after. >>
>> A better summary of the problems with Chris Williamson's conduct is provided by Daniel Sugarman's article below and that was written before Williamson's numerous antisemitic statements since he left the Labour Party. >> thejc.com/comment/analys…
>> As the EHRC report revealed, Labour's disputes panel found that Chris Williamson had "engaged in conduct online and offline that ... was grossly detrimental to the Party" and "may reasonably be seen to involve antisemitic sentiments, stereotypes and actions". >>
Poor little innocent Chris Crookes has been branded an antisemite just because he wrote articles for neo-Nazi journals and websites claiming that the Nazis treated Jews well at Auschwitz. Here he is telling his oh-so-moving story on Labour Against the Witchhunt's Facebook page.
Sartre: "Never believe that antisemites are unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words."
In his latest piece for The National, columnist Bruce Whitehead "bares all on why he quit" @UKLabour. The former member of Edinburgh West CLP presents a list of woes but somehow manages to avoid mentioning the party's #antisemitism crisis and his own role in exacerbating it. /1
There were clues in @guardianletters last week where Whitehead objected to Labour's decision to proscribe four groups, three of which are known primarily for their antisemitism. He seems to have been especially keen on Labour Against the Witchhunt, which is probably the worst. /2
A search of Bruce Whitehead's social media soon reveals why. He claims that "Zionism stains the Jewish race with the blood of innocent Palestinian children". Whatever your view on events in Israel, it's clearly antisemitic to attribute blame collectively to all Jews. /3
Typical of the genre, Darren Murtagh claims the #Labour Party has expelled him because he "shared an article from the Guardian saying how Israel funds groups associated with Tommy Robinson". He says the party is driving out "left thinking people", not tackling #antisemitism. /1
Cue messages of solidarity from Darren Murtagh's friends and comrades, many of whom report being forced out of the party themselves because they supported Palestinians, criticised Israel or were too socialist and too antiracist for the Labour leadership's liking. /2
But wait a moment. That Guardian piece doesn't mention Israel at all, not even indirectly, though Darren Murtagh has shared an article about Robinson's funding that did - from the neo-Nazi 'Right of the Right' website, which has since been rebranded as 'Christians for Truth'. /3
Congratulations to the Socialist Workers Party on recruiting Malcolm Adlington. Malc has rejoined the SWP after the Labour Party suspended him for regularly posting antisemitic, in some cases explicitly neo-Nazi, material. But the SWP don't seem to mind. "Welcome home", comrade!
As several SWP activists joined the thread to express their joy at Malcolm Adlington's return to the fold, I asked why they were so keen given the Labour Party had suspended him for antisemitism. Surely, the SWP were supposed to be antiracist? The exchange didn't go well.
Adlington defended sharing an article about Tommy Robinson on the grounds that it denounced him. Yes, it did: from a neo-Nazi perspective that Robinson was taking "30 pieces of silver" for "pretending that the Jews aren't behind the intentional destruction of England and Europe".
Whilst some people who promote antisemitism falsely claim to be members of the Labour Party, there are others who pretend not to be. I'm now wary of taking resignation announcements at face value as they may be intended to lessen the likelihood of AS misconduct being reported.
Lesley Perrin, a Holocaust denier who was a Torbay CLP officer, said she'd given up her membership in Feb '19 after Labour HQ notified her of an investigation, yet the leaked #LabourReport shows she only received a 'reminder of conduct' at that time and hadn't actually resigned.
When I blogged about Perrin's Nazi-grade antisemitism in March that year, I therefore did so believing she had already left the party.