Our Jewish institutions continue to raise the plight of Israeli hostages (as they should do) and demand they are freed (as they should be). But I’m seeing nothing from them to condemn the starvation and famine which has become part of the Israeli military strategy in Gaza. 1/6

https://twitter.com/oxfamgb/status/1769758481920262388

Up to now, prominent Jewish advocates for Israel, have kept to the line that ultimately Hamas is to blame for all the civilian casualties in Gaza. And Hamas could end the horror now by surrendering and releasing the hostages etc. But that no longer works (if it ever did). 2/6

My short speech to today’s Leeds March for Gaza which also took place on Holocaust Memorial Day 🧵

1/17 My name is Robert Cohen. I am another British Jew who says “Ceasefire Now!”.

Another British Jew who says “Not in my name!”

2/17

To call for a ceasefire is not antisemitic.

To say no to a ground invasion is not disloyal to the Jewish people.

To demand immediate and massive humanitarian aid is not collaborating with Hamas.

These are Jewish responses rooted in our heritage and historical experience. 1/6 The atrocities carried out by Hamas are unforgivable.

Ending apartheid, ending occupation and achieving decolonisation do not have to involve terror and the slaughter of innocent civilians. There is nothing progressive or moral in that thinking. 2/6

The Conservative UK government has (again) set out its intention to make it illegal for public bodies to bring in their own economic boycott or divestment policies. It’s been clear for some time that a primary target of this legislation is to limit Palestinian solidarity. 1/8 There’s already a civil society campaign that’s up and running to challenge this attempt to stifle free speech and criminalise non-violent protest in support of genuine democracy in Israel/Palestine palestinechronicle.com/uk-civil-socie… 2/8

THREAD: Five reasons why growing Palestinian solidarity in the UK is NOT fuelled by antisemitism. I’m seeing far too much commentary on Twitter suggesting that that today’s huge marches and rallies are motivated by hatred against Jews. 1/9

theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/m… The claim is that people don’t get this worked up about other atrocities committed by other regimes around the world like China or Syria. So there must be something sinister going on (left-wing, religious or cultural antisemitism). But I could not disagree more. 2/9

THREAD: There is so much to say about this social media campaign organised today by the formal established leadership of the Jewish community in the UK. First it demonstrates how divided Jewish opinions on Israel are within the so called 'big tent' of Zionism. 1/11

https://twitter.com/BoardofDeputies/status/1393140818962173953

'NO TO ROCKETS YES TO PEACE' is an attempt to find words that most Jews identifying as Zionists can agree too. But I suspect that even Jews who want to show solidarity with Israeli Jews under fire will see these words as reductionist to the point of being meaningless 2/11

Remember the outrage in 2018 when Labour’s NEC dared to think that some commentary and guidance around the #IHRA and how to conduct a disciplinary process on antisemitism might be helpful? At the time @CST_UK @BoardofDeputies etc went into meltdown. But now, silence reigns. 1/10

https://twitter.com/jvoicelabour/status/1379874638906466307

You may also recall the letter to the Guardian from 68 rabbis, miraculously all agreeing on the virtues of IHRA. Surely the first rabbinical consensus on a Jewish text in several hundred years!
2/10
theguardian.com/politics/2018/…

THREAD: 1/ A plea for Jewish common sense. Some people fight antisemitism by building alliances with other minorities and learning how discrimination plays out in multiple ways. These people are right. Others fight antisemitism by defending Zionism. These people are wrong. 2/ The Campaign Against Antisemitism @antisemitism was set up in August 2014, following Israel’s assault on Gaza which left more than 2,000 Palestinians dead (including more than 500 children) and more than 10,000 injured. 67 Israeli soldiers were killed & 7 Israeli civilians.

To my fellow British citizens, please don’t allow @JewishChron to hijack the British General Election and turn it into a referendum on Labour and #antisemitism. This paper has run a campaign of smears and vilification against Corbyn since 2015...1/7 ...along with @BoardofDeputies and @JLC_uk and @antisemitism and others, it has missed no opportunity to present Corbyn’s Labour as toxic and unredeemable. While antisemitism undoubtedly exists on the left there has been no evidence to prove it is anything but small scale...2/7

THREAD:

Good morning Alex, @alexsobel

For you to describe my original headline and article from July 2018 as “Grade A racism” shows the mess and muddle we have got ourselves into when it comes to understanding antisemitism in this country. Here’s the link to the article for you patheos.com/blogs/writingf…

THREAD: IN A CRITICAL WEEK FOR LABOUR AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN BRITAIN, HERE’S MY TEN QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DEPUTIES - MARIE VAN DER ZYL @BoardofDeputies @BoDPres 1. Why are you ignoring the Jewish academic experts, notably: David Feldman, Brian Klug, Tony Lerman, who have all made critical studies of the IHRA document and found it inadequate and unhelpful in numerous ways?