This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/28/corbyn-labour-decisive--antisemitism-israel-claims-jewish
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Corbyn's Labour must be more decisive on antisemitism | Corbyn's Labour must be more decisive on antisemitism |
| (4 months later) | |
| Labour’s swift suspension of Ken Livingstone following his inflammatory remarks about Hitler and Zionism may herald a decisive point in the escalating furore over antisemitism. | Labour’s swift suspension of Ken Livingstone following his inflammatory remarks about Hitler and Zionism may herald a decisive point in the escalating furore over antisemitism. |
| The leadership may have finally understood that immediate and emphatic action is needed to deal with people whose comments and posts on social media have fostered antisemitic sentiment. | The leadership may have finally understood that immediate and emphatic action is needed to deal with people whose comments and posts on social media have fostered antisemitic sentiment. |
| Jeremy Corbyn’s 32-hour hesitation in suspending MP Naz Shah from the Labour whip after social media posts came to light not only allowed David Cameron to attack Corbyn on the issue in the Commons. It meant outrage in the Jewish community and among other Labour MPs and in the media – both social and mainstream – intensified. And it created a licence for Livingstone to pour fuel on an already-burning fire. His gross misrepresentation of history and suggestion that Hitler and Zionism shared similar aims turned the flames into an inferno. | Jeremy Corbyn’s 32-hour hesitation in suspending MP Naz Shah from the Labour whip after social media posts came to light not only allowed David Cameron to attack Corbyn on the issue in the Commons. It meant outrage in the Jewish community and among other Labour MPs and in the media – both social and mainstream – intensified. And it created a licence for Livingstone to pour fuel on an already-burning fire. His gross misrepresentation of history and suggestion that Hitler and Zionism shared similar aims turned the flames into an inferno. |
| What happens next? An internal Labour party inquiry, led by the respected peer Lady Royall, is already under way. It was ordered by Corbyn to examine claims of antisemitism at Oxford University’s Labour Club, and since widened to take in other recent incidents. Corbyn’s critics (and some of his allies) say he must institute a clear policy of zero tolerance of antisemitism, taking instant action wherever and whenever it comes to light. | What happens next? An internal Labour party inquiry, led by the respected peer Lady Royall, is already under way. It was ordered by Corbyn to examine claims of antisemitism at Oxford University’s Labour Club, and since widened to take in other recent incidents. Corbyn’s critics (and some of his allies) say he must institute a clear policy of zero tolerance of antisemitism, taking instant action wherever and whenever it comes to light. |
| One problem comes in defining antisemitism. Expressions of Jew-hatred or Nazi sympathy are straightforward. The difficulty lies where opposition to or criticism of official Israeli policies becomes entangled with its citizens, or Jews around the world. | One problem comes in defining antisemitism. Expressions of Jew-hatred or Nazi sympathy are straightforward. The difficulty lies where opposition to or criticism of official Israeli policies becomes entangled with its citizens, or Jews around the world. |
| Some argue that any public criticism of Israeli government policy is de facto antisemitism because of the state’s uniquely Jewish character. Others say that opposition to the present government’s policies is entirely legitimate. | Some argue that any public criticism of Israeli government policy is de facto antisemitism because of the state’s uniquely Jewish character. Others say that opposition to the present government’s policies is entirely legitimate. |
| But this is a complex area. Opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories – which stretches back almost 50 years and implicates administrations across the political spectrum – is not confined to criticism of the current pro-settler government of Binyamin Netanyahu. | But this is a complex area. Opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories – which stretches back almost 50 years and implicates administrations across the political spectrum – is not confined to criticism of the current pro-settler government of Binyamin Netanyahu. |
| And some critics of the occupation go further. They explicitly or implicitly question the establishment, and continued existence, of the Jewish state in what was previously Palestine; that is, they question Israel’s right to exist. | And some critics of the occupation go further. They explicitly or implicitly question the establishment, and continued existence, of the Jewish state in what was previously Palestine; that is, they question Israel’s right to exist. |
| Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, head of the UK’s Movement for Reform Judaism, said on Radio 4’s Today programme that such a view challenges the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. “It’s interesting that other peoples have the right to self-determination but we can turn round to Jews, especially at Passover, and say you don’t.” | Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, head of the UK’s Movement for Reform Judaism, said on Radio 4’s Today programme that such a view challenges the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. “It’s interesting that other peoples have the right to self-determination but we can turn round to Jews, especially at Passover, and say you don’t.” |
| In the same exchange, the Jewish writer and broadcaster David Baddiel took a different view. “I think you can go very, very far – you can say Israel should not exist. If you’re anti-Zionist, you don’t believe it should have been established in 1948, that’s a political position, it’s fine.” But, he added, it was easy for such a stance to then slide into antisemitism. | In the same exchange, the Jewish writer and broadcaster David Baddiel took a different view. “I think you can go very, very far – you can say Israel should not exist. If you’re anti-Zionist, you don’t believe it should have been established in 1948, that’s a political position, it’s fine.” But, he added, it was easy for such a stance to then slide into antisemitism. |
| Picking a way through this is challenging, particularly given the vehemence of the debate on Israel-Palestine. Neither Labour’s internal inquiry nor that of the home affairs select committee is easily going to define a clear line where opposition to Israeli policies might cross into antisemitism. | Picking a way through this is challenging, particularly given the vehemence of the debate on Israel-Palestine. Neither Labour’s internal inquiry nor that of the home affairs select committee is easily going to define a clear line where opposition to Israeli policies might cross into antisemitism. |
| Hannah Weisfeld, director of Yachad, a leftwing UK Jewish group which supports a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine, said: “Of course you can oppose many policies of the Israeli government – many Jews and Jewish organisations do. That does not make you an antisemite. But… being a leftwing supporter of Palestine is not a vaccination against antisemitism. It’s time to redefine the boundaries between antisemitism, anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel in public life.” | Hannah Weisfeld, director of Yachad, a leftwing UK Jewish group which supports a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine, said: “Of course you can oppose many policies of the Israeli government – many Jews and Jewish organisations do. That does not make you an antisemite. But… being a leftwing supporter of Palestine is not a vaccination against antisemitism. It’s time to redefine the boundaries between antisemitism, anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel in public life.” |
| Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism and a Labour party member, said Livingstone was a symptom, not the cause. “I am nervous that by focusing on one large personality, we are not dealing with the issues that lead him to make such a statement. The first step is to admit you have an institutional problem and then … to set out strategies to deal with that.” | Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism and a Labour party member, said Livingstone was a symptom, not the cause. “I am nervous that by focusing on one large personality, we are not dealing with the issues that lead him to make such a statement. The first step is to admit you have an institutional problem and then … to set out strategies to deal with that.” |
| Alongside those who reject any criticism of Israel and those who adopt the binary opposite view, there is a third background element to the current furore. Some virulent opponents of Corbyn may be seizing on and fuelling this issue as a means of discrediting the Labour leader. The din created by diehard opponents of Israel, diehard supporters of Israel and diehard anti-Corbynistas risks drowning out those who want clarity and progress. | Alongside those who reject any criticism of Israel and those who adopt the binary opposite view, there is a third background element to the current furore. Some virulent opponents of Corbyn may be seizing on and fuelling this issue as a means of discrediting the Labour leader. The din created by diehard opponents of Israel, diehard supporters of Israel and diehard anti-Corbynistas risks drowning out those who want clarity and progress. |