Does Labour have a problem with Anti-semitism?

robel

And now youre also getting Syrian and Yemeni Jews being rescued and considerable amounts coming in from Africa, and the far east. It is the Jewish homeland but some people just dont get that.

IronGiant

How many times do I have to say this?  The one and only point where I think Livingstone said something reasonable was that criticising the state of Israel is not the same as racism to Jews.

That's it.  I've made no comment either way on anything else he said.

Toko Black

Introduction to the Middle East

The term "Middle East" is generally recognized today to refer to a region that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Afghanistan in the east, a distance of approximately 5,600 kilometers. It has a total population of around 300 million people and encompasses the countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. The African countries of Mauritania and Sudan are also considered to be within the "Middle East."



Back to the Middle East

johntheexpat

I'm not talking about Hitler or the Nazis.
What has Hitler and the Nazis got to do with the disputed territories of the West Bank, Golan Heights illegally occupied by Israel ?

Any person, nation or group that persecutes others on the grounds of their ethnicity, gender or beliefs* should be condemned and if at all possible held accountable for their actions.

* as long as those beliefs don't advocate violence or oppression of others.

Israel was built on the principle of the artificial segregation of people on ethnic and ideological grounds albeit out of the belief that supporting a Zionist plan to establish a Jewish nation state was going some way to provide restitution for the persecution Jewish people had experienced culminating in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis.

I do not believe personally that it was a great idea because it effectively took land away from others setting up the bitter disputes and conflicts that were inevitable.
What made it worse was that Israel then occupied more land and refused to give it back leading to even more conflicts.

If the state of Israel was created somewhere no one else had a serious claim issue with, there would be far less problems in the world today. That is merely an observation of a hypothetical situation, not a suggestion or declaration of intent.
However, religious beliefs in God given claims to specific pieces of land, historic sites etc has meant that various religions and groups have been arguing and fighting over them for centuries and won't budge and inch.

Having opinions or being critical of the historic geo political creation of countries and nations states, current political or military policy etc is not by default anti-semitic just because those opinions or critiques happen to in any way shape or form reference or point towards Israel.

Enki

So as the Jewish homeland, first and foremost Israel is about the Jews?  So any criticism of Israel is a criticism of the Jews?

Sonic67

That’s where you went wrong, what you typed in context, does not matter, the man is down the Blairites are circuling above for their revenge and certainly not in the narrative of the main stream media, so not trendy/ popular/ right on, to have any sympathy.

Sonic67

Irony of ironies, I started rewatching my "The Thick Of It" boxset last night. I should have just waited a few hours. Huffington Post sums up today.

Ken Livingstone's 'Nazi' Comments And Labour's Subsequent Implosion

Cheers for that Labour, that was good. More please.

Toko Black

Ben Judah: Why you shouldn't be surprised by Naz Shah's remarks

And when I visited Bradford, a group of passionate Galloway supporters pinned me to a wall, throttled me and punched me in the head, shouting “Get out you f***ing Jew.” Just par for the course in Bradford.

krish

I do find it somewhat ironic that there is a thread about what Muslims think and if or not they condemn extremists and terrorists.
People argue that it is okay to ask questions and make observations and be against aspects of Islam - that there are bigots and racists out there but it is not fair to lump everyone together just because they are critical of beliefs, practices and policies they don't agree with.
That just because 'some' UKip supporters were being racist, it's totally unfair to say UKIp are a racist party.

Yet when people are critical of Israel, especially if are or have links to Muslims, then it's fine to show some people being racist in an area which is pro-palestine which therefore leads to the conclusion that anyone attending or being linked to pro-palestinians in any way is or at least probably is racist.

Now I have absolutely no doubt that a considerable number of muslims, especially in the middle east have some severe prejudices against Jewish people.

But isn't linking Bradford with statements about hating Jews and being par for the course just a tad 'racist' ?

Percentage of population who would not want to live next door to:

Drug Addicts                                86
Homosexuals                                23
Immigrants or foreign workers        22
Atheists                                       17
Muslims                                        16
Eastern Europeans                        16
Asians                                         14
Blacks                                         10
Jews                                            6
Christians                                    5

As an Atheist, I think I might have a little more to worry about prejudice in the UK than Jewish people with regards to the populations attitudes.

Prejudices exist in our society and we should always endeavor to take sensible and practical steps to reduce their prevalence.

Member 581642

Must be a few rems from all those cousin marriages.

Controversial.