Miko Peled

Miko Peled, playing to the antisemitic crowd that adores him

I recently returned from a short vacation in Israel. Visiting Israel should be a requirement for anyone actively engaged in the fight against antisemitism. It works like receiving an antidote. Nothing places the IHRA definition of antisemitism into perspective better than witnessing first-hand the enormous gulf between the democratic reality on Israel’s streets and the non-existent demon-state that is described in anti-Israel Facebook groups. It … Continue reading Miko Peled, playing to the antisemitic crowd that adores him

From boycotting Jews to attacking MPs, the bullying thuggery of BDS

By almost any measure of freedom, Israel is a Garden of Eden compared to every single one of its neighbours. The obsession people have with that *TINY* state is simply astonishing. Of all the nations in the world, Israel is the one people want to boycott (BDS)? No less astonishing is the obsession some people have with the *TINY* global Jewish population. You cannot simply … Continue reading From boycotting Jews to attacking MPs, the bullying thuggery of BDS

Hate against Jewish people. A poison that spreads unnoticed

I had a difficult day on Tuesday. One of those days were I see the poison spread on London’s streets. I was at the Corbyn antisemitism demo /counter demo, that took place as the NEC discussed the adoption of the IHRA definition. There are plenty of political commentaries on the event (1,2,3,4) and I have never been one just to parrot what is said elsewhere. … Continue reading Hate against Jewish people. A poison that spreads unnoticed

divided cloth

Antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the principle of the divided cloth

Before I talk of a divided cloth, let me address the antisemitic events. Last September I was turned away at the door of a fringe event at the Labour conference because I was a ‘known Zionist’. Last summer as I sat to eat a meal with my wife and eleven-year-old son during a day out at the PalestineExpo I was approached by security and asked … Continue reading Antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the principle of the divided cloth

Warwick Jews

Uni of Warwick – false accusations of aggressive & misogynistic behaviour

The story goes that three Jewish people turned up at the University of Warwick, and were told that the ‘public’ event had suddenly turned ‘private’. Warwick has a small clique of distinctly anti-Israel activist academics. The full account was written within hours of the event, and published on this blog. Soon after my report was published, news organisations began to run articles covering the episode. … Continue reading Uni of Warwick – false accusations of aggressive & misogynistic behaviour

Lorde

Following the hate – an open letter to Lorde

Lorde, Last week you read and responded to an open letter asking you to cancel the gig in Israel. This letter isn’t like that one. As soon as any artist lists Israel as a tour destination, an industry springs to life to bully them into cancelling. The letter you read last week is an element of that industry. Polished, packed full of disinformation and written … Continue reading Following the hate – an open letter to Lorde

Yevsektsiya AND JVL antisemitic boycotts

History repeating: Jewish Voice for Labour, today’s Yevsektsiya

How is this for a fun fact: A small group of anti-Zionist Jews set out to oppose Habima theatre, discredit them, have them boycotted, and remove any official support they received. These people wanted Habima, and their ‘Zionism’ sent packing. Does it sound familiar? It shouldn’t, because those responsible were not ‘Jews for Boycotting Jewish Goods’, they were the communist ‘Yevsektsiya’ and these actions were … Continue reading History repeating: Jewish Voice for Labour, today’s Yevsektsiya

Thomas Suarez academic charlatan

Thomas Suarez, an academic charlatan. State of Terror is hateful fiction

Alongside Jonathan Hoffman, I spent part of the summer inside the National Archives at Kew, checking some of the sources that Thomas Suarez had used to build his argument for the book ‘State of Terror’. The findings were inexcusable. Suarez distorted the documents to such a degree that history was unrecognisable. At times Suarez had simply inverted the meaning of a document. At others, I … Continue reading Thomas Suarez, an academic charlatan. State of Terror is hateful fiction

mandate

The Mandate: From 1919 to civil war, antisemitism and Bergen-Belsen

I have been spending time recently in the British Archives at Kew. I am working on a project (with Jonathan Hoffman) that is due to be published on Sep 4th. It has meant spending time, inside the files that recorded the British view of the events of the Mandate. Engaging with the mindset of those that wrote the documents. This ‘perspective’, and the bias behind … Continue reading The Mandate: From 1919 to civil war, antisemitism and Bergen-Belsen

The hard-core antisemitism of the Scottish PSC (SPSC)

My report on hard-core antisemitism inside the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) has just been released. It was commissioned and published by Jewish Human Rights Watch. One-hundred and sixty pages of rabid anti-Jewish hatred. Stripping away all of the pretence about sympathy for Palestinians, the report exposes frightening levels of raw and truly sickening antisemitism. A hatred that is openly prowling the streets of Scotland. … Continue reading The hard-core antisemitism of the Scottish PSC (SPSC)

West Dumbartonshire supports antisemitism

Scottish antisemites in Dumbarton get to throw a public party

From London to Dumbarton, we have to stop the spread of antisemitism. The Barbara Stanwyck smoking advert is probably from the late 1940’s or early 50’s. When I was growing up in the 1970’s, despite a growing understanding of the dangers, you would still see images of the connection between status and smoking. It was still seen as ‘cool’. Non-smokers who avoided the intense peer … Continue reading Scottish antisemites in Dumbarton get to throw a public party

First they came for the Jews

What if they were ‘coming for the Jews’. What would you do?

There is an oft repeated poem that begins ‘first they came for the socialists’. It was refined over several years by German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemölle as he described the general cowardice of German intellectuals during the rise to power of the Nazis.  The central message is clear and it can be adapted easily to suit the person who wishes to use it. Given the … Continue reading What if they were ‘coming for the Jews’. What would you do?

Law, streets, jews Zionists

Fighting through law, fighting in the streets. Both may fail the Jews

From songs that ridicule the Holocaust to blaming Jews for the Grenfell fire on Al Quds Day. From a battle in law to a wider societal struggle. It would be foolish to understate or ignore the signals we are receiving from the current UK landscape. Law and Alison Chabloz 23rd June 2017. I have just left the Marylebone Magistrates Court, where the Alison Chabloz case … Continue reading Fighting through law, fighting in the streets. Both may fail the Jews

Suarez Barkan

‘The only good Jew is a dead Jew’ (the Suarez – Barkan threshold)

‘The only good Jew is a dead Jew’. A horrific statement not so openly suggested in Europe or the USA in 2017.  In reality, this line is actually being propagated in almost every university campus in the west. Yes, it is camouflaged, but do not let that distract us from the sickening message underneath. Let me explain. Thomas Suarez recently published a work of revisionist … Continue reading ‘The only good Jew is a dead Jew’ (the Suarez – Barkan threshold)

Mark Regev, SOAS

The day Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev went to SOAS campus

On 27/4/2017, Mark Regev, the current Israeli Ambassador to London, came to speak at SOAS. Ever since the news of this event became public knowledge, several groups of students on SOAS have been actively trying to have the talk cancelled.  SOAS academics also issued a public plea, the student union issued a statement, and eventually, when it became clear it would go ahead, student groups … Continue reading The day Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev went to SOAS campus