The disastrous launch of the Chakrabarti Inquiry into anti-Semitism is another reminder that the Labour Party is all but lost to the scourge of anti-Semitism. I find it astounding that Labour Party members have to be instructed not to deny the Holocaust or use racist words like ‘Zio’. These admonishments only serve to show how deeply entrenched Labour’s anti-Semitism problem is. The words in the Chakrabarti report become even more vacuous when compared to other concurrent anti-Semitic events.
A few days after Jeremy Corbyn ignored the anti-Semitic attack on Ruth Smeeth MP by one of his Momentum thugs, the terrorist flags of Jew haters were flown in the streets of London. These flags belong to Hezbollah – a proscribed terrorist organisation – and one of Corbyn’s ‘friends’. They were proudly flown by members of the Al Quds march – an anti-Israel event created and sponsored by the Iranian regime. Year after year the flags of Hezbollah are brandished in our streets by thousands of Islamists and far left militants, who think it is trendy to show their support for terrorists and call for the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews.
Perhaps as a means to cosy up to his ‘friends’ Corbyn was photographed smiling in front of a Hezbollah flag at the 2012 Al Quds Day rally. As one of the featured Al Quds Day speakers, he certainly took the opportunity to indulge himself in Israel hate in front of the adoring crowd.
A few days before Corbyn’s ‘friends’ satiated themselves in the anti-Semitic fest that is Al Quds Day a young Israeli girl was stabbed to death by a Palestinian attacker in a place where she should have been the most safe – her bedroom (29 June). Two days later a Rabbi was shot to death in Hebron. Both murders were praised by another of Corbyn’s ‘friends’ – Hamas.
We have also recently had the 11th anniversary of the 7/7 terror attacks in London. Make no mistake – those terrorists who murdered our innocent civilians on that awful day followed the same doctrine as those who slaughter for ISIS, Hamas and Hezbollah.
All of this is symbolic of why the Labour Party’s attempt to tackle anti-Semitism is a joke. Corbyn’s unfortunate habit of sharing platforms with Jew haters and Holocaust deniers only serves to highlight Labour’s incompetence when dealing with anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is a non-issue for Corbyn and his supporters. It might even be an attraction for them and for some Labour voters. They see accusations of anti-Semitism as a nuisance getting in the way of their righteous fight against Israel and ‘Zionists’. The Labour Party is rapidly turning into a protest movement consisting of the perfect storm of far left militants, Islamists, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists. I am certain that in time it will start to attract far right fascists who will be drawn to their fellow anti-Semites.
The hatred among Corbyn’s supporters for Jews, Israel and the West knows no bounds. The insidious Tsarist forgery, ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, seems to be enjoying a revival among certain Labour activists. Any criticism of their disgusting anti-Semitic behaviour is described as a smear and a conspiracy. Any outcry over their irrational hate of Israel is attributed to ‘Zionist’ control of the media – a trope which is very popular amongst conspiracy theorists and Islamists
This obsession with Jews and Israel within the Left has resulted in the inversion of morality. A perfect example is the response to the recent death of Holocaust survivor and winner of the Nobel peace prize, Eli Wiesel.
Wiesel was maligned posthumously by left wing activists for his support of Israel. Wiesel watched his father die in Buchenwald but this does not matter to these activists, whose lack of compassion astounds me. The debate about Israel has now reached such poisonous levels among left wing anti-Semites that the legacy of a Holocaust survivor, who endured such harrowing suffering, is desecrated. Wiesel knew how vital Israel is to the survival of us Jews. He did not fall for anti-Zionism propaganda, created by Soviet Russia and Arab colonialists, and so beloved of Corbyn and his ilk.
Unfortunately more people are attracted by anti-Semitism than repulsed by it. Of course they will not call it that. They will label it as anti-Zionism. What we perceive as anti-Semitism Corbyn and his supporters see as ‘the truth’ – a concept highly valued by conspiracy theorists. This type of reductive thinking has become part of our political discourse. Anti-Semitism among the Left is further entrenched by the connection between socialism and hatred of Zionism. The Soviets were partly responsible for the creation of the anti-Zionist movement.
This can partly explain why anti-Semitism is so prevalent among some Labour MPs, councillors and activists. It also shows why anti-Semitism will be so difficult to eradicate in a party that prizes socialism. Combine this with Islamist dogma and conspiracy theories and we have the perfect storm of Jew hate infecting the Labour Party.
The events of the past ten days serve only to highlight what an absolute whitewash the Chakrabarti report is. Anti-Semitism will continue to fester in the Labour Party. No amount of inquiries or suspensions will halt this process. They are a waste of time. The belief that the Labour Party can be changed from within is also obsolete. Corbyn and his supporters will never take anti-Semitism seriously. Anti-Semitic discourse is so entrenched within the Labour Party that it has become acceptable. Those who use it are emboldened by Corbyn’s ideology and lack of real consequences for indulging in such hatred.
The Labour Party is not an opposition worthy of Parliament or the British people. It can and should do better. If there are any Labour Party members who have any dignity and conscience left they should disband to form their own party. Far better to leave this decaying wreck of a political movement and start afresh. The fight against anti-Semitism in the Labour Party is over. It never really began.
(Image: Garry Knight)
