The pro-Palestine and anti-socialist Labour purge has claimed yet another victim after NEC member and Corbyn ally Peter Willsman was suspended from the party for highlighting the fact that the “antisemitism” conspiracy theory is being pushed by far-right Israeli extremists and “indirectly” from the Israeli embassy.
The suspension was demanded by Tom Watson “over what he called an ‘antisemitic rant'”, a claim that once again attempts to portray criticism of the Israeli state and its actions as antisemitism.
The suspension comes days after Alastair Campbell was suspended from the party for voting for the Liberal Democrats and warnings were issued about a fresh threat from the neoliberal Blairite faction to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Warnings were given that there would be a response from the faction, with the likes of Charles Clarke and other hasbeen Blairites openly defying the authority of Corbyn.
“We have received a number of complaints, including from NEC members, about Peter Willsman’s latest comments, as reported on LBC this morning. I am writing to let you know that we took the decision earlier this morning to administratively suspend Peter, pending disciplinary action.”
Labour NEC Statement
The claims of widespread antisemitism have long since been proven to be a fabrication, with those pushing the agenda known to be members of far-right Zionist and Islamophobic groups with links to the likes of the EDL and Tommy Robinson, a fact highlighted by Willsman when he is alleged to have called the smear campaign “total lies” that were “whipped up”.
“One of these things about anti-Semitism is they’re using that to whip people up, they use anything, any lies, it’s all total lies and they just whip it up. I’ll tell you, this is off the record. It’s almost certain who is behind all this anti-Semitism against Jeremy. Almost certainly, it was the Israeli embassy. Because they caught somebody in the in the Labour Party, it turns out they were an agent in the embassy. The people that are in the Labour Party doing it are people that are linked, one of them works indirectly for the Israeli embassy… my guess would be they’re the ones whipping it up all the time. Which is what they would do, isn’t it? Course they would.”
Peter Willsman
Perhaps the Labour Party and Tom Watson might care to explain what part of the so-called “rant” is factually incorrect? unless of course, it is merely now criticism of Israeli embassy actions that are “antisemitic”?
Israel has openly admitted using such tactics in their propaganda war against critics.
“Vaknin-Gil Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs [has] stated ‘I want to create a community of fighters,’… She said she planned to ‘flood the internet’ with Israeli propaganda that would be publicly distanced from the government. Vaknin-Gil conceded that BDS activists’ human rights arguments are so compelling at the grassroots in Europe and the US that ‘over there, unless we will do something, we will lose.'”
Dorset Eye
In 2017, the landmark Al Jazeera series The Lobby exposed the Israeli regime’s interference in the British political process. Undercover footage showed Shai Masot, senior political officer at the Israeli embassy, plotting to “take down” the Conservative Alan Duncan MP. The video goes on to show Masot informing Labour Friends of Israel chair Joan Ryan that he has access to “more than 1 million pounds” of Israeli funding to bring sympathetic politicians to Israel for junkets.
The implication of financial rewards and favours for positions sympathetic toward the far-right Israeli government is made quite clear in the documentary as is the extent of the links between Labour Friends of Israel and the Israeli government, other footage showing Labour activists discussing the apartheid state’s role in backing their activities.
While nobody suggests that antisemitism doesn’t exist, the fake “antisemitism crisis” has been debunked almost since the very beginning as a propaganda tool used by anti-Socialists, political opponents, pro-Israel groups and lately extremist remainers within Labour, some with extensive links to the far-right Netanyahu government, to quell criticism of Israeli actions and in a laughable attempt to portray Jeremy Corbyn as a racist.
A 2017 YouGov poll clearly shows that 32% of Labour members surveyed endorsed an antisemitic statement. Still too high a number, yet 40% of Conservative Party members endorsed the same and 39% of UKIP members.
In fact, as highlighted by Skwawkbox, antisemitism has fallen under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, as all common sense would tell observers it should have done, Corbyn being a noted anti-racist campaigner.
Jewish Voice for Labour, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Jewish Socialists’ Group, Jewdas and Independent Jewish Voices have all condemned suggestions that Labour are antisemitic, all stating that the accusations are designed to conflate antisemitism with criticism of Israel and undermine the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Prominent Jewish thinkers Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein have also added their weight to the criticism.
“I wholeheartedly support the right of anyone to criticise Israel without being branded antisemitic.”
Noam Chomsky on the expulsion of activist Jackie Walker
Chris Williamson is currently suspended from the party as a result of the purge that has seen the suspension or expulsion of dozens of pro-Palestinian, anti-racist and anti-apartheid campaigners including Jackie Walker and the actor John Graham Davies. There have also been calls for Richard Burgon to resign after he correctly labelled Zionism as an “enemy of peace”, being forced to apologise for his comments. Again, we see fully justified and truthful comments being suppressed with statistics showing that approximately 10,000 Palestinians have been killed since 2000 by Israeli actions, 2,200 of them children. During that same period, an astonishing 100,000 Palestinians have been wounded.
Given that Labour has been proven to be less antisemitic than either the Tories or UKIP, with no data available on the Brexit Party, the purpose of the entire propaganda campaign is abundantly clear.
How much longer will Labour tolerate the far-right agenda that is being disseminated through the party, gutting it of pro-Palestinian voices in the name of a dead neoliberal ideology?
Again, the Party stands completely out of step with grassroots opinion.
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