Jamie Stern-Weiner Tis Ebook Edition Published by Verso 2019
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anti-semitism and the labour party Anti-Semitism and the Labour Party Edited by Jamie Stern-Weiner Tis ebook edition published by Verso 2019 All rights reserved Te moral rights of the authors have been asserted Verso UK: 6 Meard St, London, W1F 0EG US: 20 Jay St, Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY 11201 versobooks.com Verso is the imprint of New Lef Books ISBN-13: 978-1-78960-671-3 ‘Corbyn Under Fire’ and ‘Te Never Ending Story’, © Daniel Finn 2018, frst appeared in Jacobin. ‘Jeremy Corbyn is an Anti-Racist, Not an Anti-Semite’ © Jospehn Finlay, 2019, frst appeared in Times of Israel. 'Smoke Without Fire: Te Myth of the 'Labour Antisemitism Crisis’ © Jamie Stern-Weiner and Alan Maddison, 2019. ‘Te Chimera of British Anti-Semitism (and How Not to Fight It if it Were Real)’, frst appeared on Verso Blog © Norman Finkelstein, 2019; ’60 Times Jeremy Corbyn Stood with Jewish People’ © @ToryFibs; ‘Briefng for Canvassers: Challenging false allegations of antisemitism’ and ‘Te Riverside Scandal’ with permission from Jewish Voice for Labour; ‘A Disinformation Campaign’ © Media Reform Coalition, 2019; ‘Te Fake News Nazi: Corbyn, Williamson and the Anti-Semitism Scandal’ from Medians © David Edwards, 2019; ‘Is the Guardian Institutionally Antisemitic?’ and ‘Labour Party Conference or Nuremberg Rally? Assessing the Evidence’ from author’s blog, © Jamie Stern-Weiner 2019; ‘Hue and Cry over the UCU’ © Richard Kuper 2019; with permission of OpenDemocracy; ‘Why the Labour Party Should Not Adopt the IHRA Defnition or Any Other Defnition of Antisemitism’ from author’s blog, © 2019 Norman Finkelstein, 2019; ‘When Jews are Just Fodder for the Tory Propaganda Machine’, © Antony Lerman 2019, with permission from Open Democracy; ‘Antisemitism, Cosmopolitanism and the Politics of Labour’s “Old” and “New” Right-Wings’, © Jeremy Gilbert 2019, with permission from OpenDemocracy; ‘Critiques of Elite Power Aren’t Antisemitic or Conspiratorial – Tey are Necessary’ © Michaela Collard 2019, with permission from Red Pepper; ‘Is the Labour Party against empirical sociology? Some Notes on Power, Elites and Anti-Racism’ © David Miller and Tom Mills 2019, with permission of Ceasefre; ‘Jews, Antisemitism and the Law’, © Naomi Wayne, 2019; ‘Tere is Another Way to Resolve Labour’s Toxic Wrangles Around Complaints’ © David Rosenberg 2019, with permission from Morning Star; ‘Stereotypes Should Be Discussed Not Sanctioned’, © Jamie Stern-Weiner and Alan Maddison 2019, frst appeared on Verso Blog; Te authors of the testimonies all retain their copyright. Contents Acknowledgements Editor’s Introduction Overview 1 Corbyn Under Fire Daniel Finn 2 Te Never-Ending Story Daniel Finn Evidence 3 Smoke Without Fire: Te Myth of a ‘Labour Antisemitism Crisis’ Jamie Stern-Weiner and Alan Maddison 4 Te Chimera of British Anti-Semitism (And How Not to Fight It If It Were Real) Norman G. Finkelstein 5 Sixty Times Jeremy Corbyn Stood with Jewish People @ToryFibs 6 Briefng for Canvassers: Challenging False Accusations of Antisemitism Jewish Voice for Labour Reporting 7 Labour, Antisemitism, and the News: A Disinformation Paradigm Justin Schlosberg and Laura Laker 8 Te Fake News Nazi: Corbyn, Williamson, and the Antisemitism Scandal David Edwards vi Contents 9 Is the Guardian Institutionally Antisemitic? Jamie Stern-Weiner Case Study: The 2017 Labour Party Conference 10 Labour Party Conference or Nuremberg Rally? Assessing the Evidence Jamie Stern-Weiner Case Study: The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism 11 Hue and Cry over the UCU Richard Kuper 12 Why the Labour Party Should Not Adopt the IHRA Defnition or Any Other Defnition of Antisemitism Norman G. Finkelstein Case Study: Liverpool Riverside CLP 13 Te Riverside Scandal: Louise Ellman and the War on Riverside Labour Party Jewish Voice for Labour Politics 14 When Jews Are Just Fodder for the Tory Propaganda Machine Antony Lerman 15 Antisemitism, Cosmopolitanism and the Politics of Labour’s ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Right-Wings Jeremy Gilbert 16 Critiques of Elite Power Aren’t Antisemitic or Conspiratorial – Tey Are Necessary Michaela Collord 17 Is the Labour Party Against Empirical Sociology? Notes on Power, Elites, and Anti-Racism Tom Mills and David Miller Processes and Principles 18 Jews, Antisemitism, and the Law Naomi Wayne Contents vii 19 Tere Is Another Way to Resolve Labour’s Toxic Wrangles Around Complaints David Rosenberg 20 Stereotypes Should Be Discussed Not Sanctioned Jamie Stern-Weiner and Alan Maddison Testimonies: Labour Jews Speak Out Rica Bird Andrew Feinstein J.G. Sam Glat Murray Glickman Mike Howard Stephen Kapos Agnes Kory Frank Land Bernice Laschinger Rachel Lever Moshe Mankof Angie Mindel Elizabeth Morley Sonia Routledge Mike Scot Jenny Secretan Roger Silverman Annabelle Sreberny Ruth Steigman Daniel Vulliamy About the Contributors Acknowledgements Te editor wishes to thank Norman G. Finkelstein, Célestine Fünf- geld, Leo Hollis, Alan Maddison, and Deborah Maccoby for their assistance in the preparation of this book and/or the development of the ideas that informed it. Special thanks, also, to those Jewish members of the Labour Party who gave permission to reproduce their testimonies. Introduction We are approaching the 2019 general election in bizarre circumstances. From the climate crisis to homelessness, Brexit to the NHS, the stakes could scarcely be higher. Yet a story about the Labour Party that has no basis in fact, is prima facie absurd, and whose partisan motivations are transparent is playing a signifcant role in our national conversa- tion and might even infuence the result. Tis story has dragged out for fully four years. Time and again, criticisms appear to have been answered, positions clarifed, and measures implemented – only for the same allegations to not just resurface in, but return to dominate political discussion. Like a creature from a horror flm, the ‘Labour antisemitism’ controversy just won’t die. Te ‘antisemitism’ campaign is, in its profle and its protractedness, unprecedented in modern British political history. To fnd an anal- ogy requires reaching back to those outbursts of collective madness which periodically stain the annals of human history and astonish all succeeding generations. If its consequences do not compare with those of the Salem Witch Trials or the McCarthyite purges, still, in its combination of cynical calculation, botomless irrationality, and self-perpetuating moral hysteria, the propaganda ofensive against Labour lies squarely in the trajectory of these infamous episodes. It is a curious experience to write about the ‘antisemitism’ allega- tions against Labour, because there is barely anything of substance to xii Introduction engage with. A miniscule proportion of the party’s half-million mem- bers were found to have posted ofensive remarks on social media; so far as can be told, the entire furore reduces to this. Were it not for the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans would have continued to sufer the rigid segregation, harsh discrimination, and routine brutal- ity of the Jim Crow South. Were it not for the ‘Labour antisemitism’ campaign, a small number of questionable Facebook posts would have received less publicity. Indeed, this book might fairly have been titled, A Comprehensive and Exhaustive Examination of Nothing. If Jeremy Corbyn’s historic candidacy is defeated, it is likely that the ‘antisemitism’ charge will briefy take on renewed salience as fac- tional opponents seek to engineer his ouster. If and when he is ejected, the whole issue will vanish overnight, consigned forever to Orwell’s memory hole. What happens if Corbyn wins is less certain.1 But his opponents will continue to have resort to the ‘antisemitism’ weapon, while there are already indications that the relentless smears have curtailed his radicalism.2 In any case, the ‘Labour antisemitism’ campaign set a template that is sure to be deployed against other popular movements of the lef – as supporters of Bernie Sanders are beginning to discover.3 It is therefore critical that the strange events that have warped British politics since 2015 are soberly examined and the truth about them established – not just for posterity, but to help kindred movements avoid repetition of Labour’s mistakes. Tis volume brings together a selection of analytical writings4 on the ‘Labour antisemitism’ afair as a contribution to this efort. Jamie Stern-Weiner 21 November 2019 Overview 1 Corbyn Under Fire Daniel Finn Jacobin, 9 April 2018 Te dominant narrative in the British media about Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party, and antisemitism is false and defamatory. Labour does not have a leadership that tolerates or encourages prejudice against Jews. It is not a safe haven for bigots. Tere is no evidence that antisemitic views are more prevalent in Labour than in other parties, or in British society as a whole.1 Anyone making those elementary points is likely to face an indig- nant response. Hasn’t Corbyn himself admited that Labour has a problem?2 How can you deny the evidence staring you in the face? Te question ‘does Labour have a problem with antisemitism?’ has been posed incessantly to Labour politicians and to ordinary party members. It should be seen for what it is: a rhetorical trap with a built-in conclusion. If they answer ‘no’, they will be ridiculed for suggesting that Labour is entirely free of antisemitic prejudice. If the party has even a single member with antisemitic views, that’s a problem. Only a fool would claim that Labour has managed to eliminate every last trace of big- otry from its ranks. But if they answer ‘yes’, that will be taken as an admission that the prevailing narrative is correct. Take, for example, Corbyn’s recent interview with Jewish News.3 Afer speaking at length about his opposition to antisemitism and 4 anti-semitism and the labour party the steps that would be taken to root it out, he was urged to ‘call on your supporters to stop calling allegations of antisemitism smears’. For some, any talk of ‘smears’ is itself a form of antisemitism and should be sanctioned by the party.