THE ANTI-SEMITISM SCANDAL that has engulfed British politics the last few weeks has been unique and absurd. It is almost forgettable that the whole thing was kicked off by a comment made by Jeremy Corbyn, which he opposed the removal of a piece of street art, on Facebook. He did later say that he should’ve looked closer and if he was aware it was anti-Semitic then he most certainly would not have commented.
Whether the artwork itself is even anti-Semitic is debatable, but I guess if you hold some form of inherent dislike for the Jewish people, you are more likely to find anti-Semitism within this piece of artwork.
The link to the Israeli lobby scandal
Back in January 2017, Al Jazeera broadcasted a documentary about the pro-Israel lobby in the UK. They had made recordings that showed some elements of the Israeli embassy plotting to “take out” pro-Palestinian politicians. They moved a staffer named Ella Rose to run Jewish Labour Movement and effectively run Labour Friends of Israel. This is a group that contains the likes of Chuka Umunna and Stella Creasy, who both attended the rally set-up by the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies, two far-right Jewish organisations, who have never said a bad word about the Conservatives, praised the election of Donald Trump and happily do the bidding of the Israeli embassy in London.
Last year, around the same time, an anti-Semitism furore was brewed and manufactured and the Middle Eastern Eye, reported that it was inexplicitly linked to the lobbying scandal that effectively saw the Israeli government, actively undermine the opposition in British politics and influence it for their desired outcome. Meddling in other democracies politics is severely underhanded.
Of course, Britain can hardly complain when they have violently overthrown whole regimes because they didn’t stand in line and follow suit, also continue to actively participate in other country’s politics. This is of course fully supported by the Conservatives, who fully support the Israeli government and they will only outrage over meddling in Britain’s national politics when it is against them, for example Russia.
Furthermore, Some of Israel's supporters saw an opportunity to restrict public debate about Israel, Palestine and Zionism, and weaken a growing Palestine solidarity movement; the British government's attacks on BDS, for example, have seen officials explicitly link Israel boycotts with anti-Semitism. But since Corbyn’s election as Labour leader, he has been labelled ‘friend of Hamas’ and ‘terrorist sympathiser’ by his opponents whenever he criticised Israel. These smears since they first surfaced are a clear attempt to stifle debate about Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and they are actively participating in creating the anti-Semitism furore, this is propaganda and manipulation.
