The contract on Corbyn
Corbyn is not an anti-Semite. His real sin is to
fight against injustice in the world, including
the version Israel perpetrates
By Gideon Levy
November 28/29, 2019 "Information
Clearing House"
- The
Jewish establishment in Britain and the Israeli
propaganda machine have taken out a contract on
the leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy
Corbyn. The contract was taken out a long time
ago, and it was clear that the closer Corbyn
came to being elected prime minister, the
harsher the conflict would get.
On Tuesday it reached its climax in an article
by the chief rabbi of Britain, Ephraim Mirvis,
in an article in The Times. Mirvis has decided
that the anxiety of British Jews over Corbyn is
justified and he is not fit to be prime
minister. He called on Jews not to vote for
Labour in the election on December 12.
Born in
South Africa and a graduate of Har Etzion
Yeshiva in the settlement of Alon Shvut, Mirvis
is the voice of British Jewry. In Capetown,
Johannesburg and Har Etzion, he should have
learned what apartheid was and why one should
fight it. His parents did so, but one doubts
that he learned the moral lesson from the
regions of disenfranchisement in which he lived
in South Africa and the West Bank.
As
opposed to
the horrid Corbyn,
Mirvis sees nothing wrong with the continued
occupation; he does not identify with
the struggle for Palestinian freedom,
and he doesn’t sense the similarity between the
South Africa of his childhood, Har Etzion of his
youth and Israel of 2019. That is the real
reason that he rejects Corbyn. The Jews of
Britain also want a prime minister who supports
Israel – that is, supports the occupation. A
prime minister who is critical of Israel is to
them an exemplar of the new anti-Semitism.
Corbyn is
not an anti-Semite.
He never was. His real sin is his staunch
position against injustice in the world,
including the version Israel perpetrates. Today
this is anti-Semitism. The Hungarian Viktor
Orban, the Austrian Freedom Party and the
extreme right in
Europe
are not the danger to Jews. Corbyn is the enemy.
The new and efficient strategy of Israel and the
Zionist establishment brands every seeker of
justice as an anti-Semite, and any criticism of
Israel as hatred of Jews. Corbyn is a victim of
this strategy, which threatens to paralyze and
silence Europe with regard to Israel.
|
Are You Tired Of
The Lies And
Non-Stop Propaganda?
|
British Jewry
might not be faking its anxiety, but it is
certainly magnifying the danger. There is
anti-Semitism, though less that what is
presented, certainly on the left. About half of
British Jews are considering fleeing if Corbyn
is elected. Let them flee. The survey that
showed this could actually encourage
anti-Semitism: Are the Jews of Britain
conditionally British? To whom is their loyalty?
The
future of all British Jews
is much more secure than the future of any
Palestinian living under the occupation, and
even more secure than that of any Arab living in
Israel. Jews are persecuted and are victims of
discrimination and racism less so than the
Palestinians in the Israel they hold dear.
Moreover, Islamophobia in Europe is more common
than anti-Semitism, but people talk about it
less.
Mirvis presents no
evidence of Corbyn’s anti-Semitism. It sufficed
for him to note the fact that Corbyn
described as “friends”
those who “endorse the murder of Jews” – a
reference to Corbyn’s comments on Hezbollah and
Hamas. Corbyn is indeed a very harsh critic of
the occupation, supports the boycott and
compares the closure of
Gaza
with the siege of Stalingrad and Leningrad.
These are anti-Israeli positions, but not
necessarily anti-Semitic. The Jews of Britain
are blurring this difference as are many Jews
throughout the world, intentionally. One can
(and should) be a harsh critic of Israel without
being anti-Semitic.
If the
Jews of Britain and their chief rabbi were more
honest and courageous, they would ask
themselves: Isn’t Israel’s brutal occupation
policy the strongest motive for anti-Semitism
today? There is anti-Semitism, it must be
fought, but it must also be recognized that
Israel supplies it an abundance of excuses and
motives.
The
Jews and Israel’s true friends should hope that
Corbyn is elected. He is a statesman who can
change international discourse about the
occupation and the struggle against it. He is a
ray of hope for a different world and a
different Israel – and what more could we want.
This article was originally published by "Haaretz"
- -
Do you agree or disagree?
Post your comment here
