As a Jewish academic, I'm genuinely worried about the prospect of a Tory govt under Johnson emboldening real antisemites.
A Labour government under
@jeremycorbyn
will lead the fight against antisemitism and all racism both in and out of Labour. Here's why-
#VoteLabourHateRacism
A man who stood for peace, honesty, kindness and anti-racism was vilified like no other in history.
That is the single measure of how corrupt our society has become.
I support the Labour Party and I'm Jewish
I back Jeremy Corbyn as a lifelong antiracist campaigner
I’m voting Labour for a better future for us all
#jews4jeremy
🌹🌹🌹
Easy to forget but less than 6 months ago the Tories fought and won a general election on a level of deception and evasion unparalleled in modern history.
If only journalists were as up in arms about that as they are about Cummings breaking a lockdown rule.
We "do have numbers of people who have died" but we are not telling you what they are.
When China suppresses information like this we call it authoritarianism.
One of the great untold stories of this election is that Labour's polling has dropped even more steeply than the Tories' since the campaigns got underway...1/
I'm a Jewish member of the Labour Party who has been active on social media and in meetings and events both locally and across the country. Have never witnessed or experienced any antisemitism or felt in the least bit unwelcome. Nor have any of my jewish friends in the party 1/2
I admire Jeremy Corbyn not because I always agree with him but because he has always and unflinchingly stood with the oppressed, spoken truth to power, and prioritised principles over careerism.
One of the last, great English radicals who still just can't be bought.
Last night,
@BBCRadio4
aired a documentary which repeatedly accused me and other academics of spreading Russian disinformation.
In a glaring and twisted irony, this amounted to an apparent smear operation that would not seem out of place on Kremlin media. Here’s why...
If Corbyn was to stand as independent in Starmer's constituency - which is very close to Islington N and similarly left leaning - I think there's a good chance he'd win.
Just. Saying.
Just like McCarthyism, anti-Corbynism will eventually be remembered for what it truly is: a vicious campaign of legal intimidation and political repression.
Journalists falling over themselves to tell us this is the first time a major power has invaded a 'sovereign' nation for 80 years in unprovoked attack.
Apparently the Gulf War never happened.
I did my doctorate on television news. I've written several books about the media and given testimony to governments and regulators in UK, Europe and US.
I have never come across the level of misinformation permeating national press and broadcasters as it is this morning.
FACTS:
@jeremycorbyn
's record in supporting Jewish causes both in and outside of Parliament goes back decades and is unmatched by any of his PLP critics.
He also did more than any other leader in history to stamp out antisemitism from the party.
Interesting day ahead I'm sure.
Whatever anyone writes in any report, this man is the furthest thing from a racist as it's possible to be.
I've spent my entire life watching him relentlessly fight every form of racism and oppression across the globe.
#IStandWithJeremyCorbyn
The Forde Report describes media portrayals of leaked emails, including the July 2019 Panorama episode on antisemitism in the Labour Party, as "entirely misleading", echoing Labour's pre-broadcast reply and the thousands of complaints the BBC received...
The BAFTA award nomination of BBC Panorama's 'Is Labour Antisemitic?' is beyond parody and an insult to Jewish people who never accepted what we now know was a manufactured myth:
Starmer's self congratulations on the handling of antisemitism within the Labour Party is built on one of the most comprehensive cover ups in modern British politics, and a litany of lies that makes Boris Johnson look like an oracle of truth telling...
Like any political leader, Corbyn had his flaws. But the greatest threat to the established order is that history will remember him as a fundamentally decent, honest and principled leader who stood, and almost won, on a moderate platform of economic justice and climate renewal...
Just got this frank and illuminating acknowledgement from LBC call handler after I rang to offer my views on Kier Starmer's leadership of
@UKLabour
:
"We've had too many calls from people criticising him and need to try and find some balance".
After more than 2.5 years and thousands of complaints dismissed out of hand, John Ware finally admits to an 'editing mix up' in
@BBCPanorama
's 'Is Labour Antisemitic?'....
Adam I can provide you with a contact list for scores of prominent Jewish voices - both in and out of Labour - who'd be more than happy to come on your programme anytime anytime and explain their support for
@jeremycorbyn
Just so you know for next time..
I’m making an announcement tomorrow about a new project we’ve been working on since the Spring.
I’m excited about it and hope you will be too.
Posting here at 2.30pm Sunday🕰️
There are a few other countries where, like Britain, a huge story like this would not make the headlines of any mainstream press or broadcasters. Russia is certainly one of them.
We’ve found 8 Tory donors that, collectively, have won £881m in 35 Covid19 UK gov contracts
Combined they've donated £8.2m to the Tories
So, for every £1 donated, they've averaged a return of £110 from contracts won
The golden line of cronyism
Exclusive with
@BylineTimes
The 'sting' of tonight's
@afneil
interview with Corbyn was based on an apparent falsehood. Neil claimed Lesley Perrin got off with a 'formal warning' for sharing Holocaust-denying material. In fact she resigned her membership as soon as the party opened investigation 1/
The dominant narrative that Corbyn undermined Labour's handling of antisemitism complaints has been torn to pieces by
#LeakedLabourReport
. Remarkably some, including John Ware, are still trying to stand it up. But there remains one consistent and crucial omission:
Hi Sabrina, my name's Justin and I'm one of several Jewish academics that has worked with David. I'd love to have a conversation about why I don't believe he did anything like target Jewish students, and why campaigns like yours are politicising and trivialising real antisemitism
Hi Lowkey, my name is Sabrina and I’m one of the Jewish students who campaigned for Miller to go. I would love to have a conversation with you about why David Miller’s targeting of Jewish students and anti Semitic comments made it really hard to study
@BristolUni
.
I'm slightly confused by
@OwenJones84
's repeated description of Corbyn as having a 'pathological aversion to conflict'.
Really? This is a politician who rebelled against the whip on more than 400 occasions, before taking on the entire British establishment as leader of the party
NEWSFLASH: Corbyn WON on policies. The Tories matched Labour's spending commitments in GE17. Left Labour candidates did far better than centrists. The 'socialism is dead' mantra resounding across the media establishment is just another chapter in the centrist fairy tale.
apparently
@UKLabour
is taking investigations into former staff for alleged abuses "very seriously". So seriously its agreed to settle libel cases brought by some of them, apparently against the advice of its own lawyers.
This is beyond Thick of It levels of satire...
Melenchon got more votes from under 30s in the French election than either Macron or Le Pen.
The majority of under 30s electorate in the UK voted for Corbyn's Labour even in 2019.
Young people are overwhelmingly voting for socialism across the democratic world...
One of the most troubling questions for me is why did Centrists - both in and out of Labour - turn their vitriol against Corbyn so much more than Johnson? 1/
The real question is not why our experience differs so starkly from those Jewish members featured on tonights
@BBCPanorama
but why the BBC actively and consciously chose to ignore us 2/2
A Labour source told the Guardian that the Forde Inquiry "seems to be looking at everything. It's become a nightmare".
Says it all really. The idea that an independent inquiry should attempt to get the truth is, for the Centre-Right power structure, a "nightmare"
So just to be clear: When you repeatedly demanded that Corbyn take immediate action to expedite and escalate complaints investigations, and he did exactly that, he was engaging in 'political interference'.
Barely need to scratch the surface to see this nonsense for what it is.
.
@BoDPres
: Today's report is a damning indictment. They should have dealt with it a long time ago. Instead we saw the opposite - political interference in cases
#bbcqt
Just when it looked like Centrism couldn't be more devoid of ideas, intellect or integrity, its exponents come out in force to claim that Biden's imminent, razor thin victory over the most corrupt and disastrous incumbent in US history should serve as a 'lesson' for the left. Wow
It will take a while before this is a matter of historical record, but Starmer is the most prolific and insidious liar in British political history. Blair and Johnson are oracles of truth by comparison.
To be clear, the story of Labour's leaked report is not 'factionalism' but corruption, cpnspiracy and cover up.
That most professional journalists seem blind to this is an illistration of just how tamed the British press has become.
nick ferrari on
@LBC
.. 'Harry and Megan have16 bathrooms. I'm not even sure if I have 16 rooms in my whole house!'
oh the struggle between the haves and the have mores
The special kind of viscous hatred directed at left wing Jewish women by centrist white men remains one of the great untold stories of mainstream, normalised racism and misogyny.
Solidarity with Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Jenny Manson and other leading women of the Jewish left...
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Awaiting meltdown form
@jrschlosberg
and
@helensclegel
.
Meanwhile, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha .
Simply not true that the UK has failed to learn lessons from China on the pandemic.
In fact, the British government's suppression of information, manipulation of data, and control of message has been arguably far more effective.
not sure whats more remarkable.. the size of this mass demonstration against western imperialism or its non existence according to our mainstream media
Jews young and old out in force today to denounce Israel's horrific attacks on Gazan civilians and demand an immediate ceasefire.
The Israeli government does not speak for us.
The
@BoardofDeputies
does not speak for us.
Ceasefire now!
Here's to all the wonderful 'good', 'bad' or 'insignificant' Jews who have for many decades stood with the oppressed and never with the oppressors, often in their own backyard, and who stand by
@jeremycorbyn
today 1/2
Not at all surprising that just as Labour start to narrow gap in polls, distorted amd dangerous coverage of antisemitism ratchets up the agenda. No new evidence: just more rhetoric from conservative leaning figures claiming (wrongly) to represent all or 'vast majority' of Jews 1/
'I dont think he's an antisemite. I think he tolerates antisemitism'. this was exactly the line about Corbyn up until the summer of 2018 when he suddenly became 'an antisemite'. Obvious pattern: the closer a socialist leader gets to power, the more antisemitic they become.
Speaking to Larry King, Alan Dershowitz vows to campaign against Bernie Sanders "state to state" if Sanders gets the nomination. He also previews the sleazy smear tactics that will be used: Sanders, he says, "tolerates anti-Semitism among the hard-hard-left."
The BBC defamed Jennie Formby while she was seriously ill. They allowed John Ware to insinuate she tried to rig the Jackie Walker hearing. They deliberately omitted counter evidence from the very chain of leaked emails from which they selectively quoted.
This will not go away
in her first 3 months in Parliament
@zarahsultana
has done more to call out injustice and hold power to account than most of the PLP over their entire careers. This is what real opposition looks like.
Just think. If it wasn't for their sabotage, we would have won in 2017, Jeremy would be PM, and we would have a government working for the 99%.
But these people preferred a Tory victory instead.
Shame on them – and solidarity to all the members who have been cruelly betrayed.
It was a false narrative that dominated much of the 2019 election agenda which gave the Tories a record-breaking majority.
One of the most egregious and systemic failures of media accountability in living memory.
It's been almost 24 hours since this bombshell story was published and, as far as I can tell, it has not been picked up by a single mainstream news outlet.
That real journalism is increasingly hard to find is the single clearest measure of our failing democracy.
Labour's election review cites cliff-edge drop in Corbyn's popularity after 2017 as a key factor in historic 2019 electoral defeat.
It neglects any mention of the huge simultaneous spike and slew of fake news headlines brandishing him a communist spy, a terrorist and a racist..
In 2017, with a ferociously hostile press as well as his own staff plotting against him, Corbyn got 5% more of the vote than Blair's last election in 2005 (when Labour was backed by both The Times and the Sun).
"politically competitive" = "in the service of elite interests".
Right wing press gushing over starmer. "At last we have an opposition" declares the Mail. Murdoch media priming Labour for a 2024 endorsement.
Creating the illusion of opposition has always been essential to the media's legitimation. A one party state is never a good look.
The attention gap between Labour antisemitism and Tory Islamophobia is shocking in and of itself. But what's even more remarkable is that it is inversely correlated with the evidence 1/
For the vast majority, this pandemic has been utter misery.
But for a wealthy few, it has been an opportunity to cash-in on connections.
And boy have they cashed in.
The sacking of
@RLong_Bailey
for RTing an article that was clearly not antisemitic is deplorable and unjustifiable. It serves only to embolden relentless efforts to intimidate, silence and delegitimise the left's voice on twitter. BUT...
Wondering if the biggest mistake that some elements of the Green movement and Green Party ever made was to seek any kind of accommodation with the interests of capital.
I know it's complicated. But they really should have backed Corbyn.
The dominant narrative that Corbyn tolerated, fermented or didn't do enough to tackle antisemitism is unravelling.
Yet the evidence first surfaced months before the election. It was studiously ignored by the likes of
@bbclaurak
then, just as it is now.
The depths of corruption and duplicity in Labour's centre-right establishment has been laid bare; as void of integrity and ethics as it is ideas.
But the targeting and hounding of Jewish activists in the name of fighting antisemitism is on another level of shame.
I am crowdfunding a formal challenge to Ofcom's decision (after more than 12 weeks of deliberation) to not even investigate any of the complaints about the BBC's disgraceful Panorama episode 'Is Labour antisemitic?'
Aside from triggering an avalanche of outrage,
@ukLabour
's decision to settle cases with former staff completely undermines various on-going investigations into the leaked report for which several members have been suspended.
What an appalling, embarrassing mess.
Those who mistake Corbyn's popularity for cultism don't know what real democracy looks like.
After decades of PMs and careerist party leaders on all sides scrambling to get in to bed with the Murdoch Mail press, they've just never seen it.
I think centrists can't perceive anything wrong with BBC or Guardian coverage because they instinctively believe that Centrism (aka Neoliberalism) is not ideological.
They see their worldview - projected and amplified through 'responsible' media - as the epitome of balance 1/
This perfectly illustrates the magnitude of the blind spot affecting mainstream newsrooms. Countless outspoken Jewish individuals and several groups all over social media expressing their outrage over the treatment of
@jeremycorbyn
yet, somehow, Sky News was unable to find them.
Not entirely unpredictable that a BBC journalist who amplified and editorialised anti-Corbyn messaging for four years winds up working for the Murdoch empire
Heartening to see some even on the right of Labour, who still care about things like justice and common decency, now starting to question the direction in which Starmer is headed.
It was a kiss that nailed him. Not the PPE or track and trace disasters. Not the decision that turned care homes with the most vulnerable people into Covid megaspots. Not the public contracts back handed to mates who then made a total hash of it.
A kiss.
Apologies for a long but important thread:
John Ware – presenter of last year’s controversial Panorama episode on antisemitism in the Labour Party – has published an in-depth article decrying allegations of sabotage against Corbyn’s leadership...
History will surely look back on this time as one of the darkest periods in British journalism and modern democratic life.
#AntiCorbynism
has become more insidious and repressive than McCarthyism
Unfortunately this is not quite an 'analysis' of any sort. It is riddled with baseless assumptions and inaccuracy that should not have even passed the editorial threshold for an opinion piece...
The motion to deselect Corbyn does not mention antisemitism.
Nothing more perfectly exposes what was and is, fundamentally, a war against ideas - about a genuine and possible alternative to rampant inequality, climate chaos, endless war..
As prolific a liar as Johnson is, 'Vladimir Corbyn' is the product of a much bigger lie carefully constructed by the British establishment and its compliant media for the best part of 7 years.
The face of the Labour leader when Boris Johnson called his predecessor "Vladimir Corbyn" at PMQs. Such a laugh.
(Unlike Johnson, Jeremy never played tennis with the wife of Putin's former minister for a £160,000 donation, but has protested against Putin's barbarity for decades)
Though I don't always agree with him, I've been a fan of
@mrjamesob
for some time.
But the sheer ignorance, arrogance and hypocrisy he has demonstrated over the last 2 days is nothing short of breath-taking...
A telling reminder that when the veil is dropped, BBC News and Current Affairs is not all that different from an authoritarian state broadcaster.
But they do great wildlife and children's TV.
One of the most successful propaganda myths of our age (with roots steeped in the legacy of empire) is that political corruption is something that happens 'over there'.
The shattering of this myth is long overdue.
Something incredibly poignant about a voice so maligned and excluded finding its way on to the airwaves. A Jewish Zionist tells LBC
'I would happily fight for Israel and die for Israel but what I won't do is lie for Israel. And calling Corbyn antisemitic is simply a lie'
Today’s settlement is a misuse of Labour Party funds to settle a case it was advised we would win in court. The leaked report on how anti-semitism was handled tells a very different story about what happened.
beggars belief that Board of Deputies still think they're entitled to speak on behalf of 'the Jewish community' when they are themselves elected by a minority and treat dissenting groups and other minority voices with utter contempt. disgraceful.
.
@BoDPres
: "It beggars belief that after four and half years of failure on antisemitism, Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler still think that they know better than the Jewish community how to fight this vile prejudice". Full statement:
I disagree with David Miller's views on Zionism but wholeheartedly defend his right to express them. Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism, no matter how much apologists for Israeli apartheid say it is...
BBC & Guardian still falling over themselves to make a splash out of every word Tony Blair says.
Meanwhile
@MuslimCouncil
scathing attack on Tory 'denial, dismissal and deceit' over Islamophobia nowhere on
@BBCNews
homepage.
Still not getting this
@huwbbc
?
John Ware has accused 'Corbynites' including
@schneiderhome
of omitting evidence.
Ironically, the controversial
@bbcpanorama
he presented last year did exactly that...
A vote for Labour is not a vote against the Tories.
Its a vote for the rigged system, corporate interests and wealthy few that both parties are now equally committed to defending, albeit in marginally different ways.