Anti-Semitism row: JK Rowling schooled by British Jew
JK Rowling is a terrific author of fiction. As a political commentator, however, she leaves a great deal to be desired.
She recently weighed in on the Labour anti-Semitism row, throwing her weight behind those who want us to think Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-Semite and the Labour Party institutionally racist, supporting a thread by a person going by the pseudonym “Nuddering Nudnik”.
She should have known better. The mere fact that this person was posting under a pen-name should have indicated that they have something to hide.
Of course, if a gentile had tried to explain the faults in Nuddering’s argument to Ms Rowling, she might have found them easy to dismiss.
We are fortunate, therefore, that Ben Goran – a British Jew – stepped up and provided a wealth of evidence to show what’s really going on.
I reproduce both threads below. See who you believe. Here’s Jo and ‘Nuddering’:
This thread is the perfect litmus test. If you can read it without empathy for the writer’s pain and fear; if you immediately assume an agenda; if, above all, your response to the distress of a British Jew is to shrug and talk about the Israeli government, then you test positive. https://t.co/9WvsxXm1b3
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 14, 2018
Towards the end of the news summary i hear that @The_TUC President Mark Serwotka has made a speech at the TUC conference in which he described how Labour's antisemitism crisis has been invented by Israel.
I actually heard about that last night but had managed to forget it.
— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
Countless cries in person, via social media, the press, TV etc from prominent Jewish people – this week it was the turn of the admirable @TracyAnnO – have made plain the human cost of all this.
We've made no secret of the hurt, the pain, the distress & anxiety we are suffering.— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
And yet Mark Serwotka and the rest carry on. They double down. They intensify the rhetoric, they increase the pressure on a tiny and absolutely beleaguered minority group.
Normal standards of decent behaviour would mean the following:
— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
4. Group B then describes the behaviour that caused the upset.
5. Group A says "we get that. We won't do it again as you are not our enemy & we have no reason to want to hurt you".
6. Group B thanks Group A for their empathy & understanding.Empathy.
— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
Mark Serwotka, Jeremy Corbyn & the others don't want me to be standing in my kitchen having a normal experience of domestic life.
They want me to be reminded of my crime of being – just like at least 90% of us – a Zionist Jew.
They want me to suffer.
Why else would they persist?— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
We – and they – now know the following:
1. Over 85% of Jews believe Jeremy Corbyn to be an antisemite
2. Less than 10% of Jews would now consider voting Labour
3. 40% of UK Jews would consider leaving the country if Corbyn became PM.Only 40%? Clearly that's not enough for them.
— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
Perhaps it won't be enough until the Zionist Jews (more than 90% of us, remember) actually do leave?
That must be it.
Because why else would Mark Serwotka & the others persist?
— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
And clearly, that will not do.
Ends.— Nuddering (@NudderingNudnik) September 14, 2018
And now here’s Ben Goran:
2/ It's 1995. I'm in the Territorial Army. We have to fill out forms during basic training. It asks where you're born. Word spreads. Later my Corporal makes constant jokes about 'my big nose'. I'm quietly disgusted but not shocked. Racism in the British Army? It's almost SOP.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
4/ Angered by its humiliation, Israel decides to punish Gazans for voting for Hamas. It does this three times: Operation Cast Lead (2008–09), Operation Pillar of Defense (2012), & Operation Protective Edge (2014). Each time thousands of Gazans are killed, unable to find shelter.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
6/ A number of Jewish academic and religious figures like @normfinkelstein condemn the wars. They are either roundly criticised or ignored. I condemn the wars anonymously on a blog, not wanting to be traduced for supporting Hamas, a body part created by Israel to split the PLO.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
8/ It's 2015. I turn on my radio. Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the Labour Party. At conference he mentions justice for Palestine. Recognising the State of Palestine is now official position of a major UK political party for the first time. I feel …
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
10/ It's 2016. There's a referendum on Brexit. British media is saturated with racist dog whistles by right wing Europhobes. The BBC continually platforms a man who makes the referendum about blaming the EU for immigrants. Britain votes Leave. Corbyn is blamed, not David Cameron.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
12/ It's 2018. There's a local election. Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party are accused of being antisemitic shortly after the party achieves positive results. Voters appear not to feel the party & its leadership are a threat, rather the opposite. The Govt is in continual crisis.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
13/ They are joined by three leading Jewish publications, zionist Rabbis, and even the Prime Minister of Israel. We are told 85% of British Jews think Labour is institutionally antisemitic. No other verifiable evidence is offered to support these claims. 40% will leave UK. Same.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
15/ Labour adopts the IHRA definition of antisemitism. It modifies some of the examples. The Home Affairs select committee did the same. Labour is accused of acting in bad faith and defending the ability to be antisemitic. Labour MPs say even adoption of IHRA makes no difference.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
17/ At an NEC meeting on the IHRA, protestors outside shout 'fascist' and wave the Israeli flag. I'm confused. I thought this wasn't about Israel (or Palestinians). But the media tell me it is b/c if you're anti-zionist then you negate Jewish right to SD, which is antisemitic.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
19/ Across media 'The Jewish Community' is presented as a monolith with one opinion. It is zionist. It is anti-Corbyn, and it is anti-Labour. We are told it faces an existential threat. Corbyn is compared to an anti-immigrant neo-fascist.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
19/ 2018 Chuka Umunna says Labour is institutionally racist, immediately contradicting 2016 Chuka Umunna. The hyperbolic row is amplified by a bankrupt corporate media requiring 'scandal' for clicks. The most incompetent British Govt in memory spends a summer free from scrutiny.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
21/ Joan Ryan and others lose CLP votes of confidence. This is denounced as bullying and targeting Jewish MPs. None of the MPs are Jewish. A Thomas The Tank Engine card is sent to an MP with 'choo choo'. It means deselection. We're told it references the gestapo cattle trucks.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
22/ There's a steady stream of anecdotal evidence of Jews suffering from anti-semitism. No-one denies that it exists in the UK and in every party. Yet John Humphreys tells the Conservative Party At Radio that "Corbyn is the problem". Data doesn't matter. Facts are flexible.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
@jk_rowling if someone faces bullying, prejudice, bigotry, discrimination, and harm for the fact of being Jewish, that is antisemitism. If someone faces criticism and condemnation for the fact of being zionist that is a matter of ideological contestation. The end.
— Ben Goren (@BanGaoRen) September 15, 2018
See, one of the problems with “Nuddering”‘s story is in his dialogue between Group A and Group B. It’s fine up to the point where Group B “describes the behaviour that caused the upset.”
The next part – “Group A says “we get that. We won’t do it again as you are not our enemy & we have no reason to want to hurt you” – would be justified only if Group B had been the subject of unfair and unjustified treatment by Group A. And that’s not what is happening here.
Group B – Jewish people, or at least those claiming to represent them – have not been attacked by Group A – those people in the Labour Party, including Jeremy Corbyn, accused of anti-Semitism in the mass media. Don’t try to get past that point by saying there are anti-Semites in the Labour Party, just as there are in many other organisations; we all know this. But we’re discussing institutional anti-Semitism here, and the claims against Mr Corbyn.
As Mr Goran points out, the claims against Labour are politically-motivated, to prevent criticism of the Israeli government – not the Jewish people, culture, or religion, but the government of a foreign nation. This criticism has been prompted by the activities of the Israeli government and has been made using language that may not be described as anti-Semitic – unless the person doing so is unafraid of ridicule.
British Jews, knowing this, have no reason to fear the Labour Party or its leader. Unfortunately, many of them appear to have been misled by politicians and media organisations in which they have placed their trust.
But this has been explained before.
So we come back to the dialogue, and the moment when the next part becomes: Group A says, “We did not intend to cause you distress and, as we can demonstrate, you are not the subject of our criticism. Our facts are correct and we do have a point. We would appreciate your help to put an end to the injustice that we see.”
That is what has actually happened, and the next part is deeply unfortunate. It seems Group B then says, “What you have said causes me distress. Please don’t do that.”
What this means is that Group B – or those who have set themselves up as representatives of Group B, like “Nuddering” – is trying to claim victimhood, using this as cover to deny criticism of the genuine Israeli atrocities listed by Mr Goran, and to prevent criticism of the Conservative government by keeping the focus on faked failings of the Labour Party.
There comes a point when one is forced to conclude that Group B is distressed because Group B wants to be distressed; because being distressed – or at least showing it – is seen as a way for Group B to get what it wants. For that reason, I don’t think Group B really represents British Jews at all.
That is how it works. But I reckon anybody reading this already knows.
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Blimey what a palarva, Jk Rowling clearly enjoys great works of fiction so it’s surprising that she’s lost the plot on this one.
The antisemitism slurs against JC are fiction, so it seems appropriate she should be jumping on the bandwagon.
How can Rowling accuse Corbyn of antisemitism based on hysterical allegations with no substance, with a straight face, when there’s a lot of real anti-semitic tropes used in the “Harry Potter” books? (e.g. Gringotts Bank ).
Like Jeremy Corcyn JK Rowling is obviously not antisemitic but this looks like “Double standards” to me.
This article from 2011 tries to justify it even though it seems to suggest she must have been aware of what they were .- What do you think?
https://www.momentmag.com/debunking-the-harry-potter-anti-semitism-myth/
How can Rowling accuse Corbyn of antisemitism based on hysterical allegations with no substance when there’s a lot of real anti-semitic tropes used in the “Harry Potter” books? (e.g. Gringotts Bank ).
Like Jeremy Corcyn JK Rowling is obviously not antisemitic but looks like “Double standards” to me.
This article from 2011 tries to justify it even though it suggests she must have been aware of what they were .- What do you think?
https : // http://www.momentmag.com/debunking-the-harry-potter-anti-semitism-myth/
( Apologies if posted twice – but suspect first one may have been mistakenly identified as spam due to link in it – remove spaces to visit )
“Two Jews, three opinions.”
NO ONE, be it the Board of Deputies, Labour Friends of Israel, or ‘Group B’, represents British Jews. British Jews can represent themselves, and will be as likely to disagree with each other as they are to disagree with anybody else.
I would like to see an actual example of Labour anti semitism (that doesn’t refer to Palestine).
Without some research, I didn’t realize there were Jews who were not Zionist!
There are approximately 15 million Jewish people worldwide.
A small majority of these do not live in Israel.
There are an estimated 40 million Christian Zionists* in the USA alone so the vast majority of Zionists are definitely not Jewish.
* Christian Zionists apparently believe that all Jewish people have to be in Israel for the second coming to happen. Some even believe that all -including Jews ! would have to convert to Christianity then or be destroyed so anti anyone who is not Christian as well
to be honest, l believe Hodge put this whole farce into perspective when she was quoted to of said (or at least from what lve seen and read) that by removing Corbyn it would end antisemitism within the party which is pretty telling if you ask me.. that and the fact that if antisemitism was so rife within Labour surely there would have been more about it sooner before Labours current leader.
if anything the Tories are the hypocrites with their islamaphobia, they dont hide it yet no one bats an eyelid because they are muslims, which by some twist of fate palastinians are predominantly muslim which kind of makes you wonder.
I just want to add a factual nugget to the discussion because I was surprised by the claim that 90% of British Jews identify as Zionist. This is false and have never been the case. The most recent poll, conducted by City University, London, in 2015, found just 59% of British Jews identifying as Zionists. The figure varies over time because it depends on what the word is perceived to mean but it has never been anywhere near 90%. Most British Jews are also quite critical of Israeli policy towards Palestinians and 41% can be considered to be non-Zionist (at least in 2015). Clearly, there is a at least a large minority of British Jews whose views are not well represented by very Zionist institutions like the BoD, LFI and major Jewish newspapers:
https://972mag.com/fewer-british-jews-identifying-as-zionists-poll-shows/113858/
The Zionist assimilation and ownership of all things jewish continues, fomenting violence, hate and fear to achieve their supremacist fantasies made real in Palestine are what they’ve been about for last 100 years.