Tags
Anti-Semitism, Daniel Carden, Jeremy Corbyn, Jewish Chronicle, Labour, Mike Sivier, political, smear, Vox, Vox Political
It seems the people trying to smear the Labour Party with false allegations of anti-Semitism have become so reckless – or so desperate – that they are risking legal action against them by publishing outright falsehoods.
Before we get to those, perhaps I should set the scene a little.
For the last few years, people who oppose Jeremy Corbyn’s policy of seeking a peaceful solution to the Israel/Palestine question have been trying to find a false accusation of anti-Semitism that will stick. They’ve failed so far.
Here are some of the reasons for that:
I spent many months, possibly years, researching Jeremy Corbyn's lifelong battle to fight the evil that is antisemitism. I condensed all the facts into this one graphic. Please make sure as many people as possible learn the truth about this man. pic.twitter.com/oUI1mlxyKl
— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) November 7, 2019
In fact, rational minds are clear that Mr Corbyn is a friend to Jewish people:
Please retweet this
As a Jew who supports Corbyn, I have felt great anguish and anger at the weaponising of the deeply serious issue of antisemitism by Corbyns political opponents
Corbyn is NOT an antisemite
He is tackling the AS that exists in Labour Party in all good faith https://t.co/M2D7HcjfoM
— Tom London (@TomLondon6) November 7, 2019
Labour Is A Safe Space For Jews. The proposition that the election of a Corbyn government would result in a widespread exodus of Jews is as risible as it is hyperbolic https://t.co/1Ag96ufday
— JewishVoiceForLabour (@JVoiceLabour) November 9, 2019
Still the smears come – and now that a general election has been called, it seems they are becoming more wild.
For example, the Jewish Chronicle published a front page lead story that claimed Mr Corbyn was a danger to Jews in the UK:
Read the full leader for 8 November 2019 here:https://t.co/HR42fB1lnc
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) November 7, 2019
Now that publication, and its editor, Stephen Pollard, may face prosecution over what it said:
EARLIER Jewish Chronicle Labour Own Goal: anti-Corbyn editorial reported to cops .. AND ENDORSED BY RACISTS https://t.co/Lxvqv6rkAr pic.twitter.com/4HTqqvdHog
— Tim Fenton (@zelo_street) November 8, 2019
Then Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland smeared a Labour candidate as an anti-Semite. The allegations referred to a separate person who happened to have the same name.
Guardian hack Jonathan Freedland just libelled a Labour candidate by falsely accusing him of antisemitism.
Freedman didn’t bother to do proper research and mistook him for a man of the same name.
The Guardian even published it on their site.
The utter state of the UK media. pic.twitter.com/SUzyC0NSf3
— Evolve Politics (@evolvepolitics) November 8, 2019
Jonathan Freedland casually confusing two brown men in efforts to slander a policial opponent as an antisemite.
I won’t be taking lectures on racism *or* responsible journalism from this hate merchant. Neither should you. https://t.co/olGC8L0duS
— Kerry-Anne Mendoza (@TheMendozaWoman) November 9, 2019
The reporter has apologised, blaming his “Labour source” – but then he did this:
Seriously? Freedland? It hasn’t even been 24 HOURS https://t.co/MsSoP6rCtJ
— William Kedjanyi (@KeejayOV2) November 9, 2019
Oh dear.
His retraction did not come soon enough to stop Rachel Riley – a person rather well-known on This Site – from repeating the libel:
She's apologised. 😮😮😮
She's also said – and I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP – "it's not my intention to spread untruths". 😂😂😂
I thought they said irony died when Kissinger got the Nobel Peace Prize? It's still alive and well on Channel 4 game shows.
— Shaun Lawson (@shaunjlawson) November 8, 2019
A judge will decide whether Ms Riley intentionally spreads untruths soon enough.
Now, Daniel Carden has been accused of singing “Hey Jews” to the tune of “Hey Jude” on a coach journey last year (his fellow Labour Parliamentairan Conor McGinn has been accused of calling another colleague a “poof” on the same trip, which is anti-LGBT abuse).
"Stretching charitability to its absolute limit, the claims are the idiocy of some southern corporate journalist failing to understand the Scouse accent in a noisy bus. But Carden's rational comment about the timing of the claims raises far more sinister possibilities." https://t.co/giXvnLSULi
— The SKWAWKBOX (@skwawkbox) November 9, 2019
Skwawkbox is quite right. Mr Carden said: “If anyone genuinely believed any antisemitic behaviour had taken place, they would’ve had a moral responsibility to report it immediately. Yet this allegation is only made now when a general election is imminent. I stand by my record as an anti-racist campaigner. I would never be part of any behaviour that undermines my commitment to fighting racism in all its forms.”
It’s a good question, and it undermines the accusations against him. Meanwhile, perhaps Mr Carden would like to report an offence under s.106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 – false statement of fact as to candidate.
It's becoming more ridiculous by the day. This was almost 2 yrs ago and Journos and MPs kept silent and suddenly discovered now they were offended back then. This screams smear not antisemitism @DanCardenMP Labour shadow minister denies antisemitic lyric https://t.co/M9HzRORs3W
— JewishVoiceForLabour (@JVoiceLabour) November 9, 2019
(I hope he gets further than I did after it happened to me in 2017 – but then, he probably won’t be dealing with Dyfed Powys Police.)
Of course, it isn’t all roses on the Tory side of the fence either:
Been watching @DawnButlerBrent asked about allegations of antisemitism against Labour on @SkyNews and @BBCNews.
Dawn sets the record straight but when she points out there's a genuine racist in Number 10 the interviewers go into a panic and talk over her.Wonder why that is? 🤔
— A red sheep (@anarkysheep) November 8, 2019
Tory members suspended over Islamophobic posts https://t.co/71RR5Lqhoz
— Terry Norman #CorbynOutrider (@kohima44terry) November 9, 2019
All this, and the election campaign isn’t even a week old yet.
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
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Just like with crimes such as sexual assault, there is (rightly) a great degree of protection for the accuser but unfortunately little punishment for false accusations.
Until the false accusers with an agenda have reason to think twice it will continue – your own court case is an excellent example of an unfair and unequal burden of proof.