Corbyn's Elasticity

It's not quite as funny as the audio recordings of the 'Jewdas' Seder event this evening, where they're booing the names of prominent Jews. Looks like Corbyn had a great time in the photos. I think this will be all over the papers tomorrow.

You really couldn't make this up. I think he's had enough and wants to step down, but they need to make it look like he's been pushed so they can spin it, just in case there's one more 'Jeremy's a victim' vote out there.

Corbyn was invited by a Jewish group in his constituency to celebrate Seder with them. How, is what they say or do any reflection on Corbyn?

“Jewdas” is a left wing Jewish group, who are opposed to what they see as cynical manoeuvring on the part of the Tory supporting Jewish groups who were prominent in the demonstration that took place last week. When the leader of one on the Tory supporting groups was mentioned the people at the celebration booed.

This is a scandal how?

Primrose, it says it all that you get your information from Guido Fawkes

It was from Politics Home editor Kevin Schofield bmacca. What does that say?

Politics Home just retweeted Guido "exclusive". It does say Guido so it's clear where it's from

The vast majority of people and, of course, anyone who is Jewish or has friends who are Jewish will be well aware of the many family members and friends whose lives ended prematurely in the death camps. To make holocaust denial illegal is to make those propagating this rubbish look like victims instead of fools.

Ask people from any ethnic or cultural minority whether they have been subjected to, or have observed, racist abuse and discrimination within the public domain and I guess the vast majority will say yes. Several high profile politicians, including Boris Johnson, have made some pretty unpalatable comments. Racism was always there - whether overt (singing crass songs at football matches) or subtle (passing over the cvs of people with foreign-sounding names) and, following the EU referendum, reports of seriously threatening racist incidents came in thick and fast.

Anti-semitism is wrong but all racism is wrong and it seems now that how anti-semitism is defined has become very fluid and people can be accused of being anti-semitic if they criticise Israel's actions or refuse to join in the frenzied rush to condemnation.

What really annoys me is that the racism - including anti-semitism - which has, both historically and contemporaneously come predominantly from Conservatives and right leaning groups - has been studiously ignored. Even on this thread we are told that pointing out the difference in the treatment of anti-semitism coming from the right as opposed to the left is a mere diversion and not relevant.

It is just too convenient for this theme to be ramped up at politically sensitive times - in this case, just before local elections. The Conservative Party has no wonderful achievements to recommend it to the country - indeed there is chaos within our public services and increasing personal and commercial instability, with several large shops and restaurants closing down outlets and many companies posting profit warnings. The mass media has been very co-operative in keeping the focus firmly away from these pressing issues.

This is why Guido Fawkes jumped on this.

Apparently they are not the right kind of Jew. That smacks of antisemitism to me.

pbs.twimg.com/media/DZzzh-XWsAAgvNJ?format=jpg

A Jewish lady training to be a Jewish priest and at the Seder attended by Corbyn said
“.......either way he (Corbyn) was a lovely guest, and even brought us some maror from his allotment for our Seder plate. For everyone slating him for attending and Jewdas as a group consider that you are politically attacking a group of committed jews on one of our most important festivals of our year”

I has occurred to me that even the Tory spin doctors won’t be able to make this humbug last until May.

What will be the next attack I wonder?

If the MSN behave as they normally do, guilt will now send them in the direction of looking at race hatred generally in a rather belated attempt to find some balance.

I notice that Victoria Derbyshire there is a piece about race hatred in universities. There was a suggestion that a lecture was held at the beginning of uni to explain what was reasonable and what was not. Debate, it seems, has dropped to such a low level that they need, at this late stage, to be instructed. I do question if this is actually a rise in race hatred, or in a feeling that it is okay to use some of the language and debating ploys because they are used without restriction on social media. I'm afraid I think this sort of attack on "the other" has always been with us. You only have to look on this forum, sadly.

Momentum said yesterday

Accusations of anti semitism should not and cannot be dismissed simply as right wing smears .

They also acknowledged - the upset and despair of the Jewish Community and the party's failure to deal with anti semitism

The far left here disagree it seems

What will be the next attack I wonder?

Do you think Corbyn is bored attacking the Jewish community? I have no idea who's next.

Jon Lansman " It was his night off, his office didn't know he was there."

Even Labour says Corbyn attended in a personal capacity, not in his role as Labour leader. He's being dumped by his rather poor media handlers.

Ultimately, when Jews protest in Parliament Sq and you say that you're trying to rebuild the relationship, it’s not smart to attend Passover with a group that dismisses the concerns of those who protested. He's not sincere about fighting antisemitism and I think that is really sad.

No annie if I am one of those you so elegantly describe as “far left” I do not disagree with the need to call out racism in all its forms. If you had been paying attention you would know that it was me that posted the statement by Momentum, and which primrose was so kind to rubbish.

do you think Corbyn is bored attacking the Jewish community? Primrose.
Really Primrose what evidence do you have that Corbyn has attacked the Jewish community?

primrose that last post is certainly clutching at straws isn’t it?

What sort of Jew should he have spent the celebration with. Are you suggesting that they are the wrong sort of Jew.

It is interesting that you have repeated Guido Fawkes on here as fact

It is a fact that Staines (his real name) started his political life by trying to encourage closer ties to the BNP. He frequently post racist dog whistle and actual racist remarks.

There are tweets from Tory supporters replying to Fawkes which are too bad to copy onto here.

The only people currently attacking Jews, Primrose are right wing gentiles and right wing Jews. I am not sure that gentiles telling Jews that they are not the right sort of Jew improves the situation.

This attack on Corbyn has run its course and is certainly backfiring, if social media is anything to go by.

The next attack will be along soon..

Bit like buses aren’t they?

In British society today, unfortunately there is sexism, homophobia, racism and anti-semitism. So it’s not surprising that it exists in the Labour Party and of course, in the Conservative Party.

To blame the party leaders seems ridiculous - it’s a society problem. The Government holds some responsibility.

A combination of Brexit and social media has made people feel they have the right to speak out (often in the crudest of terms) against groups of people, while feeling protected by the relative anonymity of social media.

Let's face it anniebach, if Momentum had not said this, you and others who are determined to paint the Labour Party as the sole repository for anti-semitism would have been jumping up and down saying their failure to make a statement demonstrates their complicity.

When I pointed out the many, many relatively recent examples of Conservative racism - including anti-semitism - there was no response whatsoever on Gransnet from those who are shouting about anti-semitism in the Labour Party.

That is because the agenda is Corbyn and not racism eleothan

Mostly Tue 03-Apr-18 10:46:11 - a very, very good post

The centrist mainstream seems dead and buried under a culture of intolerance but it would soon be resurrected if somebody emerged with the strength to roll the stone away from the mouth of the grave. There are so many people who feel politically homeless. A survey by the National Centre for Social Research found that more than 56 per cent of the British public do not feel any of the political parties represent the views of people like them.

What is missing is a credible alternative and a leader who can capture the mood. Imagine if David Miliband announced that he was returning to Britain to set up a new party. It would be socially and economically liberal, internationalist and domestically reforming

Labour moderates would then have to decide whether to stay with the antisemitic, misogynistic bullies of the hard left whose politics they despise, or join an alliance that would be recreating the party of Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair. Some pro-European Tories might be persuaded to jump ship too

Of course, the Momentum mob and the Brexit bullies would come for him from left and right, but that just proves the need for something new. Many voters would love being offered the choice of a fresh, modern party that chimed with their values. The contrast with the decaying political system, with its ageing crop of leaders — the “gerontocracy” as David Cameron puts it — could not be more stark. Mr Corbyn is going nowhere and there are growing fears among Tory MPs that Mrs May will try to hang on beyond the next election, adding to a sense that politics is in limbo.

But politics is so dysfunctional at the moment that the status quo is surely unsustainable. When Labour MPs admit they would feel immoral campaigning for Mr Corbyn to become prime minister and Tory ministers acknowledge they face a choice between the national interest and party survival, something’s got to give.

The old left-right divide in politics is being replaced by a split between open and closed views of the world but both the main parties now are on the reactionary side, which means there is a gap in the market for a progressive force.

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/there-s-a-hole-in-the-centre-made-for-a-saviour-t0z5rg7sv

Well done primrose for recognising that there is an alternative to the far right views you have been espousing over hours and hours of this thread and others like it.

“It’s an actual stroke of genius we’ve been able to pull this off, perfect timing heading into the elections too” says a Tory activist.
So Tories are admitting to using this anti-Corbyn smear for political gain.

evolvepolitics.com/tory-activist-corbyn-anti-semitism/ dj’s link.