Sunday 18 January 2015

Theresa May, but will the BBC?


I was intrigued that Maxine Mawhinney introduced the speech on antisemitism that Theresa May gave to the Board of Deputies of British Jews as ‘today’s top story’. And jolly good a speech it was too. It seemed to have gone down well. I’m not so sure about the tactfulness on that particular occasion of including Muslims when stressing the government’s aim to make all minorities feel safe, but I can see why she felt the need. 

The problem is this. Surrounding Jewish places of worship, education and social activities is not Tackling Antisemitism. It’s protecting Jews, maybe. But it’s not tackling antisemitism.

I suppose Eric Pickles has touched on this: “He said education, youth groups and charities were the way to tackle anti-Semitism. But then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like
“ faith in Islam can be part of British identity" and he’s written to Muslim leaders to tell them so.
"We must show our young people, who may be targeted, that extremists have nothing to offer them," 
Now I’d have thought that the first thing the government should do, as anyone with half a brain who’s trying to solve any problem would do for a start, is identify it. Find out where the problem is coming from. 
If the government and the media refuse to acknowledge that antisemitism is coming from, a) Muslims and. b) the media, the only hope of keeping Jews safe is surrounding all Jews with protection. Containing it. Are Jews really going to feel welcome, valued and free with round the clock police protection? I don’t think so.
Here’s Iram Ramzan fro today’s Sunday Times;  Jewish Victims, Muslim Shame 
Throughout the week, we have heard commentators condemning the Paris attacks while simultaneously chastising Charlie Hebdo journalists for “provoking” the wrath of Muslims.It was almost like telling a rape victim she should not have “provoked” her attacker by wearing a miniskirt.Even Hamas — that well-known advocate of human rights and free speech — denounced the onslaught on the satirical magazine. Yet notable by its absence was any comment on the Jewish people murdered in the supermarket.I put this question to all those who are trying to explain away the actions of terrorists they claim had “genuine grievances”: what was the justification for the murder of the Jews? They were murdered simply for existing.

 The rest is behind a paywall unfortunately, but here are the relevant bits:
“It was no surprise to read that some Muslims in France hold the Jews responsible for what happened at the magazine. While the atrocities in France were unfolding I was asked by a fellow Muslim” Are the Jews behind the cartoons?”  Antisemitism is a deep rooted problem within our communities.”
 “Last week I was asked by a suspicious Muslim why I was defending Jews. I have previously been labelled a ‘coconut’, sell-out and ‘Jew-lover’.
 Which brings me to another point that needs making. Eric Pickles said:
 "We must show them (Muslims) that there are other ways to express disagreement, that their right to do so is dependent on the very freedoms that extremists seek to destroy."
That’s all well and good. Is the Pope a (pugilistic) Catholic. No-one should ever express their disagreement with an AK47. Duh! Everyone agrees on that; apart from those who disagree of course.
But what’s behind that statement - or why Pickles feels the need to make it - is this media-driven grievance about Israel’s wrongdoings, which is wrong-headed and dangerous. It is widely felt by Muslims and the political left, Guardian reading un-intelligentsia and by the BBC, and it’s wrong on many levels.
Diaspora Jews are not necessarily supporters of the Israeli government’s policies, but they  are, or should be, supporters of Israel, now more than ever. 
All Jews are vulnerable, however, as sort of tokens, hostages if you like, so that when a Jew is hurt, killed or abused, the perpetrator is all too often let off the hook by citing the injustice that Israel (or the Jews) are doing to the Palestinians. I’m stating the obvious here. This is wrong in principle and wrong in fact.
Reality is that Israelis (or the Jews) are the ones to whom the injustice is being done. The media has chosen to identify with the Palestinian cause to such an extent that it turns a collective blind eye to the antisemitism that has driven the entire rejectionist policy that the Arabs have been pursuing ever since the idea of the Jewish state was but a glint in the first Zionist’s eye. 

To tackle antisemitism and its evil spawn, rationalisation of its manifestations, fair reporting is essential. We need to be made aware of the ongoing provocation that always occurs before Israel is goaded into retaliating. 
We need a level playing field. Stop the unequal ‘personalisation’ of Palestinian and Israeli individuals, which leads the audience to identify with one and not the other. 

We need the BBC to stop using loaded terminology, their constant use of “Israel says”. 
How ironic that they portray, with sugar-coated sentimentality, people who are, in truth, hate-filled Jew-hating Hamas supporters, while Israelis are portrayed as liars and land thieves, and pictured as caricature-like black-coated, side-curled crows; the evil Jew straight off one of Steve Bell’s finest  antisemitic cartoons. Stop that now.


Theresa May, Eric Pickles, the BBC the Guardian should urgently take a look at Hamas TV. Look at any of the virulently antisemitic videos translated by Memri.

Recognise, at least, the similarities between the Jew-hating, gun-toting Muslims that have settled in Europe and the Jew-hating gun-toting rocket-launching combo, Hamas and PA. It’s obvious to all but the leftie media, and the most tragic thing of all is that the BBC has it in its power to rectify the situation. It’s shameful that it has been cowed into - or has simply chosen not to do so.

5 comments:

  1. Is there nobody out there willing to actually quote Koranic scripture as "fundamentally" incompatible with both the Tanakh and the New Testament>
    The likes of Jonathan Sacks would really be helping if they cited the egregious blasphemies and double dealings and meanings in the Koran...only one line is common to both-and (as you`d expect) Islam ignores the other half of the scripture in the Psalm concerned.
    Christianity likewise-only far more so.
    No Giles, Nick, Clifford or Justin seems to know the ludicrous tribute act that Islam pays the Gospels in shadowy parodes and half-remembered, regurgitated notions of Jesus` life, work and sayings
    It`s one or the other...Jesus and His dad are pretty damn clear...and Pauls warnings, those of Revelation are in our Gideons...yet no church monkeys dare to say anything.
    Well done Europe-kill 6 million Jews, confuse the Semites and import four times as many Jew haters(in potential) to ensure that no Jew dare put his head above the parapets ever again.
    What a trade off-the Jews are Gods people, His revenge for our cowardice, our unwillingness to create a safe home for the descendents of those we ushered to the gas chambers is due...we had the chance to atone, but we chose Islams sword to prod us to the oil wells.
    God Bless Israel-He`ll do so anyway....best look at South America at this rate!

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  2. I can't get past the paywall, but if Iram Ramzan didn't mention Israel in his essay about Jew hatred among Muslims, he's not addressing the actual problem. Or most of the problem, anyway, considering the Protocols of the Elders of Zion mentality is endemic even without Israel's existence. May and Pickles are also failing if they don't address the double standard we've been talking about.

    The evils of the Jewish Lobby and the double standard that allows Jews everywhere to be punished for Israel's perceived sins is part of BBC groupthink. What to do about it, though? Can we put together something comprehensive and get it published?

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  3. Ironically I was just reading a French textbook today which referred to the multiplicity of faiths resultant upon immigration but reassured the reader that there was "no conflict between religions in France". Obviously it dates back a few years, but even then was a bit over-optimistic I think.

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  4. Non Jewish friends are relations, after May's speech, are asking me if there is really antiSemitism here in the UK, because they cannot really believe it. I have to explain that it comes from the Church, the Left as well as Islam. Whilst the last is the most physically dangerous the anti-Israel work done by the Chuch of Englanf and the Left via the BBC is the most unsettling. Friends, knowing that I am Jewish, come out with what they think is the most innocent remark, but is laced with unintended antiSemitism.

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  5. "Diaspora Jews are not necessarily supporters of the
    Israeli government’s policies, but they are, or should be, supporters
    of Israel," Jews do not equal Israel, of course, and many Jews, including those in Israel, disapprove of actions taken to 'protect' them...including a Wall that cuts up Palestine into sections appropriate for harassing the natives. Short of approving IDF incursions into Palestine to take target practice on the kids - or prosecute them in Israeli courts - what anti-semitism is is selective. Or have all and sundry forgotten that the desert tribes of Samaria are Semites as well ? Cousins, so to speak.

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