Shah Hussain only stating what happened

There are a lot of abandoned essays on my computer. Bits and pieces that have become too convoluted, or have taken so long to write that by the time I’m satisfied that they’re reasonably lucid, they’re stale. 

Sometimes you can rescue the best bits for use at a later date, which, now I come to think of it, is is borderline hoarding.

I’ve decided to ditch the entire preamble to this next post and just put it out without any window dressing because I spent quite a while transcribing. Waste not want not. 

It is stale; only three whole days old, but seems like a lifetime.

The Burnley councillor, Shah Hussain is a typical example of the demographic that is is presently disgracing Corbyn’s Labour party.  

Can be comparable to what happened to European Jews

Muslim; inarticulate, sectarian, conditioned by deeply ingrained cultural and religious racism and incapable of reason. He chooses to believe all sorts of nonsense, and is used to getting away with it.

Watching him being interviewed by Jo Coburn on the Daily Politics was exasperating.  

Jo Coburn was repeatedly trying to trap Hussain into admitting he was a racist, which he was determined not to do. 

All that effort was wasted because her she was barking up the wrong tree. 

Starting from the premise that the Israeli government is intrinsically guilty of ‘wrongdoings’, Jo Coburn and far too many others believe that one of the foremost definitions of  ‘antisemitism’ is “holding all Jews accountable for ‘what Israel does’.”

In other words, she believes it would be fair and just if we all agree to exonerate ‘innocent’ non-Israeli Jews for Israel’s crimes. Magnanimously, British Jews, particularly Anti-Zionist Jews deserve to be treated as one of us. 

Jo Coburn wants to expose Shah Hussain as an antisemite because he refuses to separate bad Jews from good Jews, tarring them all with the same dirty old brush that Muslims are always complaining about.

The councillor couldn’t agree that Jews are not accountable for the actions of another country, and Jo Coburn’s ineffectual challenge on the weakness of his comparison between the Holocaust and ‘what is happening in Gaza” fell on stony ground.

Ironic, since the BBC is especially fond of comparing death tolls and using the uneven tally as proof that Israel is in the wrong.

How could anyone in their right mind compare the ‘Gaza death toll’ with that of the Holocaust, let alone produce the unequal death toll as evidence of Israel’s malevolence. Even if you’re totally mathematically illiterate, you shouldn’t be allowed to get away with cherry-picking your death tolls.  Has everyone abandoned reason?

The rules are that you mustn’t mention what led to the Gaza conflict. You can just say “I’m only stating the truth” as Ken Livingstone is fond of doing.

 

For Craig. Special request

At least she managed to tease out Hussain’s allegation that he was being victimised, ‘as a Muslim’, and his belief that it’s a witch-hunt, no doubt orchestrated by Jews. 

He did make one sensible suggestion. “We need a proper debate,” he said, and I quite agree. We do. 

With  preconditions: it has to include at least one level-headed Muslim who is capable of interacting without apoplexy or hysteria. Nigh on Impossible, then.

You can’t really tell, but I think the BBC has difficulty determining whether or not to accept Zionism in principle, and they aren’t quite sure if the actual principle of anti-Zionism is antisemitic. They probably figure that if the right to self-determination is deemed permissible for some, it would be hypocritical to deny it for the Jews. However, they do consider Zionism a bit iffy. They’re not quite sure if it’s racist.

Sadly, the BBC’s sweeping condemnation of the Israeli government and the cavalier manner in which they dismiss all Israel’s defensive or retaliatory actions as ‘wrongdoings’ is the problem.

Overlooking the aggressive activities of Israel’s enemies, as the BBC has been doing for years, is not only antisemitic, but, to use the councillor’s favourite phrase, it’s a prime example of taking things out of context.

The BBC does, literally, take things out of context by its counter-chronological style of reporting matters concerning Israel, sometimes actually omitting the ‘first’ from these ‘last first’ reports altogether.

Before I insert the transcript I want to give an honourable mention to Keith Vaz in a Leicester City scarf. 

football hooligan

************

What did you mean by your Tweet, that “you should see what the rest of the world thinks, and this was a Tweet that you sent to an Israeli footballer where you said ‘You are a complete and utter plonker you and your country doing the same thing that hitler did to ur race in ww2’ 

Right, well firstly I’m quite disappointed that the tweet has come out now, in 2016. It was written during 2014 during the Gaza crisis in response to another footballer making a comment about the killing of children in Gaza. It was written then, now it’s come out, I’m assuming it’s come out because of political reasons..

But do you still believe that sentiment about comparing Israel and what the Israeli government is doing, in your mind, to children in Gaza to what Hitler did when Hitler murdered six million Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies and political opponents? 

Mmm. What I was merely stating is that what the State of Israel is doing within Gaza, um, can be made comparable to the European Jews 

Do you think it’s appropriate in your role as councillor to make that comparison? 

I was merely stating events that have actually happened. 

Right, so do you think it was appropriate to make those comments? 

Appropriate, yes, it was appropriate in 2014 when the conflict between Israeli and Palestinians were taking place and innocent children were losing their lives. Yes, at that time it was appropriate. 

You would deploy using Hitler and that historical comparison where six million Jews were murdered, to an Israeli..... 

Like I said, I was stating, at that time, what was happening within Gaza. 

What did you mean though, by your Tweet ‘you should see what the rest of the world thinks. What does the rest of world think? 

Well.....in terms of what?  In terms of what was happening in Gaza at that time? 

But what do you mean? 

Well, there was an outcry within the rest of the world, what was happening within Gaza. That’s what I meant. 

Right. What do you think about your suspension from the Labour Party? 

It’s unfortunate, but within the present climate, the witch-hunt  that is going on, that is - I thought it was expected that would happen. 

You did expect it was going to happen. Are you going to fight the expulsion? 

Obviously, I would be. I am. I would be. But it was a witch-hunt. 

In your mind, is it appropriate for any politician, when criticising regimes they dislike, so, for example, politicians who said, for example, they dislike Saudi, Pakistan or Egypt or Syria. is it also fair to say it’s the fault of the people who live in those countries? 

Like I said I was merely stating what was happening in 2014. It’s unfortunate that I happen to be a Muslim councillor, and therefore my comments have been taken out of context and as such have been censored. 

What context have they been taken out of? 

Well, why am I on this TV show today, trying to explain comments that were made in 20014? 

Right, are you saying that you don’t agree with the comments now? 

Are you saying if I wasn’t a Muslim councillor I still would be here? 

No. what I’m asking you is if you  inserted different words into some of the Tweets you sent, I mean if you, if you linked the actions of a Syrian or Egyptian government with the rights and lives of Arabs generally, would that be appropriate in 2014 or today? 

If those dictators were killing those people then yes. 

Right, then how are you going to fight your suspension from the Labour Party? 

I mean that’s for me to discuss with my colleagues and so on, but I mean I was merely here trying to state as to why that Tweet that was made in 2014 has become relevant in 2016. Is it because of a political agenda that is happening. Is it because I’m a Muslim councillor and as such those comments have been taken into that context. 

Right, so you believe you’re being unfairly targeted you don’t think there’s anything wrong with those comments because you told the press association that you would fight the suspension and added ‘if Jewish people find it offensive, what you said about comparing what Hitler did to the Jews with what was happening in Gaza, then they need to think about what the rest of the world thinks.

 

No. I didn’t say that. I said that what was happening in 2014 in Gaza, in Palestine, can be comparable to what happened to European Jews in WW2. 

(Keith Vaz wasn’t able to discuss the case because he’s a going to be a member of the review. He thinks Shami Chakrabarti is the right one to chair this because "you can’t tell her what to do". He said "those views are repugnant".

I was merely making a Tweet in response to a footballer about killing children. I was merely stating what was happening in Palestine. I did not make an antisemitic comment. i don’t.. I believe if we really wanted a debate about what was happening within Palestine you have to get over this issue because ... I think , because me being a Muslim, I feel that that Tweet has been taken out of context. 

Keith Vaz said Jeremy Corbyn is not the kind of man who would orchestrate a witch-hunt. 

I’m not an antisemite but I do see the issue of Palestine and Israel having a great effect on the Muslim community in Britain because when I go knocking on doors, constituents tell me that the way the media and the governments and so on throughout the world - they see a different attitude towards the conflict in the Middle East, snd conflict elsewhere...

And you think it’s fair to blame Jews in general. 

No No. You’re putting words into my mouth. I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is it should be seen - we should have a debate about what is happening and it should be without being called a ‘semite’ if you make a statement that may not happen to be supportive of Israel.

 As soon as Nigel Farage began getting into dangerous territory he was reprimanded by Jo

 

“Has the Labour Party not allied itself too closely in many Midlands and Northern cities with effectively sectarian politics....The Muslim vote now is vey very big in many of our inner cities and I suspect... 

Are you blaming the Muslim community or saying the Muslim community has a lot of antisemitic... 

Look. I saw George Galloway win that by-election in Bradford West on openly sectarian political lines.  

But it changed when obviously Labour won it back.

 interrupted Vaz.

Well, hang on, did it?

 said Nigel.