"The UK Zionist Party"

“The Jew Lewis ought to rot … it gives me great pleasure to see him sometimes in a wheelchair.”

Lawyer Mark Lewis says he and his wife are leaving the UK because they no longer feel safe on account of anti-Semitism.#VictoriaLIVE pic.twitter.com/tXFJjKE8yh

— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) August 15, 2018

I don’t normally watch the Victoria Derbyshire show because the ‘Guardianista agony-aunt genre’ isn’t to my liking. Victoria Derbyshire personifies empathy. Victoria Derbyshire = Empathy on a stick. As a TV host, she specialises in listening sympathetically, head slightly bent to one side, as her guests recount tales of misfortune and abuse. She listens to ill people, hard-done-by people and those who suffer from all forms of victimhood. When I say ‘all forms’ I should have added ‘apart from antisemitism’. That’s one form of empathy I haven’t yet seen from Victoria Derbyshire.

Someone suggested I turn on the TV this morning to see Derbyshire interrogating two Zionists. I say interrogating, merely because she played devil’s advocate so utterly convincingly that she came across as less of an advocate and more of a devil. In fact, I’ve never seen her so hostile. But I rarely watch the show, so maybe she’s just as hostile with all forms of guests that are not to her liking

Being a Zionist is not illegal by the way. 

“Zionism is the national movement of the Jewish people that support the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland in the territory defined as the historic Land of Israel

You’re still allowed to be a Zionist in this country (for the moment) - someone might advise Victoria Derbyshire of the fact. It’s perfectly legal and above board.

There is a team of ‘people’ working for Ms. Derbyshire. She’s not the only brains behind the operation. The BBC has researchers and so on. They come up with ‘facts’ so that Victoria Derbyshire and her ilk are well briefed and equipped so that they can play devil’s advocate without making fools of themselves.

At first, I thought it was a false flag incident; maybe Mossad infiltrated the BBC research department masquerading as a researcher intent on undermining Victoria Derbyshire’s authority by deliberately feeding her with fake news. Then I thought maybe it was simpler than that, and a genuine BBC researcher had assumed that the two hapless Zionist apologists would be floored by the accusation that they were members of “The UK Zionist Party”.

Victoria Derbyshire announced this ‘fact’ with a flourish, as if its revelation amounted to ‘game, set and match.’  However, the pair weren’t exactly floored. They didn’t say “It’s a fair cop” or anything to that effect. Instead, they reacted with astonishment. “What is that?” they queried. “What party is the UK Zionist Party?” Their apparent bafflement was clear, even to Derbyshire, who quickly said she must have been misinformed, and changed tack.

I have to say, again, that being a Zionist is not the crime it’s cracked up to be. Some Zionists are not even shy about it. Accusing anyone of ‘Zionism’ is not the insult Derbyshire and her cack-handed researchers seem to think it is; it’s not incriminating in any way shape or form.

However, the researcher who came up with that ‘ace’ - that gem of a check-mate that wasn’t, that triumphant “You are members of the UK Zionist Party”   - was not ‘making it up’. Not exactly.

A quick Google  shows what must have led to this misunderstanding (for that’s what it was.)  There was a strange headline in an edition of “Jewish News”, (which several angry Corbynistas have tweeted triumphantly) 

The researchers can’t have been familiar with the way headlines work - and didn’t bother to pursue the research any further, following this lucky ‘find’. Here you go. More than 70 attend re-launch of UK Zionist group. What’s this? I was quite sure it originally said “Party” rather than 'group', but look here. At the bottom.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was previously headlined ‘More than 70 attend re-launch of UK Zionist party’. This is incorrect. Herut UK is a political group in the UK, not a political party.

To reiterate. The original headline did say ‘More than 70 attend re-launch of UK Zionist party.’ But it’s a headline. Headlines usually omit the definite or indefinite article.  It’s telegram speak. It never meant that there’s a proper, official political party named The UK Zionist Party. Just that the group (Herut UK) is ideologically pro-Zionist. 

It. Is. Not. And. Never. Was. The UK Zionist Party. It’s rather like a headline saying ‘Jeremy Corbyn leads UK Antisemitic Party.'

See? Labour is an antisemitic party, but that’s not its official title.

Anyway, it all goes to show that the hoards of Corbynites who were busily tweeting the Jewish News page to prove that the two evil Zionists were ‘liars’ in their attempts to defend Jeremy Corbyn merely exposed just how rife and rabid the antisemitism now is amongst Jeremy Corbyn’s fan club, which is surely as ironic as it gets.