The attempt, by Zionists, and their imperialist sponsors, to conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, is necessarily having ludicrous consequences, as imperialism is led to adopt ever more Bonapartist and authoritarian methods to contain the contradictions that flow from its complicity in the genocide in Gaza. Those contradictions, and ludicrous consequences are not new, but the scale of the attempt to suppress opposition to the genocide in Gaza, now raises them to a higher power.
During all of the anti-Semitism hysteria whipped up inside the Labour Party, for example, as a means of attacking the Left, and undermining Corbyn, the consequence of attempting to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, was to actually weaken the struggle against actual anti-Semitism, and that is not surprising, because Zionism and anti-Semitism are not opposites, but conjoined twins. Zionism has always needed to foster anti-Semitism, in order to provide a justification for its own existence, and Zionism, as a reactionary, racist and colonialist ideology, has always needed to promote the idea that Jews are special (exceptionalism), and that, in particular, Arabs and specifically Palestinian Arabs, are inferior. It is the same ideology and exceptionalism that stood behind the colonialism of the 17th century onwards, of European mercantilism.
Central to it, of course, was to define all Jews as the equivalent of Zionists, and, thereby, equivalent to the specific project of Zionism, the Zionist state in Israel. That in itself, was of course, wracked with contradictions, because not every Israeli is jew, let alone a Zionist. Around a quarter of the population of Israel are Arabs, not Jews, and although the Zionist project has necessarily attracted mostly Zionist Jews to it, not all Jews in Israel are Zionists either. That latter fact itself is part of the contradiction faced by the Zionists and their imperialist backers.
In Israel, those non-Zionist Jews have to be delegitimised by the Zionists. They have to be categorised as the wrong kind of Jew, and so, not really a jew at all. In and of itself that is anti-Semitic. Given that Zionism has never been able to convince Jews that it is the solution to their problems - only around a third of the world's Jews live in Israel, despite being given incentives to move there, and privileges when they do live there - it becomes a growing problem for it, when a majority of world Jewry turns actively against Zionism and its genocide in Gaza, and pogroms in the West Bank and Israel proper.
In the Labour Party, we saw long-time Jewish activists suspended or expelled for supporting Corbyn and the Left, and opposing the anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism line, used to witch hunt the Left. When those activists visibly demonstrated against that witch hunt, we saw the propaganda arm of the British state, the BBC, call on Corbyn to take action against them. Corbyn, terribly advised by his Stalinoid advisors, and their Popular Frontist policies, of course, appeased those demands, rather than mobilising against them, leading to his own isolation and defeat. But, since the Zionist Starmer has taken over, more Jews have been expelled from Labour than ever!
This same contradiction, and its ludicrous consequences have been seen across the western imperialist countries. In the US, where as many Jews live as in Israel, the majority are opposed to Zionism, and increasingly so as they see the unfolding genocide committed by the Zionist state against Palestinians. Most of them are traditionally Democrats, but, now, find themselves in the predicament of a choice to grit their teeth and vote for Genocide Joe, or else risk Netanyahu's clone, Trump, moving into the Whitehouse, though most, now, see that as inevitable. It is no surprise that amongst Trump's fascistic popular base, utilised on January 6th, there is a large component of Zionists, alongside the other racists and white nationalists. Indeed, the biggest support for the Zionist state, in the US, comes not from US Jews, but from right-wing, fundamentalist Christians, the nutters who believe we are in the End of Days, of the second coming, and that a war in Israel is its herald.
So, the imperialist media has had to try to deny the reality of large numbers of Jews taking part in the demonstrations in western cities, in the US and across Europe, in opposition to the Zionist genocide in Gaza, which has turned it from its previous state as the largest open air prison in the world, to the Zionist equivalent of Belsen, with ten of thousands of babies, toddlers, men, women and children turned into mere skeletons covered in skin, their bodies torn apart by Zionist bombs, supplied by the US, German and other European powers, complicit in that genocide, and now, ravaged by pestilence and disease. Indeed, the Four Horsemen do ride in Gaza, but it has nothing to do with some biblical apocalypse but with the deliberate actions of Zionism, and of its support from Genocide Joe and Holocaust Harris, of Scholtz, van der Lyon, Macron, Starnak, and all the other imperialist butchers.
The imperialist media has had to try to deny the existence of large numbers of anti-Zionist Jews on demonstrations, in order to continue with its narrative of those demonstrations being fundamentally anti-Semitic, and causing Jews in the West to feel threatened and intimidated. Of course, anyone who does not actually witness the actual demonstrations, but listens to the siren calls of the Zionists such as the former Director of Labour Friends of Israel, David Mencer, who is now the Press Spokesman for the Zionist state, in Israel, who claimed he had had to go to Israel for fear of Corbyn, might be forgiven for such an impression.
It is also central to the narrative of the state, as it tries to impose ever more harsh authoritarian measures, to suppress a mobilising working-class, and masses. Those measures used, today, to clamp down on protests against genocide will, tomorrow, be used to clamp down on workers striking for wages, and better conditions, railing against the consequences of Brexit, and the growing drive to war. And, of course, that is not just in this country. The most obvious contradiction, and height of ludicrous consequences is in Germany. It has recently banned even a conference on Palestine, and discussion of the genocide. As part of that it has arrested German anti-Zionist Jews, for anti-Semitism. It is also clear in the video that the police that did so, were themselves making anti-Semitic comments about him.
But, its not just in Germany, where this ludicrous consequence of equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism has been seen, and, in Britain, as a totem of that ludicrousness, has arrested a Rabbi for anti-Semitism, and inciting race hatred!!!
The government has tried to claim that even carrying a Palestinian flag, on demonstrations near to Jewish communities could be considered offensive and threatening, and so anti-Semitic, but the logic of that is, then, that Jewish symbols, equated by the Zionists and their imperialist backers as equivalent to Zionist, o Israeli symbols, must likewise be offensive and threatening to Palestinians, and their supporters. So, now, we have the ridiculous sight of police having to try to implement that irrationality, on the ground - and the Scottish Hate Laws will reproduce these insanities many fold - by arresting a Jewish, pro-Zionist campaigner, just for openly appearing Jewish!!!
Of course, we all know that the capitalist police arrest people on such spurious charges all the time. Back in the 1980's, when I was President of the North Staffs Trades Council, and led a group of activists to leaflet outside the Co-op in Hanley, in support of the Silentnight workers, two of us were arrested on precisely this charge of behaviour likelihood to cause a breach of the peace, which when I queried exactly what that behaviour was, was told handing out leaflets that some people might disagree with!
Of course, socialists, and even consistent democrats cannot support laws that lead to, or allow the arrest of people for being "openly Jewish", even if we vehemently disagree with, and find offensive, their apologism for the genocidal acts of the Zionist state, any more than we can support laws that allow, and, indeed lead to, people to be arrested for carrying Palestinian flags, burning Zionist flags, or other such activity that someone might find offensive. After all the most offensive behaviour of all currently is the genocide in Gaza, and the complicity in it of western imperialism.
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