Telling the Truth about Anti-Semitism in Britain

Responding to the recent rise of anti-Semitism within the UK’s Labor party, an activist associated with its hard-left, anti-Israel wing issued a statement condemning the hatred of Jews, and calling for the expulsion from the party of anyone who expressed it—until such time as the culprit was “re-educated.” He also called for a similar policy toward anti-Muslim bigotry, and for the establishment of separate commissions to confront each problem. Douglas Murray comments:

As everyone involved in politics knows, there are two ways truly to ignore a problem: the first is just to ignore it; the second is to “set up a commission.”

But there are several perhaps unwittingly interesting things about this flaccid suggestion. The first is the reflexive and unthinking demonstration among many these days that they cannot possibly deal with anti-Semitism unless they also throw Muslims into the mix. To deal with anti-Semitism on its own might raise too many problems.

But let us say that two such commissions were set up. And let us pretend for a moment that they were indeed headed by people who were not merely “leading” but also honest figures.

The head of the commission to look into anti-Semitic prejudice, might find a number of startling things. He or she might find, for instance, that the dominant strand of anti-Semitism in British life in 2016 comes not from [left-wing parliamentarians] but from the British Muslim community. . . .

[Furthermore], the Labor party’s anti-Semitism problem comes from people who propel the very hatred they profess to despise. As such, they remain in no position to “re-educate” anyone, as they so stubbornly refuse to educate themselves.

Read more at Gatestone

More about: Anti-Semitism, Jeremy Corbyn, Muslim-Jewish relations, Politics & Current Affairs, United Kingdom

 

America Has Failed Israel, and Its Own Citizens, by Refusing to Pressure Hamas

Roger Zakheim believes the U.S. has taken the wrong approach to the Israel-Hamas war, and to the fate of the five Americans currently being held in Gaza:

For more than seven months the secretary of state and director of central intelligence, along with other senior officials, have treated the Gaza war as if it were a conflict between state actors, employing shuttle diplomacy and negotiating with both sides. They have indulged in the conceit that you can negotiate with a terrorist organization by treating it as an equal party. The Biden administration has continued to allow Qatar to give Hamas’s political leadership sanctuary in its five-star headquarters in Doha, on the theory that if they can talk with Hamas leaders, a resolution is more likely.

It is long overdue for the United States to shift the paradigm. Over the past twenty years, the United States has developed an array of intelligence, economic, and military tools and techniques that can pressure and destroy terrorist networks. They should be deployed against Hamas.

We should also unleash our military and intelligence community’s world-class targeting and strike capability that killed Osama bin Laden and Qassem Suleimani, and has rescued hundreds of hostages held by terrorists. . . . Instead of fully utilizing this exquisite capability, only a handful of military advisers are whispering advice to Israeli counterparts in Tel Aviv. . . . As one IDF special operator told me, “Your Delta forces would be a game changer.”

Read more at Washington Post

More about: Gaza War 2023, U.S.-Israel relationship