Arseholes and Castles 5: The Long Grass

Another day, another antisemitism 'scandal'. The Achilles heel, weaponized by the bad faith actors in the discourse, including political opponents (IE the right wing). Stripped of that fact we are left with a fairly innocuous largely throwaway claim about the training cops in the US received. It is true that they have had training in Israel. It, according to Amnesty, isn't the case with the particular technique of murder employed against George Floyd. Whether that was ever the case or has become the case I don't know and I only mention it because placing your knee on someone's neck is hardly an obscure, if horrendously brutal, thing to practice or endorse. So you can see that this claim, for which Maxine Peak (the interviewee) has corrected herself, is quite reasonable to make. It just happens not to be true.

Ok, so where does that leave Rebecca Long Bailey, apart from in the antisemite doghouse. Comparing her to the likes of Chris Williamson, who willingly retweets actual racists, or some ill informed activist whose stupid enough to peddle silly antisemitic conspiracies? Is it really fair to represent her as peddling antisemitic tropes? No, of course not. The purpose of her tweet, as far as I can tell, was simply to echo Maxine's broader points, not a single incorrect statement. The article talked up staying within the party (a mistake in my view, ironically) to fight capitalism. It was not a discussion of Israel.

The claim of conspiracy seems to revolve around the notion that jews were responsible for Geroge's death. This is clearly racist and wrong. Other people claim that the conspiracy is that Israel was responsible. This is conspiratorial and equally wrong. However there is a difference between those two, equally vapid, claims: the first is clearly antisemitic. It's no better than saying "jews run the banks". The second is itself antisemitic because it conflates all jews, regardless of individual expression culture or politics, with Israel. This very fact was used against the Corbyn project. Critics cannot now use it to criticise Rebecca or Maxine.

To reiterate: it is factually incorrect to say that Israel was responsible for George Floyd's death. It is conspiratorial nonsense. However it is not antisemitic as I've just explained. See also here, point 4:

"Don’t say “the Jews” when you mean Israel.  I think this should be pretty clear.  The people in power in Israel are Jews, but not all Jews are Israelis (let alone Israeli leaders)."

In the end this is a bad faith criticism used to leverage out the remains of the Corbynite/Left project within what is becoming an increasingly homogeneous and heterodox Labour party. They are not diverse nor are they progressive. Starmer is not opposing the Tories. He is clearly trying to appease those same bad faith actors - as we can see by the responses of those turncoats that were quick to defect when things got tough, throwing their party (and leader) under the bus. The Funny Tinge collective. Are they hoping to return given the disastrous (and partly racist) failure of their solo careers?

These bad faith actors, the media largely, are not going to be won over. Appealing to the Red Tories and some mythical moderate Tory voter is also a bad idea. There are also people arguing that RLB should have been sacked, if not for retweeting racist tropes (she didn't), but because  she acted stupidly and potentially bought the party into disrepute. But that ill reputation only exists because of these bad faith actors. Were it not for them this could be seen for what it is. At worst, if Maxine had made the claim that Jews were responsible then RLB should be allowed to correct her mistake and learn. There's no shame in that, but we don't live in honest times.

However that is not what Maxine did. It was an interview conducted by respected journalists in a credible law abiding news organ. It wasn't Nick Griffin interviewing her for Stormfront or some fascist tabloid. Further more, she did not at all say that Israel was responsible. Here's what the article says:

"“Systemic racism is a global issue,” she adds. “The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services.” (A spokesperson for the Israeli police has denied this, stating that “there is no tactic or protocol that calls to put pressure on the neck or airway”.)"

This does not make the claim Israel/Jews are responsible. It just, incorrectly, says that the technique was taught by Israeli secret services. It doesn't even say that the cop involved (the murderer, that is) was specifically trained there, either.

Just another attempt by those who will never be your allies to poison the well.

I am happy to be corrected on any aspect of this.

Class War