The Racist, Gilad Atzmon And Zero Books.

Apparently, the racist Gilad Atzmon is about to have some of his disgusting ramblings published.

The publishers, Zero Books, are a small, relatively new enterprise started in 2009, not to be confused with Zero Press.

Atzmon’s work is very popular on the Far Right, so I had assumed that only active Jew haters would take the time and trouble to publish his filth, but that’s not the case.

Zero Books publish a strange mixture of Paganism, New Ageism and Christianity, with political material as a topping.

This is what they say about themselves, replete with elementary spelling mistakes.

It is not terribly clear who’s behind it, but if you’re interested in healing properties of stones and other such nonsense then Crystal Prescriptions will surely be of interest!

But back to the rational world.

Concerning this issue, there is a kerfuffle on various blogs as to why a publisher of Leftwing authors (and I use the term loosely) should be publishing a racist like Gilad Atzmon.

Many of these posts raise interesting questions, but as far as I can see they fail to analyse with any precision why this situation came about.

What would compel otherwise highly intelligent people (book publishers, etc) to print propaganda for a racist?

Could it be that they conceivably agree with his views? That they share some of his prejudices? And if so, why?

And whilst those questions are answered, it would be nice if these issues could be addressed:

Why, latterly, has anti-Jewish racism become so acceptable in Western societies?

What brought this terrible state of affairs about?

There needs to be clear analysis as to why the publishing of the racist Gilad Atzmon came about, not just the details of events, but a broader commentary is needed on why his views are deemed fit for publishing by the intelligentsia and what does that tell us about anti-Jewish sentiment in society?

The Respect Chair, Carole Swords And Racism.

The CST takes the Respect Chair, Carole Swords to task for her racist “slip”.

Seismic Shock reminded us that she previously promoted a pro-Crusader article from Stuart Littlewood.

Why she would have wanted to associate with an obsessive racist like Littlewood I can’t say, but she could have at least looked him up on Google and taken the hint.

Littlewood writes for Veterans Today, a nasty conspiratorial and antisemitic on-line rag run by the crank and friend of the Far Right, Gordon Duff.

Who can forget Duff’s kind words about Ernst Zundel:

“The best known scholoar of holocaust theories is Dr. Thomas Dalton, author of
Debating the Holocaust; A New Look at Both Sides. Dalton discusses the history of
the “denialist” movement and efforts made to criminalize, not only politically
motivated efforts to change majority perceptions of the holocaust but also stifle
legitimate research into, not only the holocaust but a more accurate history of Europe
in the mid 20th Century. Most recently, Ernst Zundel, a German born researcher
who has questioned issues related to the holocaust was extradited from Canada and
imprisoned for years in Germany for “crimes” that, in America would be considered
not just “freedom of speech” but relatively modest historical enquiry. Zundel
questioned the number “six million” and, in doing so, was arrested and convicted of
an obscure law that creates a special class of truth when Jewish perception is
involved.

Zundel, and significant numbers of historians of varying credibility believe the
number of Jewish dead is being vastly over stated along with the methods of killing.
It is their contention that since there is no scientific evidence that gassing or
cremation facilities existed designed for masskilling, a major area of their research,
that numbers of dead should be reassessed. They insist that since camps such as
Auschwitz and Dachau are no longer considered “death camps” and that many other
camps listed disappeared “without any trace” according to their research, that the
number dead should be lowered by up to 80%. “

Is it merely coincidental that “anti-Zionists”, like Carole Swords, end up espousing racist ideas?

I suspect it is more a case of lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas!

Whisky, West Dunbartonshire Council And Fakes.

In response to the symbolic boycott of Israeli products by West Dunbartonshire Council some people are organising a boycott of Scotch whisky.

It all seems to me a bit petty, given that West Dunbartonshire Council doesn’t actually import any Israeli products. Certainly, they use technology which is derived from Israeli know-how, that includes but isn’t limited to Intel chips, Microsoft XP software and Kinect.

However, the Council and the posturing Councillors are hardly going to inconvenience themselves by really boycotting Israeli technology, lest it proves too troubling, like giving up using Google (their key search algorithm was developed by an Israeli).

As for the retaliatory boycott, well I am not sure it makes the required point, but Drink Business Review explains:

“FJMC Executive Director Rabbi Simon’s boycott urge followed after Israeli-Anglo blogger and pro-settlement activist, Jameel Rashid publicized on his website a letter to several distilleries located within West Dunbartonshire.

In his letter he stated, the global counter boycott of Scottish whiskey products, distilled in the West Durbanshire council region, is beginning, and requested officers to cease the purchase of any goods that made or grown in Israel.

The West Dunbartonshire Council, while it has not responded publically to calls endorsing a boycott of locally manufactured spirits, has defended the decision which sparked the protest.

The council’s boycott only relates to goods ‘made or grown’ in Israel. The vast majority of mainstream books by Israeli authors are published in the UK, and are therefore not affected by this boycott. “

The intense interest in this issue has revealed an exceedingly unsavoury side to the instigator of the boycott, Councillor Jim Bollan.

Bollan seems perfectly comfortable contextualising the decapitation of a three-month old baby, as the JC reports:

“”Violence breeds violence. Have you any idea what may have motivated this man [Awad] to commit this crime? Could it have been because he may have seen Palestinian children slaughtered by the IDF?”

Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their children were murdered in the West Bank settlement in March. The youngest victim, three month old Hadas, was decapitated.

Responding to another pro-Israel activist, Mr Bollan declared: “Hamas was elected and are freedom fighters alongside the Palestinians fighting an illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel.”

Mickey Green of Scottish Friends of Israel said: “I’m not surprised he has sunk to this level. This is a man with pre-conceived ideas and a mental block to reason. He is functioning at a nasty, visceral level.“

Judy reports that the fake Gay Girl in Damascus had form, as, er a “anti-Zionist” or something like that.

Marko at Greater Surbiton points out the Guardian’s complicity in this issue, The Guardian’s disgraceful treatment of Jelena Lecic.

Over at Though Cowards Flinch, Carl has a superb post on Chavez, anti-Zionism, and antisemitism. It is noticeable how the thread is almost monopolised by a particular “anti-Zionist”, who is keen to quibble and nitpick on these issues, but he can’t see any anti-racism. Well, not when it is aimed at Jews, that is.

Finally, Tim Marshall has a provocative post, The ‘Arab Spring’ And The Conspiracy Of Silence:

“Across the Middle East from the Arab leaders you can hear the sound…… of silence. A similar sound emanates from many Muslim ‘activists’.

Take the most glaring example – Bahrain. The allegation, backed by human rights groups, is that the Sunni ruled state opened fire with live rounds on peaceful protesters from the majority Shia population, killed large numbers of people, then followed up with a wave of arrests which resulted in widespread torture.

The response from Arab leaders? In the Gulf, the 6 nation Gulf Cooperation Council quickly sent troops to assist in the repression whilst most Western nations, aware of the US military fleet based in Bahrain did little to upset the old order. Elsewhere, the Jordanians, Egyptians, Syrians, Algerians et al – just kept quiet.

During the Egyptian upheaval the House Of Saud was quietly horrified at how quickly the Americans let the Generals get their way and remove Mubarak. In private they let Washington know their displeasure, but to have complained openly would have been to do what you don’t do in the Arab political world in public (and to a lesser extent in our own systems) which is to tell the truth. “

Update 1: This is a thoughtful perspective on Tom MacMaster, the fake blogger, Understanding #amina.

“Anti-Zionists” And The Whiff Of Racism.

Non-Jewish “anti-Zionists” will frequently tell you that they have nothing against Jews. Indeed, some of their best friends are…

Or that they hold no prejudices against Jews.

Some of them even seem sincere when they say that, but the problem is when you follow the goings-on of these “non-Jewish anti-Zionists” you often come across the whiff of racism.

The Smell.

It’s not the strong poignant smell that you get from the Far Right. It is not that choking stench that you find on the Extreme Right, but it’s there all the same. For the most part, it is not vulgar or in your face, but you can detect it if you’re sensitive to the ebbs and flows of racism.

I suspect that part of the reason that it is not such an astringent smell, is that it comes from supposedly highly educated people. It is, more often than not, a product of the metropolitan elites, not vulgar thugs in the street, so is seen in a different light. Nevertheless, you can detect the racism, if you try. It leaves a bitter taste on the back of the throat.

Racist Websites.

So imagine my surprise when reading a left-wing blog, Bob from Brockley, that two racist websites were recommended by a “anti-Zionist”.

Firstly, this “anti-Zionist” suggests the Occupied Palestine blog, which I previously demonstrated had a love of neo-Nazi material.

Next, the “anti-Zionist” rates Alison Weir’s not too subtle racism, I dealt with it here.

It is an exceedingly discomforting sensation to think that you will be discussing politics with reasoned anti-racists, then to be confronted with repulsive anti-Jewish racism from one of the participants.

I think the worst part is, that this particular “anti-Zionist” is an adult, a political activist with over a decade’s experience and an Oxbridge graduate.

What Are They Thinking?

It does make you wonder what goes through the minds of “anti-Zionists” that they can read this racist material and it does not ring alarm bells with them.

None of this pricks their conscience, nothing seems to get through, their supposed opposition to racism is shown to be non-existent, their understanding of racism merely a set of words. All is a sham.

More Racism.

Any thinking individual following the conflict in the Middle East could see how the cause of the Palestinians might been used by the Extreme Right.

Put simply, the Extreme Right hate Jews, anything that they consider bad for Jews, makes the Extreme Right very happy.

The truth is, we often underestimate the Extreme Right, and in achieving their political goals they will push ambiguous web sites, use outreach programs and tone down the worst excesses of their racism to reach a wider audience. Surprisingly, they are often successful.

One example is the No War for Israel web site. I covered it in 2007, and readers will remember it is run by David Duke.

Another example is the blog, Occupied Palestine, which was recently drawn to my attention by an “Anti-Zionist”.

Before anything else, I should say I think it’s perfectly possible to be critical of Israeli government policies in the past 60 years, without invoking racism. I have posted on this before, as have the CST. But the Palestinians’ cause is certainly not helped in anyway when it is connected to racism by its Western supporters.

It should be possible to argue the Palestinians’ case without the smell of anti-Jewish racism polluting the air, however, that doesn’t occur on the Occupied Palestine blog, as readers will notice.

Years ago, I wrote a simple guide around this topic, For UCU Activists – How To Avoid Re-posting from Neo-Nazi, Ku Klux Klan or White Power Web Sites.

That guide applies equally to supposed pro-Palestinian activists and “anti-Zionists”, so let us examine the conspicuous racism found on the Occupied Palestine blog, it is not hard to see.

1. The first port of call is the blog’s links:

Albert Einstein letter to the Stern Gang
Chief Rabbi issues ruling legalizes killing Arabs
Government quitely funds KKK-like organization
How to kill Goyim
IOA Rabbis: ‘Palestinians to the Ovens!’
Jew Watch
Map of “Greater Israel” Published by Radical Settler Movement
Protocols of Zion Explained
Real Torah Jews against Zionism
Settler Violence Not Punished [incl data sheet]
The difference between Real Judaism and Zionist
What The Media Forgets About Israel
Ziogeist
Zionism vs Judaism
Zionism: Real Jew reveals the Truth
Zionist Crimes Against Christianity
Zionists won’t let U see this on TV!

2. The How to kill Goyim should send alarm bells to any thinking people, it is the type of propaganda found on neo-Nazi web sites.

3. The real warning is the inclusion of Jew Watch.

Jew Watch is seemingly hosted by the notorious Don Black:

“Black hosts a site named Blitzcast, which Stormfront and White Pride World Wide recommend for those seeking online, racist audio “broadcasts.” Using free audio software easily downloadable from the Web, visitors to Blitzcast can listen to the speeches of American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell, the weekly radio addresses of National Alliance leader William Pierce, and the ravings of anti-Semitic Jew Benjamin Freedman. Also appearing at Blitzcast is Frank Weltner, who uses the pseudonym “Von Goldstein Mohammed” and runs Jew Watch, yet another site hosted by Black.12

Jew Watch organizes its anti-Semitic materials much in the same way a popular Web directory might group more benign information. Weltner presents accusations that Jews were behind the terrors caused by Russia’s Communist regime in “Jews, Communism, and The Job of Killing Off the USSR’s Christians.” “Jewish Genocides Today and Yesterday” describes an alleged Jewish plan to deport non-Jews from the U.S. in 1946. “90% of All United States News-papers Are Owned and Run by Jews” repeats the oft-heard charge that Jews run the media, and “The Rothschild Internationalist-Zionist- Banking-One World Order Family” claims that Jews control the world of finance. Adolf Hitler’s writings, transcripts of Father Charles Coughlin’s anti-Semitic radio broadcasts, and the text of Henry Ford Sr.’s bigoted International Jew are all available at Jew Watch as well.”

There is nothing subtle about them, as you see from the Star of David above a hammer and sickle.

4. If readers are still not convinced then they can read about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as highlighted in the Occupied Palestine blog’s links, which goes on to the YouTube account of Beyond the Grassy Knoll, full of conspiratorial material and racist clips against Jews. Further, it is supported by the Radical Press, which is littered with neo-Nazi material, swastikas, the lot. You get the picture.

This explains the issues around the Protocols rather well:

“Even today the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is one of the principal propaganda weapons of anti-Semitism. In the United States it continues to be circulated by the Christian Identity movement, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups. It is still distributed by those who deny the Holocaust as well. The Institute for Historical Review – the intellectual center of the movement denying the Holocaust – continues to sell the Protocols and it is still used to attack Jews.”

5. Etc etc

I think that any reasoned assessment of the Occupied Palestine blog would show that they have an ingrained hatred of Jews.

They consciously admire neo-Nazi material which attacks Jews.

Yet there are “anti-Zionists” who read their material, and we can only wonder if they peruse the links as well?

I still don’t know why “anti-Zionists” can’t see these issues.

Gilad Atzmon And The Signatories.

Rebecca Lesses has a good post on the recent activities of the racist, Gilad Atzmon. I liked this part:

“Signatories of this statement follow below. I think that they should be held responsible for working with Atzmon, who is a notorious antisemite who has been rejected even by other British anti-Zionists like Tony Greenstein and Sue Blackwell.

Nic Abramson, Middle East Crisis Response
Elliott Adams, Past President, Veterans For Peace
Ujju Aggarwal
Laurie Arbeiter, Activist Response Team
Anna Baltzer, Human Rights Activist and Author
Russell Banks, Writer
Kahlil Bendib, Political Cartoonist
Medea Benjamin, Co-founder CODEPINK
Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies
Elaine Brower
Naomi Brussel, Activist Response Team
Allan Buchman, Founder and Artistic Director, The Culture Project
Leslie Cagan, Co-Founder United for Peace and Justice
Henry Chalfant, Film Maker
Kathleen Chalfant, New York
Cindy Corrie
Craig Corrie
Ellen Davidson, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions-USA
Angela Y. Davis, University of California, Santa Cruz
Noor Elashi, Writer
Basem Emara, Gaza Freedom March
Kathy Engel, Poet
Hedy Epstein, Palestine Solidarity Committee, St. Louis, Missouri
Mike Ferner, National President, Veterans For Peace
Lisa Fithian, Alliance for Community Trainers
Felice Gelman, Gaza Freedom March
Jenny Heinz, Activist Response Team/Granny Peace Brigade
Jane Hirschmann, Jews Say No!
Jennifer Hobbs, New York City Attorney/Gaza Freedom March
Nubar Hovsepian, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies, Chapman University
Mary Hughes – Thompson, Free Gaza Movement
Abdeen Jabara, Past President, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Civil Rights Attorney
Tarak Kauff, Veterans for Peace
Kathy Kelly, Co-Coordinator, Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Eleanore Kennedy
Michael Kennedy
Mona Khalidi
Rashid Khalidi, Columbia University
Naomi Klein, Writer
Ramzi Kysia, Free Gaza Movement
Iara Lee, Cultures of Resistance/Freedom Flotilla Survivor
Richard A. Levy, Labor Lawyer
Karen Malpede, Playwright
Helaine Meisler, Hudson Valley BDS
Gail Miller, Women of a Certain Age
Fatima Mohammadi, Attorney at Law/Freedom Flotilla Survivor
Donna Nevel, Jews Say No!
Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
Mariam Said, New York
Najla Said, Actor/Writer
Hannah Schwarzschild, American Jews for a Just Peace
Bert Shaw
Moira Shaw
Kathy Sheetz, Free Gaza – USA/Freedom Flotilla Survivor
Ann Shirazi, Granny Peace Brigade/Women of a Certain Age
Starhawk, Alliance of Community Trainers
Eleanor Stein, Albany Law School
Michael Steven Smith, New York City Attorney/Author
Vivian Stromberg, MADRE, Executive Director
Yifat Susskind, MADRE Policy/Communications Director
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Syracuse University
Alice Walker, Author
Naomi Wallace
Darlene Wallach, Free Gaza Movement, Justice for Palestinians
Donna Wallach, Free Gaza Movement, Justice for Palestinians
Sarah Wellington, Activist Response Team
Diane Wilson, Writer/Activist
Ret. Col. Ann Wright, Freedom Flotilla Survivor
Rebecca Vilkomerson, Jewish Voice for Peace
Dorothy M. Zellner, Veteran Civil Rights Activist
David Zirin, Sports Correspondent, The Nation Magazine”

Brendon Lee O’Connell, Anti-Zionist Or Plain Racist?

I can’t make my mind up about the Australian racist, Brendon Lee O’Connell:

“A man who posted a video of himself on the internet in which he refers to Judaism as a “satanic death cult” has been found guilty of six of the seven racial harassment charges brought against him.

Brendan Lee O’Connell has been found guilty of publishing racist material online after a two week trial which was centred around a video he made of himself arguing with Jewish man Stanley Keyser at a Friends of Palestine protest against the sale of Israeli oranges at a South Perth supermarket in 2009.

In the video O’Connell calls Jewish people racist and homicidal.

Written words super imposed over the footage include: “See how the lies roll off the Judiac’s tongue?” when Mr Keyser is speaking.

After the incident, which ends with O’Connell yelling at Mr Keyser to “get a good Jewish lawyer,” he went to the Bell Tower and filmed himself calling Judaism a “death cult.”

The jury took seven hours to reach the verdict of guilty on all but one of the seven charges which related to the video of the argument, the argument itself, and several blog posts. “

Is he just an Anti-Zionist or a Far Right bigot?

You might think that it would be easy to determine which is which.

I would hope that there should be clear blue water between Anti-Zionists and Far Right bigotry, but it’s not so clean cut when you examine the issues and people around the Brendan O’Connell case.

Firstly, he was arrested at a Friends of Palestine event against Israeli oranges in Perth.

Secondly, I had looked for a notice or something on the web, supposing that Friends of Palestine in West Australia would want to distance themselves from O’Connell, and only if you really, really search can you find something:

“Given members of Friends of Palestine WA are shown and identified in the video in question, we feel it is incumbent on you to point out to your readers that we as an organisation cannot be held responsible for the racist views expressed by a rogue individual who unfortunately happened to attend one of our protests.

Furthermore, we feel it is incumbent on you to make it known to your readers that we are unequivocally opposed to the vile racist views expressed by Mr O’Connell in his execrable video.”

That’s after the event, and Friends of Palestine in West Australia have an unforgivable taste for that nasty racist play, Seven Jewish Children.

Thirdly, the picture is further confused when you look at O’Connell’s main supporter, Jeff Kerr’s MySpace page, you see plenty of “anti-Zionist links”, for example, the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, James Petras, and palestineremembered.com

Fourthly, there is nothing on the main Australians for Palestine site, but there is a certain shared taste for some web material, Alan Hart’s, the well known racist, Steve Lendman, Jonathan Cook and Deir Yassin Remembered (which readers will remember is run by a Holocaust denier, Daniel A. McGowan).

Fifthly, Brendon O’Connell’s blogger profile suggests he likes a few racist sites, Michael Hoffman’s Revisionist Review and Whitelaw Towers, a White supremacists blog with a love of the Blood and Honour neo-Nazis.

He certainly gets a lot of support from the Far Right, and his friend’s main blog is littered with a mixture of “anti-Zionist” and Far Right links, e.g. Zundelsite and Adelaide Institute. Although, again, Alan Hart and Gilad Atzmon get a look in. Even Fred Toben, infamous Holocaust denier, lends O’Connell his support too.

Sixthly, scanning the earlier entries of O’Connell’s blog, before he passed it over to Jeff Kerr, it is clear he’s not playing with a full pack of cards.

O’Connell was an occasional poster on Indymedia, Perth for years. His posts and material there suggests that he’s clearly on the Far Right and that his antisemitic views are well known.

Finally, as J-Wire reports:

“An eye witness in Perth’s Distric Court told J-Wire: “O’Connell’s reaction was to shout ‘Free Palestine and Free Iraq and he said ‘Netanyahu will appear in the dock one day’.”

So it seems probable that Brendon O’Connell was a Far Right provocateur, who was swept along in all of the Anti-Zionist activities that went on. I can’t be 100% sure as there’s a lot of material to surf through, but that seems likely.

I do find it surprising that Anti-Zionists in Australia did not make more of an effort to distance themselves from O’Connell, and that they and his Far Right supporters often share a similar taste in reading material.

Irrespective of who Brendon O’Connell is and what weird racist views he holds, it is less than coincidental that outpourings of animus towards Israelis are frequently linked to anti-Jewish racism.

So often the two go hand in hand.

Maybe Australian Anti-Zionists should reflect on that fact.

PS: I would like to apologise to readers for including in some links to questionable sites, this was unavoidable in this instance.

Update 1: I should remind, those neo-Nazis, thickos and their mates (yes, you know who you are, eh ? Bill In Ohio), that I do not post your racist filth, as per my comments policy. Try reading it, if you can. Your filth will remain confined to the moderation queue.

University of Lincoln and Anti-Jewish Racism.

Engage reminds us that Caryl Churchill’s squalid and racist theatrical production, Seven Jewish Children is still about.

This time the racism that exudes has found a foothold in academia, notably at the University of Lincoln’s School of Performing Arts and School of Humanities.

That’s rather surprising.

We like to think of academics as having considered views, an ability to see past the obvious, a subtle grasp of events or history, etc yet clearly that isn’t the case here.

I have covered this racist play before, but just in case any University of Lincoln staff drop by I will explain in note format why it is racist.

1. In contemporary society we generally consider something to be bigoted or racist if it applies negative stereotypes to certain ethnic or social groups.

2. For example, we can see such material in the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, and most intelligent people will acknowledge that.

3. Caryl Churchill does just that, in her play, Seven Jewish Children.

4. The obvious indicator to this racism is, the title.

5. Further, throughout the exchanges the play seeks to convey a negative stereotype of Jews.

6. All of that is irrespective of the author’s intent.

7. Therefore, anyone remotely objective would have to conclude that if a theatrical work is aimed at one particular (and only one) ethnic group and continues to portray them in a negative fashion, that it is racist, in effect.

8. Whatever excuse the author gives is beside the point, as the evidence shows the play to be racist in its negative message and content.

If that doesn’t do it, read Howard Jacobson:

“Quite simply, in this wantonly inflammatory piece, the Jews drop in on somewhere they have no right to be, despise, conquer, and at last revel in the spilling of Palestinian blood. There is a one-line equivocal mention of a suicide bomber, and ditto of rockets, both compromised by the “Tell her” device, otherwise no Arab lifts a finger against a Jew. “Tell her about Jerusalem,” but no one tells her, for example, that the Jewish population of East Jersusalem was expelled at about the time our survivors turn up, that it was cleansed from the city and its sacred places desecrated or destroyed. Only in the crazed brains of Israelis can the motives for any of their subsequent actions be found.

Thus lie follows lie, omission follows omission, until, in the tenth and final minute, we have a stage populated by monsters who kill babies by design – “Tell her we killed the babies by mistake,” one says, meaning don’t tell her what we really did – who laugh when they see a dead Palestinian policeman (“Tell her they’re animals… Tell her I wouldn’t care if we wiped them out”), who consider themselves the “chosen people”, and who admit to feeling happy when they see Palestinian “children covered in blood

Anti-Semitic? No, no. Just criticism of Israel.

Only imagine this as Seven Muslim Children and we know that the Royal Court would never have had the courage or the foolhardiness to stage it. I say that with no malice towards Muslims. I do not approve of censorship but I admire their unwillingness to be traduced. It would seem that we Jews, however, for all our ingrained brutality – we English Jews at least – are considered a soft touch. You can say what you like about us, safe in the knowledge that while we slaughter babies and laugh at murdered policemen (“Tell her we’re the iron fist now”) we will squeak no louder than a mouse when we are abused.”

Tactless, Stupid Or Just Plain Racist? You Decide.

You really have to wonder what goes on inside the heads of those running the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign.

Do they sit around in a circle arguing about “what is the best way to be offensive towards Jews?”

“Ahh, yes, we’ll stage the play again”

“That’s sure to get up their noses”.

You could almost imagine that exchange taking place, as the PSC, rather inappropriately, has decided to stage at the London Polish centre in Hammersmith, Seven Jewish Children:

“PSC would like to invite you to add a twinkle of merriment to your December days and come and enjoy an evening of theatre, poetry and music with us.

We’ve got a great night lined up, including a performance of Seven Jewish Children by the acclaimed playwright Caryl Churchill. This short play is a moving reflection on Israel’s attack on Gaza, and was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in February 2009. PSC is delighted that West End and television stars, Anna Carteret, David Calder and Andrew Jarvis will be peforming the play for us at our Winter Concert.
…
Date: Tuesday 7 December
Time: 7pm (ends 9.30pm)
Venue: The Polish Centre, 238-246 King Street, Hammersmith”

But if you were to try and remind the PSC leaders of their racist thinking and why of all places the Polish centre might be avoided, I don’t think they’d get it.

Years of the constant drip drip of “Anti-Zionism” has made them all, but insensitive to any manifestation of anti-Jewish racism, particularly their own.

Readers may want to refresh themselves with my previous post on that nasty racist play by Caryl Churchill:

“Shorter version, if you wouldn’t accept a nasty racist play about Blacks full of odorous stereotypes, then why is it acceptable to do the same where Jews are concerned?

If you wouldn’t do the former but have no problem with the latter then you are probably closer to the BNP’s way of thinking than you’d like to admit. A point to think about.”

(H/T: Richard Millet.)

Update 1: Dave Rich and Mark Gardner from the CST dealt with the racism embedded in this nauseating play in 2009:

“Seven Jewish Children is not a play about Israel. It was written by Churchill as a “response to the situation in Gaza in January 2009”, but it is a play explicitly about Jews. Her response to Gaza is to accuse Jews of having undergone a pathological transformation from victims to oppressors. The play comprises seven brief scenes, of which the first two are generally taken to represent the Holocaust, or perhaps pogroms during an earlier period of antisemitic agitation; in other words, they take place in Europe, before Israel even existed. It is Jewish thought and behaviour that links the play together, not Israel. The words Israel, Israelis, Zionism and Zionist are not mentioned once in the play, while Jews are mentioned in the title and in the text itself. We are often told that when people talk about Israel or Zionists, it is mischievous to accuse them of meaning Jews. Now, we are expected to imagine that a play that talks only of Jews, in fact, means Israelis.

In the first two scenes, it is Jewish “uncles” and “grandmother” who are killed, despite approximately one and a half million Jewish children having perished in the Holocaust. Whereas it is elderly Jews who are killed, the Jews’ victims are overwhelmingly depicted as children: there are two mentions of dead adults, namely “Hamas fighters” and “policemen”, but seven of dead children: “the boy”, “the family of dead girls”, “babies” and “their children covered in blood”. The play lands its blows in the final two scenes, culminating in a monologue of genocidal racist hatred: “they’re animals … I wouldn’t care if we wiped them out … we’re chosen people.” “

Another “Anti-Zionists” Dishonesty.

Seismic Shock has a post on yet another dishonest “anti-Zionist”, one Terry Gallogly, who previously tried to rig an on-line poll with the objective of painting Jews in the worst possible light.

Alan Hart, 9/11 And Neo-Nazis.

When you run a blog, you have the choice of leaving comments on or turning them off, completely.

I would confess that I prefer not to moderate comments, but I have to, given the political topics that I touch upon in this blog it normally receives a fair amount of abuse from neo-Nazis and their friends.

A recent post on Alan Hart received disapproval for pointing out the obvious, how there is a convergence between conspiracy theories, racist views and general animosity towards Israelis and Jews. These habits are often found amongst 9/11 truthers and their allies.

As best as I can understand there is a crossover between these people, the excessively paranoid find it very easy to believe that 9/11 was the work of some conspiracy, and many conspiracy freaks have accepted neo-Nazi arguments that “the world is controlled by Jews” or some such nonsense.

I try to remind any budding Hitler lovers that I don’t welcome their comments, but naturally a lot of them are illiterate, a bit thick and can’t get the message.

One recent poster has some notoriety, his nom de plume of Alan B’Stard M P relates to the fictional Far Right Thatcherite MP played by Rick Mayall in the New Statesman comedy.

“Alan B’Stard M P” comments on the Alan Hart thread:

“it’s typical of pro Israerlis to accuse people of anti semitism.

So what. What’s special about jews anyway?”

That is a common retort, you hear on a regular basis, to which the answer obviously is:

Yes, people who have hangups and prejudice against Jews are often racists. They indulge in what has historically been called antisemitism (a euphemism for Judenhass, that is hatred of Jews). Equally, some indulge in anti-Jewish racism because they are insensitive, uneducated, intellectual sheep or just plain stupid. In my experience, there’s rarely one answer that covers all possibilities.

Again, in my experience, there are many people who indulge in inadvertent anti-Jewish racism, given the influence and predominantly negative climate in the Western media towards Jews and Israelis, but there are those like this poster, “Alan B’Stard M P”, who do it consciously and actively, who are enthusiastic racists.

Therefore, in these circumstances the poster “Alan B’Stard M P” has no problem supporting Alan Harts’ arguments as they essentially resonate with his own racist views.

Now, of course, I can see that one of two readers might take “Alan B’Stard M P” position and feel I have done him a disservice.

So let us examine “Alan B’Stard M P” views and details:**

“Author : Alan B’Stard M P
E-mail : alan_b.stard.M.P@westnet.com.au
URL : http://www.thetrollhouse.net/forum/index.php”

He’s based somewhere near Pretty Beach, New South Wales, Australia. Andy at slackbastard has pointed out previously the prevalence of neofascists and neo-Nazis in Australia.

But let’s look at the evidence of this poster’s views:

1. alan_b.stard.M.P@westnet.com.au runs an anti-immigration group on Facebook.

2. His Holocaust denial is open:

“On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 8:26 AM, alan B’Stard M P wrote:
the plaques show that 6 million weren’t killed, which means that the figures mentioned could be false and not true. If Not 6 mill, then perhaps 4 mill or 2 mill or 20,000

quote

“One plaque correctly reflects that 4 million Jews were gassed in ALL of the gas chambers in all of the HUNDREDS of death camps”

Only a while back you spoke of the 6 milion killed. make your mind up

Even in this day and age modern crematoria need bone crushing machines. You can’t incinerate bones”

3. “Alan B’Stard M P” runs wierdo racist web site, which I commented on previously.

Pretty daming stuff, this poster “Alan B’Stard M P” is obviously a real bigot and racist.

So if you were Alan Hart and wish to proclaim that your views are not based on prejudice and bias, then it might be a bit of a problem having such a vigorous racist like “Alan B’Stard M P” supporting you?

Hmm.

—
** I respect the confidentiality of all posters on this blog, except uninvited neo-Nazis and their friends.

Weird Site.

By chance I ran across a strange blog, which on the surface looks fairly innocuous, simply a pro-Palestinian website.

But when you dig a bit deeper, you find that they print any old racist rubbish including the work of the well known anti-Jewish racist, Gilad Atzmon.

Some of their more lurid headlines include: [Warning, neo-Nazi and racist filth]

AFGHANISTAN ZIO-FREEMASON’S PROPAGANDA WAR

WILL IJAN CHALLENGE JEWISH POWER?

Amazing new Video Exposing Zionist Supremacism!

[Which not unsurprisingly leaves to David Duke’s web site.]

DON’T LET ZIONIST-FIRETERS TAKE OVER,DESTROY TEA PARTY MOVEMENT !

BRITAIN MUST DE-ZIONISE ITSELF IMMEDIATELY By Gilad Atzmon

Being curious, I decided to look them up and I had assumed that they would be some neo-Nazi group, but imagine my surprise, when I checked the entry for

www.shoah.org.uk as:

Domain name: shoah.org.uk

Registrant: Creative Spring

Registrant type: Other UK Entity (e.g. clubs, associations, many universities)

Registrant’s address: Studio 302, The Greenhouse, Gibb Street, B9 4AA United Kingdom

I assume that this design company registered it on behalf of a client, but who knows?

The IP address of http://www.shoah.org.uk is shared with another few strangely named domains, www.creativespring.co.uk, watchwhatyoueat.org, www.creativekalaam.com, www.sagabusiness.co.uk, boycott-israel.co.uk

I am not sure if these domains and businesses know that their shared IP address hosts such blatant anti-Jewish racism.

Clearly, boycott-israel.co.uk and watchwhatyoueat.org are linked, I wonder what is their connection to http://www.shoah.org.uk ?

I can only assume that www.shoah.org.uk belongs to some semi-literate neo-Nazi given the varied nature of the racist posts there, but we’ll see.

Like Other Countries.

Independence Day was yesterday. Israel’s Independence Day and for once I was at a loss to think of what to write. How do you sum up such a complex country? And such a difficult history in more than one way?

So I was grateful to read, belatedly, a piece by Howard Jacobson, one of my favourite columnists:

“Fanatical and uninformed anti-Zionism of the sort that peppers the letters pages of serious newspapers has much to answer for morally and intellectually, but the most serious charge against it is that while it satisfies the self-righteousness of its propounders, it does little to help those it calls victims, and still less to persuade those it calls oppressors.

Weary of the one-sidedness of international condemnation, successive Israeli administrations have turned away and pursued their own course, confident at least that America will go on winking at the obduracy into which it has been backed. With every misattribution of motive, with every lazy libel, that obduracy has grown stronger. As an observer one can feel it hardening one’s own heart. Malign misrepresentation leaves no room for subtle dialogue. Thus, many who would have been critical of the occupation in their own terms – which does not mean seeing it as Hamas or Ahmadinejad see it – are deflected from the real conversation and must expend their energies confuting the prejudices of scoundrels.
…
Allowing that tomorrow is a terrifying place, we can take some hope from this. An Israel treated like other countries, held accountable for its political, not its supposed aetiological or genetic failings, is a country from which much might be expected, including peace.”

[My emphasis.]

Czech Neo-Nazi – No Hard Labour.

In other news, the organiser of a neo-Nazi march in the Czech Republic was sentenced to community service, rather than a custodial sentence which might have been more appropriate:

“Plzen, 27/11/2009 – Czech Tomas Babka, 22, was today sentenced to 300 hours of community work for his abusive statements on Jews during a march of rightist extremists that he organised in Plzen in March.
Babka originally faced up to two years in prison for incitement of racial hatred towards a group of people.

Babka confessed to the controversial statements, but he declined that they had promoted fascism and Nazism. He also denied having supported rightist radicals.

According to the police files, Babka spoke up at the end of a march “against Zionism” on March 14.

“Jointly for the idea of national socialism. Public resistance is a duty where injustice rules,” Babka is cited as saying during the march.

According to the charges, he thereby manifested his positive stance on national socialism and expressed support for a Nazi movement.

Babka was charged with support and promotion of movements suppressing human rights and freedoms.”

Oh, and Babka had a cunning defence, he said he was only against “Zionism”. Oh yeah, sure, what next? Some of your best friends are…?

Sure, sure, like we haven’t heard that one before. That’s getting a rather common defence, I wonder which neo-Nazi will use it next?

More On German “anti-Zionists”.

Here’s more to the post concerning those Hamburg “anti-Zionists”, who felt comfortable shouting “Jewish pigs” at those attending a film presentation.

Die Linke were quick to disassociate themselves from the racist “anti-Zionists”, but the evidence of their unfortunate link to this group is shown by a bit of hunting around on their web site. [Perhaps, I’ll upload a screen dump later on.]

The Kommunistische Assoziation Hamburg (KAH) is less than shy about events, but seem to put their own spin on it, the German original is here and a Google translation.

Reading it is hard, I suspect that even if my German was top notch that it wouldn’t make a lot of sense, as it comes over as a political rant. Still, they don’t deny that it took place.

Oh, here it is just in case it vanishes, once the penny has dropped: