Simon Heffer on "Londonistan" (with replies)
Simon Heffer has written what amounts to a puff piece for Melanie Phillips' book Londonistan in the Daily Telegraph, alleging among other things that Phillips had difficulty "exercising her freedom of speech" on account of the Daily Mail supposedly not publishing any of her opinions on this issue and her finding it difficult to get the book published over here, resorting to an obscure outfit called Gibson Square (the printed copy is in the shops now, and they could not get the title of her last book right - it's All Must Have Prizes, not All Must Win Prizes). Heffer calls it "well researched (complete with extensive footnotes)" - as if references are any guarantee of truthfulness nowadays, particularly in the circles in which Phillips now moves.
Still, the Telegraph now allows people to comment on the online copies of its articles, and many people have done, including myself, with views balancing out Heffer's. (I didn't link this straight away as I wanted to comment myself, and allow the comments to build up, which they now have done.)
Comments
And when Miss Phillips is allowed on to the BBC - for some years she has been a regular on Radio 4's The Moral Maze - it is usually only when she is outnumbered by those who regard her as a crackpot or a spokesman for the international Jewish conspiracy.
What is this guy smoking?
Melanie Phillips is on BBC radio every week despite the fact she's accussed the BBC of being an anti-semitic organisation numerous times. If they're guilty of anything it's stupidity for letting her on at all.It also casts doubt on her integrity that she associates with an organisation she believes wants to eliminate her people.
I don't get the impression either that there is any hostility towards her at all from the other Moral Maze panel members.
Steven Rose (who is also jewish) occasionally crtisizes her when she uses her jewishness for malign intent.This has happened only two or three times though and certainly doesn't amount to accussing her of being part of a conspiracy.
What Heffer has said is just factually incorrect. Then again it is the Telegraph so this shouldn't be much of a suprise.
Posted by: Shamil | June 15, 2006 3:54 PM
Salam Aliakum Yusut,
I know this is unrelated but I had a couple of tech questions for you. Any way I can contact you in private?
IJ: sure, ask away ...*
Posted by: DrM | June 15, 2006 9:14 PM
http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,,1798994,00.html
In the Guardian today they have an interview with Melanie Phillips.
Money quotes;
She hears echoes from the past today, talking of "a climate in Britain that has alarming echoes of Weimar in the 1930s".
Apparently she isn't against a victim culture when it comes to her own people. Unless anyone thinks this a rational observation?
Her belief in rising and menacing anti-semitism is striking. As someone of the generation brought up to believe that the Holocaust was the single most important fact of modern history, and anti-semitism the vilest prejudice, I find it hard to believe it so widespread. She vehemently disagrees: "It is the oldest hatred, it's a hatred that is global and doesn't ever go away."
Global and never goes away?
This statement suggests that she believes that anti-semitism is a genetic defect among gentiles rather than a prejudice.
Either that or she's saying things that she doesn't really believe.
Posted by: Shamil | June 16, 2006 12:50 PM