Zionism and the politics of suspicion
The “politics of suspicion” is a term often heard in Muslim circles: it means a culture in which people are held responsible for the deeds of those with the same beliefs as themselves, and...
Category: Palestine
Why I defend Jeremy Corbyn on anti-Semitism
Two things happened last week which gave rise to a lot of opinionating on the current state and future of the Labour party. One was another ‘revelation’ about Jeremy Corbyn displaying anti-Semitism, in this...
Muslim leaders should not serve Israeli propaganda
For a long while, Israeli sympathisers have been trying to nurture a generation of Muslim leaders and influencers who might try to sway Muslim opinion towards, as they see it, a more ‘balanced’ view...
Are Jews really “wandering again”?
Earlier this week an article appeared on Unherd by Douglas Murray, titled “Why are Jewish people ‘wandering’ again?”. It was an interview with a Jewish lawyer called Mark Lewis, who along with his partner...
Why “Jewish fears”, even if genuine, are misplaced
Last week I saw two blog articles published by self-described left-wing Zionists, one of whom I know through disability activist circles, about why they are concerned about the “rising tide” of anti-Semitism in the...
Existential threat? What?
In the latest chapter of the Labour anti-Semitism row, three British Jewish newspapers have published a similar front page and editorial condemning the Labour leadership for refusing their demand to adopt an international definition...
Opposition to the state of Israel is not racist
Why anti-Zionism is seen as antisemitism | Letters | World news | The Guardian This is a letter in today’s Guardian from Joseph Pearlman (who appears to be an economist at City of London...
Labour, anti-Zionism and the past
The controversy over supposed anti-Semitism on the left of the Labour party continues, with the Times publishing an article (paywalled) the other day proclaiming that Jeremy Corbyn had been called upon to throw out...
Anti-Zionism versus Anti-Semitism
I’m a Muslim and an anti-Zionist. The latter means I support the right of the Palestinian Arabs to their country: all of it. Right now, part of it is a settler state that allows...
Jews, Muslims, the left and “anti-Semitism”
Since I wrote my last piece on the left and claims of “anti-Semitism” against Labour students and the Left more generally, a spate of claims of anti-Semitism against various Labour politicians, two of them...
Does the Left really have an anti-Semitism problem?
Recently accusations have started flying that the Left, including the Labour party, has a ‘problem’ with anti-Semitism and that Jeremy Corbyn, the party’s leader, hasn’t been doing enough to combat it. The accusations include...
Boycott ISIS? Boycott what?
There is a story going around that the NUS recently passed a motion to align itself with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, while a year ago having rejected a motion...
It’s always different when it’s you
Israel has many injustices. But it is not an apartheid state | Benjamin Pogrund | Comment is free | The Guardian This bit of self-serving liberal Zionist guff was in yesterday’s Guardian — actually,...
Palestinians are not just irrational haters
Last Tuesday, two Palestinians attacked a synagogue in Jerusalem, killing four rabbis and a Druze Israeli policeman. It was revealed that several of the rabbis killed were immigrants from Britain and the USA; one...
Lipman, the socialist, deserts the poor for Israel
Last week Maureen Lipman, the British comic actress best known for roles in advertisements in the 1980s (as in “if you’ve got an ‘ology, you’re a scientist”), announced in an article for Standpoint magazine...
Hawking, the boycott and the Israeli CPU
Last week Professor Stephen Hawking pulled out of a conference in Israel, reportedly as part of an academic boycott of Israeli institutions on the grounds of it operating an Apartheid-type regime against its Palestinian...
Online bullies’ abuse is censorship, not free speech
Back in the days when Usenet was the main place online for discussion (if not the only), before web forums and blogs had been heard of (or at least, were anything like as sophisticated...
Just as long as he’s on our side
A couple of weeks ago I read an article in the Guardian by Hannah Pool about sexual harassment, which according to the author was a common experience for women in public places which she...
Rape by deceit is rape, but …
BBC News - Israeli Arab who 'raped' a woman says verdict 'racist' How did this man manage to deceive an Israeli Jewish woman that he was Jewish? Surely, as a native Arabic speaker, he...
Some facts about the Flotilla massacre
In response to the massacre yesterday morning on the Turkish ship that was delivering aid to Gaza, Amad at Muslim Matters has posted an article refuting some of the specious claims by the Israeli...