Labour "triumphs" in the Peterborough by-election, despite their candidate, Lisa Forbes, having a disturbing taste for antisemitic tweets:
Ms Forbes caused controversy during the campaign when she liked a post on Twitter which said Theresa May had a "Zionist slave masters agenda".
Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said she had been "careless" in her language but had apologised for her mistake and would make a fantastic MP.
But Labour MP Margaret Hodge said she had "raised concerns" about Ms Forbes' comments with the party's leadership, while fellow Labour MP Jess Phillips said Ms Forbes had "endorsed and ignored anti-Semitic things".
So antisemitism, we now know, is no bar to Labour advancement.
From the JC:
The Jewish Labour Movement has urged Labour to suspend its newest MP over her endorsement of antisemitic statements, after her unexpected by-election victory.
Within hours of Ms Forbes taking Peterborough, JLM issued a statement on Friday calling her a "perfect example" of a Labour activist who advanced within the party despite promoting "racist material" and opposing the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Ms Forbes was revealed to have liked a post on Facebook that said Theresa May had a "Zionist Slave Master's Agenda" and praised a post that said Islamic extremists were the work of Mossad. Ms Forbes has apologised and insisted she found antisemitism "abhorrent".
JLM, which announced it would not campaign for Ms Forbes earlier this week, said she would have to go "far, far further" than her statements of apology and urged the party to suspend her.
A JLM spokesperson called her "a perfect example" of how Labour allow those who "shared racist material and rejected the IHRA definition of antisemitism not only to be a member but [to] advance political and seek public office"....
Labour MPs Dame Louise Ellman and Dame Margaret Hodge formally complained to the party about their new parliamentary colleague.
A Labour source said the complaints were being "processed".
Ah yes. We know what happens when antisemitism complaints are processed in the Labour Party.
Update: in the Times (£):
Labour’s victory in the Peterborough by-election shows that “antisemitism is becoming normal in the party”, one of its own MPs has said.
In the run up to polling day Lisa Forbes, the new MP, was revealed to have “liked” an antisemitic Facebook post that said Theresa May was following a “Zionist slave masters agenda”. She subsequently apologised for “not calling out these posts”.
Jess Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, said that while she was “glad” that the Brexit Party did not win, “the reality is I cannot be gleeful or proud as I’d want to be because of how it shows that antisemitism is becoming normal in the party”. She said: “Lisa ignored and endorsed antisemitic things, I’ll take her explanation and apology at face value and look forward to her proving, as others have, that actions not excuses alone can heal.
“But with every case the party’s values chip away and our ability to stand up against hate erodes.”
You know they're winning because they're anti-Semitic
Posted by: Shir | June 07, 2019 at 05:23 PM
European Anti-Semitism today is largely a consequence of the "Palestinian problem". At a dinner party recently with educated "middle of the road" friends and acquaintances when Palestine was mentioned, I found myself in a minority of 1 (out of 12).
Israel is bad entity; Look at what it has done to the poor Palestinians. That's what everyone thinks!
As best I could I tried to mention (amongst other things):
(1) The million Christians who had to leave their homes and land in the former Ottoman Empire after WW1. Nobody hears about them these days;
(2) Likewise, no one hears about the hundreds of thousands of Jews who had to flea their homes in "Arab territory". Bagdad used to be the "largest" Jewish city in the Middle East.
It was the poor Palestinians who were put into camps and turned into a political/religious weapon; and a reason and means to continually harass and threaten the existence of Israel.
(3) Jews are Palestinians, they have always lived there, and there was nothing wrong in them seeking independence (and other Jews joining them). The problem was the Arabs/Muslims refused to give an inch on anything whatsoever. By giving nothing, the Arabs/Muslims "lost nearly everything". It is their fault.
Etc.
As far as I could tell I didn't change any minds. And, it was obvious that what I had to say was totally "novel" for my fellow diners.
Posted by: LibertyPhile | June 08, 2019 at 11:14 AM
As you say, it's accepted wisdom now that Israel is bad, and it's the poor Palestinians who must get our sympathy.
At least you tried.
Posted by: Mick H | June 08, 2019 at 12:17 PM