Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Monday 13 December 2010

Screwing the Right – the "Organ of Anglo-Jewry"

A pro-Israel demo in Brazil


Early this month Brazil, its example soon followed by Argentina and Uruguay, announced its recognition of an independent State of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital. A not insignificant development, you might think. Certainly, those astute analysts Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post and Robin Shepherd of the Henry Jackson Society consider it so: they’ve devoted several paragraphs to this circumstance and what it may portend if it has a domino effect that causes other nations – especially France and others within the EU – to follow the South Americans’ example. (Scroll down to my blogroll for the Caroline Glick and Robin Shepherd blogs)

Not so, it seems, Britain’s Jewish Chronicle – the "Organ of Anglo-Jewry".  I've looked in vain on its website for any mention of this breaking news – there has been none. The website (an award-winning one, no less, though that was some years ago) is as shtum about that development as it was about the speeches of Geert Wilders and Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in Israel last week. The reasons for these omissions appears not far to seek – the JC obviously doesn’t approve of Mr Wilders and Ms Sabaditsch-Wolff for their robust unpolitically correct opposition to the islamification of Europe, so instead of reporting their speeches, vigorously pro-Israel though both were, and letting readers make up their own minds, they don’t report them at all.

That’s if the reporters ever learned about them in the first place – for while the JC does carry hard-hitting analytical reports from time to time, and mercifully still has several impressive columnists gracing its hardcopy editions, the thrust and quality of its online reportage is all too frequently inconsequential and poor.  The impression given is that a quick skim of Al Beeb's news website or a cursory google is all that's been done, and all too often it's the readers' blogs that contain the important stories.  I've even seen the reporters take their cues from readers' blogs and post a belated report.  But not often. The blogs get superseded by others and the news gets buried.

Indeed, about many matters that we might reasonably expect a Jewish newspaper of its supposed calibre to report, the JC website is silent. Instead, the seeming lightweights among its reporting staff  (they're of the female variety, I regret to say) were this past week, as usual, very much in evidence, displaying their characteristic preference for “news lite”, much of it revolving around “celebrities”, and with poking fun (not for the first time) at that good friend of Israel, Sarah Palin.

“You'll probably be shocked, but that kind of story will cause more of a stir around Shabbat dinner tables than all of the Israel-related stories put together”, noted a former world news editor of the newspaper, the man who was responsible for setting up the website in the first place. He might be expected to know. But – oh, surely not. Is the Britannic component of the People of the Book really that dumbed-down?

And are those not-so-intrepid reporters so clueless about world events impacting (and that deleteriously) on the Jewish State that they’re likely to imagine “the Brazilian initiative” is something to do with a trends in coffee-drinking or in hairstyles or in body waxing? Alas, I suspect so. (Don’t get me wrong, froth, frivolity, flippancy and – er – fluff do have their place, but not in every increasing measure on the paper’s website at the expense of important news.)

Initially launched in 1841, and in continuous publication since 1844, the Jewish Chronicle is British Jewry’s oldest-surviving newspaper, and still its most influential. For generations of Jewish families across this country, Erev Shabbos has not been complete without “The JC” –as the paper is affectionately known. Back issues of the paper are indispensable for historians and genealogists, and I’ve done more than my fair share, over the years, of digging into its archives – a wonderful resource. And, believe me, I’m something of a connoisseur of Jewish newspapers, having intimate knowledge of the contents of the JC’s original rival the Voice of Jacob (a grand read itself), as well as of the Jewish press in Australia, past and present.

In 1895, during Theodor Herzl’s first visit to England, the JC’s then editor, Asher Myers, asked Herzl for an article. The great man did not disappoint, and duly sent one from Austria. Translated from the German, it appeared in the issue of 17 January 1896 under the headline ‘A “Solution of the Jewish Question”’ and was a scoop for the paper, being the first time that Herzl’s vision of a Jewish homeland appeared in print. (The pamphlet Der Judenstaat was published shortly afterwards.)

In its issue of 8 December 1933 the JC wrote presciently of “the Hitlerist extermination regime”. And so on – a fascinating read guaranteed, at the local, national, and international level.

Below is a London newspaper vendor’s placard from the mid-1960s, when the JC was still a considerable force in the Jewish world. In common with other newspapers, as they compete with electronic media and try to carve out a viable online presence for themselves, the JC has its problems – there have been rumours of falling readership and revenue and of recent staff redundancies. But the quality of the paper has declined compared to what it was when that photo was taken; the amount of editorial news and solid features has diminished – I do not intend to imply that they have vanished altogether.  That would be churlish and untrue.


Today, an unprecedented campaign, ruthless and well-orchestrated, threatens Israel, uniquely of all the countries in the world. Yet the Jewish Chronicle – wrongly and indeed irresponsibly in my view – permitted its vocal enemies a voice on its website readers' blogs until finally shamed into removing them by an ongoing campaign waged by a number of concerned readers. Not least among those is keen Jewish Chronicle-watcher Avraham Reiss of Jerusalem, whose website http://jcwatch.wordpress.com/contains probably all you would wish to know about the episode – as well as rather alot more! ( The JC staff are said to look in at frequent intervals, wondering what the often somewhat intemperate Mr Reiss will come out with next!)

The paper seemed and indeed seems blissfully unaware that blogs on its website are reproduced on sites such as Jewish Press International – whose readers are no doubt startled and affronted to see the kind of blogs that were (until editor Stephen Pollard tardily heeded outraged readers' pleas and imposed a crack-down) and lamentably sometimes still are posted there. I’m not talking about blogs that criticise aspects of Israeli policy. I’m talking about blogs that demonised Israel and spewed out obnoxious vitriol about the Jewish State and its supporters, even comparing Zionists and the IDF to Nazis, and using words like "ubermenschen" and "liebensraum" [sic] in connection with Israeli attitudes.

A taunting poster who perpetually insulted Jews and Israel, including the Israeli flag, and addressed a zealous pro-Zionist poster, no less a communal personage than Jonathan Hoffman,  as "Mr Ten Per Cent", constantly personally insulting him and other pro-Israel posters, was allowed to remain for weeks and weeks, even after having numerous antisemitic posts flagged.  Some posts, including ones mocking and scorning the EUMC definition of antisemitism – were removed following complaints. There were many similar examples. I can only assume that the JC staff tolerated bloggers and posters such as that antisemite because they wanted to impress advertisers and potential advertisers with the impression that the website’s readers’ blogs (a feature that was almost as lifeless as a dodo only a year or so ago) are jumping with activity.

But advertisers can read – and if they did bother to find out what is actually being written by some bloggers and posters, with the apparent full blessing of the paper, they may well have taken their revenue elsewhere.

Moreover, readers’ blogs on interesting relevant topics were often summarily and inexplicably closed by the JC staff – under the signature "Anonymous" – although they had been onscreen for less than a day, a galling happening especially given the fact that the "Anonymous" moderator was rumoured to be a cadet reporter on work experience. Certainly, the suspect was herself (I'm sorry to sound unkind but it's true) a mediocre writer. Whoever was to blame, some serious meaty blogs were prematurely closed in this way, apparently on a mere whim, while others were left unscathed. Queries from bloggers as to why this occurred went unanswered until – out of the blue – JC editor Stephen Pollard (pictured) announced a set of guidelines, which has largely although not entirely curtailed the abuses.

The paper is still biased against certain viewpoints, or at any rate certain individuals who voice them. It’s failed to print letters this past week from two redoubtable rightwing Zionists, Jonathan Hoffman and Jon Cohen (of course, the reason could be that the paper had no space, has held them over, and will print them next week, although I believe both gentlemen – through past experience – believe such optimism to be misplaced!) "If your name is Stanley Walinets then you have a letter published weekly", grumbles Jon Cohen, a regular poster on the paper’s website, today, referring to a well-known activist within the fringe group Jews for Justice for Palestinians. This, incidentally, is presumably the same Mr Walinets who posted the following tasteful piece on the JC’s website not so long ago (8 November) as a blog; following complaints, the paper was prudent enough to remove it:

Said Hitler "I wanted the world to hate Jews!
But how can I do it? I’m dead…
I know! Re-incarnate as hard-right Israelis
And let them do it instead!"

"Apart [from] the token letter disagreeing with the JC's left-wing stance, no other letters of an opposing viewpoint are published. Why is that?" asks Mr Cohen. The reason for the JC’s willingness to post letters from people like Mr Walinets and its tendency to ignore letters from people like Messrs Hoffman and Cohen lies, it’s widely thought (and the assumption sounds reasonable), in the paper’s apparent connection to the New Israel Fund via the JC’s proprietor, the Kessler Foundation. The New Israel Fund’s links to dubious organisations aimed at the undermining of Israel as a vibrant Jewish State and to elements pushing the Goldstone Report have been fully explored and demonstrated by that eminently useful site NGO Monitor in a series of hard-hitting investigative reports that can be accessed here http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/new_israel_fund
The JC’s editor, Mr Pollard, is perhaps haplessly in thraldom to this state of affairs, and possibly despite his better judgment. After all, the poor fellow clearly has to eat. He has written of his own disavowal of leftist attitudes in the wake of 9/11. In 2006, before assuming the JC’s editorship, he wrote:
"...large, mainstream sections of the Left – typified by the [then] Mayor of London [Ken Livingstone]– now choose to ally themselves with Islamists who seek to destroy the essence of Western civilisation, who would put to death homosexuals and Jews, and who would put women in metaphorical – and sometimes literal – chains, and the moral cancer that has taken hold of the Left becomes clear.
.... It is not easy to acknowledge what the Left has become, and the mindset of leftists.... The mainstream Left has demonstrated clearly which side of the battle to preserve Western civilisation and freedom it is on. The Left, in any recognisable form, is now the enemy." http://www.stephenpollard.net/002558.html
And before the May General Election he revealed, in his usual  felicitous literary style, that he was endorsing the Conservative Party after a lifetime of voting Labour.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest.../article7108874.ece

Moreover, Mr Pollard began a book review in the New York Times last year with these words:
"There is no more important issue facing the West than Islamism, Islamofascism or –  to use yet another label –  radical Islam.  And there is no more necessary precondition to countering that threat than understanding it: where it springs from, how it is expressed and the ways in which it is spreading.  But before we do any of that, we have to agree that the threat exists".  (From the rest of the review there's scant doubt that he most certainly does.) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/.../Pollard-t.html

At the end of last month, at the height of the outrage over Mick Davis’s tomfoolery (see my post of 28 November, "Princes in Israel..."), Melanie Phillips (who, incidentally, the JC has the good sense to retain as one of its regular columnists) wrote on her Spectator blog:
"I hear that one or two Jewish community leadership figures have even been going round bad-mouthing certain non-Jews who defend Israel in public. Behind the scenes these leadership figures are viciously attacking people such as Douglas Murray or Robin Shepherd as ‘extremist’, ‘Islamophobic’, ‘right-wing’ and so forth, and urging other community figures not to support them.
This is utterly astonishing. Heaven knows these courageous, decent and principled people are rare enough in these terrible times; if only there were more of them. They are putting themselves on the line to support Israel and fight for the defence of the west in the teeth of mass hysteria, thus courting the threat of professional and social ostracism. Jews owe them an enormous debt of gratitude. Yet incredibly, these British Jewish community leaders, driven by a combination of ideological spite, empire-building and egomania, are blackening their names and thus trying to squeeze them into silence.
I have said before that the ingrained servility of British Jewish leaders, who believe in working behind the scenes in trying to influence the great and the good rather than putting their heads above the parapet and making their case in public, explains why they have so conspicuously failed to stand up in public against the madness over Israel that has engulfed Britain and the west. But the reality is far, far worse than that. By endorsing the positions of those who are demonising and delegitimising Israel through echoing their distortions, decontextualisations and grotesquely inverted morality, it has now become clear that Britain’s most senior Jewish community leadersheep [sic – well-characterised!] are simply, and tragically, on the wrong side." http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/6493974/the-british-jewish-leadersheep.thtml#comments

This prompted Edgar Davidson (who on his own blog has made a number of strictures about the JC’s editorial bias against the Israeli and the British right and against the EDL such as this post of 27 June http://www.edgar1981.blogspot.com/.../jewish-chronicle-gets-it-all-wrong.html) to comment beneath Ms Phillips’s post:
'The increasingly indifferent (and at times hostile) attitude of British Jewish Leadership toward Israel is reflected in the deterioration of the Jewish Chronicle over the last two years. The JC is increasingly taking on the mantle of standard left-wing Jewish critics of Israel. This can be seen in the prominence it now gives every week to articles, letters and interviews with anti-Zionists. The JC is increasingly obsessed with the 'radical right wing threat to British Jewry' while continuing to ignore the real threat from the Islamist-leftist alliance. To confirm its total ignorance of what is really going on, it continues to refer to the American J-Street organisation as a "pro-Israel liberal lobby" even after the evidence that its leaders had hidden the fact is was being secretly funded by the anti-Zionist Soros and even Arab propagandists.'
He was supported by a comment from a certain Michelle, who observed:
'I agree with you wholeheartedly about the JC. This story is obviously boosting their declining circulation. It is to be expected when we know the connections between the JC’s owners - the Kessler Foundation and the New Israel Fund.
Nicholas Saphir, (a Sussex-based [actually Kent-based] farmer, is a trustee of the Kessler Foundation which oversees the running of the JC.  He is also Chairman of the New Israel Fund as well as being involved in "overseeing the running of the JC."  In such circumstances, could The JC’s current editorial policy actually be influenced by Nicholas Saphir and his New Israel Fund’s political views?
If so, are we to conclude, that the "Organ of British Jewry" is now moving very much left of centre in the various debates concerning Israel and diaspora Jewry?' [Hat tip to Michelle, for thereby inspiring the title of the present blogpost!]
The JC – the "Organ of Anglo-Jewry" – has become more the tool of the mealy-mouthed Anglo-Jewish communal establishment. It has joined them in the kneejerk vilification of the EDL in a series of not-very-subtle articles that had even a rightwing sceptic like myself falling for their line that the EDL consists entirely of scumbag ruffians and neo-Nazis. That their interpretation of the EDL might not be altogether accurate is suggested by passionately indignant comments on my post of last Thursday (“The Sad Old State of Cloud Cuckoo Land”) by the head of the EDL’s Jewish Division, Roberta Moore (pictured, becomingly wrapped in the Israeli flag) and by another highly articulate Jewish Division member, who blogs at http://www.juniperinthedesert.blogspot.com/)as well as by observations by other commenters. Certainly the jury – make that Jewry – should still be out as far as the EDL is concerned. As one commenter remarked: "I think that we need to reserve judgment on the EDL unless or until there is a definite proven connection to the BNP."

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again –  it’s time Anglo-Jewry realised that it’s no longer fighting Oswald Mosley and the BUF. The enemy these days doesn’t wear a blackshirt but an entirely different garb. And quite frankly, if its hard news you want, especially about Israel and related international affairs, the jc.com is not the place for you. You’re better off making a personal google page and adding the Jerusalem Post as a module. But if you’re still tempted by the jc.com, do accept its opinions with at least two pinches of salt, and – as someone reminded me this week – don’t allow its take on events to shape yours.

52 comments:

  1. Thank you for the above post, it is excellent! It is a pity the Jewish people of the UK do not complain at the anti-Israel, holocaust-denying Israel-born Gilad Atzmon, who is a hideous parody of a kapo, but is praised on all sorts of Jewish websites, for his jazz-playing!

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  2. Gina in Golders Green13 December 2010 at 12:06

    Thank you Daphne for having the guts to write this very honest article. The JC is more a Jewish Comical than Chronicle. It is responsible for drip drip feeding British Jews views that will not serve their interests in the future.

    The reason the paper is still in business is because of it's Social & Personal page. It's essential reading in the Jewish community to keep you up to date with the hatched, matched and dispatched. And I note rather cynically that this information is not available freely on their website, only to paid up subscribers. However.... with the growth of Facebook as a social media, this JC page will, in time, become redundant.

    There is another Jewish newspaper in the UK, The Jewish News, but it's not distributed very well. You can't get it from newsagents, just Jewish delis and you have to be quick before all the copies are whisked away. (I always have to grab 3 on a thursday night to share with my family).

    It has much better journalists and opinions. I personally like Charlie Wolfe and OyVaGoy.

    There is so much more I could write here, but for the moment a big THANK YOU.

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  3. Many thanks, Juniper and Gina, for your encouragement.
    Juniper, Gilad Atzmon's antisemitic crap via Redress is picked up on the website sidebar of the Reading PSC (with which is associated the Aberystwyth PSC). Those people have no shame, it seems.

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  4. During my London period, 1975-1977, I found the JC to be more than willing to provide space for debate, assuming, I guess, that their columnist, Ben-Azzai, aka grumpy Chaim Bermant, would carry the day. The paper was quite an asset in following up a story on the Jewish family connection of one of the two British sergeants hanged by the Irgun (thanks again to JF). If there are faults as you describe, one can only hope that they will be counterbalanced. Of course, a community paper reflects, most times, its community - rarely does a paper truly lead.

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  5. A superb article, Daphne!

    The reason that the JC Blogs Moderator signs with "anonymous" is to escape personal attacks on said Moderator's capabilities by JCWatch.

    JCWatch's rationale is that anyone (such as a Blogs Moderator) allowing commennts comparing the State of Israel with Nazi Germany - as did the "Moderator" at whose identity you neatly hinted - is an enemy, and as such is a valid target for retaliation.

    So the JC took the coward's way out - and also allows anti-semites to hide behind fictitious names, while uttering statements they would not dare to make under their own names.

    Avraham Reiss - Jerusalem

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  6. Maybe the future is online. We have a Jewish rag in Leeds, The Jewish Telegraph, and to be perfectly honest I wouldn't wipe my tochus with it( my wife buys it for the births etc as Gina from Golders Green described the JC ).
    During the summer you wrote an article which mentioned that the joint leader of Leeds City Council was spouting the usual crap about Israel ( so long as Israel behaves as it does then expect many more 9/11'S & 7/7'S ).
    I and most other residents ( voters ) of Leeds did not know of his little mishigas on Israel but knew him for causing our 6 month dustbin strike.
    So I conntacted the said rag and all I got was WHO ARE YOU ? WE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF YOU. I gave them all my details short of my actual D.N.A. suggesting they, rather than me have the skills to speak to this joint council leader ( lib dem, no suprise there ) and thus at least give the voters an insight into his anti Israel views.
    Nothing has happened on this subject but the rag keeps on reporting it's usual drivel about charity do's and sod all else.

    Pass me the Andrex.

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  7. An excellent article; highlighting the left- wing,apologist leanings of both The Jewish Chronicle and the "so-called" leadersheep of British Jewry.
    It is a sad reflection of the current state of UK Jewry that we have no leaders willing nor able to stand up the vociferous and nasty, pro-Islamist and anti-Israel sentiment currently sweeping through the UK and cyberspace and "bat for the side", they are all too eager to capitulate,apolgise and try to "curry" favour.
    Instead we have to rely on the likes of our non-Jewish friends, Douglas Murray and Robin Shepherd - and of course HE The Israeli Ambassador, Ron Prosor, who really is an excellent Ambassador, but sadly he is but one man and has his work cut out.
    Daphne, keep up the good work, maybe a new generation of UK Jewish leaders will take note and take over from the current batch of self-appointed, very philanthropic but sadly mis-informed "leadersheep", with the funds to buy out the JC.

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  8. So you don't have a problem with the EDL? Or the jury is still out is it?

    Jeeez

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  9. Thuis is certainly a tour de force, Daphne and should get people debating. Fwiw I do not think the JC has been remiss in not printing my letters, I have a pretty good hit rate.

    You label me "rightwing". I find the terms 'left' and 'right' very unhelpful. Before the demise of Communism they referred to different economic philosophies but now I am not sure to what they refer. They are particularly unhelpful in the Israel context. Someone can be dovish on a Palestinian state but hawkish on economic policy and vice versa. I know that people who see themselves as 'left' call us "right-wing", as a term of abuse.

    In terms of Israeli politics, as regards Israel's policies I am close to the "centre".

    JH

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  10. Thanks for all the latest comments. Much appreciated.

    Rachel - the jury is indeed still out.

    JH, glad you clarified all that - my tem "rightwing" for you was done as a kind of shorthand, hurriedly: it occurred to me you might disavow it.

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  11. btw, Sydney international affairs analyst David Singer has this article on "the Brazilian initiative":
    Palestine, Brazil and Argentina - Outing the Jew-hatersPalestine, Brazil and Argentina - Outing the Jew-haters.www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/31009
    (It comes via J-Wire, the Aussie Jewish-related news service)

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  12. Re the JC, somebody has drawn my attention to this group, of whom I had no knowledge:
    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11692764239

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  13. Hi Daphne,

    I return once again to your blog.
    This time I enjoyed reading what you wrote above. I agree wholeheartedly with you. The JC is a pathetic newspapers whose sole intention is to demonize Israel, Jews and the EDL. No surprises there.

    Some imbeciles still accuse us of having links with BNP and all that crap, but fail miserably to state the name of JEWISH MEMBERS of the BNP. Bunch of hypocrites.
    The EDL has stated time and time again that they have NOTHING to do with the BNP. The organization is only 18 months old and even though there have been BNP members in the EDL, most have left the BNP as they did not agree with their policies, but at that time I don't think the EDL existed for them.

    Even Sikhs voted for BNP. I am sure they wouldn't vote now.

    I am sick and tired of hearing about the BNP. I was accused of having links with the BNP and I don't even know them, never been to any of their meetings, never voted for them and know no one in the BNP. So much for the media, huh? These pathetic low life individuals have nothing better to do than invent lies. Gilad Atzmon, the failed crappy jazz musician is the same. He never met me, I never spoke to the turd and yet this pathetic low life decides to write an article about me (I am quite flattered) insulting me in all forms possible.

    I don't bother counter-attacking as I have no desire to give him an inch of my attention. He wishes! ;)

    Anyway, just wanted to say, the EDL is here and we are not going anywhere. We will fight for our country, we will fight for the right of Jews to live in peace and for Israelis to defend their country. I wish they would deport all those Arab Muslim terrorists out of their land too.

    If the Jewish community has their heads so deep up their backsides to figure out who is on their side and who is against them, then sod them. I have no more intentions of reaching out to them. They can go to hell as far as I am concerned.

    I have tried to reach out to some people, but it seems they are so deluded that their judgement is clouded. I have no patience for them and have decided that I am not going to bother anymore. Let them feel the brunt of Islam. Let them be abused by Muslims. Let them be demonized.

    We will defend and protect all those Jews who join us and are in this fight with us, but we will NOT protect or defend those hypocrites who are still demonizing us despite knowing who we are and what we stand for. If they want to live in their coo-coo land, then they are welcome to it. We have bigger fish to catch.

    Our doors are opened to anyone and everyone to join us, but we will not look for them. They know where we are.

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  14. Daphne

    Thanks so much for tis - you really have said it all. I completely agree! Of course there is room for fluff, but the JC has indeed ignored crucially important stories to make room for stupid articles about X factor etc, at a time when Jews are facing a real threat of sharply rising antisemitism, often disguised as anti-Zionism. Ignoring the delevopments in South America is just lazy journalism. There is a tendency for journalists to act like sheep generally (hence whole swathes of the world go unreported entirely, whilst eveything goes through a leftist prism), but one would expect the JC to at least show an interest in something of such importance.

    The situation on the JC blogs, with outright antisemites posting week after week unhindered, has been nothing short of a disgrace.

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  15. Daphne,

    I am already boycotting the JC. They are scum.
    Sickening paper that does NOT represent the Jews in any way, shape or form.

    Glad you think like us. Time people woke up. ;)

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  16. Roberta, you were so indignant about my other blog, as was Juniper, and a number of people who contacted me privately - people who in no way could ever be considered neo-Nazi or BNP types - that I decided to revisit the subject. I am never too proud to admit that I may have been wrong about something. I now have an open mind as far as the EDL is concerned - rushing to judgment about it, defining it as a component of the lunatic Right, is in these perilous times something that I'll leave - for the time being at any rate - to the lunatic Left.

    Daniel, thanks for your comment.

    One point I omitted from the blog, but meant to say, is that according to all survey research two-thirds of British Jews vote Conservative, so leftwing attitudes do not reflect the majority of the community. Moreover, the paper seems to be completely unrepresentative of the views and values strictly Orthodox component of Anglo-Jewry.
    The JC should reflect on whether it really wants to slide down the slippery slope of alienating the Jewish mainstream, and making advertisers take their advertising elsewhere.

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  17. I've just been notified of this, which has not had any publicity:

    http://www.petitiononline.com/THEJC/petition.html

    So there is clearly dissatisfaction in the community, at least among those who can be bothered to express it.

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  18. Gina,

    I quote you:

    [It's essential reading in the Jewish community to keep you up to date with the hatched, matched and dispatched]

    LOL! I never knew this section existed in the JC, but now it's another reason for me to boycott them. Who cares who is hatched, matched or dispatched?

    There is a saying: "Small minds discuss PEOPLE. Big minds discuss IDEAS".

    Btw, I am also in Golders Green. ;)
    Top area!

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  19. Daphne,

    Yes, I was indignant before. In fact it seems that many people deliberately misquote us in order to further their agenda. I have thick skin though, but I hold no grudges.
    From the start I knew you were not like the rest. It is easy to fall into their trap but I know that intelligent people are never fooled in the long run.

    I wish I had time to blog like you. There is so much I want to say...;)

    Kind regards

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  20. Roberta, you're very articulate - and there's clearly alot you want to say!
    I blog instead of watching TV in the evenings ... there are only so many repeats a gal can take, after all!

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  21. well done Daphne, it's been high time that somebody said to the emperor that he has no clothes!

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  22. Daphne,

    I wish I had time for TV as well, hun ;)

    I have a blog but I do not post there much these days.. no time.
    But you are welcome to browse my very disturbing and polemic posts! ha!

    http://morrigandunn.blogspot.com/

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  23. The emperor must be feeling uncomfortable without his clothes during this cold snap, Miranda!
    OK, Roberta!

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  24. no one's forcing you to buy the JC, are they? If you think you can do a better job, why set up your own Jewish newspaper and see now far it will go?

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  25. Alas, Anon - not enough of The Necessary, so I can't quite compete with the Kessler Foundation and its mate the New Israel Fund. I buy the "Organ" in order to have access to its great archival resources ... for in order to access those you have to be a subscriber.

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  26. There are plenty of rich right-wing machers, Cyril Stein, Conrad Morris, Richard Desmond to name but three, who could stump up the money for a Jewish newspaper more in tune with your far right views. Why not approach them? Or is it easier to carp on the side lines?

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  27. thank you for exposing the JC's link with the NIF, which I wasn't aware of before but now the scales have fallen from my eyes - keep up the good work & kol hakavod

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  28. Hardly "far-right", Anon - a paid-up member of the Conservative Party who supports that party in common with (I repeat what I posted in an earlier comment) two-thirds of Anglo-Jewry, the JC being out of step.

    Julian, thanks. The link to the NIF explains so much, but not, alas, the JC's continuing failure on its website to report hard news. Hopefully editor Pollard (who as I indicated in the post I suspect is not at heart happy with that link to the NIF) will be big enough to realise that this blogpost was not a personal dig at him - but a plea that his reporters lift their game.

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  29. Two-thirds of british Jews voted Tory. So what? That's the party of Cameron, Hague, etc who have made disparaging comments about Israeli government policy.
    Not far-right? You are endorsing the views of Roberta Moore, of the EDL's Liebstandarte Jude.
    But it seems you prefer to carp on the side lines.

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  30. You seem very cross. Are you from Furnival Street?
    I am NOT endorsing the EDL. I am merely saying - I've said it explicitly - that as far as I am concerned the jury is still out; if they can be proven to be in bed with neo-Nazis, that will prove that those who disparage them are correct.

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  31. Take no notice of sour grapes Daphne or far right smears, the coalition's doing away with the arrest warrant farce which is something in Cameron's favour.

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  32. not_a_sussex_farmer16 December 2010 at 01:34

    Good blog Daphne, I discovered it thru the ruthfully yours blog where Ruth King linked it

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  33. Gina in Golders Green16 December 2010 at 01:48

    Roberta
    I think the EDL is being judged by media photography and strap lines. 5 people can walk into an event and each one can take a picture at the same time telling a different story.

    We have seen so many times press photos during recent Israeli wars (that have later been proved to be old, doctored, or whatever) and seen how public opinion has changed against Israel/Jews.

    Look how it took Phillipe Karsenty in Paris years to prove the falsehood of those Gaza images and what were the resulting consequences to human lives.

    When it comes to the EDL, when I look at the photos I think yukk, Nazis.... however, when I know what they're protesting against, I think, yeh, good on them.

    I'm sure many other people feel the same. So Roberta, if you haven't already, really think about creating your own press releases and media shots to get in first. And understand the importance of the camera images and peoples first impressions so you can turn around the EDL.

    Nobody is happy with creeping Islamism.

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  34. Liebstandarte Jude - I knew I'd read that before, and indeed I found it on a JC website blog:
    " .....But Roberta Moore, of the EDL's Liebstandarde Jude, is not convinced."

    Thanks, Nathan - I well know their smear tactics.
    Glad you found me, "farmer"!

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  35. Furnival Street? Don't flatter yourself.
    But if you are just going to carp from the sidelines, the JC really has nothing to worry about.

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  36. Oh, you are a cross patch!
    Frankly, I've given the JC a nice little shot of publicity - and I've praised it where praise is due.
    How do you suggest I leave the sidelines?
    Are you going to offer me a job?

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  37. It's easy really: you get rich far right machers, such as Cyril Stein, Conrad Morris, or Richard Desmond, to stump up the cash for a competitor to the JC. Then see if it sinks or swims in the free market of ideas.

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  38. Mr Desmond's not really my glass of champagne, he's a porn merchant.
    Let him save his spare change for Norwood.

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  39. It's being done in Israel. A billionaire named Sheldon something has financed a paper named "Yisrael Hayom" - "Israel Today" which is distributed free, and is killing Yediot Achronot (Maariv has been clinically dead for years).

    It is intentionally right-wing, and is the only paper you see peole reading on buses.

    "If you wish it, it is no dream".

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  40. Daphne you should remind the Anonymous jerk that carping from the sidelines is what bloggers and journalists DO and its what Mick Davis does all the time.

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  41. Thank you, gentlemen!
    Anon certainly seems to have some sort of emotional attachment to the JC that is making him read more into my intent than warranted. I have no wish to see a venerable institution go belly-up - I just want it to improve its hard-news reporting on its website; it can hardly be expected to put features and social news on its website or it would go out of business. If somebody did provide a free Hatches, Matches and Dispatches Jewish web service the JC could well find itself in trouble. I advise it to tone down the NIF stuff before someone does.
    Nathan, great point re Mick Davis!

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  42. Gina in Golders Green,

    Thanks for the advice. Yes, it's true. I agree with you that media propaganda is particularly strong against Israel due to the photos and the lies attached to them. Seen it too many times.

    Don't worry, we have our own media, and what's more, when we are in our demos, the public themselves film us from several angles then send us the films, so that we can destroy the media lies. We are ever so grateful to our supporters. They make the EDL grow.

    The media loves filming only our short haired boys, but what they fail to state is that when you get to a certain age, you do not have much hair, so accusing over 40s of being skinheads is quite a pathetic low shot.

    They deliberately miss the multicultural EDL, they do not photograph the Asians, the Chinese, the Blacks, etc who are with us.

    On the video we made at the Rabbi Shifren speech, a few kippah wearing Jews were amongst us. They were not EDL but they joined the EDL demo and were caught on our camera. Many young boys were there. Now they belong to the Jewish Division, after enjoying the demo and seeing for themselves what we stand for.

    The media is losing ground. At the moment we have no funding, and everything we do and achieve is with our own money. But we are considering raising funds, so that we can do more. We would of course, appreciate any support. The more we can do, the better it will be for all of us.

    We will be arranging our own conference soon and will invite everyone who wishes to come and debate with us. I would be particularly interested to invite the CST, and the ZF for a televised public debate during our conference.

    And if they refuse our invitation, oh well, then we will know who is scared of the truth, won't we? ;)

    In our conferences, EVERYONE has a platform to talk and express their views. Regretfully this does not even happen within our own Jewish community. Too many corrupted leftist scum.

    Kind regards

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  43. Nathan / Telegramsam:

    [Not far-right? You are endorsing the views of Roberta Moore, of the EDL's Liebstandarte Jude]

    We are NOT far right, you stupid moronic twat. Your baseless accusations are the reason why you have no credence anymore.
    If fighting against Islamization, fighting for Christians in Pakistan, fighting for Iranian democracy, fighting for the freedom of Jews, fighting for our country, and all these things means far right to you, then well well, we are VERY VERY FAR RIGHT then.

    Rather be far right than far WRONG like you.
    Get a life, saddo.

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  44. Gina in Golders Green20 December 2010 at 11:22

    Roberta

    I'm not sure if you're still checking this blog, but here's some food for thought....

    "At the very first Zionist congress of 1897 in Basle Switzerland, Theodore Herzl insisted that all the delegates wear formal clothing, top hats and tails. Most of the delegates, rough hewn Russian Socialists, wanted to wear their work clothing. But Herzl prevailed. He understood that to set a dignified tone proper clothing was required. He knew that the excitable delegates would, in fine silk tuxedos, behave like gentlemen and help sway public opinion in favor of Zionism."

    Think about it.

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  45. to :Gina in Golders Green

    The days of judging a person by what he/she wears, how a person speaks etc, belong in a bygone era....fortunately

    You are quoting 1897.....we are now almost in 2011

    Huge difference !!!!!!!!!

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  46. Shirlee, I think what Gina means is that were the EDL to look more like the office-workers and middle-class types that some undoubtedly are it would be harder for the media to portray them as thugs. Appearances do count in the battle for public opinion. It might not be fair, it might be shallow and snobbish, but that's how it is.

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  47. Incidentally, a singularly vile response to Roberta's post in which she says this - "We are NOT far right ... If fighting against Islamization, fighting for Christians in Pakistan, fighting for Iranian democracy, fighting for the freedom of Jews, fighting for our country, and all these things means far right to you, then well well, we are VERY VERY FAR RIGHT then" - called her a Nazi (among other vicious sentiments).
    Opposing islamofascism and upholding Iranian democracy and the rights of persecuted Christians in the Middle East doesn't sound Nazi-like to me.
    (I did not approve the vile post for publication on here - there are limits!)

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  48. Gina,

    I do come here from time to time. :)
    I understand what you said, but I agree with Shirl on this one. This is a bygone era and we do not want to pretend to have only Middle Class people here. The EDL has to encompass everything that is honourable, which includes WORKING CLASS, as they are the most honourable of all.

    The EDL represents the raw England although we do have many Middle and High class people amongst us. Our target is not the Middle class but the "mob", which is the people of this country. They are the ones who give us support. They are the bulk behind our work.

    If we start dressing posh and all that, we will not appeal to the general public and we will lose support, as the people tend not to trust those "posh dressing/speaking" hypocrites.

    We want to have a direct and honest approach.

    But of course, if we are to attend conferences and trips, etc.. we will dress accordingly.

    Thanks for the advice though. I do know where you are coming from. But it's time to judge people by their hearts, actions and intentions.

    Kind regards

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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  49. Isi Leibler stands by his words on Mick Davis and the Anglo-Jewish Leadership http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=2635

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  50. The problem with the EDL is that it is not a political party. It makes a lot of noise about Muslims without offering a solution to 'Islamism'.

    What does the EDL actually want to happen? No wonder many just see it as a hate-mongering baying mob.

    Until the EDL stands for political office and has to face the realities of its own policies it will judged negatively.

    Why does the EDL need a Jewish Division? What does that mean? Does it mean they don't punch Muslims on shabbat?

    Why make the distinction?

    Why does the EDL use militaristic terms such as 'Defence' 'Division'? It is deliberately intimidatory and it is the language of Fascists everywhere. So if they are not Fascists, why aspire to be?

    Why is the EDL not called the English anti-Sharia Movement? The EDL by its very nomenclature declares there is a war. That war is against Muslims. Of course, if you are a Muslim and agree to be anti-Muslim then you will be spared whatever fate the EDL deems fit for the Believers.

    I do not dispute that political Islam is the biggest challenge facing the West for the next 50 years at least, but is the EDL a proper response?

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  51. Thanks, latest Anon - that's a very thoughtful post.
    Sorry, I should have said so earlier.
    Have you any suggestions as to what might be done?

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  52. Anon/Luther Blisset (?) ;)

    I have read these same words before from a chap who calls himself Luther Blisset, so perhaps you are the very same?

    Yes, the EDL makes a lot of noise, that's the idea. We are not a political party because the Political law in this country makes it very hard for one to create a new political party, while the monopoly of the government rests on the main parties already.

    But we don't want to be a political party, although I agree with you that this would be a good idea and more viable. Fact is, it's not possible unfortunately, at least not yet. But who knows?

    Many people tell us the same thing, that the EDL should become political. We just want our Politicians to do their job, what they are paid to do.

    What does the EDL want to happen? The end of Islamization of our country, i.e England. So we do understand all those other countries that have been invaded by Islam and sympathize with them.

    Why does the EDL need a Jewish division? Because the English/British Jews also want to help England rid itself of Islamofascists.
    The word division is just to show that it is a faction of the EDL. It's an unit, and I do not see any problem using the word division or unit or faction to be honest. But I prefer division, it sounds more pleasant to me.

    We are not fascists nor aspire to be. Whatever gave you that idea?!! You should not judge people's hearts by a single word "Division". Jeez!

    We don't punch Muslims, nor on shabbat. But don't worry I have a sense of humour ;)
    We cannot be called English anti-shariah movement because we are not only against Shariah. We are against our goverment losing control of immigration from Islamic countries, or deliberately importing them here, when these people have a complete distorted idea of what civilization truly means.

    Without trying to say all Muslims are uncivilized, which would never be true, I am saying that their ideology and their political ideas, as well as their "religious" ideas are far too different from ours to be able to coexist in peace. If you look into History, back to the past, you will see that wherever Islam went to, whatever country it conquered, it was done by force, by killing, by subjugating people and by destroying their culture and civilization.

    We simply do not want it here. And because this time Islam is invading by stealth and by demographics as well as birthrate, we need to be able to stop this.
    If they want to live in their backward 7h century, they can all go to the countries that live in this manner. If they abhor our society and culture so much, why don't they just leave?

    They don't leave because this country is far too good for them, it affords them the very freedom they seem to hate. These quranic followers are illogical.

    We are at war with Islam, because Islam is at war with us. We didn't want this war. If there was no Islamization there would be no EDL.

    The EDL might not be a proper response, but it is THE ONLY response. Got a better idea? Share it please.

    Roberta
    EDL Jewish Division

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