Stinkers From the Swamp: Stephen Sizer's "Sad Day"

"A sad day."  

That's the so-called Peacemaker Trust's CEO Stephen Sizer's reaction to the loathsome life peer Jenny Tonge's news of the parting of the ways between her and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign over her reprehensible assertion regarding last week's synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh.

David Collier observes in his latest analytical post ("In the antisemitic swamp with Jenny Tonge")  here,

"As someone who spends time researching antisemitism within anti-Israel activism, I [Collier] frequently come across Jenny Tonge’s activity online. What I have known for a long time, is that many of the supporters she regularly interacts with are hard-core antisemites. I pointed this out in my report on Palestine Live, and even to this day, Tonge has remained a member of the group....

 63% of posters were found to have shared antisemitic material. When we include those who are responsible for putting antisemitism onto the streets, or helping to spread it, then we reach 72%. These are her Facebook friends. Even for me, with years of research behind me, these concentration levels are as high, if not higher than I have experienced before. This on the social media account of a member of the House of Lords.

These levels reinforce the underlying issue with antisemitism in anti-Israel activity. Whether Jenny Tonge is an antisemite herself is an irrelevance. What is certain is that she is surrounded by it. Antisemites are attracted to her presence and form the main basis of her visible support.

How can Jenny Tonge not be aware, after all this time, that so many of these people swarming around her social media pages have deep issues with Jewish people? Far too many of these posters are attracted to Holocaust Denial, and a support for ideologies of the hard-right. In the images above we have support for David Duke, Trevor Labonte, Gilad Atzmon and there is even a link to the white nationalist, neo-Nazi website Renegade Tribune. How many Holocaust deniers, how many people sharing white supremacist material, do we need on ONE THREAD, before we can call them ‘far-right racists’? More to the point, how can Jenny Tonge swim in this antisemitic swamp every day and not realise that there is a problem she needs to address?

Perhaps the time has come for other members of the House of Lords to force her hand."

Among the individuals Collier mentions in his post are our old mate the ex-vicar of Virginia Water, and, at length, the latter's Facebook chum Tony Gratrex (a founder of Reading PSC and an inveterate 9/11 truther).

As I've remarked many times, Sizer really needs to defriend Gratrex and other incorrigibles on his social media posts, if he is in earnest about his own denials of antisemitism. 

But he carries on regardless.  The pseudonymous Christian Israel-hater Harriet S. Place, who happens to be featured in the above example of Gratrex's posts posted by Collier (there are others) is a repeat offender in the conspiracy stakes.  Witness these posts, for instance.

(The self-inflicted scars incurred by that infamous 9/11 Facebook post of yours, eh, vicar?)

.
 The reference immediately below is to blogger and Anglican vicar's husband Robert Cohen,

 Stinkers from the swamp, indeed.

In London, Stephen & David Went to PalExpo

Stephen is an ex-vicar.  He is known for his antipathy to Israel and for linking in the past to antisemitic websites, including ones claiming that Israel was responsible for the 9/11 atrocity.  As a result, he was suspended by his bishop from posting on social media for six months and was lucky to keep his pulpit.  He subsequently resigned that pulpit to become CEO of "Peacemaker Mediators," an organisation that does more than its fair share of bashing Israel.

To judge by what he has just posted on Facebook, Stephen appears to think of himself  as a martyr in the Arab cause:

Jenny is a life peer, a member of the House of Lords.  She sits on the International Board of Reference (go figure!) of the so-called "Peacemaker Mediators" organisation.  Like Stephen, Jenny  seldom wastes an opportunity to demonise Israel.  Here's what she's posted to Facebook about the benign Palestine cultural event anti-Israel hate fest that's taken place in London this weekend:

Jenny, who's a medical doctor and recently had a heart operation requiring two stents, spoke at the PalExpo, advocating a total boycott of Israel.  Medical and technological breakthroughs included, presumably, stents and all. Stephen likes what she said.

 Stephen went to PalExpo on Saturday.  He enjoyed himself immensely:

As did his friend Tony Gratrex of Reading Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), who's a 9/11 troofer:

Stephen noted the presence of many families and children:

He took lots of photos, including this mutely eloquent image:

And this, from a display table:

(And the three below)

David also went to PalExpo:

'The vast majority of the crowd seemed Muslim. I would guess the split was 80/20. Perhaps even higher. The pool of white British anti-Israel activists is limited, so at an event like this they get swamped.'

David is a Jew and a Zionist.  He is known for his powerful reporting of anti-Israel events and exposure of antisemitism. Unlike Stephen, he did not enjoy himself:

'I had my family with me, and to be honest, I had little intention of suffering the talks. I looked at the list of speakers and I have seen all these circus performers before. In fact, so confident am I of this now, I challenge Pappe or Peled or Barkan to allow me to write the speech for their next event. I am sure I will create ‘pitch perfect’ diatribe, fully in tune with the message they wish to deliver. Ben White would be more troublesome. Not that I couldn’t write it, but simply I wouldn’t want to make the effort of finding 200 irrelevant statistics, that he uses to deflect the attention of the audience with.

The groups behind the ‘expo’, those  ‘supporting’ the political side of this event are also all known to me. There is the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A group that is riddled with those who believe Jews are evil, rule the world and didn’t actually suffer a Holocaust at all.  The Palestine Return Centre, that ran the event that saw Gerald Kaufman suggest ‘Jewish money‘ control’s the UK government.  Or the Queen Mary University, where I saw Jewish students with a question stand accused of being ‘paid’ and controlled by the Israeli embassy.

Jenny Tonge comments

...

So I chose not to engage with this hatred. I wanted to enjoy the ‘cultural’ aspect. I spent years living and working with real Palestinians. Not the fake wannabee ‘solidarity type’, but those who live in Ramallah, Jericho and Gaza. Those Arabs and the Israelis are neighbours. I lived nineteen years in the Middle East. Why would I not want to go to this event. Why should I not feel at home?

I walked around the upper floors, and because of the time, I went upstairs to eat. This action was to see me thrown out....' [Emphasis added]

 Read about this whole sorry business of his eviction on David Collier's blog here

Keep up the great work, David!  Your admirers are legion.

Same goes for you, brave Mr Hoffman:

Update:See also here

In London, Jews (and a Muslim) Challenge Antisemitic Lies (videos)

The story behind these videos of his is told by David Collier here

To  set the scene:

03 Nov 2016. I was inside one of the hot spots of radical Islam in London – SOAS. We came to hear Tom Suarez promote his book, State of Terror....

Suarez is an example of how someone can make a new career out of hating Israel without academic training or even a basic historical knowledge of the conflict. His methodology was clear, ‘I hate Zionists/Jews’, but to write a book, I need to make some citations, and he went off to find some....

From the moment Suarez opened his mouth, until his pillar of sand had been swept aside by several people in the room, Tom Suarez built a narrative that was dripping with hard-core antisemitic undertones....

[W]e are left with a rampant demonic force with global control and sinister intent, doing its will between 1937 and 1948. This as six million Jews died. His entire narrative depends on the existence of ‘Elders of Zion’ style control at the very same time as the world shut its doors to Jews and a genocide was committed against them. It is frightening in its sickening inter-dependency.

He gives Jews global control as they lay dying in Auschwitz. He suggest Zionist Jews ‘twisted’ Truman’s arm and Truman “always did as he was told”. There were brutally obscene comments, such as one discussing an atmosphere of diminishing global antisemitism in 1946 as Europe was knee deep in Jewish corpses....

 I lost count of the number of Nazi analogies. Everything the Zionists did was comparable to Nazi Germany."

Is it any wonder, then, that Jews in the audience reacted with emotional outrage?

Here's doughty Zionist stalwart Jonathan Hoffman, quick off the mark to ask the opening question from the floor:

Here's a lady, her voice breaking at times with hurt and indignation, demanding to know why Suarez ignores Arab violence.

Here's a Muslim gentleman with a message the Israel-demonisers would rather not hear, about Israel's diversity and egalitarianism:

Here's a lady with some home truths about the expulsion of Jews from Arab lands:

The Lichfield Disgrace: Answers Demanded from Dean Dorber

"Cathedral naves are the traditional meeting places for people to come together and debate matters of concern, to learn, reflect and find wisdom in the middle of difficulty and confusion.

 Our recent weekend conference ‘Holding Palestine in the Light – the context of the conflict’ was an attempt to help people understand the complexity of the situation and what roads to peace are available for all the people of the Holy Land, Israelis and Palestinians. There were some passionate exchanges and contributions from the floor representing very diverse views. It takes courage to make peace and the first step is to listen. 

That is a proper requirement for everyone who is concerned with the long term future and flourishing of all the Israeli and Palestinian people. We hope that the opinion, prayers and righteous action of people of faith and goodwill could yet help bring all sides together on a path to a lasting peace. It is my hope, and that of the Ecumenical Planning group who arranged the conference, that the weekend was a small contribution to understanding, and an encouragement to people of faith to pray and work for peace."

That's the statement that the Dean of Lichfield, the Reverend Adrian Dorber, issued in reponse to criticism of the shameful anti-Israel conference held at Lichfield Cathedral at theend of last month (see here and here and here)

And here's a declaration plugging the conference that Dean Dorber made on the so-called [Christian] Social Responsibility Network about a week before the shamefully biased event was held:

"I would be very grateful if you could bring a conference we are holding in Lichfield to the attention of all whom you think might be interested.  The details are on the attached flyer.

We are delighted to be able to host the event and we hope it will provide insight and knowledge into this most complex and agonising conflict.  We have scholars, writers and religious leaders coming from Jewish, Muslim and Christian backgrounds.  Recent Pilgrims to Israel/Palestine will find something on the programme to broaden or deepen their experience and understanding.  We will extend a warm welcome to all who attend and your commendation of the event will mean much to us."

Not surprisingly, the Dean's statement attempting to justify the conference has failed to cut much ice with those aghast at the thrust and tone of the deeply one-sided event.

Further to his powerful post describing his experiences at and impressions of that conference (see my middle link above), British blogger David Collier has written a long must-read follow-up post divided into sections.

In one section, he asks the Dean of Lichfield ten pertinent questions:

Revd Adrian Dorber, given my experience at Lichfield last weekend, given the audio below, given your statement and given the publicly stated mission of the conference itself:

    1.During the main run of speakers on Saturday. Why was there not a single person who would push a Zionist line or counter the vile lies invited?

    2.How did a Jew suggesting that ‘Jews have a lot to be sorry for’, help expose the truth or assist in the search for peace; how did that help cohesion in our own society?

    3. Why was there not a single book, nor single leaflet at the entire event that was not urging people to blame or punish Israel?

    4. How did it help the cause for peace that someone suggested Palestinian reaction to Oslo was children throwing flowers (whilst not mentioning any of the brutal terror attacks)?

    5. How do you feel that suggesting Zionists made a deal over holocaust victims in exchange for European support helps expose the truth or assists in the search for peace?

    6. How do you feel that demonising Israel’s peace camp by suggesting there was no reason for them to ‘close the box’ in 2000, helps expose the truth or assists in the search for peace. Would you accept someone saying ‘attitudes in the US towards Afghanistan changed in 2001 but we cannot know why’?

    7. How do you think it exposes the truth or assists in the search for peace to suggest that Israel has committed the ‘same crimes’ as both regime and opposition in places such as Syria and Iraq? (Note to Dean, as a Christian, you are a dying breed everywhere in the Middle East EXCEPT Israel).

    8. How do you feel about the refusal to accept a second question from an attendee who had been identified as a Zionist?

    9. Do you think, given the history of the blood libel and classic antisemitic tropes, that suggesting Jewish Zionists are like vampires in any way helped to expose the truth or assist in the search for peace?

    10. Do you think belittling or even denying Jewish religious and historical ties to the land helps expose the truth or assists in the search for peace?

Read all of David Collier's post here

Dean Dorber's replies are eagerly anticipated ...

Antisemitism: A Lady Muzzled

No, not this lady, our old buddy the Baroness.  Here's one of her latest rants on social media, where she seems increasingly niggled by the fact that some dastardly Zionists are taking issue with her jaundiced views:

People like Hanoch here, countering lies and encountering Israel-haters like ex-BBC Middle East correspondent Tim Llewellyn along the way:

My header refers to a lady of very different views.

For if there is one thing more than another which strikes me as symbolic of the despicable attitude of this past weekend's Hatefest at Lichfield Cathedral as described in David Collier's absolutely stunning account of an event replete with  "antisemitism, conspiracy theories, global control, blood sucking Jews, child kidnappers, ... and of course, Jesus the Palestinian....," it was the attempt to silence a lady by the name of Mandy Blumenthal.

As described by David, this outrageous incident occurred immediately following the Israel-demonising talk by the University of Birmingham's Professor Kamel Hawwash, Vice-Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign:

'Talk over, question time again. Several hands go up. One of the first questions is to ask how Israel gets away with it, what "unseen" power is there? This same question was asked in a different way on four separate occasions during the day. One mentions a conspiracy directly, another the conspiratorial secrets of a Le Carre novel, another talks of unseen power. But all carry the same underlying message....

At this point sitting next to me with her hand raised is Mandy Blumenthal. Zionist to the core, Mandy had asked a question of Yossi Meckleberg earlier in the day.  She had wanted to know why Yossi had seemed to imply settlements, rather than Arab rejectionism and violence was a (the?) major stumbling block. This time, with the knowledge that Mandy was a Zionist, the [Quaker] Chair was visibly ignoring Mandy's raised hand. shhhh-1The Chair was desperately seeking questions from elsewhere in the audience. The questions had dried up. It was a stand-off. Mandy became vocal:

"Why won't you let me speak?"

 "Because you spoke earlier" came the reply.

 As an answer it did not suffice. Several people had asked more than one question.

 The situation was absurd. There were no more questions. Only Mandy's hand remained aloft. There were still 10 minutes left till the end of this session.Several people became visibly agitated. A member of the audience asked why the chair was ignoring Mandy's question.

 Mandy spoke up again:"Isn't this a conference? Why is only one side allowed to be heard?"

 Open confrontation. This was not what the Dean had wanted, he stepped in to soothe the situation and offered Mandy Blumenthal the microphone.

 Yet as he did this and as Mandy stepped up, the Chair led Kamel Hawwash off the stage. The 'Jew' question need not be answered. An awful, vile slur. In the end, Hawwash did return but only to claim that Blumenthal had lied.

It was break time again. There were several cries of "shame on you", but I am not sure to who[m] it was directed.  Someone came straight up to Mandy to apologise. "This is my town and I am Christian but that was unacceptable." .... Others started to get involved, some suggested they had not expected this conference to be so one sided....'

See David Collier's entire, brilliantly illuminating post here

Meanwhile, he and Ms Blumenthal are among those ably challenging the church for its antisemitism on this Facebook post below:

Click on this caption for link

Pappe, Have You Heard Him?

I've said it before and I'll say it again (par the old British television commercial for a well-known, now defunct, chain of gentlemen's outfitters aka High Street tailors: "John Collier, John Collier, the window to watch!"):

David Collier, David Collier, the website to watch!

In the comparatively short time that David Collier has been blogging, he's produced some absolute gems.


And in case you haven't heard yet, he's caught out anti-Israel ex-pat academic Ilan Pappe admitting to what is the Big Lie of the BDS movement.

To quote reader Harvey:

"This post from David Collier is one of the most important scoops to come out of the on-going battle against BDS for some time. David attended a talk by the execrable Ilan Pappe last week in which Pappe kindly pulled the rug from under the BDS . He confirms what we have always suspected, that there was never a call for Boycott from within Palestinian society. It was a lie but the hard left brigade needed it to be compared to the South Africa model which was a call for boycott from within South African society. Pappe in this one short clip disproves it."

 But as Pappe laughingly says, "It's a desperate call ... for historical records":

For more on this see Collier's post here

And also see Elder of Ziyon here

(Update: And BBC Watch here)

Here's a long but valuable video by David Collier beginning "I'm going to talk about BDS"

Incidentally, the  very long-established Jewish communal newspaper in Perth, Western Australia, The Maccabean, has ruffled a number of leftwing communal feathers by refusing an advertisement from the New Israel Fund.   I reckon that befits the place where Australia's first ongoing Zionist body was born, and a newspaper that has always been proudly supportive of Israel.

Read about the brewing contretemps here

Pieces of Hate: "The Palestinian cause is ... for the exploited & oppressed masses in our era"

In London last week, a mob of abusive Palestine Solidarity Campaign activists taunt an unexpected showing of pro-Israelis, standing in dignified fashion in silent counter-protest while the PSCniks raise fists in the air, rasp familiar chants, sound a silly shrill trill, and even indulge in a taunting improvised rhyme that includes da Joo word.

 The doughty David Collier gives the context (and another video) here

And in Toronto on Al Quds Day teacher Nadia Shoufani reminds her fellow Israel-haters of another Israel-hater's words ("... We are here to urge you all to believe ... that the Palestinian cause is not a cause for Palestinians only but it's a cause for every revolutionary whereever he [sic] is, a cause for the exploited and oppressed masses in our era ...") before launching into a full-scale rant against the Zionist Entity.

There's a very able refutation here of her damaging nonsense

(Hat tip: Vlad Tepes blog)


Meanwhile, an old friend of ours, Jeremy Moodey, CEO of Engage the Middle East, surfaced in the correspondence columns of the Church of England newspaper (12 May) to argue against its behind-a-paywall editorial of the previous week.  (Hat tip: reader P)

Notice that Moodey has the spiteful audacity to consider Israel a "rogue" state.  He implicitly favours an end to Jewish statehood.

Shame, shame, shame on him.

On social media, another old friend of ours, Stephen Sizer, likes the dissembling Israel-bash, and incorrigible antisemite and 9/11 troofer Tony Gratrex (founder of Reading PSC)  seems equally pleased, sharing the article.

 In defiance, I think we should give this fine fellow with the magnificent moustache a twirl:

London Chimes & False Narratives

Remember my posts here and here about the infiltration of anti-Israel propaganda packs into British schools by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in alliance with CAABU (the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), Britain's largest teachers' union?

Well, these developments just got more sinister, as an Anglo-Jewish blogger tells:

".... This Jew hatred, this historical revisionism, this support for terrorism, has no place in our school system. We need to ensure that the NUT distances itself not just from these remarks, but from this insidious poison that underscores the PSC movement.

On Saturday, a Jew was evicted from the NUT headquarters because he is proud of his Jewish heritage and refuses to bow down before this revisionist propaganda. I reject entirely the lies that are being disseminated by the PSC movement. It is a movement with its roots in fabrication, denying Jewish history and supporting terrorism. Is all this now acceptable in London in 2016? Well the National Union of Teachers seems to think so.

So I say to the NUT directly. On Saturday 14th May, I was thrown out of your HQ.  I was thrown out shortly after hearing antisemitic, terrorist supporting garbage loudly applauded inside your headquarters. I deserve both a response and an apology."

The words are David Collier's and his full post can be read here
(Hat tip: Harvey)

Meanwhile, spruiking the narrative of the only "hereditary refugees" in existence:

 "As a Palestinian I am here to tell them ... We will return one day!" screams a familiar speaker outside Parliament in this video by our old friend Alex Seymour.

The end of the entire state of Israel is the aim.

An Anglo-Jewish Hero's Night Out (video)

To quote David Collier, describing the execrable leftist and as-a-Jew anti-Israel event he attended yesterday in London:

".... Then after [each panellist spoke] for a few minutes each, in the spirit of good comradeship the microphone began to move around the floor. One after the other repeated the sentiments of the panel. ‘It is a witch-hunt’.  ‘Antisemitism is a right wing disease’. ‘Left wingers hate all forms of racism, especially Islamophobia’. Over and over again, ‘Islamophobia’, ‘Islamophobia’, ‘Islamophobia’. Several suggested ‘hiding the hate’ might be a good idea for tactical reasons (something to bear in mind). Eventually, someone said it, this whole episode isn’t even about antisemitism, it is about Islamophobia, ‘they’ (I assume Zionists?) ‘are using this to attack Muslims’. Loud applause.

 A special mention needs to go to Jonathan Hoffman. Jonathan is a vocal Zionist presence at some of these events. When the microphone arrived at his door. He made full use of it. You can hear his comments below. Fighting the fight the way he does, is I assure you, emotionally charged and draining. This was an extremely hostile room of radical thought. He deserves both our appreciation and gratitude."

Richard Millett's video shows why (be sure to see his description of this latest London anti-Israel fest too):

Good onya, Jonathan.  כל הכבוד

Needless to say, the abominable leftists have edited our hero and the heckling out of their videos:

Jew-baiting Corbynistas Bait John Mann

Labour MP John Mann, a doughty long-time fighter against antisemitism, on why he confronted fellow MP Ken Livingstone for the latter's outburst regarding Hitler and called him a "Nazi apologist":

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/called-ken-livingstone-nazi-apologist-7854534

Richard Littlejohn on Jeremy Corbyn's handling of the current crop of vocal antisemites in his party:

'When accused of anti-semitism, [Ken Livingstone]  resorts to semantics, just as he did yesterday. And until now, his brothers-in-arms have been happy to indulge him and the rest of the Jew-haters in the party.

Consider Corbyn’s initial reaction to the Nazi [sic! i.e. Naz] Shah comments, which he dismissed as ‘historic’.This is a man who sits on the front bench alongside his plus-sized deputy, Nonce Finder General Tom Watson — a muck-raking, dirt-throwing, smear-monger who has spent the past few years accusing assorted Tories of ‘historic’ sex crimes dating back decades and using his position to demand full-scale police investigations.Yet as far as Corbyn was concerned, anti-Jewish remarks made by a Labour politician two years ago were ‘historic’ and thus unworthy of further comment....

But what else should we expect? I’m prepared to concede that Corbyn doesn’t consider himself an anti-semite — despite counting among his ‘friends’ the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah, whose sole purpose in life is wiping Jews off the face of the earth.

He spent most of yesterday hiding behind the sofa as the crisis unfolded and the Boys In The Bubble went into a feeding frenzy. Assorted Labour MPs came out of the woodwork to demand strong action against Livingstone and insist that he wasn’t representative of their party.

Two questions. Where have they been for the past ten years? And what makes them think that Livingstone’s abhorrent views are in any way ‘unrepresentative’?

When I was making my documentary, almost nobody would come forward to speak out publicly. There was one hero prepared to put his head above the parapet — the Bassetlaw MP John Mann. And yesterday he was again front and centre in denouncing Livingstone — a crime for which he was reprimanded by the chief whip.'

Read more here

Meanwhile, here are some whacko reactions from the usual suspects towards antisemitism in the Labour Party.

First, from "Jews for Jeremy".  Anti-Israel activists figure among this bunch. Of course Jews of that stripe are well-liked by the Corbynistas.

Second, a very small taste of the nauseating personal abuse, much of it laced with antisemitism and perceptions of "Zionist" money, that has been left on John Mann's Facebook page, with many angry Corbynistas accusing him of being in the pay of the "Zionists" and telling him he deserves de-selection as a candidate for his Bassetlaw constituency before the next election.  The abuse of him is spilling onto all his recent posts, irrespective of their topic. (I'm sure that, being a politician, Mr Mann is thick-skinned; nevertheless, please consider going to Mr Mann's Facebook page and leaving a supportive comment, for his stand against antisemitism has been tireless and unremitting):

 

And a few of the representative common-or-garden comments by some old mates of ours, Sean (ranting on the streets of Dublin against Israeli "blood" diamonds is his shtik), chieftain Mick and Pam being stalwarts of the PSCs in Ireland, Scotland and England respectively:

And, amid the many posts linking to articles and videos that relate to this crisis in the Labour Party, here's a think-outside-the-box comment by pro-Israel blogger David Collier: