Milady's Cobber Down Under Pontificates on Antisemitism

Peter Garcia-Webb has apparently been a friend of Baroness Tonge since their respective medical training at Guy's Hospital.

Now living in Perth, Western Australia, the distinguished research scientist, London-born of Jewish parentage, is a derider of Israel, posting this on Facebook, for example, at the time of Bibi's highly successful visit to Australia early last year, when the recently deposed Malcolm Turnbull was prime minister:

 Nor does he like President Trump's Middle East policy.  For instance:

Or the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)'s working definition of antisemitism:

In fact, he dislikes the latter so much that he's now written a long screed of his own about the definition of antisemitism:

Which is very much liked by Baroness Tonge:

As I showed here, the talented Garcia-Webb's forays into "social fiction" make no secret of his antipathy to Zionism.

But that aside, some of his tweets have been eyebrow-raising:

Not as grossly startling, granted, as these social media sentiments (brought to public attention by Aussie Dave in his post here), by one of Tonge's Facebook friends, anti-Israel activist and "human rights"lawyer Simone O'Broin (aka Simone Burns).  The same woman whose drunken racist and sexist abuse of Air India cabin staff has gone viral on the internet (interesting take by David Collier here):

As has been widely observed, O'Broin's rant provides a stark reminder of the slime that lurks within the anti-Israel movement:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9XOioAAr7A

Here's the ghastly Pamela Hardiment aka Pam Arnold, for instance:

I wonder how Milady and her cobber Down Under would define that!

Hart Disease

As many readers will know by now, Alan Hart is no more.  Aged 75, the (non-Jewish) inveterate Israel-demoniser, whose Twitter page shows that he was tweeting anti-Israel propaganda almost to the end, shuffled off this mortal coil last week, deeply mourned by inveterate Israel-demoniser Gilad Atzmon (see, for instance, here) and others of that ilk.

Hart (Arafat's biographer and author of the odious 2010 book Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews) was a former newspaper journalist, chief Middle East correspondent for Independent Television News (ITN), and presenter of the BBC's flagship current affairs programme Panorama.  He became a regular on Iran's satellite news channel Press TV, delighting his masters with his diatribes against the Jewish State and its supporters.

Wikipedia's article about him (which provides footnoted sources) tells us of such sentiments of his as:

"The colonial enterprise that Zionism is has corrupted everything it touched, beginning with the United Nations and including the mainstream media, what passes for democracy in the Western world (America especially) and Judaism itself"

And:

"[T]he Zionist state, which came into being as a consequence of Zionism terrorism and ethnic cleansing, had no right to exist and, more to the point, could have no right to exist ... In international law only the Palestinians could give Israel the legitimacy it craved. And that legitimacy was the only thing the Zionists could not and cannot take from the Palestinians by force.... 

Jews who went to Palestine in answer to Zionism's call had no biological connection to the ancient Hebrews. The incoming Zionist Jews were mainly foreign nationals of many lands... The notion that there are two entire peoples with an equally valid claim to the same land is an historical nonsense."

Hart described Zionists as "The New Nazis" and argued that

"Europeans and Americans could have stopped the original Nazis and prevented the extermination of six million Jews. If Europeans and Americans do not stop the New Nazis, it is likely that their end game will be the extermination of millions of Palestinians."

Regarding 9/11 he stated on various media outlets that

 "The twin towers were brought down by a controlled ground explosion, not the planes." 

He speculated that the planes had been fitted with transponders and that Israeli Mossad agents guided them into the towers.

“My guess is that at an early point they said to the bad guys in the CIA – hey this operation's running what do we do, and the Zionists and the neo-cons said let's use it."

Moreover:

"In my analysis there's enough evidence – visual, technical and scientific, and from eye-witnesses including fire fighters – to invite the conclusion that the Twin Towers, like Building Seven, were pre-wired for controlled demolition with nanothermite, the highest-tech military explosive."

 In a guest post on the well-known UK blog Harry's Place in 2009, Middle East analyst Jonathan Sacerdoti analysed Hart's modus operandi on his Press TV discussion programme:

 "The fact that Alan Hart was presenter, chairman and organiser of the ‘debate’ (he selected the panel and even the audience) only added to the sense of foreboding surrounding the programme.... [A] quick web-search will tell you all you need to know about his unconventional views on Israel and Zionism, and how they cannot possibly be rooted in antisemitic sentiment because he has a Jewish accountant....

Hart’s choice of panellists for the programme made it clear before anyone said a word that the project was nothing more than a thinly disguised hate-fest. He was joined by his regular sidekicks, Ilan Pappe and Hajo Meyer (both Jews, he boasted), in arguing that ‘Zionism’ was to blame for antisemitism. The estimable Jonathan Hoffman and Carol Gould represented the ‘other side’ as the cameras recorded what was to be one of the more surreal and amateur television productions I’ve experienced.

Alan and his regular helpers continued their desperate ongoing attempts to be recognised as ‘revisionists’, rewriting history and current thought as they see fit, while Hoffman and Gould were clearly intended to act as nothing more than fig leaves for this brazen, three-pronged attack on Israel, reason, and polite debate. With the dice weighted against them, it wasn’t easy, but Jonathan Hoffman, the co-Vice Chairman of the Zionist Federation, and Carol Gould, an author with an informed and authoritative perspective on the Middle East, held their ground well in the face of unrelenting bullying tactics....

Hart, it seems, is a man with a pronounced fear of being criticised, despite his frothing tirades against the Jewish state of Israel and its right to exist. His aggressive manner and apparent inability to form a logical line of argument don’t help his case.

From start to finish, the programme was a stitch-up....

[Hart's] fanatical assertions were usually backed up (if at all) by reference only to his own absurd books, while anything that Hoffman and Gould said was shouted down as ‘propaganda’, even when they gave accurate and specific references and figures. Instead of engaging with them, Hart threatened to chuck out Hoffman from the room.

It was Hart’s impotent and repeated threats to have Hoffman removed from the studio that really laid bare the true, absurd nature of the programme ... [N]o chairman interested in facilitating such a debate would ever invite guests to participate, only to shout over them, repeatedly cut them short, fail to offer them a chance to answer questions, and threaten to have them ‘evicted’ simply for expressing the views they had been invited to express in the first place....'

De mortuis nihil nisi bonum is an ancient adage.

But what about Jew-haters? Does "Speak no ill of the dead" apply to them?

On Atzmon's Facebook page Mr Hoffman has observed amid the tributes to Hart:

And brought upon himself criticism for his criticism, including personal attacks from Hart fans framed in antisemitic terms.  Here's an example:

Yes, Mr Hoffman does not flinch.  He isn't made that way.

Jewish, Joo-ish, & Shome Mishtake Shurely

"In our thousands, in our millions

We are all Palestinians,

We're all Palestinians now"

So runs a ditty composed and crooned by some chap (the name escapes me) with guitar who's become quite a feature of those little anti-Israel demos on the streets of London that typically begin with the impressive diction of our old friend Sandra intoning "We are here today outside the offices of ...".

Well, it would seem that for the purposes of demonising the Zionist Entity on a rather frightful Facebook page "We are all as-a-Jews now".

Or "Khazarians" as this fragrant female member of the group might say:

The Facebook group is called the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. (See the avowedly Jewish nature of its membership on its separate website here)  Its banner profile picture is despicable, for they have appropriated to their vile cause the iconic photo of three Jewish heroines,  young Jewish fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto pictured straight after their surrender to Nazi devils.

What obscene chutzpah for the IJAN to make propaganda use of these heroines of the Shoah in this way.

Especially as on their website they say "We protest Zionism’s exploitation and debasement of histories of Jewish persecution and genocide ..." !!!

And how very curious to find, in a group ostensibly composed of anti-Israel Jews, people who, unless they have had a sudden conversion, are not Jews, and indeed in a number of cases have displayed raw antisemitic views.

Thus, in addition to usual Jewish suspects such as Jeff Halper and Mondoweiss's Adam Horowitz, there are usual suspects such as Darlene Jones-Owens and the fragrant female in the above video, Pam Arnold (aka Pam Hardyment), as well as the occasional individual who falls, as it were, between two stools, such as Miranda Pinch, an Anglican anti-Zionist whose mother happened to be Jewish.

There are also many Muslims.

And, if I'm not mistaken, the Scottish SPC chief's non-Jewish partner:

Some of the members are well-known anti-Israel activists, many on campuses across the world.   I spotted some (Christian) followers of Stephen Sizer, though have not checked for His Reverence himself.

Others are less well-known, but include people such as PhD student Roger Higginson, who according to his University of Sussex profile is "a former career civil servant with extensive experience in the cultural and communications sectors negotiating on behalf of the UK Government at the international level: in the EU, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UNESCO".

Blogger Robert Cohen was a former employee of Al Beeb, incidentally.  A group member called Simon Brace has "BBC Earth" below his name but is probably not an employee (careful, Simon, or you'll give Al Beeb a bad name for bias!)

 There appear to be a number of Corbynistas among the members.   As well as 9/11 troofers.

 Still, the (genuine) Jews among the group don't appear to mind.

Any of these guys belong, I wonder?  No doubt they'd be welcomed with open arms.

(Videos: Simon Cobbs of Sussex Friends of Israel)

Keziah's Curse

Ah, the curse of naivety!

I mean, just look at the recent comments by Pamela Hardyment I posted yesterday.

And at this further one today.

And at this squalid nastiness:

And then consider the foolishness exemplified by Jewish students who happily support slurs against the Jewish State.

 "Stupid kid. You think you know it all. So did I at your age. But the truth is, you know absolutely nothing about the forces of racist evil you are trying to help unleash."

For that is the bottom line of a comment by one exasperated commenter on an article by Ms Keziah Berelson.in the University of Edinburgh's student magazine earlier this month extolling that univerity's student unions's shameful passage of a pro-BDS motion.

Ms Berelson had proclaimed inter alia: 

"As a Modern Orthodox Jew, a recent graduate from the University of Edinburgh and a former President of the University’s Jewish Society ... I congratulate the student body’s decision to pass a motion of BDS. This is a victory for minority rights and democracy at the University. BDS is a non-violent campaign called for by over 170 Palestinian civil society organisations which use the methods of boycott, divestment and sanctions from institutions and companies who benefit from and contribute to Palestinian oppression in order to pressure the Israeli state to operate within the boundaries set by international law....  This vote shows that EUSA and Edinburgh University students are still committed to liberation politics....

It saddens me that this successful move by BDS campaigners is overshadowed by accusations of anti-Semitism, which detract from the terrifying rise of fascism on UK and European streets. The Zeig Heils and blood-painted swastikas daubed onto vans in Dover earlier this year and the fascist demonstration held in Golders Green this Saturday have been eclipsed by fearmongering of pro-Palestinian successes. We must not let them rise again. I understand why Zionist Jewish students will feel intimidated by this decision but I must ask that you speak to fellow Palestinian students. How has this reaction affected them? How safe do they feel on campus?....

.... Do not assume a political opinion based on my religion or creed, for we are not all the same and we will not be silenced. Not in my name."

Among the justifiably appalled comments beneath her article this one stands out:

"I am currently studying in a University in Israel with a large Arab student body (Uni of Haifa), and I have to comment about how surprised I was at the ignorance of what Apartheid actually was. To describe Israel as an Apartheid state (which you allude to by saying that BDS brought down the Apartheid regime in South Africa) undermines the suffering that the non-whites suffered in SA and maximises the suffering of the Palestinians. There is no law in Israel forbidding an Arab to ride the same bus as a Jew (and such a law would be actively denounced by just about every Israeli, Jew and not), but this was the foundation of the Apartheid State. This goes on, the gist of what I am saying is that Israel does not have the multitude of discriminatory laws that South Africa had, and given the fact that 50% of Israeli Jews were exiled from Arab countries following the creation of the State of Israel, it is nearly impossible to accurately differentiate between Jew and Arab.

On another note, I am interested in the pressure being brought to bear on the State of Israel, what about on the Palestinian Authority and Hamas? Neither of which have held elections in about 10 years? Or to end their incitement to murder Jews, which has seen a 70 year old woman killed, among others. Please tell me if you can how murdering a 70 year old woman advances the creation of the Palestinian state? Hamas rules over Gaza, and instead of building a state, they have committed to shot rockets into Israel? Do you not think that it would be better for the people of Gaza if they built their state instead of trying to kill Jews that have anyway left their land? The follow on from this is that if they did build their state instead of trying to kill us, I think that they would get the freedom that they claim to want. What about the Egyptians who have also restricted the Rafah crossing into Gaza? Why does BDS singularly go after the Jewish State?

In summary, I have to say what you have done is not in my name. I would rather do the hard work on the ground, discussing our differences and working out how we can live together, instead of a one-sided narrative that absolves the other side of any responsibility for their actions. Both sides have a lot of work to do, and as long as you and the BDS movement focusses only on the Israeli transgressions and fails to understand the literal fear for our lives that is an every day reality for many of us, which would only be exacerbated by handing over power to a dysfunctional PA ... with ISIS not too far away (neither Syria nor Sinai are far from the borders of what would be the Palestinian State), is to many of us anti-Semitic. If not in intention, then in what it could well result in with us forced into a suicidal situation. By all means encourage dialogue, encourage reflection, encourage meaningful steps to peace but do not expect us to take kindly to you trying to force us to commit suicide, however well intentioned you may think you are being."

 But nobody has said it better than this great guy.

Meanwhile, some more ravings by Scottish PSC chief Napier:

Pamela Pamela: Her long and slimy trail

British journalist Leo McKinstry wrote:

"....Dressed up as criticism of the state of Israel, anti-Semitism is becoming not just tolerated but even fashionable in some of our civic institutions, including the universities and parts of the media.

Thanks to the Left’s neurotic hatred of Israel, we now have the extraordinary sight of self-styled liberal campaigners launching McCarthyite witch-hunts against anyone deemed to have Israeli connections, as in this week’s debate at the University and College Union’s annual conference at Bourne­mouth calling for a boycott of all Israeli academic institutions. 

 Respect for democracy, individual rights and freedom of speech are being crushed beneath the juggernaut of shrill indignation. 

What is particularly disturbing is the way opposition to the Jewish state descends into vicious antagonism against Jews themselves, as shown by this sickening recent outburst from writer Pamela Hardyment, a member of the National Union of Journalists, which in April voted to boycott Israeli goods.

Explaining her support for the NUJ’s stance, Ms Hardyment described Israel as “a wonderful Nazi-like killing machine backed by the world’s richest Jews”. 

Then, like some lunatic from the far-Right, she referred to the “so-called Holocaust” before concluding: “Shame on all Jews, may your lives be cursed.” ....

Such words could have come straight from Hitler or the most fervent supporter of Osama Bin Laden.But Ms Hardyment is hardly unique. 

This sort of seething resentment can be found throughout the Left, whether in demands that Israel be treated as a pariah state or in connivance at anti-Semitic propaganda...." 

A week later, Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard observed:

"....Some of those supporting a boycott are clearly the ‘useful idiots’ of the antisemites; they are not themselves antisemitic but are too blinded with hatred for to realise the real nature of their allies. But it is - and I'll put it no stronger than this - quite remarkable how many of those who call for a boycott, on whatever grounds, turn out to be plain old antisemites.

On Saturday, JCI received an email from one Pamela Hardyment, reacting to this stance on

Darfur . And it is, as I say, instructive. Her email gives the game away, exposing how much of the support for a boycott is suffused with antisemitism, pure and simple:

From: Pamela Hardyment

Sent: 26 May 2007 13:53

Subject:

Darfur

Ohmigod

You are worried about Dafur!!!!!!!!!!! Yet you have in a wonderful Nazi like killing machine (thousands of palestinians have died or are incarcerated in camps, including Gaza and the West Bank) backed by the world's richest jews and , you are joking about

Darfur aren't you?

Whatever you say, and I don't want to hear what you have to say because it will be the same old rhetoric, we in the UK have had enough of Israel, we (the NUJ of which I am a member) have finally voted to boycott Israeli goods (I have been doing this since 1957 so it just legitimises it and spreads the word, all items with 7.29 in the bar code, Jaffa Carmel, etc) - universities will bring in an academic boycott and architects are now joining in too. It won't stop there, we will do all in our power to make sure that you do not take any more land (you have already taken mine and refuse to pay for it). We can no longer send money to the PLO or Hamas, but we are sending people, we are not afraid of your wall, your evil soldiers (and you worry about one missing soldier, ha!) and will continue. We used to be mild, respected you because of the so called holocaust (a nice round number 6 million, what about the homosexuals, gypsies, deformed, dissenters, they NEVER get a mention and my family were among them)

So yes, we are very angry, we are working against Israel whereas before we supported you, and we will do all in our collective power to make life as uncomfortable for you as you make it for the Palestinians, shame on you, shame on all jews, may your lives be cursed

Yours with no shame whatsoever and no fear

pam hardyment

Ms Hardyment’s sentiments are representative of the underlying views of many boycott supporters. The references to the “Nazi like killing machinea¦ backed by the world's richest jews and America”, the “so called holocaust (a nice round number 6 milliona¦)” and “shame on all jews, may your lives be cursed”, may be more obvious than some of the more sly proponents of a boycott, who are careful to couch their arguments in apparently reasonable language; but antisemitism is antisemitism, whatever the tone in which it is expressed.' http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/the-real-antisemitism-underlying-boycotters

That was nine years ago, in May 2007.  As we know, the antisemitism that lurks within sections of the Labour Party persists and, emboldened and encouraged by Jeremy Corbyn's seemingly ambivalent attitude, now not infrequently shows its repellent face.

The last time I blogged about Ms Hardyment (described here as arts editor for the Palestine Telegraph) was two years ago almost to the day, when I reproduced some of her appallingly vile messages on Facebook, and asked whether Stephen Sizer should in all decency de-friend her. (Guess what? Despite her heavy duty antisemitism he hasn't.)

As many readers will be aware, late last year she made this shameful if not uncharacteristic outburst:

As we read here,  that outburst earned her the attention of PC Plod.

Another tasteless display from her:

These days on Facebook Pamela Hardyment goes by the name Pamela, or rather Pam, Arnold.  But her change of name has not heralded a change of heart.

Let's look at some of the nasties including eye-popping antisemitic obscenities she's posted so far this year:

Yes, like a slug, Pamela leaves a long and slimy trail.

Pamela's Easter Message

That slippery chap, British prime minister David Cameron, has been addressing a gathering of practising Christians in Britain.

The Church Times gives his speech verbatim; here's part of it:

 "....Some people feel that in this ever more secular age we shouldn't talk about these things. I completely disagree. I believe we should be more confident about our status as a Christian country, more ambitious about expanding the role of faith-based organisations, and, frankly, more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference to people's lives.

First, being more confident about our status as a Christian country does not somehow involve doing down other faiths or passing judgement on those with no faith at all. Many people tell me it is easier to be Jewish or Muslim in Britain than in a secular country precisely because the tolerance that Christianity demands of our society provides greater space for other religious faiths, too.

Crucially, the Christian values of responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility, and love are shared by people of every faith and none - and we should be confident in standing up to defend them.

People who, instead, advocate some sort of secular neutrality fail to grasp the consequences of that neutrality, or the role that faith can play in helping people to have a moral code. Of course, faith is neither necessary nor sufficient for morality.

Many atheists and agnostics live by a moral code - and there are Christians who don't. But for people who do have a faith, that faith can be a guide or a helpful prod in the right direction - and, whether inspired by faith or not, that direction or moral code matters...."

The Jewish Chronicle  has duly extracted the part of the speech that it considers relevant to Anglo-Jewry, and a hardcore Israel-hater has called attention to it on his Facebook page.

 A keen follower of his, who is also a Facebook friend of Stephen Sizer, has responded:

Other Facebook posts over recent weeks from the same lady (is she, by any chance, the Pamela Hardyment whose intemperate letter to an arm of the Board of Deputies in 2007 features here?) include:

 

Not posts that reflect Christian love and mercy, are they?

How about a blood libel?

Does Stephen Sizer (who as I've observed before really ought to be more discerning regarding the company he keeps on Facebook) really want such a lady as a Friend?