Press TV, Pot & Kettle

On Iran's propaganda news channel shortly before Christmas, this indictment of "Zionist fanatics" protesting antisemitism and its aplogists in the Corbynistas' Labour Party:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGyV9BGZYGY

(The antisemitic comments below the video on that site tell their own tale)

Meanwhile, it seems the mates of the mullahs have been gobbling up all the spoils in Ayatollahland: see here

British Labour Antisemitism: Stephen & Jonathan Tell (video)

Well look who's talking about antisemitism in Britain's Labour Party, or the, er, lack of it.

Yes, that Stephen.  Stephen the Martyr, persecuted, to hear him tell it, by those dastardly Zionists.  In other words, vicar-turned-Peacemakers Trust CEO Sizer, back in that not unfamiliar setting for him, the London studios of the Iranian regimes's propaganda satellite channel, Press TV. 

But not that Jonathan.  Not the bravely zealous Israel-defender Mr Hoffman but notorious anti-Israel activist Professor Jonathan Rosenhead.

Watch, but have a sick bag close at hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I7MSaEvTqU

And don't please don't overlook my blog's other post of today, by David Singer, the post directly before this one, with another specially-commissioned cartoon by Dry Bones accompanying it.

Bonus: Lord Sugar on the same topic:

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

Tasteless Tonge: Shame on her. Again.

Here's Baroness Tonge being interviewed on Iran's propaganda satellite channel recently, along with Massoud Shadjareh of the UK Islam Human Rights Council about Donald Trump and Israel.

Her Ladyship makes her debut around 4:30.  The interview is interrupted by a cross to footage of a Neturei Karta nutjob who went to Paris for the 15 January "peace conference," after which it resumes.

The Neturei Karta representative, who of course represents a minute fraction of Jewish opinion in the world today, made the NK's mantra-like distinction between Judaism and Zionism, and back in the studio Her Ladyship exclaims "It is very very wicked indeed to conflate the two [Jews and Zionists]"

She nods her head to Massoud Shadjareh's assertion that "What we need to have eventually is one state" and observes that "Trump and Netanyahu together could make the abscess explode" - as Shadjareh put it, "the beginning of the end" of the USA's "authority in the world" and downfall of Christian Zionism and the victory of the Palestinians.

When asked by the interviewer for her views on Trump's appointment of his son-in-law Jared Kushner as White House adviser, Tonge denounces the appointment as "medieval".

What's truly medieval is the treatment of women, virgins awaiting execution, homosexuals, religious apostates and political dissidents at the hands of the Iranian regime whose propaganda channel this avowed feminist has no qualms whatever about appearing on.

I've made these points before in relation to anti-Israel leftists who appear on Press TV and will not belabour them here.

For Her Ladyship, as for much of the Left, there appear to be Good Jews and Bad Jews.

No prizes for guessing what stance the Good Jews take towards what the Iranian regime that runs Press TV calls "The Zionist Entity". 

In the screenshot at left she's using  a recently reported humanitarian initiative by the South London Liberal Synagogue as a stick with which to beat those Israelis who have the temerity to defend their little state against terrorism, Arab rejectionism, and aggression.

It so happens that Her Ladyship like others on its mailing list has received a communication from the Community Security Trust  (CST) informing her of its new report on antisemitic incidents in the UK last year. 

Here's the video  referred to in the letter.

Dear The Baroness Tonge

Today CST has published our 2016 Antisemitic Incidents Report, which shows that last year we recorded a record high number of antisemitic incidents across the UK. The total of 1,309 antisemitic incidents in 2016 was a 36 per cent increase from the 960 incidents we recorded in 2015.

You can download and read a copy of the report here, and see our media release here. The media release includes quotes supporting CST’s work from the Home Secretary, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism and Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan, who is the national lead for the policing of Jewish communities.

There is no single explanation for the high number of antisemitic incidents in 2016, which was spread uniformly throughout the year. Rather than being caused by a specific, sudden ‘trigger event’, as has been the case with record totals in the past, it appears that the record high incident total in 2016 may be due to the cumulative effect of a series of events and factors that, taken together, created an atmosphere in which more antisemitic incidents are occurring, and are also more likely to be reported to CST and the Police. These factors include high profile allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party; a perceived increase in racism and xenophobia following the EU referendum, including an increase in recorded racial and religious hate crime; and regular, high-profile discussion of antisemitism, racism and hate crime in mainstream media, politics and on social media during the year. They follow the terrorist attacks on Jewish communities in Europe in 2015 and the war in Israel and Gaza in 2014, all of which have contributed to keeping antisemitic incident levels high in the UK since summer 2014.

Obviously this increase and the record high total are deeply concerning. CST currently records, on average, more than double the number of antisemitic incidents per month than was the case four years ago. All of these incidents require processing and analysis and most of them involve some degree of victim support and Police liaison by CST staff and volunteers. We will continue to endeavour to give the victims of antisemitism, and the wider Jewish community, all the support and assistance they require, as we do every day.

We have produced a short video about the 2016 Antisemitic Incidents Report which you can view here. Please feel free to forward and share this video.

I would like to thank you for all your help and support for CST’s work over the past year. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Yours sincerely

David S Delew MBA Chief Executive Community Security Trust (CST)

 Here's more:

Baroness Tonge has lost no time in responding to the CST:

"Real Decent Jewish People".  There's that "Good Jews"/"Bad Jews" dichotomy again. Historians of antisemitism will know that it's a dichotomy with a long and ignoble pedigree.

This young tweeter has the measure of Her Ladyship:

And of her tasteless email:

Be sure to look at that CST video.

A rabbi's view of Tonge

Stephen Sizer Posts Early for Christmas (plus Hypocrites on Press TV)

To judge by the coy facetiousness below, our old friend the vicar seems to be taking both seriously and not so seriously the Bishop of Guildford's directive to him not to post anything about the Middle East on social media while he remains the incumbent of Christ Church, Virginia Water:

Someone asks where the camels can be purchased, and someone else replies, to which our old friend adds:

Speaking of our old friend leads to thoughts of Press TV, the Iranian government's propaganda satellite news channel on which he has not been averse to appearing, despite the regime of the ayatollahs' frightful record regarding human rights including those of Christians.

Happily wallowing in Israel-hatred are a bunch of European trades unionists spewing invective against the Zionist entity with no qualms about appearing on the odious Iranian regime's propaganda channel:

  

 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wSQWOi4URE)

And by appearing on Press TV, blissfully turning a collective blind eye to the real, ongoing and worsening human rights violations committed by Iran:

CLICK HERE for article

I reckon that qualifies as antisemitism, as set out in an updated chart by Edgar Davidson here

Jeremy Corbyn's latest excrescence here 

'Twas Da Joos What Did It, Suggests Gorgeous George

Well, well, well! Here's Gorgeous George, speaking on Iran's satellite propaganda channel Press TV a few days ago (8 October), proving that behind those icy baby blues is a sense of humour and a vivid imagination!

I mean, he'd hardly be likely to advance a blood libel, would he?

(Incidentally, George, it's "Western Wall" not "Wailing Wall," the latter being considered an offensive term.)

 Don't overlook the two videos I posted earlier today, btw!

Call For Anglican Superiors To Act Against Stephen Sizer: "There Is Simply No Way Dr Sizer Can Square His Participation In This Conference With His Promise Not To Promote Anti-Semitism"

From the Press TV website, complete with an accompanying video that briefly shows the Reverend Stephen Sizer (pictured, left; he's the clean-shaven one) in full flood:
  
'2nd New Horizon Conference kicks off in Teheran.

Its goal is to unveil the secrets behind the dominance of the Zionist lobby over US and EU politics; the second international New Horizon conference gathers senior investigative journalists, authors, filmmakers and renowned political activists from the United States, Europe and Iran around one table; in an event which rarely seems possible in the West.

And what of the Iranian politicians who persecute and hang Christians and dissidents, vicar?

On the first panel at the three day event experts discussed the influence of the Zionist lobby on the West in the process of nuclear talks with Iran. American investigative journalist Wayne Madsen believes that the Zionist lobby has its grip deep into different layers of the US government. Producer of the movie operation terror believes that issues like the immergence of a new rival in the nuclear fuel market could also be a reason behind the extremist reactions to Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran is a signatory to the non proliferation treaty NPT with its entire uranium enrichment program supervised by the international atomic energy agency. However Iran has so far faced several rounds of UN Security Council and Unilateral US and EU sanctions under the pretext that its peaceful activities are not convincing.' [Emphasis added]

Also from the Press TV website, again accompanied by the same video:

"The second edition of Iran’s International New Horizon Independent Conference started its programs in the capital city of Tehran ...

A number of senior investigative journalists, authors, filmmakers and renowned political activists took part in the gala.

The participants flocked to the three-day event from the UK, the United States, and several countries of Europe.

The first panel of the event hosted the presentations of several experts focused on the influence of the Zionist lobby on the West in the process of nuclear talks with Iran.

The Zionist lobby has its grip deep into different layers of the US government, American investigative journalist Wayne Madsen stated at the conference.

The Islamic Awakening movement, the role of Zionist lobbies in the European and US crises, introducing international anti-Zionist and anti-imperialist figures, and Islamic resistance against the Zionist regime are some of the topics of the conference.

The first edition of the International New Horizon Independent Conference was presented in 2012 along with a film festival centered on the related issues.

The showcased films at the festival represented Islamic resistance against the Zionist regime, war threats against Iran and anti-war movements, the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Iranophobia and Islamophobia, world without Zionism, and world without terrorism and atomic weapons.

New Horizon conference and festival is aimed at providing a platform where independent thinkers can gather together, feature their films and engage in debate and deliberation on various aspects of world and the reality of Hollywood." [Emphasis added]

A still from the video (that's Sizer at the  podium):

 Another still shows the vicar brandishing a book:

(I wonder whether that is the book mentioned here and here?)

To quote from the ADL's official blog:

'....As in the pre­vi­ous con­fer­ence, this year’s New Hori­zon Con­fer­ence has drawn the par­tic­i­pa­tion of sev­eral anti-Israel activists, anti-Semitic con­spir­acy the­o­rists and Holo­caust deniers. A new pres­ence at the con­fer­ence is the par­tic­i­pa­tion of a so called Amer­i­can anti-war activist, Medea Ben­jamin, a co-founder of CODEPINK [this ludicrous woman, tamely hijabbed for her Iranian hosts, although in some of their bizarre stunts CODEPINK women show no modesty, can be seen denouncing the USA in this new Press TV video].

In addi­tion to Ben­jamin [pictured, centre, right; regarding her BDS calls see Daniel Greenfield's exposé], the conference’s offi­cial web­site pub­lished the names of sev­eral Amer­i­can and inter­na­tional anti-Semites, anti-Israel activists and Holo­caust deniers that are expected to be in atten­dance, includ­ing Maria Poumier, a French con­spir­acy the­o­rist and Holo­caust denier; Clau­dio Moffa, an Ital­ian Holo­caust denier; Kevin Bar­rett, an anti-Semitic con­spir­acy the­o­rist and fre­quent con­trib­u­tor to Iran’s Eng­lish lan­guage pro­pa­ganda news net­work, Press TV; Garth Porter, an anti-Israel jour­nal­ist; Pepe Esco­bar, a Brazil­ian anti-Israel jour­nal­ist; and Art Olivier, a for­mer elected offi­cial from Cal­i­for­nia and 9/11 con­spir­acy theorist.

Under-dressed in public ...

More­over, Iran­ian news agen­cies have reported that a num­ber of other indi­vid­u­als are sched­uled to also attend the three-day con­fer­ence in Tehran. Iran­ian news agen­cies have reported the expected par­tic­i­pa­tion of Ali­son Weir, the  direc­tor of If Amer­i­cans Knew and the Coun­cil for the National Inter­est, two grass­roots anti-Israel orga­ni­za­tions; Ken O’Keefe, an anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist for­mer U.S. Marine and a regular contributor to Press TV; Wayne Madsen, an anti-Semitic conspir­acy theorist [he appears on the above-mentioned video]; Cyrus McGoldrick, the for­mer Civil Rights Man­ager for the New York chap­ter of Coun­cil on American-Islamic Rela­tions; Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, the French anti-Semitic come­dian and the cre­ator of the anti-Semitic “quenelle” ges­ture; and Mark Sil­jan­der, a for­mer U.S. Rep­re­sen­ta­tive (R-MI) who was found guilty in 2010 of two fed­eral charges relat­ing to his ties to an Islamic char­ity alleged to have funded ter­ror­ist groups.

But demure at the conference for her Iranian hosts

The con­fer­ence was opened with remarks by the per­sonal advi­sor to Supreme Leader Aya­tol­lah Ali Khamenei, Mohsen Ghomi, who boasted that the con­fer­ence itself is “the biggest threat to Zion­ists,” and that “Amer­i­can offi­cials are pup­pets of the Zion­ist lobby who are tak­ing advan­tage of Amer­i­can igno­rance.” Anti-Israel jour­nal­ist Garth Porter said dur­ing his pre­sen­ta­tion on Mon­day that the Mossad and CIA are responsible for manufacturing the nuclear crisis with Iran.....' [Emphasis added]

Unlike the above, a further ADL official blogpost does not overlook Sizer's participation:

'As Iran’s 2nd New Hori­zon Con­fer­ence wraps up in Tehran, new infor­ma­tion is emerg­ing about con­fer­ence atten­dees, who included U.S. and inter­na­tional anti-Semites, Holo­caust deniers and anti-war activists.

In his open­ing speech, Nader Tale­bzadeh, the direc­tor of the New Hori­zon Con­fer­ence, explained the goal of the con­fer­ence as, “dis­trib­ut­ing the arti­cles and thoughts of top intel­lec­tu­als and philoso­phers world­wide among Iran­ian uni­ver­si­ties and artists,” and that, “The emer­gence of ide­ol­ogy of crit­i­ciz­ing the dom­i­nance of the Zion­ist lobby over the USA and EU, which is going to make some changes in the West, has made it an essen­tial and attrac­tive sub­ject to learn.” Tale­bzadeh added in an inter­view on the side­lines of the con­fer­ence to a Press TV cor­re­spon­dent that, “These are the peo­ple [the atten­dees] that are cen­sored in the West” for their views, which include pro­mot­ing anti-Semitic con­spir­acy the­o­ries and Holo­caust denial.

Press TV also con­ducted an inter­view with Wayne Mad­sen, a U.S. anti-Semitic con­spir­acy the­o­rist, who claimed that the U.S. gov­ern­ment and Con­gress are under Zion­ist con­trol, “The Israeli agenda, which the Chris­t­ian and Jew­ish Zion­ists adopt one hun­dred per­cent, is what is sold to mem­bers of Con­gress, and that devel­ops into leg­is­la­tion, res­o­lu­tions; no one votes against any­thing [the Zion­ists] put up as far as a resolution.”

Among the speak­ers on the first day of the con­fer­ence was anti-Israel jour­nal­ist Garth Porter. In his speech to the atten­dees, Porter lev­eled accu­sa­tions against Israel, the Mossad and CIA for man­u­fac­tur­ing the Iran­ian nuclear cri­sis. Brazil­ian jour­nal­ist Pepe Esco­bar echoed Porter’s mes­sage and pre­dicted that Iran will become more active in world affairs as its stature and influ­ence in the region increases.

On the sec­ond day of the con­fer­ence, Art Olivier, a U.S. 9/11 con­spir­acy the­o­rist and film­maker, pro­moted his upcom­ing film about the life of pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Cor­rie. The film, Olivier said, will allow young Amer­i­cans “to see the real­ity of Rachel’s life which hap­pened 11 years ago and are going to real­ize the atroc­ity of Zion­ist actions against Pales­tini­ans and the peo­ple of Gaza.” Olivier also pro­moted the anti-Semitic canard that the U.S. film indus­try and Hol­ly­wood in par­tic­u­lar are under the dom­i­na­tion of Zionists.

Other U.S. par­tic­i­pants also gave brief inter­views to Farsi-language media dur­ing panel breaks, includ­ing CODEPINK co-founder Medea Ben­jamin, who told IRIB Chan­nel 1 that some of the top­ics at the con­fer­ence addressed U.S. fund­ing for war at expense of pro­vid­ing ade­quate health­care for Amer­i­can cit­i­zens, and that, “These con­fer­ences should lift the pres­sure off of the Pales­tin­ian peo­ple.” Also present at the con­fer­ence was Rev­erend Stephen Sizer, a vicar in the Church of Eng­land who, accord­ing to the UK-based Com­mu­nity Secu­rity Trust (CST), has been accused of pro­mot­ing anti-Semitic links on his website.

Some of the notable panel dis­cus­sions held dur­ing the three-day con­fer­ence included “Zion­ist fin­ger­prints on the 9/11 cover-up;” “The Gaza war & BDS Move­ment against the Zion­ist regime,” which Medea Ben­jamin was part of; “US-Israeli dual cit­i­zens work­ing in the inter­est of Israel: the case for treach­ery;” and “The ‘Islamic’ State meme, its pre­cur­sors, & the US-Israel-Saudi triangle.”' [Emphasis added]

The CST's illuminating blog on this issue (from which the two lists above come) comments:

'The Rev Stephen Sizer is a Church of England vicar with a long record of anti-Israel activity. In 2012 the Board of Deputies made a formal complaint to the Church of England about allegations that Sizer had used his website to link to antisemitic material from other websites. This complaint was resolved through mediation and a Conciliation Agreement was accepted by both parties, which included Sizer accepting that “on occasions his use of language has caused offence to some and agrees that he should have reflected on his choice of words more carefully.”

Sizer also stated:

I care passionately about the safety of the Jewish people and the right of Israel to exist within internationally agreed borders*. I have always opposed racism, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial as well as Islamophobia and the denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination and will continue to do so.

Sizer’s presence at an antisemitic conference in Iran this week brings into question whether he is honouring the spirit of this Conciliation Agreement in good faith.

....According to Iranian state-run Press TV, the conference intended to “unveil the secrets behind the dominance of the Zionist lobby over US and EU politics.” Those attending include a host of Holocaust Deniers and conspiracy theorists.

For an example of why this is an antisemitic conference, one of the conference sessions is on “Mossad’s Role in the 9/11 Coup d’Etat”. This includes discussion of “9/11 and the Holocaust as pro-Zionist “Public Myths”.

Sizer was scheduled to speak at several points during the conference. One of these was a panel on “The Mechanisms of Action of the Israeli Lobby and their Effects in Western Capitals”, with Sizer speaking on “The Israeli Lobby in England”. One of the other speakers scheduled for this panel was Ahmed Rami, a Swedish Islamist with a history of support for Holocaust Deniers and Nazis.

Rami has a conviction for antisemitism in Sweden and his Radio Islam website includes the full text of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, plus extensive Holocaust Denial material. It is impossible to miss the antisemitism on the Radio Islam website: the first four articles listed on the homepage are “The Jewish hand behind Internet”; “Judaism – Jewish “religion” and racism”; “The Jews behind Islamophobia”; and “Al Jazeera English – under Jewish infiltration.” ....

CST Blog has written several times before about the endemic antisemitism in the Iranian government, media and wider public debate. It is inevitable that an Iranian conference on “the Zionist lobby” would feature antisemites, Holocaust Deniers and conspiracy theorists. The fact that it also featured a Church of England vicar is utterly shameful.' [Emphasis added]

(* But does he?:
The CST may be unaware of his avowal of a one-state solution as shown in my blogpost here, which contains further snippets of the vicar's apparent ill-will; if I'm not mistaken that's not the only time the vicar has expressed support for one state.)

And now, in view of Sizer's participation in this grubby conference with its grubby agenda and grubby line-up,  the well-respected Christian analyst and commenter Dexter Van Zile has called upon the Church of England to take action against the vicar (hat tip: reader Ian)

A recent link to ordure

Writes Dexter Van Zile, inter alia:

'.... [Sizer] has been antagonizing Jews and saying hateful things about Israel for years. He works a lot of his mischief on his blog and Facebook page, where he has posted links to articles that downplay or minimize the Holocaust, and accuse Jews of controlling the world and of being responsible for starting World War I and World War II.

But that’s not all. Dr. Sizer has spoken a number of times on Iranian television to condemn Israel and its supporters and has spoken at conferences in Indonesia and Iran organized by Holocaust deniers and attended by anti-Israel and anti-Western terrorists.

When Sizer is confronted about his attendance at conferences organized by Holocaust deniers, he responds by saying he is merely interested in telling his audiences about Jesus Christ.

These are not the actions of a man of peace, but of someone intent on inciting hostility toward the Jewish people and their homeland. They are also the actions of a Jew-baiter. Clearly, Dr. Sizer seems to relish the outrage his actions engender, even more than the acclaim he elicits from the anti-Israel crowd with his actions....

Dr. Sizer’s participation in this conference is a violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the mediation agreement he signed with his Anglican superiors and with the Board of Deputies in 2013.

There is simply no way Dr. Sizer can square his participation in this conference with his promise not to promote anti-Semitism, even if this promise was made in the context of his postings on the Internet. Traveling to Iran to participate in a conference where Israel and its Jewish supporters are demonized is simply beyond the pale, or should be....

Now the Church of England must act and it should not require another complaint from the Board of Deputies of British Jews to do the right thing.'  [Emphasis added; read the entire article here]

 I think a commenter on one of the ADL blogposts puts the general situation rather well:

'Imagine if Western governments embraced an official policy of spreading hatred of Muslims the way that fundamentalist Islamic regimes like Iran and Saudi Arabia propagate the hatred of Jews....'

 UPDATE: See also my post here

Charlie Is Whose Darling?

On Thursday, the website of Iran's satellite propaganda channel Press TV dwelt upon the apparently sinister fact that Prince Charles attended the installation ceremony of the new Chief Rabbi of Britain's Orthodox Jews, Ephraim Mirvis, and, moreover, wore a kippa, or "a yarmulke," as the report described it.

Press TV is a harbinger of conspiracy theories to do with Jews and Zionists, of course, and the clear inference from the report is that Britain's Royals are in the pocket of Da Joos, even if, as I've lamented previously, the Queen, who succeeded to the throne in 1952 and has visited most major ountries, has, like Charles himself, never set foot in Israel!

Writes a perceptive British non-Jewish pro-Israel blogger:

"But what is most blatant about this article is how it completely ignores Prince Charles’s love for Islam and his close links to many Muslims. Charles has suggested that British kids learn from Islam and praised Islam on many occasions. The fact that Press TV completely ignores all this simply means that there is something deeply pathological and monomaniacal about its views on the Jews. Just take one passage from Prince Charles:

"I start from the belief that Islamic civilisation at its best… I feel that we in the West could be helped to rediscover those roots of our own understanding by an appreciation of the Islamic tradition's deep respect for the timeless traditions of the natural order.”

Again, this Press TV article has little to do with Israel or even ‘Zionists’. It’s mainly about the fact that ‘the British royal family has had a very friendly relationship with the Jewish community’. You see ‘anti-Zionism’ is indeed not synonymous (semantically) with ‘Jew-hatred’. It’s just that they nearly always go together. Or, more correctly, ‘anti-Zionism’ and ‘anti-Semitism’ don’t of course mean the same thing. It’s just that the latter almost invariably leads to the former. There is no need to argue that anti-Zionism actually means anti-Semitism....."

Read the entire blog post here

"Every Time You Think He Cannot Sink Lower ...": Syria, Israel, & British Brothers in Arms

From Uganda (he certainly gets around) crusading anti-Israel Anglican vicar Stephen Sizer, a fond fan of Kairos Britain (see my previous post for its iniquities), a ferocious foe of the Balfour Declaration (he and chums are fighting a curious, furious rearguard action against it via the "Balfour Project"), and a not infrequent voice on the Iranian regime's notorious propaganda satellite channel Press TV, has told his Facebook faithful (hat tip: reader P):

"George" is the vehemently anti-Israel politician George Galloway, who represents the heavily Muslim constituency Bradford West for the so-called Respect Party in the "Mother of Parliaments," and has suggested on Press TV that Israel provided the chemical weapons that killed so many innocents in Syria a few days ago:

"If there has been a use of chemical weapons it was al-Qaeda who used chemical weapons.

Who gave al-Qaeda chemical weapons?

 Here’s my theory: Israel gave them the chemical weapons so that they would use them so that they would bring the international community into the final destruction of Syria..."

Writes Alex Massie in The Spectator:

"Say this for George Galloway: every time you think he cannot sink any lower he finds new ways to surprise you. His latest contribution to Press TV, Iran’s propaganda station, speaks for itself. Parody is pointless.Given his history and his paymasters, we would expect him to defend the Assad regime in Syria. Even so, under-estimating his ability to sniff out the true villains is never sensible...."

 See also, incidentally, this pro-Israel Christian blog

By the way, what might George and Stephen have been saying to each other in this photo from earlier this year?  Click here for suggestions!

During Sydney's "Nakba Day" March John Pilger Pimps The Arab Line On Press TV

During the march that forms the subject of my previous post, John Pilger spews out anti-Israel venom on the Ahmadinejad regime's propaganda channel, and pro-BDS NSW state parliamentarian David Shoebridge (Greens) gives his ten cents' worth too.

(Pssst! David, they stone women and string up gays in Iran, you know.  Not very liberal of them, is it? Shouldn't you be boycotting the Iranian regime and all their works, including their satellite TV channel?)

If I spot any videos of the "Nakba Day" march in downtown Sydney, I'll post or link to them them here.

J-Wire has the latest 

More here

Pro-Israel Maxine Dovere Socks It To Ken O'Keefe & Co On Press TV (video)

Press TV, the satellite news and current affairs channel of that impeccable bastion of liberty, equality, fraternity and (of course) sorority, presents a so-called "analysis" of the Flytilla fiasco.  (That's the one in which a participant left a swastika on the wall of a holding cell at Tel Aviv airport.  Perhaps the Israeli authorities should release the culprit's name. After all, the participants sought publicity.)

There's also a studio discussion between talking heads in different locations: it seems that the two Israel-bashing men can't bring themselves to be polite to the pro-Israel Ms Dovero.

O'Keefe calls her "this delusional woman in New York" and Irish activist Derek Graham, ensconced in Gaza, "this woman".

Ms Dovere makes excellent points, which the bossy-voiced studio anchor, enveloped in voluminous robes, hastens to cut short.

O'Keefe is given the final say, and he invokes the influence of "powers ... bankers" ...

British Middle East Consultant's Antisemitic Rant On Iran's Propaganda Channel Website

The website of Press TV, Iran's 24/7 satellite progaganda news channel that recently lost its licence to broadcast in Britain, carries a long over-the-top antisemitic rant by a bloke called Peter Eyre, described as "Middle East Consultant".

The fact that the article is headed "BBC hikes up the Zionist propaganda machine" points to its crackpot nature.

Here's a taste of Eyre's ire:

"We now see another “Imperialistic Empire” taking its place know as the “New World Order” (NWO) with its headquarters firmly embedded in the City of London.

This evil satanic organisation, consisting mainly of Zionists and very senior members of the Freemasons have spread their evil tentacles over most of the UK and launched this country on a programme of continuous conflicts and war.

The NWO controls world finances, world politics, the UN, WHO, the ICJ, the judicial system, education, police and the military via its arm - NATO.

The heartland of the NWO are the Rothschild’s, members of the EU Royal Families, the Pilgrim Society, the very senior members of the Freemason´s (including many MP´s and members of the House of Lords), the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House London), Friends of Israel and The Bank of England etc.

There is a steady stream of politicians that pay regular visits to Chatham House to pledge their support for Israel with our current Prime Minister David Cameron, his deputy Nick Clegg and many others such as former PM Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, Ken Clarke, William Hague, George Osborne to name but a few. It is in the bowels of this building where they swear their allegiance to Zionists backed groups and Israel (their funders) instead of our own country.

Many people in this country do not realise that our dear BBC also forms part of this same satanic rot and is highly funded by the pro-Israeli groups that manipulate everything we hear and see....
 
.... It is common knowledge that students in the US, many being from Berkeley, are hired by either the CIA or Israel to participate in international unrest and frequently act as agents by infiltrating into the ranks of activists or even groups of militia. They have their education paid for in return for such activity and at a given time they pass on the names and locations of key figures to the CIA or Israeli secret service who then plan a drone attack or assassinate the person concerned.

Palestine is also a breeding ground for such activity (Gaza and West Bank) whereby the organisations are basically run by so-called “Jewish Sympathisers” who in some cases appear to turn their backs on their own faith and Israel. This is an entirely false front and these members - “Enemies of Israel”- are allowed to transit Israel to and from Gaza and West Bank without restriction having been previously deported for supporting Gaza (Palestinians) or for causing unrest. This in itself is evidence that they are carrying out undercover work for the CIA or Israel.

I could offer you a long list of names (traitors) and prove that many so-called charities have now been infiltrated by Zionist or Pro-Israeli supporters who are involved in such operations. I find this extremely upsetting when one considers the vast sums of money they obtain from the citizens of the world who want to help the Palestinians but in actual fact are feeding the money directly into Israel and at the same time are getting key Palestinians assassinated by their deceitful ways.

Back to the BBC propaganda machine, another bogus report also hit the headlines when the BBC stated the following: “Car bombs 'target Israel envoys' in India and Georgia” and immediately printed the following statement from Israel (their funders)....

Let´s recall the same style of assassinations that were used against the nuclear scientists in Tehran which was believed to have been the work of either the CIA, MI5 or Mossad. Exactly the same usage of motorcyclist etc clearly points to yet again another “False Flag Statement” that the BBC is so good at publishing!....

It was the same BBC that reported the following, on 25 December 2009, a Nigerian student smuggled explosives on to a flight from Schiphol to Detroit in the US after flying into Amsterdam from Lagos. He has pleaded guilty to trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines jet he boarded and is due to be sentenced on Thursday. He faces life imprisonment. I can assure you that this again was a false flag and it is an Israeli company that is responsible for security at Amsterdam airport....
 
In conclusion one must also remember that westered Special Forces, CIA, MI5, Mossad, hired militia and snipers are operating within Syria causing severe unrest and in many cases are directly responsible for the death of many innocent Syrian civilians. Such is the evil state of western foreign policy that is funded primarily by Israel.'

Read the entire mapcap rant here

Britain Gets Rid Of The Press Gang, & More Good News, Naturally

"Press TV seems to have disappeared!" came the excited, if incredulous, voice on Friday. "I keep clicking on [Sky digital channel] 515 and there's nothing there!"

Knowing that a serious complaint had been filed with Ofcom about the Iranian satellite propaganda news and current channel, and that last month the channel had been fined £100,00 for multiple transgressions, I googled at once, and saw the announcement of the withdrawal of Press TV's licence to broadcast in Britain, effective immediately.

So it's goodbye to the gang who've graced its airwaves, putting the knife into Israel ... Yvonne Ridley, Lauren Booth (pictured), George Galloway (leaving little to the imagination when attired in a tight girly-pink leotard on TV, needless to say not Press TV) ...

The willingness of the western women, in particular, to act as presenters on a station that is funded by a regime which stones women to death and colludes in the gang-rape of virgin female prisoners prior to execution is especially repulsive and odious...

So, therefore, is the willingness of anti-Israel female activists such as Baroness (Jenny) Tonge to give interviews to Press TV.

And so, of course, is the willingness of so many common-or-garden female Israel-bashers to act as apologists for the Iranian regime.

Launched in 2007, Press TV, broadcasting 24/7, claimed a regular viewing figure of almost 10 million British homes.

Among those regular viewers, evidently, is the all-female coven that constitutes my local Palestine Solidarity Campaign branch.  A trio of these middle-aged/elderly women (whose antics range from harassing shoppers outside supermarkets stocking Israeli produce to initiating an online petition asking David Cameron to apologise for the Balfour Declaration) spent much of Wednesday beside a stall, bedecked with those four infamous maps (you know the ones), they'd set up in the town centre, complete with a huge banner inquiring "Whatever Happened To Palestine".  They were thrusting anti-Israel propaganda at passers by, and one rattled a collection tin.

Some weeks ago, between tweets decrying the United States and Israel and promoting BDS, their leader tweeted "Tell Ofcom that PressTV's the one UK channel reporting what the mainstream don't. And it's virtually trivia-free..."
Last week they carried the message: "....There's no proof Iran has nuclear weapons program!..."
And their latest tweet is: "Please campaign to get Ofcom to put Press TV back on Sky...." 

 I imagine the entire anti-Israel movement in Britain evinces similar indignation at the passing of the Press Gang.

And there was more good news for Israel's supporters in Britain this week.  As reported recently in the Jewish Chronicle,

"Filmmakers Ken Loach and Mike Leigh have condemned the Natural History Museum for collaborating with an Israeli firm on a research project.

They were joined by Liberal Democrat peer Jenny Tonge and a number of other critics of Israel in writing a letter to the Independent newspaper.

The signatories complained that the museum was guilty of breaking international law by working with cosmetics company Ahava on a research project into the possible risks of "nanomaterial" (microscope man-made cells which could be used to treat illness in the future)...."

 To its credit, however, the Natural History Museum has refused to budge.  Israel Matsav , following the Jerusalem Post, has the details.
(Hat tip: reader Shirlee)

Ahmadinejad's Propaganda TV Channel Under Threat From "The Zionist Lobby" (video)

Ahmadinejad's propaganda news channel, Press TV, where you can see such luminaries as Yvonne Ridley, George Galloway, and Lauren Booth strutting their stuff, is in a spot of bother with the British broadcasting regulator, Ofcom.

And how the usual suspects on the Israel-bashing left are howling.

Tweets a certain Palestine Solidarity Campaign branch in a typical attitude:

 Tell Ofcom that PressTV's the one UK channel reporting what the mainstream don't. And it's virtually trivia-free. facebook.com/pages/Hands-Of

 It doesn't matter that the regime for which the channel is a mouthpiece brutally persecutes gays, women, Bahais, and political dissidents, of course.  Or that despite its alleged commitment to cutting edge journalism it never gets around to telling us about that grim often gruesome aspect of life in Iran.

Aussie BDS Fanatics Grouse About The Nazi Comparison (On Would-Be Israel-Exterminator Ahmadinejad's Press TV)

"They don't like it up 'em!" to quote the catchphrase of Corporal Jones in the long-running British comedy series Dad's Army.

No, Australian BDS fanatics are decidedly rattled by the parallels drawn between the BDS movement and the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses.

I wrote yesterday, for example, how the Greens and their BDS running dogs are snapping at the heels of a pro-Israel councillor who's been articulately making the analogy between their relentless calls for the Boycott of the Jewish State and 1930s Germany.

They must have spluttered over their toast and Vegemite when they saw this article today, entitled "Deutschland Revisited" and complete with a swastika upon a green flag: http://austeaparty.com.au/web/?p=4792

Some promoters of BDS, including super-feminist Senator Lee Rhiannon and nice Jewish boy Antony Loewenstein (author of the notorious My Israel Question), are feeling so sore about such comparisons that they've been venting their indignation on the propaganda news station of the misogynistic full-of-human-rights-abuses regime run by the man who would unleash a second Holocaust, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ah, the irony!

Sydney Israel-Haters Talk To Press TV (video)

O, the hypocrisy of it!  They rant and rave against Israel's supposed "atrocities" and violations against "human rights" yet think nothing of talking to a reporter from Press TV, the propaganda channel of the Ahmadinejad regime, which cracks down brutally on dissidents, hangs gays, and stones women.
 

Press TV Breached Impartiality Rules. Uh huh. So – What Else is New?

Former Respect Party MP and veteran Israel-basher George Galloway has a flair for a phrase. Years ago, he provoked a great deal of amusement and derision back in Blighty when, on a visit to Baghdad, he reportedly said to that old rogue Saddam Hussein “Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability."

More recently, on Ahmadinejad’s satellite propaganda channel Press TV Mr Galloway (pictured, pretty in pink on a reality “fly-on-the-wall” British television show in which, catlike, he lapped milk from a pretend saucer formed by the cupped hands of comely actress Rula Lenska) described Israel as “a terrorist gangster state” and a “miscreant, law-breaking rogue, war-launching, occupying state”. Of last May's flotilla incident he observed: “Israel went into international waters to give a message to Iran and Turkey they can do whatever they want because of US support”.

Now, following complaints, the broadcasting standards watchdog and media regulator Ofcom has ruled that Galloway, presenter of the weekly phone-in hour-long “Comment” show, repeatedly breached impartiality with remarks of that kind, that "could be interpreted as being pro-Palestinian and highly critical of the actions of the Israeli government and its military forces". Ofcom found that Galloway’s show did not adequately provide the Israeli viewpoint on the flotilla incident, since when opposing views were included the material was used only "to give the opportunity for the programme to further criticise the Israeli government".

Furthermore, "The broadcaster failed to engage or debate with any point of view that was contrary to the view presented by George Galloway. Rather, Ofcom is of the view that George Galloway, in particular, used the alternative opinions made by the viewers, which were contrary to his own, only as vehicles to punctuate what could be classed as a form of ongoing political polemic, delivered by the presenter directly to camera and unchallenged." It added: "Alternative viewpoints were not adequately represented in the individual programmes or across the series as a whole."

Ofcom also found that another veteran Israel basher, Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, failed to exhibit due impartiality when he appeared on Galloway’s show. Corbyn, who earlier this month met two Hamas officials in Jerusalem, declared: “Israel has been referred to the Security Council on so many occasions so it is time surely for serious economic sanctions.”

Under Section 5 of the Ofcom code, broadcasters must ensure that on such programmes “neither side of the debate is unduly favoured”. Ofcom said it would arrange a meeting for Press TV to discuss its impartiality procedure.

 In the meantime, it’s likely to have its work cut out for it, given all the western Israel-bashers who are on the Iran-backed channel’s payroll. Besides, in June last year, Ofcom ruled that Galloway breached rules on impartiality after he accused the Israeli government of using "a Nazi tactic", conducting a "brutal apartheid-style occupation" and committing "war crimes" in various editions of his discussion programmes.

 Let's face it, without poisoning public opinion against Israel and in other ways undermining the West, what’s Ahmadinejad’s station for?

In a Persian Market

It must pay well, the propagandistic news channel Press TV, operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran.  I mean, it doesn't appear to have a shortage of western hacks willing to prostitute themselves by appearing as presenters on it.  I've already blogged about those delightful blondes in veil and hijab, Lauren Booth and Yvonne Ridley, fixtures on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's shamelessly distorted window on Iran, on Gaza, and of course on the Zionist Entity.

George Galloway, the 2009 Viva Palestina convoy honcho and ex-Respect MP, who abased himself before Saddam Hussein with a ludicrous sycophantic speech, and more recently abased himself before the winsome actress Rula Lenska on a reality TV show in the UK by pretending to be a cat and lapping milk from a saucer, appears there too.  So does Alan Hart, the ex-ITN Middle East correspondent and ex-BBC Panorama presenter who believes Mossad brought down the Twin Towers on 9/11 by a controlled ground explosion. 

Despite all the horrors that the Ahmadinejad regime has perpetrated on the people of Iran, despite its persecution of dissidents and barbaric punishments for adultery and homosexuality, those people are still on the station's payroll.  By contrast, journalist Nick Ferrari had the decency to resign following the execution of the protesters who took to the streets of Teheran peacefully to vent their outrage at Iran's disputed election last year.

Now, another whacky ex-politician, known for his romances with a glamorous weathergirl  and a scantily clad pop singer, has signed on at Press TV.  He's Lembit Opik, who lost his parliamentary seat at the polls this May.  He sat as a Lib Dem - and seems to have his heart set on running in 2012 as Lib Dem candidate for London's Mayor.  He tried being a stand-up comedian after losing his seat, with a ventriloquist routine involving a shoe.  Reportedly, the gig flopped - badly.  So instead this avowed liberal is going to be a  presenter for the satellite media outlet of one of the most illiberal regimes in the world, fronting a show called A Simple Question, with a debut investigating - now this is funny! - how objective the British press is. "We want to explore whether it does a good job at being impartial or whether there are consistent cases of bias in the reporting that we see", explained an offsider.

It seems the Lib Dem Mr Obit was somewhat tetchy when asked by a London Daily Telegraph journalist  about his new job.  “It is necessary for me to work", he snapped. "I don’t see that Press TV is 'controversial’: that is to pass judgment and it is not for one media organisation to pass judgment on another.”

Like I said, it must pay well.

Blondely pimping brand Iran

While Israel has been foolishly neglectful of connecting with a global audience by exploiting satellite television broadcasting to its advantage, the Islamic Republic of Iran has grasped with fervour the chance to showcase the image that it wants the world to see - both of itself and of the Zionist entity.  The state-funded Press TV, Iran's propagandistic news channel, was set up in 2007, and has bureaus in Teheran, Beirut, Damascus, Seoul, Washington - and, inevitably, Londonistan.  Its broadcasts reach most parts of the world, and for most viewers it is free-to-air; it also has a website. 

And it has not been short of western abettors.  Its regular presenters include such "feminists" as journalists Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's embarrassing sister-in-law, and Yvonne Ridley, kidnapped by the Taliban in 2001, who in 2003 converted to Islam. Both women, who also broadcast on London's Islam Channel, are heavily active in the Free Gaza Movement and other anti-Israel initiatives.

 Ms Booth recently addressed an outdoor demo in London, in which to wild cheers she shrilly condemned Mark Regev as "an Israeli killer Zionist" and, in an apparent rallying cry for jihad, exhorted the green, red, black and white-bannered throng to take up arms against Israel, while Ms Ridley has been active in the Respect Party, that curious mixture of radical Muslims and radical Socialists united in their loathing of "Zionists".

On screen, Ms Booth (pictured in a Gaza souvenir shop) appears with a veil not quite covering all of her blonde hair; Ms Ridley's blonde locks are totally concealed beneath a particularly forbidding version of the hijab.  I've always found it intriguing how avowed feminists - who would no doubt rant and rave and scoff and sneer at fundamentalist Christian explanations (you can find them on the web, from strict old Calvinists and others) that wives must cover their heads as a symbol of their subjection to their husbands - meekly don the veil when required to by Islam. 

But it is positively obscene that such people - who are quick to accuse Israel of human rights violations - continue to pimp brand Iran despite the odious Ahmadinejad regime's horrendous oppression of its people. It has now come to light, courtesy of one of its own, that to oblige the Iranian government  members of the ruthless Basij militia  forcibly marry - and rape - virgin prisoners the night before those women's scheduled executions.  This enables the death sentence, forbidden in the case of virgins, to be carried out.  Will this shocking revelation (you won't find it in the leftist press) of a particularly repellent crime against women finally wean these Israel-hating pro-Iran female broadcasters away from their role as handmaidens of Hamas's sponsor?  I wouldn't bank on it.