Rebecca Long-Bailey Sacked

[cyril evans awaydays]

No room for any argument about whether the choke-hold claim made by Maxine Peake (and thousands of others) is anti-semitic or anti-Israeli. The important question was whether her apology would be sufficient for Marie van der Zyl and the Board of Deputies of British Jews. It wasn't - so she had to be sacked!

Ironic in a way as Rebecca Long-Bailey had dutifully signed up to the '10 Pledges' demanded by the Board Of Deputies during the leadership election campaign, along with Lisa Nandy, Kier Starmer and 3 of the 5 deputy leadership candidates.

Long-Bailey's own twitter account of how this unfolded today doesn't reflect that well on her own judgement, but it is damning on Starmer and his office.

It is a matter of public record that tens of thousands of American and Israeli military and law enforcement officers have trained together since 2002 - some in Israel and many in the USA. I have seen the claims that the choke restraint method was adopted from the Israelis - and the denials of that. I have seen many of the archive photos of Palestinians restrained with a knee to their throats - but whether that is an 'approved' method of immobilising and occasionally killing someone, I don't know.

I doubt American police need to be taught how to kneel on a suspects throat by the Israelis - but if they were (directly or through cascade training) it will have come from representatives of the Israeli state - not from 'the Jews' or whatever the current designation is that justifies the allegations of 'anti-semitism'.

Thanks Jon. The bit I am missing is how it is damning on Starmer and his office. She put him in a position that he would be badged as "same old same old" if he had taken any other action than sacking her or he had the option of showing that he is his own man with a new broom. Tricky political choice.

The party recognised that the Prince across the water and the rest of the clan are not coming back soon after the election debacle and RBL reinforcing some of the points in the lessons learned report just makes her look too immature for the offices she aspires to. Why there are elements of the party that keep picking an open wound I don't know.

Is the Israel/Palestine conflict so important to parts of the Labour Party that they are willing to accept domestic political decline as a necessary price to pay to show their internationalist credentials?

What else could he have done that would not have been exploited by the ccfc_is_my_life or tell it like it is types if he still posted on here?

[jon1959]

Thanks Jon. The bit I am missing is how it is damning on Starmer and his office. She put him in a position that he would be badged as "same old same old" if he had taken any other action than sacking her or he had the option of showing that he is his own man with a new broom. Tricky political choice.

The party recognised that the Prince across the water and the rest of the clan are not coming back soon after the election debacle and RBL reinforcing some of the points in the lessons learned report just makes her look too immature for the offices she aspires to. Why there are elements of the party that keep picking an open wound I don't know.

Is the Israel/Palestine conflict so important to parts of the Labour Party that they are willing to accept domestic political decline as a necessary price to pay to show their internationalist credentials?

What else could he have done that would not have been exploited by the ccfc_is_my_life or tell it like it is types if he still posted on here?

I am just going on the Guardian blog (the Guardian are certainly no friends of RLB or the Corbynites in Labour) which qouted then summarised her tweets like this:

Long-Bailey claims Sir Keir Starmer’s office originally approved the tweet she issued clarifying her original endorsement of the Maxine Peak interview. This is significant because it was in response to that clarification tweet that the Board of Deputies of British Jews suggested she should be sacked.

She suggests that Starmer’s office subsequently changed its mind, and demanded the withdrawal of the original tweet. She said she was not willing to do that without being allowed to issue a press statement explaining the clarification.

She says Starmer refused to discuss the matter with her in person before she was dismissed.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...ichard-desmond

On your other point, it is sad but for Starmer I think garnering domestic brownie points is certainly more important than international solidarity and defence of Palestinians. Anti-Israel policies (or apartheid constitution and state ideology) is now anti-semitism. Anti-Zionism is now anti-semitism (although Zionism used to be a minority view in the world Jewish population and is still opposed by many orthodox, reform and secular Jews, and there is even an Jewish anti-Zionist party represented in the Knesset). There are way more Christian Zionists in the world (mainly in the USA but some in Africa) than Jewish Zionists. Now anything that mildly irritates the Board of Deputies (now they have finished welcoming the appointment of Israel's new ultra-right wing, racist ambassador to the UK) is anti-semitism. All other Jewish voices are silenced or marginalised (or in the case of the Labour Party, often suspended or expelled).

That said I think RLB was naive - even if she was commenting on the earlier version of the Maxine Peake interview that had a quote from Amnesty - subsequently amended - that seemed to confirm the main allegation. I don't think she has covered herself in glory since she stood for the leadership. I went to her Sheffield election rally (and to Starmer's) and was unimpressed - by both!

[ccfc_is_my_life]

Interesting white guy telling Jews what is and isn't antisemitic. Funny that.

No wonder Splott Dai posted here for so long with such a target audience.

[cyril evans awaydays]

Interesting white guy telling Jews what is and isn't antisemitic. Funny that.

No wonder Splott Dai posted here for so long with such a target audience.

Until I read this I thought that there were white Jews as well as those of other races. What colour are you and what was the last post you considered to be anti-semetic on this Board and why?

[jon1959]

Interesting white guy telling Jews what is and isn't antisemitic. Funny that.

No wonder Splott Dai posted here for so long with such a target audience.

Are you replying to me? Are you assuming I am white? Are you assuming I am not Jewish? Are you claiming I am telling 'Jews what is and isn't antisemitic' when I am replying to Cyril's post? Wow - you're full of it aren't you?

Just to clarify where you're coming from, will you give me an answer to this: Is opposition to the actions of the State Of Israel or to the ideology of Zionism anti-semitism?

I have known hundreds of Jewish people over the years who have campaigned against Israeli war crimes and illegal settlements, and who regard themselves as anti-Zionists. In recent years they have been labelled as 'the wrong type' of Jews, or 'self hating' Jews and other such labels and faced endless abuse.

I regard anti-semitism as abhorrent. I regard racist apologists for an apartheid regime as abhorrent too.