I'm sure Steve Wood is a decent bloke who probably heard the Chief Rabbi (who always seems to come on Radio 4 when i'm in the shower) in one of his less than loveable diatribes. Plus the Israelis do make it hard to like their state.
I think the Tories felt very threatened by Corbyn. He had a rare quality in modern politics, in that he seemed to be honest, principled and sincere. He appealed to the younger generation and did far better in the election against May than anyone expected. It seemed to me that was when the right wing media went into overdrive. I didn't like the manipulation of the electorate and the way politicians and indeed religious leaders used underhand tactics to smear him. There was never a fair, honest debate of issues. It just turned into character assassination.
What's your point? You said it was P.R. exercise. What would you have said if he hadn't acted? You've just gone off on a random tangent.
I’m surprised to hear so many posters on here, who’s views I normally nod my head to, saying Starmer has made the right decision because ‘he needs to show he’s decisive unlike Johnson’ or because his decision puts clear water between his leadership and Corbyns. None of those points are the issue. If she’s been sacked for an anti Semitic comment (or the re tweeting of one) then he’s got it wrong. Maxine Peak’s comment cannot in any way be considered anti Semitic unless you don’t, can’t or won’t distinguish between the Jewish race and the actions of the Israeli Govt. If people on the centre left of politics are now accepting they are the same thing and Starmer had to act because he would have got a kicking from the right wing media outlets, then God help us all.
He had to be seen to act. It’s a sad fact there would have outrage if he hadn’t. We all know criticizing Israel is seen as anti Semitic by the Neanderthals. On the balance of all I’ve read today I think he’s done the right thing
i wouldn,t have said anything if he hadn,t acted, because if its right what i,ve heard she hasn,t done anything wrong, my point was, he,s sacked her just to prove that labour aren,t anti semitic ..
I think she was naive to retweet it, considering all context. Given Starmer little choice in the current climate. But Maxine Peake's comments were not anti-semitic. As others have said, you can criticise Israel surely? If you criticise Pakistan, does it make you anti-Islam?
Correct, criticising the regime is not criticising their religion, otherwise we would all be anti islamic for criticising, saddam hussain, gadaffi and co...
He's done the right thing politically as he needs to take a clear stand against any perceived anti-semitism. No matter how minor or ambiguous the issue he needs to act decisively because otherwise he'll be tarred with the brush of anti-semitism and it will haunt his leadership for the full duration. Similarly he can't openly question whether an allegation is actually anti-semitic, as that would only be used as evidence of his own anti-semitism. Do I think RLB's actions were a sacking offence? No, as far as I am aware there is nothing to suggest she is anti-semitic and I consider read the article (or criticisms of the acts of Israel) to be automatically anti-semitic. Nevertheless it was naive, and given the political climate and recent history of the Labour Party Starmer had no option but to sack her.
We’ll have to agree to disagree Pompey. I think it shows he’s weak. And as a former Attorney General, to take a decision on the basis of how it is perceived In the right wing media rather than on the basis of the facts, doesn’t auger well for the party.
apart from the fact that he promoted Rachel Reeves who vociferously eulogises over one of ten 29th centuries leading AS in Astor. I can’t stand RLB but this is tenuous given that clearly Peake isn’t in any way racist though used clumsy simplistic language to explain a complex situation
It seems not for when the labour party didn't want to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism - choosing to modify the definition by clarifying it wasn't antisemitic to criticise Israel - this clarification itself was labelled antisemitic.
You only have to look at who funded Starmers leadership campaign to see why he sacked RLB , notably £50000 from Trevor Chinn a well known pro Israeli lobbyist , not disclosed until after polls had ended
I can only comment on the topic. There was no anti-semitism in that article, nor do I believe either Peake or Long-Bailey are anti-semitic. I do however understand the fallout. That's as much as I have to say on it.
It’s a farce. It’s not anti-Semitic & it’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s anti-Israel & credible sources have suggested that Israel have trained them. Some people think he’s sacked her to be clever & to look like he’s doing the right thing but my belief is he’s done it because he doesn’t want any left wingers in his cabinet. He only gave her a role to appease them & the first chance he’s got to get rid he’s taken it. It’s not like he cares about racism that much, Rachel Reeves was promoted & then there’s the lack of action over the abuse black Labour MP’s have taken. It was naive by RLB that she didn’t see what would happen but it sets a dangerous precedent if we’re suggesting that praising someone or retweeting an interview means we advocate all their views
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joint-us-israel-police-and-law-enforcement-training The tragedy here is long baily was actually telling the truth . American law enforcement have trained with Israeli security services for years . I'm sure if she'd shared the link above instead which shows it in a positive light then all would be good but to share a link that shows it in a negative way then that must be anti Semitic . Shame on Keir starmer . I won't be voting for him anytime soon .
I'd personally say that the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Pope, every Mullah, every official of every religion spout nonsense on a weekly basis. The bottom line here is that there's nothing remotely racist in the RLB scenario. How is the suggestion that the Israelis trained US police (whether true or not) racist? It clearly isn't. Yet again this is right wing whataboutery equivocating criticism of the state of Israel to racism. It's utter nonsense. There's scores of governments representing every creed and colour I'd be critical of. That doesn't make me or anyone else racist.
Is it fear of the so called right wing press or is it a clear message to the hard left that the days of overt antisemitism in the labour party are over. At the end of the day she would have been Corbyn 2 and the party have rejected corbynism for a less hard left line. Starmer isn't running scared of the tories and appeasing his donors, he’s sending a clear message internally that enough is enough