Would you vote for the Soubry/Umunna party?

[gavreid]

I don't believe it has much to do with Israel. It doesn't have to, anyway: Corbyn has more than enough enemies at home. They're using this because it works. And one of the reasons it works, it has to be said, is because there's a fair bit of material to work with.

One thing I'm pretty sure of though is that 90% of those involved in turning it into the number one media story are not acting in good faith and have zero interest in eliminating antisemitism from the Labour Party or anywhere else.

I think that's mostly right - it's not about Israel per se, it's about attacking Corbyn when they had agreed not to after the last leadership contest. Many people are ignorant about Israel and take their cue from the Holocaust so it's an easy hanger and it sticks.

 

[maxflinn]

I don't believe it has much to do with Israel. It doesn't have to, anyway: Corbyn has more than enough enemies at home. They're using this because it works. And one of the reasons it works, it has to be said, is because there's a fair bit of material to work with.

We don't know where much of that material comes from, Sean.

The timing is no coincidence, IMO.

One thing I'm pretty sure of though is that 90% of those involved in turning it into the number one media story are not acting in good faith and have zero interest in eliminating antisemitism from the Labour Party or anywhere else.

Agree totally.

 

[Tony L]

I don't believe it has much to do with Israel.

MaxFlinn etc will desperately try to push that line as Trump, who he endlessly pushed here and I assume elsewhere, has willingly enabled Netanyahu to ring-fence further illegal settlements etc whereas “Killary” (or any Democrat administration) would have kept the international pressure firmly on. The reality is the Labour Party situation is entirely unconnected.

 

[maxflinn]

Labour should take the owners of this right-wing establishment rag to court:

https://twitter.com/labourpress/status/1114844356106706944

 

[droodzilla]

Labour should take the owners of this right-wing establishment rag to court:

https://twitter.com/labourpress/status/1114844356106706944

Agreed.

Sadly, the Guardian saw fit to repeat the story yesterday with zero critical analysis. I say, "sadly" but it's not surprising as the Guardian has been consistently awful in its reporting of the Labour Party under Corbyn. The media research unit of one of the London universities recently analysed reporting of the controversy over the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. The analysis found that, apart from the far-right press, the Guardian was by far the most misleading newspaper in its reporting of the issue. Unfortunately, I can't find a link to the report - if anyone has it, please could they share?

It's important to realise that the Labour Party is fighting with one hand tied behind its back here because it's bound to respect the confidentiality of the disciplinary process. The Times, on the other hand, is free to selectively fillet leaked emails to make the Labour Party look as bad as possible.