(This is my first blogger beta post, posted with some trepidation...)

More on my current obsessions:

1. On Gilad Atzmon
David Hirsh at CiF

2. On the New Generation Network
B4L (and, via him, Freemania)

3. On the new Stalinists
Jim at Shiraz Socialist (and, via him, Paul Hampton "The New Manana Socialism from Above")
Terry Glavin on the ant-war movement and the Islamic right

4. On Tommy Sheridan, pervy scab
The IWW on Tommy shitting on his own workers (via Will)

5. On Mad Madeleine Bunting
Western Resistance goes a little over the top

Comments

SnoopyTheGoon said…
Re Gilad Atzmon - this dumb puppy attracts more attention in UK than he deserves. I have, for an experiment, checked it on 10 random Israelis - one case of recognition and one of "just a sec, I surely heard the name somewhere".

Lack of attention causes a character like this to wither.
Anonymous said…
Snoopy, my friend, this is not about Israel or Israelis. This is about Joo hating in the UK and particularly in the Palestine solidarity movement. Why do people think Israelis ought to understand this kind of antisemitism? They have other things to worry about.

Atzmon has been accepted by the SWP, which runs the Stop the War movement and Respect, the Anti Nazi League, as well as the left factions in many of the unions.

Atzmon has been accepted by the Scottish PSC and at least one Branch in England. The PSC has either stayed silent or supported Atzmon. The opinion formers have either accepted Atzmon or stayed neutral in the fight between the antisemites and the anti-Zionists.

Lack of attention is not an option here. If Atzmon fails to mobilize the antisemitic potential that anti-Zionism has created, then someone else will have more success. Atzmon demonstrates how open antisemitism can be accepted on the British left. It's a big deal.
Jim Jepps said…
I do think the Atzmon thing is a bit of an aboration - and its interesting to see some SWP members rising up in protest at having anything to do with this character...

In general the only actual anti-semitic commetns I've come across on the left have not come from SWP members but from old school ex-CP members who will actually talk about Jews as is this is some homogenous block - not quite sure where that comes from

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