antisemitism

antisemitism

• The battle is on: and the left can’t win in Labour - weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on Labour, the left and taking on the Tories

• Sacking Long-Bailey accelerates Labour’s drive to the right - CounterBlast

  

  The sacking of the shadow cabinet’s only prominent socialist is a milestone in Labour’s move to the right, argues Alex Snowdon 

• Starmer’s ruthless at rooting out the left, not antisemitism - CounterBlast

  

  In a week where the Tories are covering for corruption and risking working people’s lives, Keir Starmer is attacking the left instead of the government says Penny Hicks

• Starmer plays to the right: where now for the left?

  

  Starmer has signalled war on Labour's left with the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey. It is a deliberate attempt to root out Corbynism from positions of influence

• Maxine Peake is right: US and Israeli state violence is linked

  

  Pointing out the link between US police brutality and Israel’s barbaric tactics against Palestinians is no conspiracy theory, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Sacking Long-Bailey is a disgrace: it's proof Starmer is leading a witch-hunt against the left - CounterBlast 25 June

  

  There can no longer be any doubt, Starmer is leading a witch-hunt against the left in Labour at a time when the Tories are in maximum disarray, writes Chris Nineham

• If VE Day never came: It Happened Here - film review

  

  On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Tom Griffiths finds Brownlow and Mollo's alternative vision of Nazi-led Britain in the 1940s still resonates powerfully

• Set up to fail? Labour’s not so independent inquiry

  

  Nick Fitzpatrick finds glaring issues with the panel put together by the NEC and its remit to investigate #LabourLeaks

• Labour’s explosive report shows how right-wing officials sabotaged the party

  

  A leaked report shows how right-wing Labour officials sabotaged the party during Jeremy Corbyn’s time as leader, writes Alex Snowdon 

• Raining accusations: Ken Loach under attack

  

  Britain's best known socialist filmmaker has been under attack for weeks as part of the continued assault on our ability to organise for Palestinian rights, argues Sybil Cock

• The setbacks for Palestine solidarity and the need to fight back

  

  The setbacks in the movement for solidarity with Palestine and the failure of militant anti-racism is a catastrophe for the left, and one that must be quickly rectified, argues David Jamieson

• Bernie Sanders vs the Democrat establishment – weekly briefing

  

  Lindsey German on democratic socialism, witch-hunting and the fight for women’s liberation

• The weaponisation of antisemitism in Canada continues

  

  If we are to confront the reality Israeli apartheid, false charges of antisemitism cannot go unchallenged, writes John Clarke 

• On Holocaust Memorial Day

  

  Never again! This requires action now, as well as reflection, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• Tony Cliff: The Jews, Israel and the Holocaust

  

  Tony Cliff was a Palestinian Jew and leading revolutionary socialist in Britain. On Holocaust Memorial Day, and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, we republish an article that he wrote in 1998.

• Jewish activists speak out: why we’re campaigning for Corbyn

  

  Counterfire’s Kate O’Neil caught up with three Jewish activists campaigning for Jeremy Corbyn this week to hear what they had to say

• Antisemitism, politics, and voting Tory - election briefing 6 December

  

  Let’s stop apologising for having done nothing wrong, insists Lindsey German

• Why we will not be silent on Palestine

  

  The fight for a free Palestine will not stop until there is justice and equality for all, writes Gabriel Polley

• The problem with Nancy Astor

  

  Tory and media championing of the antisemitic Astor reveals an acute case of double standards, argues Katherine Connelly

• Antisemitism: real news, old news and fake news - election briefing 27 November

  

  Lindsey German on racism and witch-hunting

• Lies, lies and more lies - election briefing 26 November

  

  Lindsey German on the smearing of Jeremy Corbyn  

• No laughing matter - election briefing 21 November

  

  Lindsey German on the state of the race, Swinson’s true colours, and faux antisemitism

• Corbynism from Below – book review

  

  Corbynism from Below is a wide-ranging collection of thoughtful essays on this historic opportunity for the left to transform society, finds Kevin Ovenden

• The mask keeps slipping - election briefing 7 November

  

  Lindsey German on the persistence of the nasty party and Labour's antisemitism smears

• Antifa: the anti-fascist handbook - book review

  

  The long history of anti-fascist mobilisation, outlined in Bray’s Antifa, underlines the importance of broad alliances for mass mobilisations, argues Thomas Gibbs

• Tower Hamlets ban should be a wake up call on Palestine

  

  The IHRA definition is being used to stifle Palestine activism, exactly as activists had warned it would, report Chris Nineham and Sybil Cock

• Attack on Palestine solidarity turned back in Vancouver

  

  When the left steps up and organises against the attacks, it can win, as shown in Vancouver, reports John Clarke

• ‘I am not what I am’: why the left must take action against ‘Iago’ Watson

  

  Tom Watson has made it clear that he will stop at nothing to remove Corbyn and it's about time the left stands up to him, argues Sean Ledwith

• There’s only one solution to Labour’s problems: the right have got to go - weekly briefing

  

  The Labour left needs to start giving as good at it gets from its enemies or it will lose, argues Lindsey German  

• BBC Panorama hatchet job on Labour antisemitism is a farce

  

  The BBC's Panorama on antisemitism in the Labour Party provides no real evidence and shows how cynical the smear campaign is, argues David McAllister

• Adopting the IHRA definition didn't end the attacks, it accelerated them

  

  Apologising for an epidemic of antisemitism in Labour that isn't there and giving in to the right's demands has only accelerated the attacks, argues Lindsey German

• A dangerous moment for the Corbyn project - weekly briefing

  

  Labour’s internal tensions are jeopardising its most socialist stewardship in modern times, argues Alex Snowdon

• Canada joins campaign to stifle criticism of Israel

  

  Canada becomes the next major player in the international drive to weaponise false allegations of antisemitism to protect Israel, writes John Clarke

• Be clear: the moves against Chris Williamson are moves against Corbyn

  

  The attacks on Chris Williamson are first and foremost about delegitimising the Corbyn project, writes Isabel Carr

• The left needs to hold the line and fight the smears – weekly briefing

  

  Witch-hunt season is back with a vengeance and Corbynism must re-assert itself to stay in the game, argues Alex Snowdon

• The poverty of anti-corruption politics

  

  A politics based on anti-corruption obscures class and tends to benefit one side. It's not the left, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• Alastair Campbell isn’t a victim, he’s trying to destroy Corbyn’s leadership

  

  Alastair Campbell is trying to destroy Corbyn's leadership. The left cannot win by capitulating to him, argues Katherine Connelly

• It's time for the Labour left to step up to the plate

  

  For Labour to beat the right, the left must stop retreating, argues John Rees

• The left needs to stop retreating over the use of the term Zionism

  

  John Rees on what anti-Zionism does and does not mean

• The weaponising of antisemitism

  

  The smears against Corbyn and the left are part of a concerted effort to undermine a potential left government and must be opposed, argues Alex Snowdon

• A slow coup against Corbyn has started. We must stand up against it.

  

  A coordinated campaign against Jeremy Corbyn is underway and the left inside and outside the Labour Party must stand against it, argues Chris Nineham

• 5 facts about Aipac and the Israel lobby that prove Ilhan Omar is right

  

  Ilhan Omar is being attacked because she's a radical anti-imperialist, black, Muslim woman on the left, and deserves unconditional solidarity argues Shabbir Lakha

• Conspiracy theory: the answer is more left-wing theory not less

  

  Ruling class power can’t be understood as a conspiracy, argues John Rees

• Labour and antisemitism: separating facts from fiction

  

  The campaign to destabilise Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party has accelerated. We must oppose the attacks and defend the left, argues Kara Bryan.

• Conflating anti-Zionism and antisemitism - Macron’s dangerous game

  

  The French President’s conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism should be seen in the context of the Yellow Vest movement, the crisis of Macronism, and pervasive, state-facilitated Islamophobia, argues Susan Ram

• The attack on Chris Williamson is an attack on Corbyn and the left

  

  The decision to suspend Chris Williamson is a capitulation to the right that only gives more ground for attacks on the left, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Corbyn is being smeared on antisemitism - and we need to deal with it

  

  There is no contradiction between recognising that antisemitism exists in Labour, and understanding that Corbyn is being smeared, argues Des Freedman

• The left should take note: attack is the best form of defence

  

  When the right is attacking you, going along with it is not the solution, fighting back is, argues Chris Nineham

• Luciana Berger and the plot against Corbyn: this is no time to retreat

  

  From the antisemitism smears to the threats of splitting from the party over Brexit, the PLP are still at war with Labour's leadership, argues Alex Snowdon

• Saying never again means resisting in the present

  

  Remembering the Holocaust means remembering the horrific slaughter of Jewish people, but also the resistance and solidarity, and resolving to put 'never again' into practice, writes Dana Mills

• Why I won't speak at the Oxford Union

  

  I was recently asked to debate at the Oxford Union. Here is my letter to the officers of the Oxford Union refusing to do so.

• Our ten most popular articles of 2018

  

  The most popular articles on Counterfire this year

• Israel's crimes cannot go unanswered

  

  The ongoing assault on the Palestinian people is intensifying, and we need to up our response, argues Mona Kamal

• Excising its credibility: Labour’s dilemma over top rate tax - weekly briefing

  

  Dealing with inequality should be central to a radical socialist project, not something to be sidestepped, argues Cameron Panting

• Justice for Palestine: a report from the Labour Party conference

  

  Conference shows strong support among Labour members for the Palestinian cause, reports Terina Hine

• Why the Labour left must hold the line at conference

  

  As Labour Party Conference commences, Sean Ledwith argues it is essential the left defends the Corbyn project against further retreats, as recent NEC decisions show us

• Labour, antisemitism and the damage done

  

  The attacks on Corbyn and the left this summer have been damaging, and can only be dealt with through political struggle, argues Kevin Potter

• Is Israel a racist endeavour?

  

  Supporting Palestine is an anti-racist, anti-colonial struggle; Israel is and always has been a racist state, argues Shabbir Lakha

• Corbyn’s leadership in danger

  

  The defeat for the Palestinian cause at the hands of the Labour Party’s NEC should not be underestimated

• Labour's NEC votes on IHRA; members protest to defend Corbyn

  

  Protesters rallied outside Labour Party HQ to defend Jeremy Corbyn and oppose the IHRA definition, Shabbir Lakha reports

• The attacks on Corbyn can only end if they're confronted

  

  Apologies and appeasement won’t stop the witch-hunt against Corbyn

• We cannot compromise on the NEC code of conduct on antisemitism

  

  Nothing will appease those who are determined to defeat Corbyn and diminish support for the Palestinians, argues Alex Snowdon

• What Frank Field's resignation tells us about the Labour right's slow coup

  

  Destined for deselection, yet citing antisemitism, the nationalist Leaver's parting shot has been supported by Blairites whose only principle is to smash the left, writes Kevin Ovenden

• Toronto rally confronts Zionist slanders

  

  As the Toronto community stands firm against Zionist attacks, John Clarke reminds us that our solidarity with the Palestinian cause mustn't be apologised for 

• It's time to stand up and be counted - what defending Corbyn really means

  

  This is a defining moment for the Corbyn project, and attacks over antisemitism and Palestine must be firmly opposed or they will escalate to chilling effect, argues Chris Nineham

• When the lying has to stop – weekly briefing

  

  Calling out the smear merchants for what they are is step one in ending this appalling and unprecedented witch-hunt,  argues Lindsey German

• The fightback is on: hundreds rally behind Corbyn in London

  

  Hundreds of Londoners rallied against the attacks on Jeremy Corbyn and Palestine on Tuesday, Shabbir Lakha reports

• What's wrong with the IHRA definition? - video

  

  A short video explaining why adopting the full IHRA definition would be a mistake for Labour

• Back the NEC code: why compromising is the wrong thing to do

  

  Labour's NEC is under pressure to adopt the IHRA definition and some on the left are supporting this move. Alex Snowdon explains what's wrong with this logic

• Don’t look here, look there: the one percent, inequality and Jeremy Corbyn - weekly briefing

  

  The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer isn’t a fact of life; it’s a set of politics that we can change, argues Lindsey German 

• Defend Jeremy Corbyn: time to fight back - Counterfire statement

  

  Corbyn is right – the left needs to fight back against the slander of antisemitism

• Stand firm in attacks against Corbyn, or lose the fight

  

  Right wing attacks on Corbyn have intensified. If we lose ground now, we will pay heavily in the future, argues Alex Snowdon

• Hodge case shows why Labour Right needs to be confronted - and defeated

  

  The only appropriate response to Margaret Hodge and her co-conspirators is to take them on politically and defeat them argues Alex Snowdon

• Antisemitism: what the left should say – weekly briefing

  

  We should not apologise for things we haven’t done and we do not shut down a witch-hunt by agreeing with it, argues Lindsey German

• Antisemitism and apartheid

  

  As Israel enshrines apartheid into law and Jeremy Corbyn is labelled an antisemite, Shabbir Lakha assesses the situation 

• Why Labour must oppose Israel’s racist apartheid

  

  The Labour Party must not endorse Israeli violence, racism and apartheid policies as MPs have voted to do, argues Alex Snowdon

• Windrush and antisemitism: who’s weaponising what?

  

  The Tories are astonishingly trying to turn the windrush scandal into a knock for Labour and Shabbir Lakha argues that it must not stick

• Lies, damn lies, and Boris Johnson - weekly briefing

  

  This floundering ruling class operative personifies an exposed and rotten regime, writes Lindsey German
   

• From Jewdas to Skripal: media attacks on Corbyn are out of touch with reality

  

  The British media tells a partial story on racism and its claims against the Labour leader run contrary to the evidence, writes Lindsey German

• Bloody Friday in Gaza: a great return massacre

  

  An unarmed, civilian protest from a people who have been oppressed for decades, results in bloodshed and massacre.

• France also: a cynical attempt to divide anti-racism in the service of the government right

  

  Unite the left and anti-racist movements in a fight back against cynical right-wing disruption, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Jeremy Corbyn isn't antisemitic: we should stop being defensive about it

  

  The antisemitism smear campaign against Jeremy Corbyn is cynical political point scoring and the left must tackle the arguments head on argues Shabbir Lakha

• The problem of relativisation

  

  On the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Kevin Ovenden takes on the mistaken politics of relativisation and argues that Europe must take responsibility for its history.

• Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews 1933-1949 - book review

  

  David Cesarni’s posthumous Final Solution is an essential and magisterial history on Hitler’s war against Europe’s Jewish population, argues Chris Bambery.

• The Russian Revolution – smashing tsarist antisemitism

  

  The revolution that smashed the tsarist state liberated Jews from centuries of oppression, writes John Westmoreland

• Can we stop Trump tweeting his way to war? - weekly briefing

  

  Trump tweets his way to nuclear confrontation with North Korea and military action in Venezuela while fascists wreak carnage in Charlottesville

• Macron and Netanyahu: the shadow of Zionism

  

  Macron’s readiness to equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism and endow it with the full force of French state power shows his true colours, argues Susan Ram

• Resisting the erasure of the legacy of Georg Lukács

  

  Right-wing governments can destroy statues, but to destroy the memory and the intellectual legacy of Lukács is impossible - Anita Zsurzsan reports from The Legacy of Georg Lukács: An International Conference

• Hungary: huge protests in defence of academic freedom

  

  Prime minister Orban's attack on the Central European University has inspired strong opposition

• Ken Livingstone is not an antisemite

  

  The suspension and investigation of Ken Livingstone is a witch-hunt, argues Kara Bryan

• Livingstone and Labour: an attack on the left

  

  Anti-racists should oppose the hysteria around allegations of antisemitism against Livingstone

• The Trump factor: Israel, settlements and antisemitism

  

  Trump and Netanyahu usher in a new level of US-Israel cooperation, but as far right antisemitism grows the narrative cracks argues Shabbir Lakha

• Antisemitism in the UK: the facts and the weaponised fiction

  

  The endless conflation of a world religion with a modern political movement continues unabated, notes Cameron Panting

• Cable Street: organised racism and capitalist crisis

  

  We must keep the spirit of Cable Street alive by confronting organised racism and fighting the effects of the capitalist crisis, argues Feyzi Ismail

• Battle of Cable Street: the fight against fascism

  

  As the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street approaches, Chris Bambery looks at the events that took place in 1936 Britain and the lessons we can take from them

• Playing games in the face of barbarism - the rising fascism across Europe

  

  While Owen Smith and the Labour right play political football with antisemitism, Kevin Ovenden looks at the serious rise in fascism across Europe

• An assault on the whole movement

  

  The furore over alleged antisemitism in Labour is a smear on the party’s left and an attempt to delegitimise criticism of Israel, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• 'Left-wing antisemitism': anatomy of an accusation

  

  Leo Fischer argues the best response to accusations of antisemitism is to educate, organise and emphasise the continuing human rights abuses committed in Palestine

• NUS: against antisemitism and for freedom for Palestine

  

  Defending Malia Bouattia's record as an anti-racist campaigner, Shelly Asquith argues that the NUS has the right to criticse Israeli politics

• Israel bombs Gaza as anti-Semitism row rages

  

  Kara Bryan asks how the press ignore these latest attacks while the Bitterites use charges of anti-Semitism to damage Jeremy Corbyn

• Labour Party activist rails against anti-Semitism slur

  

  A personal statement from Graham Bash, editor of Labour Briefing, on antisemitism, Labour and Jeremy Corbyn

• No.10 website refuses to host petition calling for inquiry into Tory racism

  

  The No.10 website has refused to host a petition calling for an inquiry into Tory racism. We are organising our own, reports Feyzi Ismail

• The Jews, Israel and the Holocaust - key texts

  

  The Blairites' crocodile tears are about defending empire, writes David Moyles in this introduction to The Jews, Israel and the Holocaust 

• One simple argument about the existence of the state of Israel

  

   

  John Rees explains why a secular, democratic state across historic Palestine has nothing in common with anti-semitism

• Stop this cynical attack: Corbyn, anti-semitism and the right

  

  We repost the Jewish Socialists' Group's response to claims that Jeremy Corbyn is tolerating a growth of antisemitism in the Labour Party

• This is not about offence!

  

  Offensive jokes are a significant part of the infrastructure of prejudice argues Jeremy Messenger

• Debunking the 'clash of civilisations'

  

  We need to refute the idea that we're living through a 'Clash of Civilisations' between the West and Islam - it's dangerous bunkum argues Chris Bambery

• A history of struggle: race and class in the East End

  

  Kevin Ovenden looks at the history of race and class in London's East End and the current battle to beat back the Tory attack on Tower Hamlets

• Palestine solidarity: boycotting Israel and anti-Semitism

  

  Reuben Bard-Rosenberg: the Palestine solidarity movement must remain intolerant of anti-Semitism - but the claim that anti-Semitism is a dominant or generalised feature needs to be exposed as the falsehood that it is

• Protesting against Israel's attack on Gaza: anti-Semitism?

  

  Israeli MPs and European supporters of Israel claim that pro-Palestinian marches are rife with anti-Semitism. But is it true?