Sunday 27 August 2017

David Irving, a Labour voter and the mystery of Holocaust revisionism.

[NB: The materials herein are freely available in the public domain, and this is produced as an educational resource for antiracists and antifascists.]

WW2

Since the 1950s supporters of National Socialism (Nazism) have tried numerous methods of repudiating its crimes.

Initially their tactic was straight out denial, but that never really worked. Decent people remembered how the Nazis started World War II, conquered Europe, slaughtered civilians, imprisoned and murdered Jews and brought destruction to wherever they went.

Next, the apologists change tact.

Outright denial of the Nazis barbarism was untenable in much of the postwar period, instead, apologists like David Irving try the tactic of diminishing the Nazis crimes. Slowly downplaying the extent of them, downplaying the Nazi's culpability.

A Labour supporter 

Typically, such views were confined to the fringes of the Extreme Right, to neo-Nazis thugs and their allies.

But now on social media it is perfectly possible to find a Labour supporter or member who subscribes to such views and makes a conscious effort to deny antisemitism within the Labour Party.

Naturally, the two go hand-in-hand, those who wish to diminish the crimes of the Nazis and deny the Holocaust will habitually argue that antisemitism is overblown.

So it is with this occasional Labour supporter, Mr Monday Night!‏ AKA @Ibsy1786.

He has over 700 Twitter followers.

[The details of his wider prejudices and racism towards Jews are kept on the Wordpress blog.https://antinazisunited.wordpress.com/2017/08/27/mr-monday-night%e2%80%8f-aka-ibsy1786/ This is just a small summary of his vile opinions.]


<

David Irving tried that line of argument, Judgment of Mr Justice Charles Gray.






Thursday 24 August 2017

Left Wing Antisemitism Bingo: a guest post by Simon Myerson QC


Israel is a racist enterprise.
I’ve never seen antisemitism on the Left.
Zionism is contrary to Judaism.
Ian Millard has some interesting ideas.
Galloway was trying to save lives when he went to see Saddam.
Israeli settlements mean people are angry with Jews.
Polls saying most Jews identify with Israel are biased and wrong.
You are weaponising antisemitism.
There is a Zionist plot to victimise us (& oust Corbyn).
4,000 reports of antisemitism to Labour is proof there isn’t a problem!
Palestinians are Semites too, so!
They’re Zionists so they obviously aren’t loyal to this country.
Jeremy’s grandmother was at Cable Street, so!
That neo-Nazi on my timeline is a mistake. Every time.
I’m an ethnic Jew.
I don’t have a racist bone in my body.
Talking about leftist antisemitism comforts Nazis.
Jackie/Gilad/Wonderwoman is Jewish. How can they be antisemitic?
Everything is a trope these days. We don’t have to pay attention.
Some of my best friends …
George Galloway was right. Never debate with an Israeli. Or Zionist.

Wednesday 16 August 2017

Racism towards Jackie Walker

I noticed this vile piece of juvenile racism aimed at Jackie Walker.

Anyone connected to this account should ostracize them until they give a full, unconditional apology to Ms. Walker.

This type of nasty racism is a relic of the 1960s.

It is stupid, predictable and unimaginative. It is the product of racist thinking, it has no place in modern political discourse.


Updated: If anyone I know defends this filth, or even tries to, I will block them on Twitter without hesitation.

Saturday 12 August 2017

Ken Livingstone’s historical source and the Extreme Right

Ken Livingstone’s knowledge of historical facts, in part, comes from a non-historian, Lenni Brenner.
Most will comment on Brenner’s supposed Marxism, etc
Lenni Brenner’s work published by the Extreme Right
But as I recall, Brenner was published by Noontide in 1986.
Noontide Press was the publishing arm of the Holocaust deniers, IHR.
Please study the Amazon reference and the ISBNs.
Yes, a “Marxist” was published by a bunch of neo-Nazis and their allies.
It follows therefore the question that anyone, moderately intelligent, should ask is, why would neo-Nazis publish a Marxist, to what end?
Obviously, because the work in question besmirches the good name of Jews, who are neo-Nazis’ primary target.
So when someone quotes Ken Livingstone at you, mentions history or Brenner, ask them why neo-Nazis would publish such a book? To what political end?
Well, Ken? Any ideas?

Published by Noontide Press.
The SPLC on Willis Carto founder of Noontide:
“After Wallace’s bid failed, Carto decided to build a more explicitly neo-Nazi organization. He took control of Youth for Wallace and renamed it the National Youth Alliance. The ousted directors of the Wallace youth group grew concerned when they discovered that the movers and shakers behind Carto’s political apparatus were part of a subterranean neo-Nazi cult known as the Francis Parker Yockey Society.” [My emphasis.]

[First published on Medium on 30 March 2017.]

Update 1: A visual reminder of Noontide Press's material.


Labour, Racism and Clive Lewis


In politics there are many potential obstacles and if you happen to disagree with a leader with sizeable support that can annoy his/her supporters.
But under no circumstances should racism be used to score points in political disagreements.
Clive Lewis is the butt of racism from a Labour-supporting account on Facebook, having resigned from Labour’s Shadow Cabinet .
“Red Labour” has some 36,000 followers, yet bar one, none of them spotted the racist overtones of this particular post [my emphasis]:
“Clive Lewis. Wasn’t he the one who recently appeared in the Al Jazeera documentary on the infiltration of the Israel lobby in British politics. Wasn’t he the one that the Israeli ambassador victoriously claimed as a new surprising asset in their active struggle to undermine Jeremy Corbyn?
We may also remember that this Israeli agent boasted that their aim was to “bring down” UK politicians to get a grip on them.
Who’s pulling your strings, Clive?”

The not too subtle implication is that Clive Lewis is a puppet of Israelis.
Irrespective of the stupidity of this comment anyone moderately conversant with history knows that a longstanding antisemitic motif was how Jews are caricatured as “puppet masters” or said to be behind the scenes manipulating events.
It seems that this particular Red Labour account shares those prejudices.
It is utterly disgusting.
But recently parts of the British Left have taken up the ideas of the Extreme Right in this critical area. It is conspiratorial antisemitism. Randall Bytwerk and Calvin College’s archives have similar examples of antisemitic thinking from the WW2 era: 
“Published after the invasion of the Soviet Union, this cartoon from Der StΓΌrmer is tilted “The Criminal Trio.” A Jew is behind the three Allied leaders. The text states that they make it clear who their chief is today, and always was,
Source: Der StΓΌrmer , #28/1941"

[First published on Medium on 10 February 2017.]

When you hear about antisemitism, don’t downplay it

Imagine the American NAACP commenting on the rise of racism in America?
Would you feel inclined to disparage them? Or say the NAACP are just “talking up” racism?
You might, if you were a hard-line Trump supporter, equally if you were stupid, insensitive to racism or a just a plain neo-Nazi.
However, those idiots aside, most intelligent or politically sophisticated people do not downplay racism. They certainly do not denigrate the reporting of attacks on ethnic minorities.


This is one British political activist commenting on the rise of antisemitic attacks in Britain.
McIntyre is explaining racism away, as a Trump supporter might, which is incredibly foolish, unfeeling and inappropriate.
Please read the Community Security Trust’s post: Record number of antisemitic hate incidents in UK in 2016.
And remember when you diminish the importance of tackling racism you are playing into the hands of Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and other assorted bigots.
When you belittle the struggle against antisemitism some neo-Nazi somewhere is smiling and thanking you for your idiocy.
It is not smart, it is not nice, don’t do it.
[First published on Medium on 2 February 2017.]

Wednesday 9 August 2017

Profile of prejudice: Paul Smith AKA @Paulsmithdeco

[NB: The materials herein are freely available in the public domain, and this is produced as an educational resource for antiracists and antifascists.]

Defining racism

The desire to define racism and object to it has always vexed racists on social media, none more so than the recent working definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

The CST provides a nice background to definitions.

These discussions have brought out many individuals who claim to have nothing against Jews, but in reality are clearly strongly antisemitic in their ideas. This is just one miserable example.

My brief summary:

Paul Smith AKA @Paulsmithdeco doesn’t like immigrants, at all.
He says "Excuse me , I don't hate Jews , thank you."
He argues "Jewish lobby ...just want to demonise, smear attack etc" He supports Ken Livingstone.
He applauds Assad in Syria.
He says he previously supported Labour.
He says "Did the Holocaust Really Happen?"
He is a 9/11 truther.
He is supportive of assorted neo-Nazis.
He talks about #whitegenocide, a common Extreme Right notion.
He touches on regular neo-Nazi talking points, "Holodomor" "Communism was Jewish" etc 
He is keen on The Canary Says, etc
He doesn't like Muslims.
He wants anti-hate laws repealed.
He is a great believer in freedom of speech for neo-Nazis.
He says "A National socialist party could be the answer..."
He is rather popular on Twitter with over 1,800 followers.


In short, an antisemite with incoherent patter and a following on the British Left.

A small selection of quotes from Paul Smith AKA @Paulsmithdeco

"A combination of immigrants , children of immigrants , foreigners telling us what we can say, do, write and think in our own ancestral land." 
"Excuse me , I don't hate Jews , thank you." 
"You can't criticise , makes jokes or discuss their history, culture etc in a negative way without being labelled a racist or anti Semite ."

"Ken Livingstone suspended for telling the truth . These are the times we live in ." 
 "A National socialist party could be the answer, unite the left and right to fight the common enemy , the wealthy globalist clique."


A sample of his Twitter material

His view on immigrants


His view of Jews





On the "Lobby" and "Blairites"


Supporting Ken Livingstone
Assad
Labour


On the Holocaust

On 9/11
Neo-Nazism talking points

On The Canary Says, etc

He doesn't like Muslims.


On anti-hate laws

Freedom for neo-Nazis

Pro-Nazi

Tuesday 8 August 2017

Profile of an antisemite: Mr Bacteria Thief‏ AKA @MrBacteriaThief

[NB: The materials herein are freely available in the public domain, and this is produced as an educational resource for antiracists and antifascists.]

Over the years a cohort of hardcore British antisemites on Twitter has come together.

They help each other. They exchange titbits and common themes.

A few are neo-Nazis, but not all. They have taken various names over time, but invariably have the same speech patterns and entrenched racist thinking that is easy to spot.

However, we mustn't underestimate these exceedingly diligent racists. They do outreach. They tailor their messages to reach the British Left.

They present what purports to be the polished side of antisemitism on social media.

Depressingly, these dedicated antisemites seem to have some success as their material can be found in the timelines of non-racist activists.

This is a profile of one of them, Mr Bacteria Thief‏ AKA @MrBacteriaThief.

In a previous existence he was @Smeggypants.

My quick summary:

Mr Bacteria Thief‏ AKA @MrBacteriaThief blames the Holocaust on "Zionists".
He promotes the racism of David Duke, ex-Grand Wizard of Ku Klux Klan.
He admires David Irving, well known Holocaust denier.
He advocates for CODOH.org
He wants to ”debate” the Holocaust.
He loves Eustace Mullins.
He thinks nearly every revolution since 1780 was funded by “Zionists”
He has a weird obsession with the Bolsheviks.
He thinks Hitler was funded by, yes, you guessed, "Zionists".
He rants on about the Federal Reserve.
And a lot more profoundly irrational ideas.

In short, even for a demented antisemite he is really peculiar.


Quotes from Mr Bacteria Thief‏ AKA @MrBacteriaThief:

"The Zionist plan was a holocaust in order to pre-text the creation of Israel."

"Zionist orchestrated and funded Nazism and it's holocaust was to purge non-Zionist Jews and foment a political climate to create Israel "

"How Zionists Divide and Conquer [David Duke] -"

"People should read the works of David Irving to see the other side of the argument and encourage debate"

"Babylonian masonic Zionism controls western education. Nazi holocaust has political value"

A small sample of his Twitter material:











The Atlantic, the Left and the infection of conspiracy thinking, even close-by Labour MPs

[NB: The materials herein are freely available in the public domain, and this is produced as an educational resource for antiracists and antifascists.]
Over the pond
The Atlantic Magazine have a very interesting article on the American Left, how much of its media is sometimes caught up in clickbait or pushing borderline conspiracy theories. It’s quite informative.
In Britain everyone should be grateful that the Atlantic doesn’t study the timelines of assorted Lefties on Twitter, even the odd MP, like Chris Williamson.
Clearly, Williamson is no antisemite, but these people he promotes on Twitter feel comfortable with such views, a few ever have warmth for a sundry neo-Nazi.
Had the Atlantic examined Williamson’s Twitter timeline they would have seen:
1. Kerry-Anne Mendoza, Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief of the Canary (an online publication very popular on the Left, which promotes pro-Assad material and downplays antisemitism occasionally).
2. Scott Nelson AKA @SocialistVoice, kicked out of the Labour Party for racism (but seemingly very acceptable on parts of the British Left).
3. Steve Topple‏ AKA @MrTopple, a Canary “journalist” whose sole qualification appears to be a loose hang up with a certain ethnicity.
That is the mild end. More cranks appear, as if by magic.

4. ARTIST TAXI DRIVER AKA @chunkymark, one time friend of American Alex Jones (him of Infowars and a Donald Trump favourite).
5. Peter Oborne AKA @OborneTweets, unusual for an Oxbridge chap and a Daily Mail journalist, is rather popular the British Left, probably due to his famous ranting on about the “Israel lobby”.
6. philip lewis‏ AKA @philewis, a well-known Leftie. He hates Israelis with a gusto, fond of promoting Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis if the mood takes him, as it often does.
7. Dylan Strain‏ AKA @DylanStrain hates Tom Watson with a passion, says he “Gets paid by Jewish lobby.” Apparently had a Jewish girl-friend once.
8. Devutopia AKA @D_Raval thinks the issue of antisemitism is overblown in the Labour Party, when not sneering at the Jewish community’s concern for safety or retweeting material from the neo-Nazi site, Veterans Today.
9. Christina‏ AKA @55krissi55, a mild tankie, rather soft on Putin and Assad. Rather chatty to neo-Nazis and hardcore antisemites, reads and promotes the neo-Nazi site, Veterans Today. A David Icke fan, who feels he is being given a hard time. A 9/11 truther. Not too keen on certain types of Jews, sometimes.
10. #MurdochsDemocracy AKA @evertonfc2, a 9/11 truther. Intimate of neo-Nazis. Same again. Allegedly, some of his best relatives are…. Has a thing about “blood”.
Grim details
All the points made in these posts are evidence-based and details of tweets, supporting material, etc can be found at the Wordpress post: Chris Williamson, MP, take more care on Twitter.
All materials are freely available in the public domain.
Conspicuous
I had noticed these sorry bigoted individuals when I was keeping track of bigger fish, real nasty antisemites or proper 1488 neo-Nazis. They would sometimes engage in pleasant conversation with the dregs of the Extreme Right. It is not something you forget.
They stand out.
You would typically expect the odd neo-Nazi to have animated conversations with, other neo-Nazis. So when someone who is a “Leftie” or isn’t an obvious Hitler lover pops up you tend to remember.
And why’s that an issue?
Because when you have pleasant conversations with hardcore racists you are in effect saying they are worthy of dialogue and have an opinion worth listening to. That is a major error, as it normalises racism and in the majority of these cases genteel antisemitism.
If you were to interrogate any of these individuals they would say they have nothing against any ethnic minority. However, when they are habitually found in the company of grubby antisemites (Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis) or expressing views which almost come straight from the antisemitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion then you have to ask why?
Higher standard
If a Labour MP wouldn’t approvingly promote British National party supporters or avid UKIPpers then they should avoid conspiracy cranks, antisemites and their admirers. Antiracists should have higher standards and the sense not to normalise interactions with racists and their hanger-ons.
Just that?
Were it simply the fact that these people pleasantly conversed with conspicuous hardcore antisemites then that might be just one issue, but it’s not. Unsurprisingly, most of these individuals have indulged in some form of polite antisemitism or racial conspiracy theory at one time or other.
That is what the evidence shows.
What must an MP do?
For an intelligent Member of Parliament and a socialist to have promoted one of these cranks would have been bad enough, but ten plus?
Chris Williams is not an antisemite and as such should divorce himself from people who are or like antisemitic views. He and other members of the Labour Party must:
1. Follow a sensible social media policy and learn due diligence.
2. Shun antisemites and their allies.
3. Do some serious antiracist training on the history of antisemitism.
4. Speak out against genteel forms of antisemitism and conspiracy thinking.
[First published on Medium on 6 July 2017.]

Jean-Paul Sartre on the antisemite


By 刘东鳌(Liu Dong'ao) - Xinhua News Agency, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47073115
I rarely argue with antisemites.
I have found, from long experience, that it is a waste of time, energy and achieves little, but Jean-Paul Sartre expresses it well:
“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play.
They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”

In many ways, it is more applicable today on social media than it was in 1944.

[First published on Medium on 30 June 2017.]