Palestinian rights missing from UK antisemitism debate

Jewish people with any sense of humanity need to start speaking out publicly against the ruthless murdering being carried out by Israel.

This is being investigated as potentially racist under another part of the IHRA definition, because it appears to "hold Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel."

Twitter is hardly known for nuance. Peer more closely into the issues behind Hatton's sloganeering, however, and it becomes clear that the boot is on the other foot. A report on "Pillar of Defence" by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights found that the Israeli army had "failed in many instances to respect international law" and did not "consistently uphold the basic principles of conduct of hostilities." Despite the steady flow of similar reports, documenting abuses in military "operations" over many years, representative Jewish organisations habitually justify Israel's actions, as though all Jews agree with them. Many do make it clear that this is not the case: hence, for instance, the petition last year against the British Board of Jewish Deputies, over its see-no-evil defence of Israeli snipers at the Gaza fence. It is not unreasonable to call upon more to follow suit.

There is a problem with antisemitism in British society, and that is not to be taken lightly. The Labour Party doubtless has its own share of that problem. At the same time, it offers to put Palestinian rights further up the political agenda than they have been for some time. That has evidently been identified as a threat, and targeted for infiltration and subversion involving the Israeli embassy in London. The activity captured by Al Jazeera's hidden camera is much more likely to have been a part than the whole. In the background are internationally coordinated attempts at "definition creep", which risk ruling out essential arguments in favour of Palestinian rights as "anti-Semitic". That must not be allowed to become a casualty of the establishment onslaught on Corbyn's Labour.