Grauniad removes letter from Jewish supporters of Chris Williamson (Jul. 9, 2019)

Guardian removes letter from Chomsky Finkelstein and others defending Chris Williamson Posted by Ken Waldron on July 9, 2019, 4:26 pm HT: Afshin Rattansi The anti-@jeremycorbyn @guardian just removed a letter from Noam Chomsky and others defending @DerbyChrisW after complaints from the @BoardofDeputies "This letter was taken down on 9 July 2019 pending investigation." http://www.theguardian.com/info/2019/jul/09/removed-article Original letter: Jewish support for Chris Williamson Prominent members of the Jewish community, in the UK and abroad, write to defend the Labour MP Chris Williamson amid allegations of antisemitism We the undersigned, all Jews, are writing in support of Chris Williamson and to register our dismay at the recent letter organised by Tom Watson, and signed by parliamentary Labour party and House of Lords members, calling for his suspension (Anger over return of MP who said Labour was ‘too apologetic’ over antisemitism, 28 June). Chris Williamson did not say that the party had been “too apologetic about antisemitism”, as has been widely misreported. He correctly stated that the Labour party has done more than any other party to combat the scourge of antisemitism and that, therefore, its stance should be less apologetic. Such attacks on Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters aim to undermine not only the Labour party’s leadership but also all pro-Palestinian members. The mass media have ignored the huge support for Chris both within and beyond the Labour party. Support that includes many Jews. The party needs people like him, with the energy and determination to fight for social justice. As anti-racist Jews, we regard Chris as our ally: he stands as we do with the oppressed rather than the oppressor. It should also be noted that he has a longer record of campaigning against racism and fascism than most of his detractors. The Chakrabarti report recommended that the party’s disciplinary procedures respect due process, favour education over expulsion and promote a culture of free speech, yet this has been abandoned in practice. We ask the Labour party to reinstate Chris Williamson and cease persecuting such members on false allegations of antisemitism. Noam Chomsky MIT, Norman Finkelstein Lecturer and writer, Ed Asner Actor, Prof Richard Falk Princeton University, Leah Lavene and Jenny Manson Jewish Voice for Labour and more than 100 others. F ull list at tinyurl.com/y4mr4lwb Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20190708221559/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jul/08/jewish-support-for-chris-williamson

Jewish News: Guardian investigates and pulls letter from Jewish activists backing Williamson Posted by Sinister Burt on July 9, 2019, 4:35 pm, in reply to "Guardian removes letter from Chomsky Finkelstein and others defending Chris Williamson " https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/guardian-investigates-and-pulls-letter-from-jewish-activists-backing-williamson/ "The Guardian has launched an investigation and withdrawn a letter, reportedly from “prominent” members of the Jewish community, supporting Chris Williamson. Expelled Labour members Tony Greenstein and Jackie Walker were among more than 100 signatories of the letter, published on Monday. Its publication sparked anger within the Jewish community, with the Board of Deputies criticising the Guardian’s description of the signatories as “prominent members of the Jewish community, in the UK and abroad,” describing that characterisation as “inaccurate and misleading”. In a letter of complaint published on Tuesday morning, the Board said several signatories had been expelled from Labour during the antisemitism crisis to have hit the party in the past four years. The Board said one signatory had “called for Zionists to be exterminated” while another claimed to represent the Jewish Labour Movement despite the JLM being categorical in its opposition to Williamson’s readmission. “The Guardian has a duty to conduct due diligence on the signatories of letters it publishes, especially on one relating to such a serious issue as racism,” the Board said. “In this case, the inclusion of racist signatories ought to have stopped the publication of the letter. Should it choose to publish such a letter, the Guardian has a duty to describe it accurately. To describe the signatories of this letter as ‘prominent members of the Jewish community’ is inaccurate and misleading.” A Guardian News & Media spokesperson told Jewish News in wake of complaints: “We have taken down the letter pending investigation.” The letter, which urges the Labour Party to reinstate Williamson, was signed by several well-known signatories, including Professor Richard Falk, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Human Rights, and US academics Noam Chomsky and Norman Finklestein. One signatory claimed to sign on behalf of Hope Not Hate (HNH), which the anti-racism group took issue with. Taking to Twitter, they said “We have no knowledge of the person listed in this letter, we don’t know on what grounds they think they’re entitled to use our name but they are not”. They contacted the Guardian requesting it be removed. Williamson was suspended after being filmed commenting on the Labour Party’s approach to the antisemitism row to have engulfed it. His case was heard by a three-person panel of Labour’s National Executive Committee, which decided not to refer it to the Party’s National Constitutional Committee, which has expulsion powers. The ensuing furore over that decision led to more than 120 Labour parliamentarians penning an open letter criticising the outcome, and two days after Williamson’s suspension was rescinded it was reinstated."

Utterly supine cringing w#ankers - and the irony... Posted by Si on July 9, 2019, 4:35 pm, in reply to "Guardian removes letter from Chomsky Finkelstein and others defending Chris Williamson " ...of their standard begging text just below the notice linked by Ken: Our editorial independence means we set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. Guardian journalism is free from commercial and political bias and not influenced by billionaire owners or shareholders. This means we can give a voice to those less heard, explore where others turn away, and rigorously challenge those in power ...yeah right!!

Board of Deputies letter Posted by George Brennan on July 9, 2019, 5:13 pm, in reply to "Utterly supine cringing w#ankers - and the irony... " The Deputies have spent 23 hours, with awesome diligence, scouring the 100 lesser known signatures for Fake Jews and proofs of guilt by association. The Guardian headline, not the substance of the letter, is found "misleading and inaccurate" . The Board of Deputies notes, to put the old tin lid on everything , that the letter has been shared with a "fringe group" Jewish Voices for Labour. They seem to have got lucky with one genuine antiSemite called Michael Morgan. https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/board-of-deputies-complains-to-guardian-about-letter-from-prominent-jews-supporting-chris-williams-1.486260 gb

Re: Guardian removes letter from Chomsky Finkelstein and others defending Chris Williamson Posted by Ken Waldron on July 9, 2019, 5:05 pm, in reply to "Guardian removes letter from Chomsky Finkelstein and others defending Chris Williamson " BBD claim its because of the signatories: We have complained to the @guardian over a letter defending Chris Williamson, which included: Racist signatories A misrepresentation of @hopenothate The paper's description of the signatories as "Prominent members of the Jewish community" https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/chris-williamson-guardian-letter_uk_5d249fefe4b07e698c412ab5 Huffington post claim: "...Three of the signatories, Jackie Walker, Sally Eason and Tony Greenstein, have all previously been suspended or expelled from the Labour Party for anti-Semitism" Of course this is bulshit. I dont know who Sally Eason is but Jackie Walker (Jewish) as not suspended for anti-Semitism but for the "means whatever we want it to mean..." coverall of:"prejudicial and grossly detrimental behaviour against the party" whist Tony Greenstein (Jewish) likewise for supposedly " abusive online behaviour".

Re: Guardian removes letter from Chomsky Finkelstein and others defending Chris Williamson Posted by dovetailjoint on July 9, 2019, 5:25 pm, in reply to "Re: Guardian removes letter from Chomsky Finkelstein and others defending Chris Williamson " There's something extraordinarily ironic and tragic about Jewish people, of all people, apparently so obsessed with defining what makes a 'real Jew' and not a 'fake' one and whether one can be a Jew and antisemitic at the same time! Seemingly the definition of being an anti-semitic Jew is that one is not a Zionist. This opens up a philosophical and relious can of worms. Weighing Jews on a scale like this to determine how really 'Jewish' they are, or are not, is bizarre. This entire process reminds one of the worst obsessions of the Nazis when they attempted to create rules for who or who wasn't Jewish. It's like looking at a perverse image or reflection in a crazy, distorted, historical mirror.