Apology from the Morning Star

JVL Introduction

David Rosenberg on the lessons of a bad editorial misjudgment at the Morning Star.


How not to think about antisemitism!

21 June 2018
David Rosenberg writes


Today’s Morning Star has done something that a lot of people on the left can reflect and learn from for the benefit of our movement. On Monday it published an article by someone called John Elder that ran a very bad and dangerous argument on antisemitism, Israel/Palestine and the Jewish community – which had the title: “Rising antisemitism cannot be tackled without addressing Israel’s crimes”. You shouldn’t even have to substitute Islamophobia and a proudly self-proclaimed Islamic state such as Saudi Arabia to see the problem.

When the reactionary nature of the article and it’s concessions to an antisemitic mindset were pointed out to them by people they trusted and respected, they had the humility and maturity to hold their hands up and run an apology on the front page of the Morning Star today and remove the article form their website. Yesterday the Star published a counter article to Elder’s, with many excellent points by two longstanding Jewish Communist Party members and Morning Star supporters – Phil Katz and Mary Davis, “Jews and all citizens should be encouraged to challenge actual and existing anti-semitism“. (A Jewish Chronicle report on the matter confused Phil Katz with Mike Katz of the Jewish Labour Movement – par for the course on the Chronicle’s accuracy)

I also sent a letter to the paper which hasn’t been published yet – I hope it still will be – but the editor has acknowledged the contents of that letter, and I am guessing that also fed into the decision to run an up-front, no excuses, apology.

The problems with the original article do reflect some of the wrong-headed approaches that a number of other people on the left share or tolerate, but often when they are criticised they get defensive. I much prefer the Morning Star’s exemplary, honest approach to dealing with this.

Here is the letter I wrote:

Dear Letters Editor

If we heard someone arguing that Islamophobia here is not only inevitable but also justified because of the actions of a particular State that self-defines as an Islamic State, we would instantly recognise this as racism and condemn it. But John Elder has articulated the same wrong-headed arguments about antisemitism in his recent article.

Antisemitism, like all racism, is always wrong, in all circumstances. Socialists and communists must always reject it and actively oppose it regardless of what the Israeli government decides or how the Israeli government acts. And regardless of what self-proclaimed diaspora Jewish “leaders” say about Israel.

Every reliable survey in recent years shows that more and more Jews around the world are becoming less supportive of Israel and Zionism. In Israel there are many oppositional groups facing severe repression by the Israeli state. We need to support them and we need to support Jews who are speaking out here against their “leaders” and against Netanyahu’s government, not lump them in with that reactionary government.

There is no contradiction between supporting the struggle for Palestinian rights and statehood and supporting Jews who face antisemitism. This is especially important when we see antisemitism resurfacing in far right movements in the US, central and eastern Europe, and on the far right fringes here in Britain.

David Rosenberg

And here is the Morning Star apology

Apology: The Morning Star should not have published “Rising anti-semitism cannot be tackled without addressing Israel’s crimes”

The Morning Star published an article in Monday’s paper by John Elder entitled Rising anti-semitism cannot be tackled without addressing Israel’s crimes.

This article has been removed from the website as it crossed a line in attributing anti-semitism to the policies of the Israeli government and made demands on the “Jewish diaspora” and “Jewish community” as if these were responsible for Israeli policy or obliged to account for it.

The Morning Star deeply regrets publication of the article, which was submitted by an external contributor and which we failed to vet with the care necessary on a subject of such importance.

Our newspaper has a proud history of opposition to anti-semitism and strong historic links to the Jewish community forged during the fight against fascism in the 1930s and ’40s.

We apologise for having fallen short of that legacy with the publication of Monday’s article and have reinforced editorial procedures and oversight to ensure this error is not repeated.

Comments (13)

  • Jim Denham says:

    Fair comment from David Rosenberg, and all crdit to the M Star for acknowledging its mistake and apologising. BUT how did the offending article get past the M Star’s editorial team in the first place? It was (I’d submit) because, on the face of it, the article was fairly typical of many left-wing critiques of Zionism and/or Israel. I’ve certainly read many other articles and (in particular) letters in the M Star saying much the same sort of thing. The fact that the article got to be published in the leading labour movement publication in Britain, should serve as a warning and a lesson to those who contend that anti-Semitism is not a serious problem on the left and/or within the labour movement.

    0
    0
  • Deborah Maccoby says:

    I managed to find this article on google cache here:

    https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:NUoH3Qee9mkJ:https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/rising-anti-semitism-cannot-be-tackled-without-addressing-israel%25E2%2580%2599s-crimes+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

    and I really can’t see what is wrong with it. In my view the Morning Star should not have pulled it or apologised for it. The author simply points out that support for Israeli atrocities by Jewish communal leaders will inevitably reflect on the mainstream Jewish community that these leaders broadly represent and so lead to a rise in anti-Semitism. It nowhere seems to me that John Elder seeks to justify this rise; nor does he claim that all Jews are responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. In the same way, atrocities carried out in the name of Islam will inevitably reflect upon Muslims and lead to a rise in anti-Muslim feeling. That doesn’t mean that anti-Muslim feeling is justified or that Muslims are responsible for the actions of the Saudi govermnet or Islamic State. However, Muslim communal leaders in the UK are swift to condemn atrocities carried ouin the name of Islam, unlike Jewish communal leaders who actually support atrocities carried out in the name of Jews.

    Mary Davis and Phil Katz write: “As if antisemitism didn’t exist before Israel was formed”; but John Elder never denies that anti-Semitism existed before the creation of Israel. He writes throughout his piece about the rise of anti-Semitism, not anti-Semitism itself. And surely he is right to say that addressing the root cause – Israeli government policies – would lead to a major reduction in anti-Semitism.

    0
    0
  • Jaye says:

    This is like a debate about the statement “when did you stop beating your wife” and whether the word “wife” or “you” is anti-male..

    Better to debate the statement: “Jews everywhere should feel pride in the numerous incredible achievements of Israel, notwithstanding Israel’s shortcomings”. Is that antisemitic because of nachas by association? JVL is so one-eyed despite its mission statement.

    0
    0
    • Richard Kuper says:

      Jaye. Why do you say: “JVL is so one-eyed despite its mission statement.” Some one individual expressed an opinion on our website. It is not a JVL statement. Or are you suggesting JVL should not have published that comment? Or that by publishing it we endorse the view expressed?

      0
      0
  • Jim Denham says:

    “… and I really can’t see what is wrong with it”: oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. But I, sadly, suspect Deborah Maccoby speaks for many who follow and/or support JVL and consider themselves on the left.

    0
    0
  • Jaye says:

    Richard, because I have not seen one word of praise here, in any article, for any action by Israel, neither by its government nor any Israeli government in the past 70 years, nor by its institutions or its people. What, nothing to praise, ever? And I have seen not a word of criticism or condemnation for any action by others against Israel or its people. What nothing to criticise, no “crimes” by Iran or Islamic Jihad or Hamas, only Israel commits “crimes”? How about for starters Hamas keeping mentally ill Israeli civilians who enter Gaza and never giving a word about their existence. Not a crime? Burning up fields, polluting the atmosphere with burning tyres. Not a crime? Terrorism, thousands murdered in suicide and other attacks. Not a crime? No open trials but public executions of “collaborators” followed by body-dragging. Not a crime? And yet you are an organisation of Jews and declare that you stand for justice for Jews everywhere. So how does that work on behalf of 6.5m Israeli Jews who are just like you and me but were born and/or live in Israel? I hope you find my comment worthy of publishing to explain why I call JVL one-eyed since you asked. Thank you for publishing other critical comments I have made.

    0
    0
  • Deborah Maccoby says:

    Dear Jim,

    “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear” is not an argument.

    The article was simply pointing to the irony that the Jewish communal leaders were demonstrating against anti-Semitism in the Labour Party – where the problem is actually tiny, a very small fraction of the membership – while they themselves were playing a major part in fuelling any rise in anti-Semitism as a result of their support of atrocities committed by Israel, which calls itself the Jewish State. In addition, the hysteria against anti-Semitism in the Labour Party provided a convenient distraction from the situation in Gaza, which didn’t feature much in the news at that time compared to the anti-Semitism row.

    To say that atrocities will reflect upon a community and lead to a rise in prejudice against that community is not the same as to endorse this prejudice. It is surely possible to point out that something is inevitable without justifying it. It seems to me that this is what the article is doing.

    My only criticism is that article doesn’t discriminate between the three organisations organising the demos – the BoD, JLC and CAA. The JLC and CAA are not representative of the Jewish community – both are unelected and self-appointed. The BoD does have a genuine claim to representativeness, but this is a highly problematic claim. But the point is these communal leaders are perceived to be representative of the Jewish community, so their support of Israeli atrocities inevitably reflects upon that community.

    0
    0
  • Jaye says:

    Deborah, are you able to say the word Israel or Jewish State without attaching words like atrocities or crimes to it? I realise that your comments aren’t official JVL speak but you certainly demonstrate the point I made above about a “when did you stop beating your wife” approach to Israel prevalent amongst many who dwell here.

    And you’re still mounting a case that says support of Israel causes anti-semitism. It doesn’t but it merely provides another excuse, as if the anti-semites needed one. So what about Jews’ and communal leaders’ undoubted pride in Israel’s numerous achievements .. is that kosher? Does it cause anti-semitism?

    0
    0
  • Deborah Maccoby says:

    Dear Jaye,
    If you want me to stop associating Israel with atrocities, then ask the Israeli government and army to stop committing atrocities. Tell them to stop shooting civilians demonstrating in an overwhelmingly non-violent protest against unliveable conditions and for their legitimate rights. Tell them to lift the illegal siege of Gaza, end the illegal Occupation and negotiate in good faith with a Palestinian unity government a viable two-state agreement that includes just and practical solutions to the issues of Jerusalem and the Palestinian right of return.

    This would not only achieve at least some justice for Palestinians but safeguard Israel’s many positive achievements, the existence of which I do not deny, but which are being placed in jeopardy by the insane policies of the Israeli government – policies that are self-destructive as well as destructive.

    And the attainment of a just and equal solution – or at least a workable solution with some genuine elements of justice and equality — would also bring about a major reduction in anti-Semitism. I have never said, as you claim, that “support of Israel causes antisemitism”. What I have said is that the Jewish communal leaders’ support for Israeli atrocities –and their claim that they represent the whole Jewish community in doing so — is a major cause of any rise in anti-Semitism. In fact these Jewish communal leaders don’t support Israel. To condone and encourage Israel’s destructive and self-destructive policies is not support at all but the opposite.

    0
    0
  • Jaye says:

    Deborah, you may want to give the word atrocities a rest and use it when it’s proven and not just a meaningless propaganda wolf-cry from the usual suspects. I wonder if there is any incident involving IDF in the last say 10 years which is legitimate defence in your opinion, where you condemn the attackers of Israeli Jews for their crimes/atrocities?

    I certainly hope and believe that breaches of opening fire orders are being investigated and that the investigation will be no worse and probably far better than in most countries. Antisemitism has no identifiable cause or rationale; it’s just a disease, usually incurable, that’s looking for excuses for its existence and you’re trying to create one by blanket libelling of Israeli soldiers.

    We all hope for peace but it takes two to tango and for example Barak and Olmert’s generous offers were knocked back or unanswered. Most Jews, particularly those living in Israel, are not prepared to risk the existence of Israel as a Jewish State even though you might be.

    0
    0
  • Deborah Maccoby says:

    Dear Jaye,
    For the two so-called “generous offers” of Barak and Olmert, see this article by Jamie Stern-Weiner (for discussion of the Barak offer see his link to the Tikkun article within the piece):
    http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/article_comments/a_tale_of_two_peace_offers

    In the past ten years, Israel has launched Operation Cast Lead (2008-9) and Operation Protective Edge (2014) (not to mention the less lethal but still murderous Operation Pillar of Defence in 2012). Both involved massacres of civilians. I suggest you read Norman Finkelstein’s new book on Gaza, which I reviewed on Amazon.com:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RL120UHRLT8BT/ref=cm_cr_othr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0520295714

    In terms of the current shooting at unarmed demonstrators, it’s not a question of “breach of orders to fire” – the soldiers at the Gaza fence perimeter were under illegal official orders to fire on civilians. See this report by B’Tselem entitled: “If the heart be not callous”:
    https://www.btselem.org/sites/default/files/publications/201804_if_the_heart_be_not_callous_eng.pdf

    I hope your heart is not yet too callous to care…..

    0
    0
  • Jaye says:

    Sweeping generalisations seem to be your thing Deborah; never any context or nuance or what led up to the launch of an operation; all war casualties and neutralising of terrorists are murder?!

    How about looking for a respectable first-hand source rather than one of the usual haters. This report may enlighten you since he was there, you and I (and Finkelstein) weren’t.
    http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/i-was-at-the-gaza-border-we-did-all-we-could-to-avoid-killing/

    0
    0
  • Deborah Maccoby says:

    Dear Jaye,

    I have now read the article by the brainwashed Israeli soldier. How can he call it a war when the two sides are so utterly unequal? How can he compare the overwhelmingly unarmed and non-violent demonstrators of Gaza, desperately protesting against unliveable conditions with the powerful Egyptian army pursuing the Israelites in the Exodus story? In fact, the analogy is the opposite – the people of Gaza are the Israelites – they are trying like them to escape from unbearable oppression.

    This piece shows that a person can be there and yet just see what he wants to see and has been brainwashed into seeing.

    I am still hoping a little that your heart may not be entirely callous and hardened, so recommend you to read this post in the British Medical Journal website from the head of reconstructive surgery in Gaza. He too is there:

    https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6644/rr-0

    0
    0

Comments are now closed.