Moshe Machover suspended – he has issued a public response
JVL Introduction
Readers will recall that Moshe Machover was briefly expelled from the Labour Party in autumn 2017 under the old, discredited Iain McNicol regime.
He has just been suspended under rules and procedures which are as patently unjust today as they were then.
Machover has decided to ignore the confidentiality rules which are used to gag those accused and to put all information relevant to his suspension into the public domain.
You will find it below.
[This introduction has been corrected: when published earlier today, it claimed that Machover had been suspended again. As he points out, first time round was a straight expulsion, not a suspension…]
Dear Friend,
Attached herewith you will find a letter in PDF format, “Notice of adminostrative suspension from membership of the Labour Party”. Also attached is a Covering letter from the LP Governance and Legal Unit. The authors of both documents hide in the hood of anonymity.
The covering letter says, “The Labour Party’s investigation process operates confidentially. That is vital to ensure fairness to you and the complainant, and to protect the rights of all concerned under the Data Protection Act 2018. We must therefore ask you to ensure that you keep all information and correspondence relating to this investigation private, and that you do not share it with third parties or the media (including social media).”
I disobey the anonymous inquisitors’ instruction, because I believe that these matters are best discussed in public, in the open, not in the secrecy that they desire. I publish, and let them be damned. I am not going to dignify their letter with a direct response, but allow readers of this open letter to make their own judgment.
I will only make here some brief remarks relating to the said attached documents.
1. The documents do not disclose any details of the complainant(s), and I waive my own right to anonymity. However, I have lightly redacted the Notice of Suspension in order to protect the privacy of a couple of individuals’ names and their identifying details. Most names that appear in this document are mentioned within texts that are in the public domain, and hence are already publicly known. However, there are two individuals named on p. 3 of this document that are not mentioned within such a text. They are individuals with whom the inquisitors apparently wish to insinuate that I am associated, and guilty by virtue of this association. One of them, whose name is redacted as xxxx, is known to me as a political adversary, against whose views I have publicly polemicised. The other, whose name is redacted as yyyy, is totally unknown to me; I had never heard of him before reading this document. I disclaim any association with either of them.
2. The long list of 48 inquisitorial questions and insinuations that take up pp. 3–7 of the Notice of Suspension do not contain any specific explicit direct accusation. They are phrased so as to prompt me to incriminate myself, or try to defend myself against what I appear to be implicitly accused of. I refuse to play this game. I literally have no case to answer.
3. This list is followed by ten items of so-called “evidence”. The first two items are intended to suggest an association with xxxx and yyyy. This suggestion is false. The remaining eight items are texts that I have published or co-signed, or quotations form what I said in public. I stand by these utterances. In fact I urge you to read them carefully and make up your mind whether any of them are false or otherwise illegitimate. You may disagree with some of the views I have expressed, but I claim that in pronouncing them I have made legitimate use of my freedom of speech, which includes the right to express controversial views.
* * *
I Joined the Labour Party in 2016, when it opened its doors to socialists – who are, by definition, anti-imperialists. I regret I am now among the numerous victims of a purge driven by right-wing heresy hunters, bureaucratic enemies of free speech . But at least I can use this occasion to promote the views I have been advocating for many years; in particular, socialist opposition to the Zionist project of colonisation and the Jewish-supremacist regime of the Israeli settler state. For a start, I urge you to read my three articles referred to in Item 7 of the Notice of Suspension. Two of them are available online:
* ‘Messianic Zionism: The ass and the red heifer’ (Monthly Review, February 2020).
* ‘Weaponising “anti-Semitism”’ (Weekly Worker 23 April 2020).
The third article, ‘An immoral dilemma: The trap of Zionist propaganda’ (Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. XLVII, No. 4, Summer 2018 ) can be downlaoded from the link here.
If you wish to pursue these ideas further, you can find many of my articles archived in
The Israeli Occupation Archive and the archive of the Weekly Worker.
I dare to hope that as a growing number of people are exposed to views challenging the lies of the mainstream media and Israeli hasbarah, resistance to oppression and support for the oppressed will gain force.
In solidarity,
Moshé Machover
This just shows that the Labour Party is hostile to socialist Jews. All this waffle about culture change and a welcoming environment is a total con.
I don’t believe the LP officer who sent this letter actually drew up the majority of the questions. It seems that all they’ve done is copy & paste a list of questions sent in by the complainant. Most of which don’t relate to the so called evidence cited. It is a shabby partisan document which anyone in the party with a shred of decency would have thrown out.
This is getting out of hand in fact its becoming a real witch hunt worst I’ve seen it
Well done . Transparity is necessary .
Can we all watch the film The Witch Hunt and put it out out there on social media. People need to see it and understand what’s going on.
We are in another McCarthy-like era but unlike McCarthyism which ultimately self destructed this even more insisidious and cynical witch hunt is gaining traction. We need to support the legal challenge to these unjust illegal suspensions and expulsions. And be mindful of the powerful forces fomenting this chaos.
What with Terry (in his comment above) mentioning The Witch-hunt, I thought I’d just quickly check it out on youtube to see how many views it has to date, and was somewhat surprised to find that it doesn’t appear to be ON there. Anyway, I knew for a fact that The Lobby was on YT (in four parts of course), so I thought I’d just quicly check how many views each of the four parts has had, and I mention it for the following reason: Part 1 has 895k views (at the time of typing), Part 2 has 311k views, Part 3 has 276k views, and Part 4 has 643k views (was Pt 4 the one with Joan Ryan in when she falsely accused a party member at a LP conference of A/S?). It is of course also available to watch on Aljazeera’s website (and quite possibly elsewhere), but even if TWO MILLION people in the uk have watched it, that’s still only about 4% of the adult population.
Anyway, I wonder why they haven’t put The Witch-hunt on YT??
Terry – don’t forget that watching Witch Hunt is another of the things that members of the party are not allowed to do, along with talking about Jeremy Corbyn or Keir Starmer or David Evans or using the word “solidarity” or, so it seems, being a socialist or advocating for a democratic party. It almost makes you warm to Kinnock. At least he had the decency to fall in the sea.
McCarthyism also seemed invincible; until eventually it wasnt. We must continue to resist. McCarthyism’s targets by the way were mostly Jews.
Bravo Moshé!
Did the JLM ever responded to those very pertinent questions????
Nowhere in this strange document does it say say on what grounds Moshe is supposed to have breached the party rules which it cites. I suspect that if a similar document were to get anywhere near a judge its failings would be be heavily criticised. This is no way whatsoever to run a disciplinary process. Is the Labour Party not aware that only last month it was strongly criticised for for failing to deal fairly with people who work complained about ? And reading the questions I wonder whether the person who drafted this is even aware that they are accusing someone who is Jewish of anti-semitism. Utterly appalling.
I started naming the game that is being played when I watched Jenny Manson being bullied by Kirsty Wark on Newsnight then experienced a pale imitation of it on Nova Media. I now see two perfect examples of it in the suspensions of Moshe Machover and Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. It is called whack-a-Jew. It is game played by some non-Jews as well as some Jews feeling they have license in the present febrile climate to attempt to degrade and abuse a Jew. When there is so much racism in this country and around the world, so much discrimination, why are they picking on left wing anti-racist Jews?
This is what Starmer’s Campaign Against ‘Antisemitism’ has come to. It is targetting anti-racist and anti-Zionist Jews. I understand that JVL’s Naomi Wimborne-Iddrissi has also now been suspended. Neither of these two will be the last Jews to be targeted for suspension and then expulsion. I imagine that JVL’s Committee is pretty near the top of the list.
In the same week that an Israeli court has upheld the refusal of the Jewish city of Carmiel to fund the travel of Arab school children to schools that speak Arabic, there are none within the city, because that might encourage other Arabs to come to what is a Jewish city, both Starmer and Rayner attended a JLM and Labour Friends of Israel Conference. A conference held on the same day as that of International Solidarity with the Palestinians.
We should be clear that the racists have taken over the Labour Party and that they are attacking anti-racists in the name of the fight against ‘antisemitism’. This is no different from the USA where Trump’s Secretary of State Pompei, a Christian Evangelist, equates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
This is actually not that innovative. When I was younger the National Front accused us of being ‘anti-White’ racists. Its just that the JLM and Starmer have honed this to perfection.
I am so saddened by what is happening and I seek to deepen my understanding of they matters under dispute I send my solidarity to you and wish for trustful discussion to endure
Superb letter. Solidarity with Moshe Machover and with Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi !
This is getting stupid
Is a letter that is not signed by an identifiable individual even a valid communication, or should it just be ignored?
Firstly, sending Solidarity to Naomi and Moshe.
Secondly, people are comparing this to Mccarthyism, I however would use the Spanish inquisition analogy, where religious zealots attacked anyone who dare question their doctrines.
This is so chilling, I am familiar with these letters and the manner in which they encourage you to incriminate yourself. The content leaves one feeling that some complete arse has tried to get you expelled. It feels like they have been working on this for some time and I am becoming increasingly despairing of this vile purging of decent, intelligent and brave members who dare to speak out. Proportionally more Jewish members on the left because they are the real danger, people may feel they have to listen to their voices.
Worse, this is counterproductive in terms of protecting Jewish communities from abuse.
Solidarity and love with Moshe and Naomi. We must keep fighting this.
Brave man
This witchhunt is becoming quite frightening – where will it stop? With the entire membership of JVL suspended and then expelled from Starmer’s Labour Party?
But it needs more than expressions of solidarity to those who are being accused. Labour Party members, Jewish and non-Jewish, are being defamed by the party they belong to and surely it’s time for legal action to be taken against all those officers of the party who are responsible. I have no legal expertise at all, but I can’t believe that a charge of defamation wouldn’t be possible. It would be costly, of course, but the huge sum of money raised by crowdfunding for Jeremy Corbyn’s defence against John Ware’s libel threat shows that people are willing to contribute to the cost of defending Labour members being accused of antisemitism.
What a disgusting way to run a political party that prides itself on being on the side of social justice. I left the party after RLB’s defenestration and now feel disinclined to vote for it while these vipers Starmer and Evans are in charge. So please, how do we organise a legal challenge to them?
Consider once again Václav Havel’s “The Power of the Powerless”. He asks why the manager of a fruit-and-vegetable shop places in the window a poster from the Party with a slogan: “Workers of the world, unite!” Why does he do it? What is he trying to communicate to the world? Is he genuinely enthusiastic about the idea of unity among the workers of the world? Is his enthusiasm so great that he feels an irrepressible impulse to acquaint the public with his ideals? …”
[That poster is in the window] “simply because it has been done that way for years, because everyone does it, and because that is the way it has to be. If he were to refuse, there could be trouble. He could be reproached for not having the proper decoration in his window; someone might even accuse him of disloyalty. He does it because these things must be done if one is to get along in life. It is one of the thousands of details that guarantee him a relatively tranquil life “in harmony with society,” as they say.
The slogan is really a sign, and as such it contains a subliminal but very definite message. Verbally, it might be expressed this way: “I, the greengrocer XY, live here and I know what I must do. I behave in the manner expected of me. I can be depended upon and am beyond reproach. I am obedient and therefore I have the right to be left in peace.” This message, of course, has an addressee: it is directed above, to the greengrocer’s superior, and at the same time it is a shield that protects the greengrocer from potential informers. The slogan’s real meaning, therefore, is rooted firmly in the greengrocer’s existence. It reflects his vital interests. […]
… if the greengrocer had been instructed to display the slogan “I am afraid and therefore unquestioningly obedient;” […] the statement would reflect the truth.”
You’re obviously the “wrong” kind of Jew, Moshe…
I notice one thing in Moshe`s letter of suspension that sticks out a mile. Whenever he states that allegations of AS are false or manufactured he accuses the media, political opponents senior members of the Labour Party, the JLM or the Israeli lobby but he does NOT mention Jews. When the Labour Party comment on his “misdemeanors” they say, EVERY time that he is attacking Jews. This is blatant twisting of his words! Did not any of them think about the oddity of censoring a Jew for abusing all other Jews? Apparently not.
I am tempted to follow suit and defy Starmer to suspend me but I want to expose what the leadership are doing to Labour.
Moshe has been principled and defiant enough to expose some of their schemes.
An additional comment to my post:
The GLU is aware that the nature of the charges made against members may threaten the victim’s mental or physical wellbeing and it kindly suggests that they may wish to seek help from doctors or even the Samaritans:
“You can contact your GP who can help you access support for your mental health and wellbeing.
•The Samaritans are available 24/7 – They offer a safe place for anyone to talk any time they like, in their own way – about whatever’s getting to them.”
Couldn’t this be used as evidence that the process the GLU engages in when ‘investigating’ suspected antisemites is a form of harassment, which should be actionable in law? This witchhunt has to be stopped.
I’m bowled over. Brilliantly put and a great gauntlet to throw down. They won’t dare to pick it up. What then will they do?
Moshe could at least have dropped them this line…” Have you no sense of decency Sir?”
Solidarity and love with Moshe and Naomi. Starmer and whoever he answers to are proving their worth. Treat them as they treat others.
Solidarity with Moshe Machover. Starmer seems determined to rid Labour of the opponents of Israeli settler colonialism, and fulfil the demands of the BoD/JML. Senator McCarthy can come back, all is forgiven.
The EHRC report is flawed and amateurish in many ways but what I think we can all agree on is that the Labour Party’s disciplinary process is not fit for purpose and needs wholesale reform. I would be delighted to contribute to a crowdfunder to pay for legal representation for Moshe if there is to be one. The traditional Labour Party kangaroo-court tribunals with no right of appeal are a disgrace to any political party hoping to govern the nation. Seemingly the current party leadership wants to suppress all sensible debate and foster a culture of strict loyalty to the party line.
Of course they have to attack Jewish non-zionists, because the campaign to falsely brand Corbyn as an antisemite would have no credibility but for the endorsement of the zionist Jews. The zionists need to exploit our identity, and cannot tolerate those of us who say “Not in my name!”
It is laughable to attempt to brand Moshe Machover as an antisemite. All that it does is to demonstrate very clearly how far the Labour Party leadership have strayed from reality, and its partiality and disregard for the truth.
Expect a further wave of resignations! There is no point in paying membership fees to such an organisation!
It is a witch hunt. Solidarity with Naomi and Moshe
I stand with you, Moshe. This is a terrible time in the Labour party, and I feel betrayed. I joined the Labour party when Jeremy Corbyn spoke words with integrity and socialist principles. I’ve been horrified at all the weaponising of anti-semitism to attack the left. I thought Keir Starmer had some integrity, and I voted for him as leader, but I was wrong. How can our Labour party stay silent or tacitly approve of the Netanyahu government? Where will this end?
I had some of this nonsense at the end of April. Somebody had put together, as a complaint against me, contrary to God knows what provision in the Party rulebook, some “shares” of mine on Facebook and a statement I made to support a petition. The statement deplored what the government of Israel was doing, its cruelty.
I refused to make any comment on the accusations. In any case, they were true.
Later, I asked for a an assurance about free speech, which I didn’t receive, and I pointed our that it was my duty as a Christian to protest (I support JVL as a beacon of hope for the world). Therefore, on 6 October, I did not renew my subscription to the Labour Party, which, in my view, is sunk and no longer fit for purpose.
The thing that worries me is that the antics of Starmer and his clique are promoting real antisemitism and that democracy will disappear as a feature of political life in this country.
It is also clear to me that the Labour Party is now anti-Christianity and, I imagine, anti- any other religion that cares for humanity. It goes without saying that it is now, at the top, deeply racist, though they may pretend not to be.
I left the Party as soon as Evans started shutting down free speech, having become increasingly shocked by the expulsions and by the views of some in my own CLP – connected to Ruth Smeeth. This is an anti-semitic, anti-democratic Coup.
McCarthyism & HUAC would have continued were it not for the political stance made against Senator McCarthy by America’s most respected journalist, Walter Cronkite. Unfortunately there is no MSM equivalent today with enough honesty & integrity to challenge ‘the witch hunt.
Solidarity & respect to Mosche & Naomi.
I have learned a lot about antisemitism not that long ago, as a matter of fact since Jeremy was accused so severely which did notable sense to me. I attended the seminars you were in. And so surprised for such a complex. Many people in general don’t know much about. I probably do not know enough. Your article this explains many things and as you say, going to the public is best. Thank you telling us the truth.
The FBI did famously two “wrecking” campaigns in the CPUSA, once in the 50s and once in the 80s, both were a “Campaign against White Chauvinism”, both led to massive swaths of purges of cadre for anything that could even sniff as basically not putting Black people on a pedestal, people were literally expelled for such minor things as to serve tea to a black comrade with a tea cup that had a slight imperfection.
What is sad about the 1950s one as well, is that they were going on about “How we need to root out this vile white chauvinism, nothing else matters!” while McCarthyism started to ramp up, 6 months later these anti-racist activists after smashing solidarity within their own party, were dragged before the House Un-American Activities Committee by McCarthy while the FBI were laughing their butts off that their little fake campaign basically led the party to the gallows.
This is basically the Campaign against White Chauvinism 3.0. The left never learns the lesson to root out these sort of bad faith campaigns that are clearly being pushed by hostile outside actors.
George Wilmers brilliant response to Governance and Legal Unit some months ago, M Machover has probably read this, if not, it is essential reading, below a sample…
An Analysis of the Lack of Clarity in the Formulation of the Allegations to Which I Have Been Invited to Respond
The first point to be made is that no argument has been presented in favour of the proposition that a violation of rule 2.1.8 has occurred. The use of the modal operator “may have” to qualify the main verb in (a) is improper in the present quasi-legal context. This is because in normal semantics the words “may have” merely imply possibility without any level of certainty. No allegation which uses the words “may have” in this way can be considered to be correctly formulated. Such a formulation is inquisitorial in the most egregious sense, since it places the entire burden of proof on the respondent to refute the allegation.
https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/the-labour-party-inquisition-a-case-study/
Bless you! And thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is intollerable. We don’t have a Labour Party anymore and I mourn its passing.
I would also like to send my solidarity to Naomi and Moshe.
As has been said, there is a rather chilling feel to this feverish hounding of good people and the silencing of legitimate debate. It is indeed Kafkaesque to suspend Jewish people for alleged antisemitism or for talking about issues surrounding antisemitism, such as its definition/real level within the Party.
The conflation of legitimate criticism of Israeli policies toward Palestine and Palestinians with real antisemitism (perfectly summarised by JVL as prejudice, hostility or hatred towards Jews as Jews) is wrong, does the cause of routing out real antisemitism a great disservice and must continue to be vociferously challenged.
There needs to be an organised cooperative reaction to this blatant breach of party rules and it should start with the SCG MP group. The rule used is self-fulfilling “any action that the NEC considers…” is like “conduct likely to cause breach of the peace”. If we don’t respond then there is no point in remaining. We either fight collectively or accept we are the ones in the wrong.
Starmer’s faux Labour Party is a sick joke. He, and his cronies must be kicked out of the Labour Party.
I have learned so much reading this. Please keep fighting for truth and justice.
This latest atrocity against Jewish Socialists, supporters of human rights and opponents of every form of racism, is another Nadir of the party under its new management. For a man with legal training to do all that, including the expulsion of Jeremy Corbyn in the face of the NEC ruling, is evidence of the moral decline of Keir Stramer and the group of lackies around him. I have asked the party to inquisition me (in an open letter published on the JVL site – https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/haim-bresheeth-asks-to-be-refered-to-the-compliance-unit-for-antisemitism/) and have not yet hear… Maybe a reminder is in order – I certainly do not wish to stay member of any organisation which expels Moshik Machover!
Having worked in the field of complaints/discipline in the past, I think I am at least as qualified as the person who wrote the letter to Mr Machover to comment. So here goes.
1. To say that the Labour Party’s “policies” and “procedures” are inadequate is a gross understatement. They are totally useless.
2. When a complaint is made, an investigating officer should be appointed and that person should inform the person complained against that a complaint has been made, (normally) the identity of the complainant, the detail of the complaint, that it is being investigated and that further communication will be sent when the investigating officer has determined whether there are sufficient grounds for a discipline panel to be convened.
3. The letter should require no response (other than, possibly, a confirmation of receipt).
4. The investigating officer should identify her/himself.
5. There is a whole raft of requirements that should be in place if a complaint moves to the stage of a discipline panel but these would not apply to Mr Machover’s case because we are not there (yet). From what I have seen, none of the requirements of best practice are adhered to in the vague “policy” of the Labour Party.
Were I to be a senior line manager for the investigating officer in Mr Machover’s case I would ensure that the officer, and his/her direct line manager were transferred to duties more commensurate with their (limited) abilities, get hold of a model complaints and discipline policy from a reputable company or from virtually any local authority, school, hospital etc. and implement it a.s.a.p. and write to Mr Machover to apologise for “making him feel unsafe in the Labour Party”. I wonder if it will happen.
Mr Starmer’s treatment of Moshe is ridiculous. Professor Machover knows how to produce water-tight arguments. He is a professor of philosophy and mathematics after all. His publications contain zero irrational hatred, which is prime condition of racism – along with being stupid – which Moshe certainly is not. I agree with his analyses which are well-researched and peer reviewed. They belong in any grown-up debate.
Solidarity with the Fighter Moshe Machover
The General Secretary cannot ban the ‘content’ of meetings or ban free speech generally as described in section 10 of the Human Rights Act, nor can he ban associating with other members of the public because their views do not comport with current Labour party policy. In other words if you want to remain a rational, free thinking member of the human race, do not join the Labour party. it can damage your health [witness advice from the LP to go see the Samaritan’s, M Machover’s letter] and since you pay subscriptions, you are paying them to abuse of you.
I would like to convey my deep gratitude to all those who have declared their solidarity with me; and to extend my solidarity with Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi and other victims of the heresy hunt in the Labour Party.
I would like to take this opportunity to point out one of many disgraceful insinuations made by the inquisitors – in this case not against me but against other comrades.
They mention that “Ms Jacqueline Walker and Mr Tony Greenstein had been expelled from the Labour Party due to allegations involving antisemitism.” And they imply that for this reason I ought to shun these comrades. Please read carefully the inquisitors’ weasel words. They are designed to convey the libellous impression that these two comrades were expelled fro the LP for antisemitism. This impression is of course false. No such charge was, or could be, proven against them. Yes, allegations “involving” antisemitism had been made; and yes, these comrades were expelled, but on other spurious grounds.
But – no doubt unwittingly – the inquisitors reveal more than they intended. Their statement is literally true: Comrades Walker and Greenstein were expelled from the LP due to allegations “involving” antisemitism: due to mere such allegations. No proof was required. This is the sorry state of the LP resulting from failure to stand up to the manufactured campaign falsely alleging massive antisemitism in the Party.
The Labour Party is no longer functional. My worry is that this has been the goal all along. The idea that a cohesive body should offer socialist opposition to neo-liberal & nationalist dogma is completely unacceptable.
Professor Machover, they seem to have compiled a complete dossier on you, you have probably been followed by the Labour party compliance unit, check for listening devices in your home also a line up, complete with one way mirrors.
Part of the pattern of behaviour Jenny Formby put into a letter to Chris Williamson before his suspension was “Sharing platforms and giving public praise to people with a history of ‘allegations’ of anti Semitism against them” [Williamson MP v Formby, High Court]. Think about that, doesn’t Corbyn have a history of Anti Semitism allegations against him. The Salem witch trials described in A Millers play ‘the Crucible’ used the same methods as some in today’s Labour party. What is happening in the Labour Party today is straight out of The Crucible, when denial of being a witch was itself proof of one’s guilt. People are scared of discussing Israel or Zionism for fear of being pounced upon by ‘investigators’ from the Compliance Unit.
When Arthur Miller explained why he wrote the Crucible, he used the Salem Witchcraft Trials as a metaphor for what was happening in the America of Joe McCarthy.
“I was motivated in some great part by the paralysis that had set in among many liberals who, despite their discomfort with the inquisitors’ violations of civil rights, were fearful, and with good reason, of being identified as covert Communists if they should protest too strongly”.
‘Anti-Semitism’ is the new anti-communism. Now we have the preposterous position where anyone supporting Corbyn, or sharing a platform with him can be denounced as a witch, if you are silent, that could be proof that you may become a witch. In order to remain in the good graces of the Labour party you must denounce and demand apologies from those accused.
Please do not leave the Labour Party – that is precisely what they want you to do. You are doing their dirty work for them. Stay, unite and fight. Those who have left, please rejoin. People who have been unjustly suspended or expelled can bring a group legal action financed with crowdfunding. Time is short – the Tories are helping to destroy the planet as we speak (or write).