Jewish columnist: "we must reclaim antiracism from the far left"
I have to admit, I was initially slightly surprised to see how little concern on the antiracist left the spectacle of a senior British diplomat, arrested for a "fucking Jews" rant, had engendered. While it is important to note that Laxton denies making any antisemitic remark, it isn't as if antiracist organisations normally shy away from responding to complaints about public servants. For example, on the day following the publication of the story, Unite Against Fascism managed to organise a rally against a teacher who was a British National party member. But then, I shouldn't have been surprised. The last couple of months has seen the worst year on record for antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom. Yet Unite Against Fascism has had nothing to say about that, either.
The problem, I think, is this. Although opposition to racism is now an article of faith for all mainstream political parties, the left has been the driving force in those organisations that set the antiracist agenda. There is a part of the left that is very comfortable condemning historical racism against Jews, at the hands of Nazis, back in the 1940s. It is, however, ambivalent when it comes to contemporary antisemitism: particularly when it can be "contextualised" within the Israel/Palestine conflict.
This state of affairs is, quite frankly, terrifying. As others are warning here, there is every reason to believe that the defining themes of the present economic downturn will be xenophobic, anti-immigrant and racist politics. As conspiracy theories depicting Jews as controllers of the financial markets proliferate, antisemitism will undoubtedly also be part of that mix. Support for fascist parties tends to grow during crises, and we need a strong defence against that politics, with solidarity between and support from all parts of British society. However, with its sectarianism, silence on antisemitism and blindness to Islamist Jew-hatred, Unite Against Fascism just isn't up to the job.
[ The author wants those "at the political centre" to do this reclaiming of antiracism. Where would that leave the Left at all? Where are the Left going? They concentrate, in Europe, on opposing ethno nationalist parties, but now they are adding opposing Zionism and Jews to that. Meanwhile nationalist parties are in many cases unwilling to criticise Jews, not least because hate speech laws have forced this position. The Left might end up becoming ideologically closer to the position of the "nazis" they claim to detest! Especially if all the Jews run to "the centre" taking the the anti-racism along with them... ]
nationalist on 02.20.09 @ 04:06 AM CST [more..]