I am puzzled by the news reports currently appearing about the state of the Labour Party. Anti semitism? The Labour Party?
Surely not!
And yet the newest details keep appearing.
It’s very many years since as a teenager I was the ward secretary of the local Labour Party but I was very involved before leaving to go to college.
Several of my friends were Jewish.
It was their Labour Party too...no sign of any tinge of prejudice ever showed in those days...
Two of my Jewish friends and one ex boy friend became MPs whilst I was busy becoming a teacher.
I haven’t been in touch with anyone I knew during my youth...the last old friend died about twenty years ago but I do find it difficult to believe that any anti Semitic feelings exist today.
This is certainly not the Labour Party I used to belong to.
What can have happened?
We prided ourselves on the breadth of our beliefs, our tolerance, these things were part of being socialists...
I can’t imagine now what has happened to make people so judgmental of anyone with a different religion or political view.
"Love one another as I have loved you."
Words that still resonate with me.
As a teenage member of the Labour Party I was also a very devoted Christian , the two things went hand in hand but didn’t include any judgement of anyone holding different views.
I find it hard to believe that any serious racism exists today but if it does it needs to be addressed. Judging anyone on their views, religion or colour can’t be supported surely?
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1 comment:
I to find it hard to comprehend that the Labour Party is guilty of the charges made against them, particularly their leader, who appears to be guilty of not taking the threat to the future unity of the party seriously.
Part of the issue is some Labour Supporters who disagree with Israel's policy towards those in their population who are not Jewish, and in particular to those refugees from what used to be called Palestine who were ejected after the 1948 war, and the modern day neighbours in Gaza etc who appear to be working for Israel's destruction. This is projected onto others, particularly the more militant left wing members of momentum who take it too far.
And like any organisation, the unrecognised Unconscious bias, which many of us carry around with us, which we don't want to acknowledge.
You were probably around when Militant Tendency were running Liverpool, until ejected by the Voters and kicked out by Neil Kinnock. Labour allowed Derek Hatton back one day last week, than ejected him again the following day.
I am not a supporter of either Labour or its leadership, but the evidence exists of people being discriminated against in the party and many Jewish MP's being harassed and trolled on social media Some have been threatened with all sorts of violence and worse, not all by labour trolls, but from across the board.
The problem is that a label once applied, sticks and whether the evidence exists or not, public perception will associate labour with discrimination and harassment of Jewish people, and will disassociate themselves from the Party, which is danger of splitting, which could be a disaster, because who than will hold the government to account?
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