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Monday, February 22, 2016

UK: Oxford University Labour Club so serious about fighting antisemitism, they still reject Israel's right to exist


Last week, Alex Chalmers, Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) co-chair, resigned from his position after the club decided to endorse Israel Apartheid Week.  Chalmers said that much of the OULC and the student left in Oxford "have some kind of problem with Jews".

Following his resignation the Labour party and the OULC opened an investigation into the allegations of antisemitism.   Many pundits wrote that the Left must wake up to the antisemitism in its midst?

But that doesn't seem very likely.

For one, as it looks now, they're going to be blaming 'hard left' activists.

Besides which, there are no plans to cancel Labour support of the event that started all of this off: Israeli Apartheid Week.



Israeli Apartheid Week claims to be an anti-racism event, but in fact, it fights against Israel's right to exist.  It supports BDS (whose main aim is to free all Arab lands from Jewish occupation), and it supports the Right of Return (whose main aim is to turn Israel into an Arab-majority state).

But don't take my word for it.  Here's Barnaby Raine, one of the (Jewish) organizers of the event:
The organisers of the week have strongly denied the allegations and describe themselves as an “anti-racist” organisation.

Barnaby Raine, a member of the IAW group and prominent Palestinian rights activist said: “Jewish Students for Justice in Palestine are proud of their role in organising Israel Apartheid Week for the second year in a row. IAW is motivated by the anti-racist principle that no human should have to suffer indignity of dispossession, occupation and a criminal siege simply because of their ethnic origin. We abhor all racism – we fight anti-Semitism and zionism with equal rigor.”
 
Zionism is the right of Jews to self-determination in their homeland.  Zionism is the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.

Denying this right is antisemitism according to the US State Department definition, according to the EUMC working definition, and according to almost all Jews (except for Raine and his antisemitic friends).

Fighting Zionism is antisemitic.

Equating Zionism and racism (or worse, antisemitism) - is antisemitic.

Israeli Apartheid Week is antisemitic.

The Labour Party at Oxford University supports an antisemitic event.

So don't hold your breath waiting for the results of that investigation into antisemitism at Oxford University.

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