Thursday, June 16, 2005
British Civil War
Some recent developments seem to have created a rift in a group of (largely Jewish) pro-Palestinian, socialist, and anti-Zionist activists in Britain.
Other bloggers --with much less tenuous connections to this situation than I-- have opined on this matter extensively. In summary, a small, uh, cabal of pseudo-intellectuals from nominally Jewish backgrounds have been steadily introducing classical anti-Semitic themes into the European socialist and pro-Palestinian movement discourses. The ringleaders are Israel Shamir, Paul Eisen, and Gilad Atzmon --an award winning Jazz saxophonist.
I'd rather not link to any of these gentlemen's writings any more than I already have in an earlier entry. Rather, I direct you to Jews Sans Frontieres where Mark Elf has registered his disgust with the SWP's decision to allow Atzmon a platform at the Marxism 2005 conference. Elf is British and close to the action, and will take part in a picket of a London bookstore where Atzmon will be speaking in advance of the conference.
This will be a showdown between the principled and unprincipled members of this movement, and I hope that the anti-racists are able to expunge the Holocaust denial, ZOG imagery, and Medievalism which these men have introduced --and which their apologists have defended-- from the movement.
One organizer of the picket also set up this petition "rejecting Eisen's and other similar arguments." I would encourage any readers who agree with the politics of these activists and who deplore racism and anti-Semitism to sign the petition.
-Ehud
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Other bloggers --with much less tenuous connections to this situation than I-- have opined on this matter extensively. In summary, a small, uh, cabal of pseudo-intellectuals from nominally Jewish backgrounds have been steadily introducing classical anti-Semitic themes into the European socialist and pro-Palestinian movement discourses. The ringleaders are Israel Shamir, Paul Eisen, and Gilad Atzmon --an award winning Jazz saxophonist.
I'd rather not link to any of these gentlemen's writings any more than I already have in an earlier entry. Rather, I direct you to Jews Sans Frontieres where Mark Elf has registered his disgust with the SWP's decision to allow Atzmon a platform at the Marxism 2005 conference. Elf is British and close to the action, and will take part in a picket of a London bookstore where Atzmon will be speaking in advance of the conference.
This will be a showdown between the principled and unprincipled members of this movement, and I hope that the anti-racists are able to expunge the Holocaust denial, ZOG imagery, and Medievalism which these men have introduced --and which their apologists have defended-- from the movement.
One organizer of the picket also set up this petition "rejecting Eisen's and other similar arguments." I would encourage any readers who agree with the politics of these activists and who deplore racism and anti-Semitism to sign the petition.
-Ehud
# posted by Ehud : 9:37 PM
