You may not have heard of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, which was formed only recently,(2) and with the exception of the Guardian – which ran a brief story questioning the reason why Cherie Blair would not attend the launch – its establishment appears to have gone uncommented upon in the mainstream press.
However, just over a week ago, on January 12, an early day motion in parliament welcomed “[…] the launch of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East to provide a voice for Labour Party members and supporters who want to see a viable and independent state of Palestine alongside Israel […]” The motion goes on to say, however, that although “[…] the organisation opposes the use of violence, whether by Israel or Palestinians, [… it] regards the excessive military force used by Israel in Gaza as grossly disproportionate and counterproductive; [and] notes with concern that moderate Palestinian public opinion is being critically undermined […]”
The launch party for this organization was held the next day, on January 13, and hosted by Linton. A few days earlier on Saturday January 10, he had addressed the pro-Palestine demonstration in London. Other speakers included – farcically – Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger, as well as far-Left MP George Galloway, and Palestinian-born academic Azzam Tamimi, the last of which, according to the Daily Mail, has “[…] boasted he would carry out a suicide bombing in Israel.” At the protest Tamimi’s speech was predictably inflammatory:
Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar. Allah Akbar.
Today we are all Hamas. Today we are all Hamas. Today we are all Hamas.
[...] Hamas has acquired in addition to democratic legitimacy – not that I believe in democracy anymore [audience cheers] – it has acquired resistance legitimacy. Today Hamas -- and I tell you as a Palestinian – today Hamas is our leader to liberation.
Of course, Hamas does not really believe in democracy either. The organization never expected to win the Palestinian elections in 2006, and did so only because of a massive protest vote against Fatah – which shocked and disturbed a good many of those that had voted. Not surprisingly. Hamas’ raison d’etre is to advance Islam, not “free Palestine,” as naïve Leftists believe. In the last few days a Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah has even said that leaving Hamas in power was a “mistake” that is “bad for all,” and that “There's no room for these Hamas thugs in the West Bank. We won't allow Hamas to turn the West Bank into another Islamic republic.”
For the people of that area of Palestine, however, a Hamas government has meant a return to sharia law, with the harshest and cruelest of punishments meted out for the smallest “crime.” (A video of Hamas breaking up a wedding party with gunfire, smashing chairs and tables, and beating people with clubs – all because the party was committing the crime of ‘singing’ – can be seen here.) And It should be pointed out that Hamas stores its weaponry in civilian areas – even under schools and mosques – thus ensuring a very high level of casualties in any armed conflict. As such it is in violation of the Geneva Conventions (article 51.7).
A mix of Islamism and proto-Nazi conspiracy theory, Hamas’ charter declares that the organization’s “struggle [is] against the Jews,” not just Israeli Jews or Israel. And the Hamas charter also states that, “Israel will exist […] until Islam will obliterate it.” Tamimi is apparently aware of this. Near the end of his speech, he stated:
[...] Israel has dug its grave. Zionism has dug its grave. You count – count the years. That embassy there [points to the Israeli embassy], when there will be a Palestinian embassy. The Zionist flag will come down, and the flag of Palestine will go up.
So, no two state solution then?
I have no idea whether Linton agrees with Tamimi’s words or not, but, as far as I am aware, he has not publicly distanced himself from them. Having seen Ken Livingstone endorse terrorism-advocate Yusuf al-Qaradawi, as well as a parade of extremists pass through various government offices, we might rightly be suspicious of the apparently close proximity of he and Tamimi. But then Linton is part of a growing phenomenon that has now reached well into what is generally called – but what so often does not appear to be – the political “center.”
Although it has gone uncommented upon in the mainstream press, the Conservative [Party] Muslim Forum (CFM) has issued an official statement on the Gaza conflict. Though supposedly part of an opposition, “conservative” party, its position seems identical to the position of various Leftist organizations – and perhaps especially those on the far-Left.
The CFM states that, “The Israeli nation should realise that their unacceptable actions are inflicting utter misery and devastation similar to what Jews have themselves suffered in the past.” The CFM has every right to highlight Palestinian civilian casualties, of course, but this phrase seems designed to make the reader think of the Holocaust and the Nazis – and, as such, to compare the Israelis to the Nazis.
Even if one believes that this is merely a poor choice of words, such words must nevertheless carry great symbolic value at this time when radical Islam is on the rise in Britain, and when anti-Semitic incidents are rising correspondingly. Only in the last few weeks, in the streets of London and other European cities, have we seen Muslim (and, to a lesser extent, Leftist) youths making Nazi-salutes at Jews or at the Israeli embassy, waving Israeli flags with swastika graffiti on them, holding placards with the swastika and Star of David, etc.
The Jerusalem Post cites a report by the Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism which found that an “unprecedented” number of attacks has taken place around the world in the last few weeks. Alarmingly, according to the Jerusalem Post, “The bulk of the anti-Semitic incidents took place in Western Europe and were led by local Muslim officials, including 100 in France and Britain each […]” The paper also cites “[…] ‘conspicuous’ comparisons being made between Israel's actions against Hamas in Gaza and those of Nazi Germany during the Holocaust,” as an apparent factor. And Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev is quoted as saying, “[…] as interest in the Holocaust continues to grow around the world, we are also witnessing a rise in the provocative and cynical use of the Holocaust in attacking Israel and Jews.”
Though not responsible for this violence and aggression, the CFM nevertheless has a responsibility to condemn it, or to ensure that the language of its statements cannot be perceived as tacitly endorsing it, or as being inline with the extremist propaganda highlighted in the Jerusalem Post and elsewhere. However, the CFM goes on to say in its statement that, “[…] it is deeply concerned that Israel’s action is already damaging community relations in the UK and may provoke people to take extreme actions whose repercussions can last for years. The British Government and all political parties need to recognise that Israel’s onslaught risks poisoning community relations not only in the Middle East but also here.”
The inference would appear to be that unless the British government changes its position toward Israel, terrorist actions, etc., will occur in Britain. We’ve heard this before from some other types of Muslim organization, haven’t we? If the CFM believes that Muslims, Hamas sympathizers, etc., might “take extreme actions whose repercussions can last for years,” then it is obliged to strongly warn them against taking such actions. And it must condemn the rise of radical Islam and the violent anti-Semitism of pro-Hamas supporters in Britain in recent weeks. If it will not, then the Conservative Party must explain to the voters why such an organization exists at all.
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(1) The impartiality of the BBC has of course been in question for some time. The organization appears to have transformed from one with journalistic integrity, concerned with fact, to one that sees its mission as promoting multiculturalism and Leftist politics. A series of Q & As about Gaza, that I saw on the BBC website a couple of weeks ago clearly demonstrates this. The final question, “How might this end?” was answered “If there is no agreement, Israel will try to impose its conditions by force. Hamas will contest it.” Contest it how, exactly? The BBC has since removed this, but the entire Q & As were previously copied and pasted here.
(2) An organization known simply as the “Labour Friends of Palestine” appears to have been in existence earlier on. There is a mention of a society by this name in the Muslim News from 2001, though it is possible that this was confused with the Labourite Trade Union Friends of Palestine. According to Labourhome.org Labour Friends of Palestine held its first event – ‘Forgotten People of Gaza’ – in September 2008, and was due, then, to hold its official launch in November. Martin Linten is recorded in the Hansard (December 18, 2008) as stating that he was then “in the process of helping to launch a new organisation next month called Labour Friends of Palestine, the main campaign of which will be to call for a halt to the expansion of settlements.” The Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East also wrote a letter to David Miliband in the first week of January 2009.