There are many British left wing MPs and commentators covering their asses right now, making sure they include something about Hamas in their tweets. But hints of antisemitism shine through. They seem to gag on any attempt to directly and pre-emtively criticse Hamas, while exhibit all signs of verbal diarrhoea when it comes to criticisng Israel.
This is how to search for someone’s tweets on a topic:
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn’s only tweet on Hamas is one of tacit support:
But his tweets on Israel are endless. It will come as no surprise that Corbyn is accused of antisemitism.
John McDonnel
John McDonnel at least hasn’t openly supported Hamas in a tweet, but he hasn’t been directly critical either…. prior to the 14th October, 7 days after the attack, he hadn’t even mentioned Hamas.
But, as you’ll see with others, he’s eventually twigged that it looks a little antisemitic if you don’t at least mention Hamas:
“Supporting or failing to condem either makes one complicit“
Well, by his own standards, he is complicit in the support of Hamas, by ommission.
But, note the ploy here that’s used by others. Hamas, if criticised at all, is always or mostly in the context of criticising Israel, the main target or their ire. Though Hamas terrorist attacks come first, they don’t openly and willingly criticise Hamas immediately, but rather wait for the Israeli response, when the left’s true colourse emerge, and Hamas, if mentioned at all, is merely ass cover, because they’re so used to being called antisemites or being asked “and your position on Hamas?”
Richard Burgon
One Tweet that directly references Hamas, several days after the Hamas attack, and then only as cover to criticise Israel.
Meanwhile, here he is among the Palestinian and Hamas supporters criticising Israel. One of his many tweets attacking Israel.
But surely, he can be found at rallies supporting Jews? Not according to his Twitter timeline search for “Jews or Jewish” … though he does make the grand effort of a token tweet on Holocaust memorial day … as do many of these hypocrites.
Keir Starmer
Now, we all realise Starmer, as leader of New New Labour, trying to distance themselves from the extremists in the party, had to come out and criticise Hamas, knowing full well this would bring down a rain of hate upon his head from the loony left. But, did he too really have to wait seven days after the attack to publish his first direct criticism of Hamas?
Well, at least on the 7th he did defend Israel.
However, his tweets on Israel seem to be few and belated. But, fair enough, the criticisms aren’t as persistent and unhinged as those of some of his colleagues. And his mentions of Palestine are fewer.
It seems he’s a little more cagey than others.
Owen Jones
Search: from:OwenJones84 Hamas
Owen is critical of Hamas, but often has a strange way of going about it. I genuinely don’t think he’s antisemitic, but does show his left wing bias, as he still sees much of the problem through the eyes of anti-colonialism … but like many on the left with the cherry picking of history, only seems to go as far back as the early and mid 20th century. There’s never a criticism of Islamic colonialism that an several occassions invaded what have been Jewish lands for most of recorded history. There very fact that Muslims built a mosque out of spite on Temple Mount, as significant Jewish holy place, seems to escape his notice. That Jews are persecuted still around the world, and that the ONE place they have where they can take it upon themselves to provide their own protection, and that this place is claimed by Hamas that has an existing charter to wipe Jews of the map, all this, but still, he can’t quite look at that wider picture, is resonant with his left leaning traditions: back the homophobic Muslims, attack Israel.
Now search: from:OwenJones84 Israel
You’ll see the difference. Nowhere near as critical of Hamas as Israel, and doesn’t buy into the Islamic conspiracy against Jews quite as much as his hatred for Western imperialism.
His biases are also evident here:
Iran – Missing In Action – Owen Jones
Owen Jones – Missing In Action – The Battle of Batley
Ash Sarkar
Search from:AyoCaesar Hamas
Search from:AyoCaesar Israel
You’ll notice a difference. With the former, it’s either jokey sarcastic responses or outright condemnation of those that suggests oppsoing Israle and supporting Palestine might hint at a tacit support for Hamas. There’s the “of course Hamas is wrong to kill Jews” token, naturally; what left wing communist Muslim could get away with not dropping the odd criticism of Hamas these days.
But the criticism of Israel always seems to carry more weight, more gravity. Funny, that, eh, Ash?
Chris Williamson
Say no more …
The Irony Of Conflation
Common among many of the left is this rejction of the notion that criticising Israel is not antisemitism, and that not criticising Hamas is not suppiort for Hamas.
Yet these very same people will have no trouble seeing support for women in sports as being transphobic, or criticising Islam (source of ISIS, Hamas, Hezbolah, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, as a far right misogynistic homophobic ideology) as being Islamophobic (fearing beheading, suicide boming, stabbing is not a phobia) or even racist (even when ex-Muslims do it – Islam isn’t a race).
The Left and Islam
The further irony is that the left see Muslims as a minority – all 1.8+ billion, an oppressed minority, when in fact not only are Muslims and non-Muslims oppressed in many Islamic states, but Israel is threatened by many of the surrounding Islamic states. This misconception, fueled by a hate of the West’s democracy and economic systems (evil Capitalism), is taking a long time to sink in.
You’d think the left would have cottoned on by now. The Irianian revolution consisted of Marxist and Islamist activists working together to overthrow the Shah. But what happened next? The Marxists were eliminated. The left are the dupes of Islamic expansionism.
Left Wing Antisemitism
There are antisemites of all political persuasions, some more explicit and self-ware and intentional than others. The odd nature of left wing antisemitism is that it seems to be a subconscious bias for many – they really believe they support Jews in their struggle against hatred, but find it stranegly difficult to consistently and loudly and proactively call out the antisemitism that has an obvious home in Islam (since its founder discovered his own antisemitism soon enough). And here we see another ironic similarity, between this subconscious bias of theirs, and their common claim that racism exists as a subconscious bias among white people … well, OK, yet left wing antisemitism doesn’t leap out at them as one form of it?
Ramblings 