"I gave Corbyn the benefit of the doubt on antisemitism. I can’t any more" - powerful piece from @shattenstone who, like me, has defended Corbyn up until now but, like me, struggles to defend his 'Zionist' remarks that have emerged from 2013.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/24/jeremy-corbyn-antisemitism-labour-zionists-2013-speech …
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To be clear: you don't have to agree with the awful coverage of his remarks from Daily Mail etc suggesting he was conflating 'Jews' and 'Zionists', or referring to *all* Zionists, to acknowledge that that the 'English irony' putdown feeds into all sorts of Other-ing tropes.
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I don't believe Corbyn is an anti-Semite or racist of any kind, of course, but I think he just doesn't get (or maybe does now, but definitely didn't back then) how certain remarks can come across, given the history of anti-Semitism and the danger of sweeping statements.
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I don't think he intended for his remark to be anti-Semitic but I think some on the left need to try and put themselves in the position of Jewish communities who have endured abuse in the form of 'Zio' etc and understand how they come across/are perceived which is v important.
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Btw I consider myself an anti-Zionist & critic of the Israeli state & its ongoing ethnic cleansing project and so I think critiquing Zionism is crucial BUT I also think, given the presence of anti-Semitism, we on the left have to be so careful+sensitive. Corbyn, in 2013, wasn't.
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Replying to @mehdirhasan
Corbyn was *joking* that a Palestinian non-UK native understands irony better than native UK Zionists. Invoking it is the latest in an ongoing smear campaign that you've accurately called out otherwise.
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Replying to @aaronjmate
If you’re gonna see genuine disagreement and criticism at every turn as evidence of a ‘smear campaign’ then there’s really no point engaging. Sigh.
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Replying to @mehdirhasan
It’s a joke made in a 5-year old speech. & the only reason we’re discussing it is cause cynical frauds who don’t care a lick about anti-Semitism keep trotting out whatever they can to undermine a progressive who challenges their neo-liberal agenda and beloved Israeli occupation.
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Replying to @aaronjmate
It was a bad joke. No need for the English/lifelong references. And he himself admits today we all have to be careful about how we throw around 'Zionist'. Tone and context matters.
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Tone and context matter Mehdi, and yet you ignore both regarding Corbyn’s comments (directed at specific individuals disrupting a public talk) as well as the tone and context of the accusations against him (systematically invoking AS to stifle Palestinian solidarity)
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