Politics
Exclusive: Greens cave to smears, suspend Jewish anti-Zionist member for ‘antisemitism’
The Green party has suspended well-known Brighton-based Jewish anti-Zionist Tony Greenstein, in response to complaints from Israel lobbyists.
Greenstein is one of the UK’s most fearlessly outspoken anti-genocide activists. Panicked by the Green surge, the lobby has been targeting him for some time and trying to pressure the party into taking action against opponents of Israel’s genocide. So far, Greens leader Zack Polanski has treated the pressure with the contempt it deserves, but the party bureaucracy — at best — has caved in to the smears of Israel’s supporters against Greenstein.
Greenstein was a critic of the Greens for allowing their conference to be filibustered out of passing a key resolution rightly declaring Zionist to be inherently racist. He then warned that Israel’s supporters were about to try to start something similar to the ‘Labour antisemitism’ scam. Now, the party has told him that he has been suspended by a vote of the party’s regional council — shamefully, by a vote of 11 to 1:
Even more shamefully, the notification does not inform Greenstein of the nature of any complaint against him, though it’s clear it was triggered by complaints from local Zionists. Instead, the grounds for the suspension treat historic smears against Greenstein as if they were already judged factual:
Basis of the decision
Documented history of antisemitism, including court decisions and recent terrorism charges.
Greenstein’s supposed “recent terrorism charges” consist of state action for his comments opposing Israel’s genocide and supporting the Palestinians’ legally-watertight right to resist its illegal occupation. It would take a party official maybe a minute to establish that through a simple web search.
Green Party falls for the same destructive trap
Greenstein has sent a detailed response to the party challenging its decision and the false assumptions on which it is based, and reminding it how the antisemitism scam destroyed the Labour party. And, in typically uncompromising fashion he told the party functionaries that, even after two and a half years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, “The racist press barked and you jumped”:
Accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’ in the GP have begun to mushroom. The same Corbyn playbook is being rolled out. with the active connivance of Zionist members of the GP who counterpose their Jewish identity to the genocide in Gaza and war on Lebanon and Iran.
It will be interesting to see if Zack Polanski reacts as Jeremy Corbyn did and appease the Zionists until he too falls victim. These are early days but the signs are not promising. Council candidates are being targeted on the basis of their social media posts, not for anything they have done or said
I am not surprised that you have suspended a prominent Jewish anti-Zionist. The only surprise is that you capitulated so soon and that you have done it on the basis of lies and disinformation.
Why was I not informed of the allegations and asked for a response? This is what occurred in the Labour Party where, if you were Jewish, you were 5 times more likely to be expelled than if you were not Jewish. Zionists. like anti-Semites. equate being Jewish with being Zionist. Anti-Zionist Jews pose a problem because they are living proof that this is a lie.
This campaign began. as it did against Corbyn, with the racist Jewish Chronicle on March 27: ‘Notorious antisemite’ Tony Greenstein joins the Green Party. It was followed by The Telegraph on April 8 ‘Greens open door to anti-Zionist who said Israel was ‘Hitler’s bastard offspring”
The difference between what happened under Corbyn and my suspension today is the small matter of the extermination of 200.000 Palestinians in Gaza. The racist press barked and you jumped.
Subsequently, in an exchange of emails with the party’s ‘complaints and governance officer, Greenstein pointed out why it was clear that, far from being an issue raised by the local Green party as the regional party office had stated, it had been driven by local Zionist lobbyists:
I have just been assured by the local Brighton Party chair that he had no involvement in my suspension. In other words that the complaint came from an individual or individuals.
The form you sent me therefore which says that the origin of the complaint is the local party is highly misleading and dishonest.
I want to know who made this complaint and a copy of the complaint.
Furthermore I am formally submitting a Subject Access Request for all information held on me by the Green Party.
I look forward to hearing from you.
The situation continues to develop.
Greenstein told Skwawkbox:
I have been suspended by the Green party as part of their ‘no fault suspensions’. This is clearly an abuse of process and a political suspension. It is part of the wave of attacks being made by the media, Telegraph etc. against Black and Asian Green candidates.
What we are seeing is an onslaught by defenders of Israel’s genocide against those seen as responsible for the Zionism is Racism motion. It is somewhat ironic that the first scalp is that of a Jewish Anti-Zionist. The allegations are laughable. They mention a ‘Documented history of antisemitism, including court decisions’. This is simply a gross lie.
The reference to terrorism is even more outrageous but what it does is show that the civil liberties commitment of Green Zionists is no different from that of Labour and Tory Zionists.
The Starmer government is using the allegation of ‘terrorism’ against supporters of the Palestinians and here are Green racists adding their support.
Whoever has made this allegation should be expelled from the Green Party as they clearly don’t belong there.
Polanski needs to take the party machine by the proverbial scruff of the neck. Years of genocide have completely exposed Zionism as not just racist but murderous and innately dishonest. There was never any excuse for Labour under Corbyn to fall for the antisemitism scam. There is absolutely none whatever for the Greens, who have the benefit of hindsight, to even humour it for a second.
Antisemitism allegations against Jewish members of the community are a disgrace.
Featured image via the Canary
By Skwawkbox
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