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conversation Britain Culture wars 

“I need to check your thinking” said the English police officer

Melanie, , ,

At long last, an English court has struck a blow against the cultural tyranny of thought-crime and in support of freedom of speech, reason and sanity. In the High Court this morning, Mr Justice Julian Knowles ruled that the police had been disproportionate in the action they took against Harry Miller, a former police officer and a shareholder in a plant and machinery company in Lincolnshire, when they recorded as a “non crime hate incident” a series of disobliging comments he had tweeted about transgender issues. It’s worth reading the judgment in…

Israel 

Arabs in uproar – over the prospect of living in Palestine

Melanie, ,

Leave aside, for the moment, the deepening rows about U.S. President Donald Trump’s “vision” for ending the Middle East conflict. Leave aside the question whether the plan’s lead author, Jared Kushner, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, backtracked on an “immediate” Israeli declaration of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the “Triangle” of disputed territory (they didn’t; the need to first map out and agree on the details was stated from the start). Leave aside the uproar among Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, along with certain southern…

nazanin Britain Global conflict 

It’s all about the narrative. Who controls it, wins

Melanie, ,

Are we seeing a crack developing in the hitherto impregnable “human rights” dogma which has helped emasculate Britain’s defences against terrorism? In the wake of the latest Islamic terror attack last Sunday in London, in which two people were stabbed by a terrorist who had recently been released from jail and was actually considered so dangerous he was being shadowed by armed police, the government has indicated it will scrap automatic early release for such prisoners. It may also re-introduce control orders and other more draconian sentencing options for terrorists,…

antisemitism Global conflict Jewish people 

Holding hostage the memory of the Jewish dead

Melanie, , ,

A profound and bitter battle between Israel and Poland has been brought to crisis point by the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which is being commemorated by world leaders this week at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem and next week at Auschwitz itself. The roots of the row lay in remarks made last December by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He claimed that Poland helped start World War II, and accused it of being an antisemitic country that had welcomed Hitler’s plan to liquidate Europe’s Jews. A few days later, Polish…

USA Videos 

Politics Live – and the Biden scandal

Melanie, , ,

I appeared on BBC TV’s Politics Live, which those with access to BBC iPlayer can view here. Among the issues we discussed was the impeachment hearings in the US Congress, concerning allegations that President Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate the commercial dealings of the former US Vice-President and potential Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. I observed how odd it was that there was no similar concern over the report that, when he was Vice-President, Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to fire the prosecutor who…

Jewish people 

The west mourns the Jewish dead. But what about the living?

Melanie, , ,

At Yad Vashem in Jerusalem on Jan. 23, some 46 political leaders and royals, including Britain’s Prince Charles, will be attending the fifth World Holocaust Forum to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. At this and doubtless other such memorial events, many eloquent, important and heartfelt observations will be made about the evils of Nazism and Jew-hatred. In today’s climate, however, there’s something disquieting about such memorializing. Given the eruption of physical and verbal attacks on Jews in Britain, America and Europe, it…

racist Britain Culture wars 

Why the “anti-racist” mob are the real racists

Melanie, ,

Like “fascist” and “Nazi”, the word “racist” has been so abused it has now lost its meaning. Actually, it lost its generally understood meaning when it was first coined decades back – after the mainstream left had ditched Methodism for Marxism – to replace the word “racialism”. Unlike that otherwise neutral term, “racism” is a Marxist-inspired dogma which ordains that the only people who can be held responsible for doing bad things are those with power, defined solely in terms of economics or politics, while those without such power can…

Corpse of 28year-old protester Ershad Rahmani floating in waters of Gawran Dam, Iran Global conflict 

Against the odds, heroic Iranians continue their resistance

Melanie, ,

While the west puts its feet up over the holiday season, the heroic people of Iran are continuing to put their lives on the line in their attempt to bring down the tyrannical Iranian regime. The current wave of protests across the country started last month. The courage and determination of the people are staggering. According to a report published on the Persian-language section of the Al Arabiya news website, some 1360 people have been murdered so far by Iranian security forces, principally the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The information…

Boris Johnson Hanukkah message Britain Israel 

A Boris bear-hug against British antisemitism

Melanie, , ,

Is the British government beginning to change its century-old attitude of ambiguity towards Israel and come out instead as its unequivocal friend? Don’t get too excited just yet. It’s certainly true that, fresh from his thumping election victory, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered an extraordinary Hanukkah message to the country’s antisemitism-beleaguered Jewish community. Going far beyond predictable seasonal bromides, he delivered a very pointed profession of heartfelt support. The festival of lights, he said, was a time to celebrate the Jews’ unique identity. “When the Maccabees drove the forces…

Labour party antisemitism Britain Culture wars 

The Chief Rabbi’s intervention in Britain’s general election

Melanie

Much of the reaction to the Chief Rabbi’s dramatic and unprecedented intervention in Britain’s general election campaign has proved the truth and importance of what he has said. In a comment piece in The Times (£) today, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis writes: “The Jewish community has watched with incredulity as supporters of the Labour leadership have hounded parliamentarians, members and even staff out of the party for challenging anti-Jewish racism. Even as they received threats, the response of the Labour leadership was utterly inadequate. “We have endured quibbling and prevarication over…