Guardian-Left MP Jeremy Corbyn’s obsessive malevolence towards Israel

Adam Levick
CiF Watch
22 March '11

One of the more bizarre political dynamics regarding the obsession with Israel – the amount of public space devoted to dissecting every conceivable Israeli sin, real and (largely) imagined, holding the Jewish state to moral and political standards which no other nation is held to (certainly no other nation in the tyranny-laden Middle East) – is the moral inversion engaged by those who not only deny that this double standard exists, but who argue further that the inverse is true, that Israel is held to a lower level of accountability than other states.

Jeremy Corbyn’s contribution in CiF, March 21, concerning what he characterizes as the UK’s “suspicious” “rush to war” in Libya is nothing remarkable, but his pivot, further in the essay, from exploring this skepticism over the wisdom of Western military intervention in Libya to attacking Israel is indicative of the Guardian Left – in which nearly any issue in the region can devolve into fodder for the demonization of the Jewish state:

Corbyn (a Labour MP for Islington North) says:

“One can’t help but be struck by the rush to military involvement [in Libya] by politicians of all countries and all persuasions. The contrast with the western treatment of the rest of the region could not be more stark. The Palestinian people have lived with occupation for 60 years, well over 1,000 died in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, settlements abound and Israel possesses nuclear weapons. I can’t remember anyone calling for a no-fly zone in Gaza in winter 2008-09 when phosphorous bombs were used against a largely unarmed and defenceless civilian population.”

First, regarding:

“Palestinians have lived with occupation for 60 years.”

At best, this is simply unintelligible. Israel took control of the West Bank after defeating four Arab armies in a defensive war in 1967 – 43 years ago – so its unclear what occupation Corbyn is referring to, unless of course he’s suggesting, as Hamas and other extremists do, that all of Israel (even within pre-1967 borders) is illegitimate and should be considered occupied territory.

(Read full "Guardian-Left MP Jeremy Corbyn’s obsessive malevolence towards Israel")

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