Cambs4Corbyn and anti-Semitism

I am proposing the following motion to Huntingdon CLP regarding the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page. The reasons for it are obvious if you read the motion’s text and particularly if you follow the links at the end. I’ve added what I said in the meeting at the end of the motion under ‘remarks’.

Update 24th May – The anti-Semitic meme regarding the Rothschilds has been removed from Cambs4Corbyn. There is a link to an archive.org snapshot below; there are also screenshots of the post on social media.

Update 30th May – Cambs4Corbyn appears to be rebranding itself as New Front Page. I have included updated links below.

Update 4th June – the motion was passed by around thirty three votes to one against, with four abstentions. I am delighted to be able to report that the posts linked below have been removed from Cambs4Corbyn.

Cambs4Corbyn

This CLP notes

1. That on 13th May 2019, the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page posted a false and anti-Semitic meme regarding the Rothschild family;
2. That on 10th May 2019, the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page posted a meme containing the anti-Semitic mural by Mear One, which Jeremy Corbyn has described as ‘deeply disturbing and anti-Semitic’;
3. That on 15th April 2019, the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page posted a comment drawing on the racist conspiracy theory about an ‘international Zionist criminal organisation’;
4. That on 20th February 2019, the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page posted a comment drawing on a racist physical trope about Jews;
5. That there are other offensive posts on the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page;
6. That commenters on the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page have called out the anti-Semitic nature of the posts;
7. That the St Ives & District Branch Labour Party website links to the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page, describing it as a ‘very good left-leaning page’;
8. That the description for the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page refers to St Ives Branch Labour Party;
9. That the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page has been noted by critics on social media as being associated with Huntingdon Constituency Labour Party.

This CLP believes

1. That this material shared on the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page is wholly at odds with the values of the Labour Party and of Jeremy Corbyn;
2. That we have a moral duty to call out racism;
3. That we have a particular moral duty to call out racism in this case precisely because Jeremy Corbyn is our leader and we are in Cambridgeshire.

This CLP resolves

1. To continue to condemn anti-Semitism;
2. To condemn, as members of a diverse party committed to opposing racism, the anti-Semitic material on the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page;
3. To dissociate itself from the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page and Twitter account;
4. To mandate the secretary to forward a copy of this motion to the General Secretary of the Labour Party within twenty-four hours of the passing of this motion.

Links

Notes 1

The image was originally at https://www.facebook.com/Cambs4Corbyn/photos/a.184480352207999/350319195624113. It was removed shortly after this motion became public, but was picked up on social media, for instance at https://twitter.com/nicolelampert/status/1128597042513817600. (archive.org version)

Notes 2

The image with the Mear One mural is at https://www.facebook.com/newfrontpage/photos/a.184480352207999/349026149086751 (archive.org version)
Jeremy Corbyn called the mural ‘deeply disturbing and anti-Semitic’, as reported at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43523445

Notes 3

The post referring to the ‘international Zionist criminal organisation’ is at https://www.facebook.com/newfrontpage/posts/338183610171005 (archive.org version)

Notes 4

The post referring to Israel’s ‘big fucking nose’ is at https://www.facebook.com/newfrontpage/posts/316619772327389 (archive.org version)

Notes 5

For instance, https://www.facebook.com/newfrontpage/posts/299316154057751 (archive.org version)

Notes 7

See http://www.stiveslabourparty.org.uk/page21.html (archive.org version)

Notes 8

The description for Cambs4Corbyn has been updated and no longer refers to St Ives branch. However, the Cambs4Corbyn Facebook page still connects itself to St Ives branch, for instance at https://www.facebook.com/newfrontpage/posts/184136652242369?__tn__=-R.

The Cambs4Corbyn Twitter also identifies itself as being from St Ives Labour, for instance at https://twitter.com/Cambs4Corbyn/status/993067715106689024.

There is a snapshot on archive.org for 18th May of Cambs4Corbyn’s about page, where it connects itself to St Ives branch.

Remarks

I would like to start my remarks with a couple of updates. The first is that, mercifully, Cambs4Corbyn has removed the post regarding the Rothschilds I mention under notes 1. The second is that the address for Cambs4Corbyn has been changed to facebook.com/NewFrontPage. The page itself is still called Cambs4Corbyn. 

As socialists, we are committed to equality. That is part of why we abhor racism.

Racism is wrong. Anti-Semitism – the hatred of Jews, a form of racism – is wrong.

Cambs4Corbyn has repeatedly shared anti-Semitic content. I would like to talk you through some of that anti-Semitic content in a moment.

Before that, I want to explain why I’ve proposed this motion.

Firstly, because it’s the right thing to do. Labour has a proud record of standing against racism and discrimination and we should continue that proud record. 

Secondly, because it concerns us. The Cambs4Corbyn page says that it supports Jeremy Corbyn and covers Cambridgeshire. Comrades, this page says it speaks for us. Both the Facebook and Twitter accounts mention St Ives Labour. The St Ives Labour website still links to the old Facebook address, calling it ‘a very good left-leaning page’. It’s not something that we, as a local Labour party, have decided to put out. It’s easy to see, though, why people would think it’s something to do with us. We need to make clear that we want no part of its anti-Semitism.

Thirdly, because one of the ways we show the media, the Jewish community, and the wider public that we are not anti-Semitic – that we actively oppose racism – is to call it out when we see it. I think we do have a problem with anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. I also think that people hostile to the Labour Party are using that problem to attack us. We can both deal with the problem and deal with the people who wish the Labour Party ill by calling out anti-Semitism when we see it. We can say, if we are asked, that we did not do nothing when there was anti-Semitism on our patch.

Let me move on to the content on Cambs4Corbyn.

I’m going to mention some of the posts that appear in the motion. I’m afraid they are not very pleasant.

On 20th February, Cambs4Corbyn put up a post that included “Yet another example of vile, apartheid Israel sticking it’s big fucking nose where it’s not wanted.”. Now, you can criticise Israel as much as you want. That’s not the issue. The issue is ‘big fucking nose’. This is drawing on a crude physical stereotype of Jews that goes back to the thirteenth century and has been used to insult and dehumanise Jews since.

On 15th April, Cambs4Corbyn put up a post that included “the international Zionist criminal organization”. This is drawing on the racist conspiracy theory about shadowy Jews trying to control the world that goes back to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

On 10th May, Cambs4Corbyn shared a meme with the infamous Mear One mural that Jeremy Corbyn has described as ‘deeply disturbing and anti-Semitic’.

On their own, I could believe these were oversights or a lack of understanding or a mistake. When it’s repeated like this? I think this is anti-Semitism. I think this is racism.

On the 13th May, Cambs4Corbyn shared this image. It says:

“Hello there. My name is Jacob Rothschild. My family is worth 500 trillion dollars. We own nearly every central bank in the world. We financed both sides of every war since Napoleon. We own your news, the media, your oil, and your government. You have probably never heard of me”.

This is a racist lie. This is drawing on racist physical tropes about Jews in the image at top right, on racist tropes about Jews and money, on racist tropes about a Jewish conspiracy to run the world. This is literally propaganda the Nazis used.

As I mentioned at the start, that particular image has been deleted – apparently, shortly after this motion became public – and many commenters on Cambs4Corbyn did call out the blatant racism of that image before it was deleted. There was no apology. There was no retraction. All we got was a link to an article explaining the racist lie that is the Rothschild conspiracy theory on Skeptoid, but without acknowledging their earlier post or admitting an oversight or lack of understanding or mistake.

I wish I could say that what I’ve just described is the totality of unpleasantness on Cambs4Corbyn. It isn’t. There is more; I’ve just taken a few examples I feel cover the sort of thing we’re dealing with.

I don’t know what’s going through the minds of whoever runs Cambs4Corbyn. I don’t particularly care. What I do know is that we should call out racism – because it gives a bad impression of Labour, because it is from a page claiming to speak for Corbyn supporters in Cambridgeshire, and because it is the right thing to do.