The JC reports that Marjorie Thompson, formerly the Chair of CND but now chair of the Conservative Cooperative Movement and spokesperson for the Islamist campaigning group, iEngage, has made an utterly disgraceful attack on the veteran Labour Peer, Lord Janner:
In what is becoming an increasingly bitter dispute, iEngage spokesperson Marjorie Thompson told the JC she did not believe Lord Janner had signed up to the APPG in good faith. “It strikes me that Greville Janner joined the group to directly sabotage it,” she said.
Labour peer Lord Gulam Noon, who is a trustee of the Coexistence Trust, set up by Lord Janner and Prince Hassan of Jordan to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia, said: “Greville Janner has always fought all forms of racism, including Islamophobia”
Ms Thompson was chair of CND in the early 1990s, but is now a prominent Conservative. Her words could prove deeply embarrassing to the Prime Minister; as chair of the Conservative Cooperative Movement.
There’s more.
There is an nasty antisemitic blog, London Muslim (to which I won’t link), which routinely uses the term “Israelite” to describe its opponents. In one such article, iEngage has posted a comment:
Beneath the blog, a comment apparently from iEngage thanks London Muslim for its “supportive post”; the iEngage website also carries a link to the post, endorsing it as ‘best of the blogs’.
Mohammad Asif, chief executive of iEngage, was unavailable for comment, but Ms Thompson said the organisation was merely thanking London Muslim for its support, not endorsing the language.
But Mr Gardner said: “The word Israelite was abused in a grotesque and hateful manner, but iEngage have endorsed it, further proving how unsuitable they are as a partner for tackling racism.”
Ben Barkow, director of the Wiener Library, the research centre on Nazism and fascism, said that referring to Mr Halfon as “an Israelite” was “plainly intended to be derogatory. It superficially conflates the terms ‘Jew’ and ‘Israeli’ and implies that Jews and Israel are a single entity. Phrases such as ‘nasty Israelite’, ‘virulent Israelite’, and ‘the usual Israelite suspects’ leaves little doubt that this is antisemitic sloganising of a fairly crude sort.”
British Fascist speakers in the 1930s and 40s sometimes used the word “Israelites” as a synonym for Jews.
Right.
iEngage wants to be the Secretariat for the APPG on Islamophobia? If it succeeds, it will link the fight against anti-Muslim bigotry to a defence of antisemitism and a vicious defamation on a veteran anti-racist. Not to mention iEngage’s record of attacking Muslim liberals, defending hate preachers, opposing sanctions on Iran, promoting dialogue with terrorist groups, and so on.
These features mark iEngage out is an Islamist attack organisation, which has nothing to do with defending ordinary Muslims from racism and hatred. If Straw, Khan, Timms and Hughes manage to retain this organisation as Secretariat, it will dog them until the end of their careers.
