This is a cross post by Mark Gardner from the CST Blog
The website of the Norwich branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign carries a brief video by Iranian state propaganda outlet, Press TV, discussing Channel 4′s 2009 documentary, “Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby”. (At the time, CST Blog insisted that this programme, despite its presenter’s warnings against antisemitic conspiracy theory, risked just such an outcome. See here, here, here and here.)
The video is only 2min 40sec long. It is the eighth of many others on a page of the Norwich PSC website, that is linked to via a button on the Norwich group’s homepage, promising
must watch “online” videos, please click here for more information
It is, indeed, a “must watch” video, because it concisely demonstrates that Vivien Wineman, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews was 100% correct to tell last week’s Jewish Chronicle:
We are alarmed by the way in which anti-Israel rhetoric has now become infused with antisemitism and members of organisations which claim to be combating racism are in fact now engaging in racist conspiracy theories and condoning racist acts.
The Norwich PSC wesbite blurb describing the video makes no mention of Jews, only of the pro-Israel lobby. Nevertheless, the thumbnail introduction picture shows an orthodox Jew in the street.
This picture of the orthodox Jew, the video’s actual content; its production by Iran; and its being carried on a PSC website for promotion to all, is as straightforward a proof of the Board President’s words as you could wish to see: because this video, throughout its length, repeats all of the usual Zionist and pro-Israel lobby conspiracy accusations, but uses the term “Jewish” throughout and illustrates this with pictures of orthodox Jews going about their daily routine.
(The video also has images of senior Conservative politicians, Israeli actions and pro-Israel demonstrators in Trafalgar Square.)
Of course, whether PSC now belatedly remove the video remains to be seen. Perhaps we will get a repeat of the usual lazy grudging apology that talks about “unintentional offence” and “opposition to antisemitism”.
What we will not get, however, is any sincere acknowledgement that the conspiracy theories levelled against “Zionists” and “pro-Israelis” are essentially the same as those levelled against “Jews” or “Big Jews” or “Jewish capital” in the first half of the 20th Century. Nor are we likely to get an admission that British Jews have every right to be deeply concerned by the poisonous nature of this entire discourse. Indeed, we may not even get an acknoweldgement that Jewish concerns are sincerely held.
Please, watch this short video and consider who is producing this content, how it is being spread, and how indistinguishable it is from what is taken as kosher comment: just so long as the words “pro-Israel” or “Zionist” are used instead of “Jew”.
Note, at 1min 15sec the video includes an interview with George Galloway where he says
Even David Cameron’s office itself has been infiltrated and is being partly financed by people who’s actual agenda is to ensure that Israel’s interests rather than Britain’s interests are secured.
This risks implying that Galloway is endorsing the antisemitic line of Press TV (with whom he has worked on many previous occasions): but we have no way of knowing how the question was actually put to him, or where his soundbite originally derived. Most likely, his reply has been misused by Press TV. (Galloway has previously stated, “Israel works for America. Israel works for imperialism. Its not that there’s a Zionist lobby acting as the tail that wags the dog. The dog always wags the tail.”)
Another article concerning Norwich PSC (this time about a video that flirts with actual Holocaust denial) may be found here on the Just Thinking blog. The article also appears here on the Harrys Place blog.