When you see Jeremy Corbyn’s camp resorting to the term “nothing dodgy”, you can be reasonably certain that it has been up to no good. Yet again.
And so it is with some of the latest news, this time about an old friend of the blog, Ismail Patel:
A Palestinian group, whose founder once praised the militant Islamist group Hamas, held a fundraising dinner at which it collected £10,000 for Jeremy Corbyn’s last leadership campaign, documents seen by the Observer reveal.
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The organisation was founded by Ismail Patel in 1997 to highlight the plight of Palestinians in Israel, although it has been caught up in a series of controversies. In 2009 during the bombing of Gaza by Israel, Patel told a rally: “Hamas is no terrorist organisation. The reason they hate Hamas is because they refuse to be subjugated, occupied by the Israeli state, and we salute Hamas for standing up to Israel.”
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The spokesman instead said that Patel had “definitely donated” along with “a couple of others” but that it had been declared, adding: “There is nothing dodgy going on.”
Ismail Patel and Jeremy Corbyn share a happy moment
Corbyn and Patel stand up for hate preacher Raed Salah, the “blood libel sheikh”
“Nothing Dodgy”
But do try to see it all from a proper saintly perspective. Surely ranting for Hamas can’t really be dodgy, can it. Here is Mr Patel at full throttle at one of the nastiest Israel hatred demonstrations this country has ever seen. He hurls abuse at the Board of Deputies of British Jews as well. One of ours, oh yes indeed.
Jeremy Corbyn spoke at the same demonstration, of course. He thanked his fellow demonstrators for turning out and encouraged them. Ugly and widespread street violence broke out on High Street Kensington near the Israeli embassy shortly afterwards. Result!
Nor can there be anything dodgy about a joyous meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, right? Especially when Mr Patel was shepherded to Gaza by Interpal. It is the UK service bureau for Hamas and a “charity” long favoured by Mr Corbyn.
Or teaming up with Neturei Karta, the bizarre, tiny and wildy extreme Jewish sect which serves as a fig leaf for the worst of the haters, crazed terror fan Yvonne Ridley, and disgraced vicar Stephen Sizer, whose cause Mr Corbyn has championed.
Not to mention the fine fellows of Cage, the terrorist support group.
George Galloway is another great man. Nothing dodgy about him, no sir.
Mr Patel also boarded the Mavi Marmara to support the international Hamas network and the Turkish “charity” IHH, which has been close to jihadis for decades now. What on earth could be wrong with people who salute the mass murderer Basayev as well as Hamas?
More Labour Friends
Mr Corbyn is far from alone in his party when it comes to working with Mr Patel and his Israel hatred campaign.
Here is Ed Miliband, then party leader, at a Labour Friends of Palestine event sponsored by Mr Patel’s group. For company he has Martin “Tentacles” Linton.
In this video you will see Labour MP Keith Vaz delivering a “pro-Palestinian” message to Downing Street with Mr Patel. Mr Vaz is of course currently heading a Parliamentary investigation into antisemitism.
Here Labour MPs Andy Slaughter, Rushanara Ali, and Diane Abbott join Patel at the head of an anti-Israel march.
Mr Slaughter has also helped Mr Patel in his tireless work against the unspeakable evil of Israeli dates.
Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi has pitched in too.
Don’t you just love these “kinder and gentler” politics and the party that has gifted them to us.
