A few days ago we cross posted David Collier’s research on antisemitism in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) here. I’ve laid out what I think are the most damning parts of the report over at the Times of Israel.
Collier’s research is sobering stuff. I read the entirety of it (80 pages) and going through post after post of antisemitic conspiracist nonsense was, for want of a better term, a mind fuck.
The research Collier has undertaken proves that there are many activists in the PSC who believe in various conspiracy theories, deny the Holocaust and feel themselves to be in the grip of Zionist world domination. It proves these activists can be found in PSC branches all over the country and it proves PSC’s senior staff are connected to these activists. Any attempt to excuse knowledge of these activists would be utterly disingenuous. Which is probably why PSC hasn’t put out a statement of any kind or attempted to distance itself from these kranks, antisemites and conspiracists.
Recently the PSC made a submission to the now infamous Chakrabarti Inquiry into antisemitism. In light of Collier’s research the document reads like a sick joke. That an organisation whose most active members are motivated by the belief that they’re engaged in a fight against a Zionist conspiracy to take over the world would seek to define antisemitism is an affront to Jews everywhere. According to the PSC;
“As an organisation we actively challenge racism, and do not tolerate antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of racism within our membership.”
This is a fiction Collier has laid to rest. From now on it’s unlikely they’re going to be able to utter words like;
“It is vital that political parties avoid confusing or conflating support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism.”
This is advice the bosses at PSC should be taking on board themselves. Their quest for rights for Palestinians attracts way too many antisemites and the PSC as a body takes far too little responsibility when it comes to changing that proven fact. By refusing to act on the research PSC as a body is now complicit in the antisemitism of its own members. The next time they seek to contribute to any kind of Parliamentary finding one expects that they will be booted out of the room.
