Monday 2nd May

Ken Livingstone has put his foot in it, yet again; he does have a habit of saying things which some people take offence at.  Or maybe it is the way he says it, I am really not sure.  There always seems to be an immediate furore, and then when the dust settles and we examine what was actually said it is often not that bad, and sometimes simply truthful.  But there does seem to be some sort of campaign against Ken.  It is almost as if certain commentators (many in the Labour party itself) are just waiting for him to open his mouth so that they can immediately launch a campaign against him.  And of course, Ken being Ken, he frequently obliges.

But what of the current issue; that there is an Anti-Semitic group of senior Labour figures, Jeremy Corbyn in fact may be included, which needs to be exposed and apologies demanded.  But apologies for what exactly?   The trouble is that if, as Jeremy, Ken and many others, myself included, dare to criticize the actions of the state of Israel, we are immediately accused of Anti-Semitism.   When State and Religion co-incide there can always be misunderstandings, and of course Muslims are often tarred with the brush of the actions of the state they may live in.  Having been born shortly after the horrors of the Second World War, and having read quite a few books about the Nazi regime I am a dedicated anti-fascist.  But I don’t accept that while having Jewish friends (and Muslims and even a few Christians) I should be excluded from having, and indeed expressing, opinions about certain Governments.

And as we are talking here about Israel, we should not forget that the modern state of Israel was created largely as a result of the genocide of six million Jews.  And because of that collective experience of the Jewish people, which must have touched so many Jewish families, I find it hard to reconcile the attitude of the Israeli state towards some of its own citizens who happen to be Palestinians.  And I understand but do not condone the actions of some Palestinians who are so frustrated that their attempts to seek some sort of State for themselves are met with such obstruction from the state of Israel that they resort to violence, which is met with often brutal retaliation, making any sort of reconciliation harder than ever.

I know that in writing this piece I may well be incurring the very wrath I have described, and I may well be labelled Anti-Semitic myself.  If so, read what I have actually written, and it will only prove my argument.