On October 29, the leader of the main opposition, Labor party in the UK, Jeremy Corbyn, was dismissed from the Party which he had been a member all his adult life. The apparent issue was his unwillingness to control anti Semitism when he had been its leader. Outsiders might think that details were all important. Despite the political noise what we are witnessing Corbyn’s dismissal is a political coup against socialism and the Palestinian cause.
The Labour Party, the main opposition party in the UK for over 100 years, has been turned upside down.
Jeremy Corbyn had been and remains a supporter of the Palestinian cause all his life. A pro-Palestinian political leader of an important political party was always anathema to both established rulers in Britain and to the wider NATO/US alliance. The issue the Western establishment faced was how to undermine Corbyn while appearing to take a back seat.
The leaders of the Jewish community in Britain were willing allies; a changed definition of antisemitism provided the fuel to challenge the pro-Palestinian Corbyn and his many allies.
The wider picture to this domestic dispute is vital in understanding what is in essence a political coup without firing a shot! The existence of Israel remains a running sore in the world’s geopolitics, in Middle Eastern territories, and even among a mixture of anxious Zionists within Israel, in the USA, and UK.
By any standards, the land that is Israel remains perhaps the last remaining Colonised territory in the world today. Of course many dispute this fact. But anyone with the remotest understanding of the history of the area since the time of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 understands that the land that is now Israel was taken by force of arms. Simply put the land was colonized. Ever since the Palestinians have had a “Just” cause.
The Just cause could always have been resolved and still can be as many Jews and Palestinian and others have understood. Meron Benvenisti, being only the latest to have given voice to a just resolution. Unfortunately, the anxious Jewish fraternity in Israel, UK and the USA does not talk to the Palestinian. Corbyn’s Labour Party was seen by all Zionists as a deep threat.
Corbyn was a popular socialist-leaning leader at the head of a major political party in a major Western State. He could not be allowed legitimacy if the colonized land of Israel was to be maintained. The US lead NATO alliance of the Western world needed Israel as a bulwark for control of the Middle East in turmoil.
The British leaders of the Jewish people of Britain to their shame exploited rearranged ideas of antisemitism to bring down a leader who just might have to lead a civilizing mission in the entire Middle East. In a word, they exploited one of the great crimes of the 20th century, the holocaust, to rid Britain of a decent man and the political party behind him.
– Dr. Roger Van Zwanenberg is the founder and chairman of the Pluto Educational Trust; a registered charity in the UK. He is also the Managing Director of Pluto Journals, a small company publishing 21 international scholarly journals. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.
As an observer from ‘across the pond’ I agree with your comments regarding Corbyn’s basic attributes. However, focusing on the ‘anti-Semitism’ issue along negates what I perceive to be the underlying major issue; his threat of socialist change in a milieu of neoliberal excess & corruption that threatened not merely those invested in Palestine but everyone in the capitalist ruling class. The ‘anti-Semitism’ issue was merely a convenient cover for a more pressing agenda. Further, Corbyn was a major player in orchestrating his own downfall by failing to defend himself & his closest supporters vigorously… who could trust him with the country? More to say, but space precludes.