British Prime Minister Theresa May today announced the government’s formal adoption of a definition of anti-Semitism that includes criticism of the State of Israel and Zionism.
The PM made the announcement in a speech for the Conservative Friends of Israel, selected excerpts of which were released ahead of time by Downing Street.
The definition in question was agreed on last May by the Berlin-based International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
How Israel lobby manufactured UK Labour Party’s anti-Semitism crisis https://t.co/6yDALFvSNJ #antisemitism #corbyn #labour #smearcampaigns
— Palestina Komitee (@Palkomitee) December 5, 2016
The text is based on, and very similarly-worded to, a controversial draft definition published in 2005 by a European Union agency, and which was later abandoned as not fit for purpose.
A Downing Street statement said the intention of such a definition was to “ensure that culprits will not be able to get away with being anti-Semitic because the term is ill-defined, or because different organizations or bodies have different interpretations of it.”
According to a Press Association report, while police already use a version of the definition, “it will now be used by councils, universities and other public bodies.”
Government to adopt new definition of #antisemitism following recorded rise in antisemitic incidents by CST https://t.co/Lz3tIS9zRk
— CST (@CST_UK) December 12, 2016
In a previous press release unpacking the definition, the IHRA asserts that “contemporary examples of anti-Semitism” could include “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”
In her private lunch with the Conservative Friends of Israel, May says that “Israel guarantees the rights of people of all religions, races and sexualities, and it wants to enable everyone to flourish.”
The UK definition is almost identical to the definition of anti-Semitism at the heart of a free speech furor in the US, with groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Jewish Voice for Peace criticizing what they see as efforts by Israel advocacy groups to stifle legitimate political activism.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
It is really shocking that, as reported in the paper earlier, a British citizen named Faiz Sherari is being tortured in Israel to confess to false charges.
And while this is going on, the British Prime Minister proudly announced widening of the definition of antisemitism to include criticism of Israel and Zionism. ”
A few years back, UK had hastily and shamefully done away with the legislation that enabled arrest of war criminals, which had forced some Israeli leaders with war crimes background – which most of them have – to suffer the inconvenience of having to cancel their planned visit to UK.
So, even though the British Empire is finished, its mischief continues .
Karachi.