Shlomo's Thoughts

by Shlomo Gareth Anker The upcoming Labour leadership race will include a series of attacks against Jeremy Corbyn from Right Wingers in the media and from Pro-Israel activists (due to his his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). They will insult him personally with adjectives like "hate" or "violent" & nouns like "anti-Semite" or "terrorist." I write this article to point out the contradictions in these attacks.

Disagreements with Jeremy There are some things I disagree with Jeremy on. But let me be clear. These are disagreements among allies, and our common goal is the same, justice. 1 or 2 states: I disagree on Jeremy about the One State Solution. I support two states. Personally i believe two states is a good temporary measure for about 20 to 30 years until the situation calms. While I think he is wrong, the biggest opponent to Two States is Bibi Netanyahu & the Israeli Government. Hamas: I also disagree with Jeremy on his rhetoric. He should be more critical of Hamas in his speeches. Some find it impossible to fully criticize Hamas. This is a mistake but i can understand this position. My pro-Israel friends use quite manipulative tactics & this creates a really tricky situation and the Left often use these manipulative tactics too. While this is an error, at the very worst he is the same as "Left-Israelis" who refuse to fully condemn the IDF. Lebanon: The left like to spend a bit too much time attacking what Israel has done in Lebanon and ignoring what Lebanese have done to each other. The main responsibility of Sabra & Shatia is not with Israel but with the Lebanese people who committed it. Israel must be condemned for its criminal behaviour in supporting these massacres but I would prefer Jeremy to have been more critical of Lebanese while still saying that Israel committed crimes too.

Agreements with Jeremy I am sorry offend my Israeli family and friends but most of what Jeremy says is correct. Gaza: Israel has committed massacres in Gaza. Israel also refuses to give human rights to the West Bank. The Palestinian areas are not a democracy but run by the Israeli State without its Arab inhabitants having rights such as: a fair trial, right to vote and so on. Occupation: Jeremy has for decades opposed the occupation and the crimes of the Israeli Military. He has rightfully defended our fellow humans (known as Palestinians) and this is in line with his opposition to Apartheid in South Africa. . The Palestinian areas are not a democracy but run by the Israeli State without its inhabitants having rights such as: a fair trial, right to vote and so on. Big Issues: Israel is important but its only one issue. The major issues are austerity, climate change and so on. The biggest threat to Jewish people does not come Gazans but comes from the poverty that austerity will create and changes to environment that climate change will create. Jewish minority in UK: , Jeremy and the Left have for decades defended Jews from the Far Right. In the 1970s Jeremy was involved in protecting Jews from the Neo-Nazis (unlike mainstream politicians from both the Centre and the the Right who just ignored them). The fact is that the Pro-Jewish rhetoric from Conservatives and New Labour politicians has no real Pro-Jewish soul. Rather its pure opportunism. Its only non-Jews like Jeremy Corbyn who we can trust to defend us if a Far-Right arises again.

Summary While i may have some disagreements with Jeremy on some issues relating to Israel, his heart is in the right place and i just think he has not spent enough time in Israel to understand the full picture. But of course, I also make plenty of mistakes too and i will continue to make mistakes. None of us are perfect and his errors are not due to any hatred but just normal mistakes all good-intentioned people make.