Jeremy Corbyn's time is up

[Dogsauce]

Labour MPs are currently retweeting Guido Fawkes, in a massive self-own exercise. GF had a 'scoop' that Corbyn spent yesterday evening with Jewdas, the evil leftwing group (no mention that they are a Jewish group) that hates capitalism and criticises Israel. Further evidence that Corbyn is the actual worst.

In fact, Corbyn was invited to join the group - who are his constituents - for their seder, and reports from those there said it was a beautiful evening.

Cue Labour MPs jumping straight on the bandwagon (retweeting Guido for absolute fuck's sake), Luke Akhurst suggesting there are good jews and bad jews and Corbyn chose to spend time with the bad ones, Oakeshot on the news saying "you only have to see their name, Jewdas" ...

They've jumped the shark this time.

The BBC paper review leads with the guido report, even though it doesn’t appear on the front of any of the papers they’re reviewing. They seem more keen than the right wing press in making this a big story, seems very questionable.

 

[bimble]

This is just ridiculous now. i feel embarassed and sick of people talking about jews to push their agendas.
However nice of an evening they had though I don't think it was a wise choice on his part to spend Seder with the people who wrote that 'fuck you all' piece which was simply a direct attack on the mainstream jewish orgs of the uk. Even if you 100% agree with what they wrote.

 

[J Ed]

This is now the lead story on the BBC website.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, Corbyn might have done better to politely refuse the invitation. If he goes to dinner with the Chief Rabbi right now he'll be attacked for using the wrong fork to eat his smoked salmon.

Under the headline 'Corbyn attends left-wing Jewish event'. While I'm sure it is intended as a smear, I'm not sure it has very much scope for damage.

I half wonder whether this is not an attempt by the Lab leadership to deliberately re-focus media attention in a way that makes the entirety of the story look as transparently bizarre as attacking Corbyn over attending the Jewdas Seder.

 

[teqniq]

It's the lead story on the Graun too.

 

[Reiabuzz]

Who the fuck is advising this guy?

 

[bemused]

Who the fuck is advising this guy?

Ken Livingstone

 

[steveo87]

Just out of curiosity, why do people think no one's asked/demanded openly for Corbyn to resign, if he's such a raging anti-Semite?

Personally I think it's because there's credible (at least with grass roots) alternative.
I think the right of the Party would much prefer Corbyn get a hammering in the GE, in a grand "We Told You So", then openly dismiss the apparent opinion that Corbyn is the best leader (in the most part) for the party, and that the current situation is just a smear campaign (which appears to be losing pace).

 

[SpookyFrank]

"BBC accused of antisemitism after ranting about Corbyn's involvement with the wrong kind of jews"

-yeah, I didn't think so.

 

[newbie]

Who the fuck is advising this guy?

people who want to cement their hold on the party?

 

[SpookyFrank]

Who the fuck is advising this guy?

Maybe he's deciding things for himself.

 

[J Ed]

people who want to cement their hold on the party?
View attachment 131772

That figure is due to the number of people who have had their direct debits lapse in the past few months, media manipulation rather than fact.

 

[SpookyFrank]

That figure is due to the number of people who have had their direct debits lapse in the past few months, media manipulation rather than fact.

Indeed, note the publication reporting it.

 

[Reiabuzz]

Maybe he's deciding things for himself.

You're probably right. But at some point, if he wants to be in Downing St, he's got to understand that's he's got to play the game. Going to events like this, not agreeing that Putin was behind the Salisbury attack etc is fucking stupid politically, at best. Somebody should be in his ear. May is there for the taking and he's doing this shit.

 

[D'wards]

I'm sure it's been said before, but Corbyn's greatest strength and weakness is not giving a toss about public opinion or media pressure.
Fancy going to an event like this when he's in middle of the antisemitism shitstorm.
I think it will ultimately be his downfall though.
All he's done so far is lose an election, of which i suspect the gains he made were the result of a fashion amongst the young to vote - a group normally low in voting figures .
The nhs and police force is on its arse.
London now has more murders than New York, minor crimes aren't being dealt with and healthcare is fucked . The Tories should be fish in a barrel

 

[killer b]

Looks like he's seeing if it's possible without 'playing the game'.

 

[andysays]

Under the headline 'Corbyn attends left-wing Jewish event'. While I'm sure it is intended as a smear, I'm not sure it has very much scope for damage.

I half wonder whether this is not an attempt by the Lab leadership to deliberately re-focus media attention in a way that makes the entirety of the story look as transparently bizarre as attacking Corbyn over attending the Jewdas Seder.

The damage is not just the direct stuff, it's also, perhaps more importantly, that all the coverage JC and the Labour party are getting ATM is this stuff, rather than attacking the Tories or pushing positive reasons to vote for them.

 

[Lurdan]

I don't think it was a wise choice on his part to spend Seder with the people who wrote that 'fuck you all' piece which was simply a direct attack on the mainstream jewish orgs of the uk. Even if you 100% agree with what they wrote.

Interestingly the Jewdas website has gone offline

While waiting to see if this is a temporary blip the article Bimble linked to is archived here

ETA: seems to have been knocked offline by the amount of traffic it's currently getting.

This is about people of a certain age, class and political persuasion who have no idea how to function in a system where every political party isn’t pandering to their views exactly. It is about the threat that the possibility of nationalisation, rent caps and redistribution of wealth poses to the people whose ‘philanthropy’ funds our community. We have allowed our community to be dominated by middle- and upper- class people who are actively opposed to our material interests for way too long.

Enough is more than fucking enough.

 

[Borp]

I'm probably biased by I think this was a good move by corbyn. Dealing with the issue but doing it on his terms. (That's where his popularity rests to start with)
Ultimately this story is mostly just a media game anyway.
Which is not to say anti semitism doesn't need calling out and dealing with.

 

[SpookyFrank]

The establishment dislikes progressive religious groups in general. Religious folk of all stripes are supposed to exist in homogeneous voting blocs with predictable responses to known triggers and tame figureheads who can be bought simply and cheaply.

The press also dislike any situation where they have to think beyond their one-line summaries of what it is to be a muslim or a jew or a sikh. More than one jewish view on Palestine is just too much like hard work, there's clearly some deviancy there that needs stamping out.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

Looks like he's seeing if it's possible without 'playing the game'.

Seeing if what's possible?

 

[DotCommunist]

i suspect the gains he made were the result of a fashion amongst the young to vote

this was recieved wisdom at the time but a look at the data afterwards has shown the whole 'youthquake' thing to be a convenient line to run with. Increased vote in all the age groups 60 and under

 

[newbie]

That figure is due to the number of people who have had their direct debits lapse in the past few months, media manipulation rather than fact.

sure, but there's reasons why they let them lapse, just as there's reasons, including media manipulation, why others become more determined in their battle for ascendancy. Those that lapse, or pointedly resign, over anti-semitism are unlikely to have been the strongest Corbyn supporters. As many people have said, the overall electoral impact of this is likely to be minor, despite the best efforts of the right, but a smallish percentage of Corbyn critics leaving might help tip the internal balance of power. The question was who advised him to attend the Jewdas thing?, I'm suggesting that the advisers who said no, no, go to a Friends of Israel event instead were told not to be so silly,

 

[killer b]

Seeing if what's possible?

Everything I guess. The last few years have been regularly punctuated by people sagely opining 'he's fucked it this time! He needs to play the game better!', and each time they've been proved wrong.

Fuck knows if that's the case this time, but I can't help feeling a certain amount of admiration at the audacity of it all.

 

[YouSir]

sure, but there's reasons why they let them lapse, just as there's reasons, including media manipulation, why others become more determined in their battle for ascendancy. Those that lapse, or pointedly resign, over anti-semitism are unlikely to have been the strongest Corbyn supporters. As many people have said, the overall electoral impact of this is likely to be minor, despite the best efforts of the right, but a smallish percentage of Corbyn critics leaving might help tip the internal balance of power. The question was who advised him to attend the Jewdas thing?, I'm suggesting that the advisers who said no, no, go to a Friends of Israel event instead were told not to be so silly,

Word is his office didn't know and he was just invited, so he went on his own time. Tbh I see no problem with it, so far all it's done is expose the real motivations of some on the Right for caring in the first place. Guido's article barely even referred to them as Jewish (preferring Left Wing) and the reaction I've seen so far seems to either be asking if there are 'Good' and 'Bad' Jews now. Or nodding heads from the commentariat saying there'll be a terrible reaction while struggling to point out who it's going to come from. Except for the usual list of Never Corbyn types of course, especially among the MPs, who're already getting stick for feeding off of Guido as if they're best mates.

 

[bimble]

I'm probably biased by I think this was a good move by corbyn. Dealing with the issue but doing it on his terms. (That's where his popularity rests to start with)
Ultimately this story is mostly just a media game anyway.
Which is not to say anti semitism doesn't need calling out and dealing with.

Do you mean dealing with the issue by having dinner with the people who said the whole recent debacle (and the demonstration last week) was really nothing but a smear campaign ? I dunno.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Do you mean dealing with the issue by having dinner with the people who said the whole recent debacle (and the demonstration last week) was really nothing but a smear campaign ? I dunno.

That's one way of putting it. I read their statement as saying a genuine problem was being used to smear Corbyn unduly. They've not said there was never a problem, quite the opposite.

 

[Borp]

Do you mean dealing with the issue by having dinner with the people who said the whole recent debacle (and the demonstration last week) was really nothing but a smear campaign ? I dunno.

From what I've read they've said it's a smear campaign AND anti semitism exists and needs dealing with. Also it wasn't just dinner.

 

[butchersapron]

I think there's going to be two sets of people delighted at this latest - 1) the right inside and out of labour who are using the issue to attack Corbyn and, more importantly to me me 2) anti-semites who think they're just anti-zinonist inside and around the labour left/leadership/Corbyn support groups. Their anti-semitic worldview will be be emboldened by what they will see and a nod-and-a- wink from Corbyn and they will have two of their main dishonesties focused on and bolstered - look even jews think like me, how can i then be anti-semitic and see this was always about Israel not jews (look at the the powerful jews disagreeing and attacking). I don't really care about 1) and don't imagine it having any wider damaging outcomes in its own terms but in recent days there had been signs of the acceptance of the need to isolate then remove the 2nd lot whilst undermining those sort of arguments above. I think giving them a boost of any sort - no matter how innocuous the actual thing he did was - is just bad tactics if you're serious about 2).

 

[bimble]

From what I've read they've said it's a smear campaign AND anti semitism exists and needs dealing with. Also it wasn't just dinner.

I've not got any problem with him attending Seder with local jewish friends obvs, but there is no question that it'll piss off the big organisations that claim to speak for 'the jewish community', whom they (Jewdas) so publically trashed. That doesn't bother me personally but its not consistent with what JC said in his happy passover message about how he wants to rebuild relationships etc.

 

[YouSir]

I think there's going to be two sets of people delighted at this latest - 1) the right inside and out of labour who are using the issue to attack Corbyn and, more importantly to me me 2) anti-semites who think they're just anti-zinonist inside and around the labour left/leadership/Corbyn support groups. Their anti-semitic worldview will be be emboldened by what they will see and a nod-and-a- wink from Corbyn and they will have two of their main dishonesties focused on and bolstered - look even jews think like me, how can i then be anti-semitic and see this was always about Israel not jews (look at the the powerful jews disagreeing and attacking). I don't really care about 1) and don't imagine it having any wider damaging outcomes in its own terms but in recent days there had been signs of the acceptance of the need to isolate then remove the 2nd lot whilst undermining those sort of arguments above. I think giving them a boost of any sort - no matter how innocuous the actual thing he did was - is just bad tactics if you're serious about 2).

The alternative would have been to ignore an invitation from a Left Wing Jewish group in his own constituency because it might be seen as an endorsement to conspiracist anti-Semites. Is that much better? Granted, it would have denied the opportunity to have some digs to portions of the press and party but as a functional aspect of the work against anti-Semitism in the party it would have been a pretty dismal turn.

My view is that the process of dealing with the AS portion of the party is going to be a real and long term one which will predominantly be dictated by the culture members themselves choose to create. Having a disciplinary model in place is good but everyone on the Left has met those sort of people and how we react to them is what makes the real difference to how accepted they feel. Bemoaning the leader for creating bad 'optics' as he goes around visiting fairly innocuous functions is just playing to a group of talking heads who, for the most part, don't give a fuck about the issue either way unless it serves them (especially Guido).