David Miller deserves our support. The following was published in the Weekly Worker in response to Mike McNair’s piece condemning him at https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1456/anti-semitism-of-useful-idiots/
Dear WW,
I wish to take issue with Mike McNair’s article which suggests David Miller is blaming the Jews for the crimes of US imperialism. This is about UK and US support for Israel, of course.
It rather feels that McNair is unwilling to consider that Jews and Zionism are related; he considers the evils of Israeli are entirely down to the Yanks, with Jews as unwitting pawns in their battle for world domination. As far as he can tell, Jewish power has nothing to do with the success of Israel. Note it’s been said that it’s safer to criticise Israel in Israel than it is in the UK. Now why is that? Is it the evil Tories and the Labour Right that we must all blame for the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism?
In fact, who is behind the hate mail I receive? Who was it that got me expelled from the GMB for criticising Israel? GMB insiders tell me it was down to Rhea Wolfson, leading light of the Jewish Labour Movement, ex -Labour NEC and currently the GMB’s International Officer. According to Mr McNair, she can only be in the pay of the US Government… And her claim to be a Jew laid low by my hurtful comments on Israel is entirely unrelated to the charge of antisemitism she had Gary Smith lay before me? Indeed, I have Jewish friends who say they must support Israel, because – where else can they go, should the Brits turn against them? So one might surmise that it is Jews that want Israel- not necessarily the Americans; the Americans gave their support to the Zionist project rather late in the day- Israel was pretty much fully formed before the Americans chose to support it.
But according to Mike McNair, this is all meaningless- for it is US imperialism that oppresses the Palestinians- it’s nothing to do with Jews at all. Why- even to mention this, will mark me as a “useful idiot” in McNair’s book.
Whilst he criticises veteran Jewish campaigner Tony Greenstein for supporting David Miller, let us note what Tony himself says on this matter:
“Jews are not an oppressed minority- they are overwhelmingly middle class”
Let us recall what David Miller tweeted:
“1. Jews are not discriminated against.
2. They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.
3. They are therefore, in a position to discriminate against actually marginalised groups.”
As we all know, Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) did not like this. They declared on 9th August that Miller had “crossed the line”. They viewed his words as “overstatements at best, flattening and homogenising Jews, ignoring any historical, international or social context and creating an impression of Jews exercising power as a cohesive force. Many were distressed by some of Miller’s statements in the past which seemed to exaggerate Israeli power, but we believed they fell within the terrain of academic freedom. This recent tweet, focusing on Jews, is of a different order and has crossed a line.”
McNair thinks Israel exists because the UK and US created it and support it. If only it were so simple! Key players in declaring that antisemitism exists (when it does not) are the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Community Security Trust, the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), Hope not Hate (a misnomer!), Labour Against Antisemitism, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Leadership Council, the three Jewish newspapers (Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News, Jewish Telegraph), UK Lawyers for Israel, Friends of Israel, Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre (BICOM) – and of course the Israeli Government.
What do all these groups have in common? It is estimated that 70% of the UK’s 300,000 Jews support Israel. (But I don’t think these “Jews” really are Jews, for most of them have rejected their Torah and Talmud…). However, they abuse their claim to Jewishness in their determination to protect their racist colony.
It’s interesting that I was expelled from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) for saying pretty much the same thing as David Miller. Like JVL, PSC are run by folk calling themselves Jews (even though they have a Palestinian employee). They took great issue with me for saying:
“There is anti-Semitism in the UK because, I think, the Jews have so much leverage here. And they clearly do – as the most outspoken ones, those in support of Israel – the Zionists- have shown- as they have exerted considerable leverage on the UK’s political parties- the police, the schools and universities, the local authorities – to adopt the IHRA – and has it made the Jews safer?
“Not at All. But it does indicate the Jews in the UK (that with 370,000 or 0.5% of the population) generally wield significant influence.
“My statement “The Holocaust gives Jews so much leverage that they could call for the beatification of Margaret Thatcher and the country would probably jump to their desire” , clearly refers to the UK. And I think it’s true that they have far more influence in the UK because of the Holocaust”.
PSC declared I had made an antisemitic statement and they continue to decry me. [In April, they wrote to all PSC regional groups instructing them to boycott the “Muslim & Jew: Beyond Israel” tour I had organised to 15 cities. By so doing, they were assisting the Zionists, who were also trying to do the same thing.] I have come to the view that the PSC care more about cossetting Jews and maintaining “benevolent Zionism” than saving Palestine and dismantling Israel. They support Palestine, it’s true, but they seem to believe Jews have a right to Israel, too.
Readers may wonder why David Miller and I feel the need to say anything about Jews. Well, the fact of the matter is, that we have both been persecuted by people identifying as Jews, for criticising Israel. And we know that the power of the Israel lobby in the UK is great. And we know that it is driven by people who think themselves Jewish. But it’s clear that neither David nor I are antisemitic- neither of us are displaying “hostility to or prejudice against Jewish people” (the OED definition). We are simply making an observation. We feel a need to challenge the prevailing narrative. Let us recall that there was widespread establishment support for David Baddiel and his “Jews don’t count” guff. Unfortunately, the victim narrative is what powers support for Israel.
Folk make less than glowing observations about the Scots (mean with their money); Irish (potato loving drunkards); English (stiff upper lip xenophobes); Catholics (pope-loving Mary worshippers); Protestants (Catholic-haters) etc- but if an observation is made about Jews that contradicts their claim to be perpetual victims, excluded from power and endlessly discriminated against? All hell breaks loose and we see anti-Zionist and Zionist Jews suddenly holding hands, campaigning jointly to exclude us from the struggle for Palestine.
Can I reiterate, this letter is not about attacking Jews. It is about supporting a fellow campaigner for Palestine, who is under attack for commenting that Jews in the UK are not disenfranchised and those that support Israel (ie 70% of them) are enthusiastic about abusing their influence in furtherance of Zionism, by de-platforming and smearing all who oppose them – as Jew-haters.
One of our Palestinian members has told me this letter is worthwhile because she has been victimised (like Miller), here in the UK, by Zionists – who were claiming to be Jewish. She is but one of the five thousand Palestinians in the UK who think themselves on a shaky peg. Should the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) call for their citizenship rights to removed, their call will be supported by others in the establishment claiming to be Jews. And the UKLFI are run by… who?
Well, it’s certainly not US imperialists.
If Mike McNair still believes Israel was created by US Imperialism, he should consult Alan Hart’s brilliant book “Zionism- the Real Enemy of the Jews”. He’ll read how the USA originally refused to support Zionist takeover of Palestine and actually sided with the Arabs. All that changed in 1947 when Zionist Jews in the USA started flexing their media and financial muscles. Truman was in favour of issuing 400,000 visas to the Jews in Hitler’s concentration camps so that they could come to the USA. The Zionists were furious because they wanted to send them to Palestine.
Truman was told that if he continued, he would never be elected president again. (see chapter 11- President Truman surrenders to Zionism)
He dropped the visa plan. So the camp survivors were pushed by Zionists who charted boats, often without visas, to Palestine – and there went on to form the backbone of the Hagganah, showing no mercy in the Nakba.
Then, when they wanted to declare Israel, Zionist pressure again forced the US to support the UN Partition Plan.
Then Truman won in 1948, thanks to Zionist Jews supporting him.
Since then, no US president has risked alienating the Zionists.
Best wishes
Pete Gregson (Chair), One Democratic Palestine
The letter was published in the WW, alongside letters from Ian Donovan of Consistent Democrats and Gerry Dowling of Socialist Fight.
See them at