Dear all,
This letter was sent to LFoP yesterday, I am sharing it because of the significance of what had happened on the overall work, efficiency and focusof PSC, the campaign which main aim is the support of Palestine.
It’s crucial that those who are genuine in their support of Palestine must understand how they have been manipulated and steered away from core issues: what happened to me gives a vivid example on how they use defamation as a political tool to get rid of those voices who advocate full rights of Palestinians, full Liberation and full exposure of the Zionist racism and control.
Dear all
On 23 December 2011, I received a letter from the Chair of Liverpool Friends of Palestine (LFoP) C. M. It was allegedly a ” conciliatory” [sic] letter, as I understood from a phone conversation with him prior to receiving it. The purpose of the letter, as he claimed on the phone, was to “reassure” [sic] me that I haven’t been expelled from LFoP, in spite of the alienation I feel from LFoP after defamation and harassment campaign was launched against me by a few LFoP members, leading to my departure from the group.
As anyone can see, the letter I received is not at all a letter of reconciliation, but is instead, a continuation of the harassment.
It appears to be a cold clinical text, prepared as a piece of evidence, short of being a legal document. The obvious intention of this letter is to conduct damage control by attempting to absolve LFoP and the individuals involved from any responsibility with regards to the damage inflicted upon me and my reputation, when I was accused of racism and anti-Semitism in the odious letter by G. D. and T. B., addressed to J. H. and C. M, the latter two incidentally endorsing the content of the letter.
Mr C. M. letter blatantly ignores the fact that my sense of alienation from the group is the result of defamation and harm, causing damages to me even as a private person, as well as to LFoP wider-membership and the very aims of LFoP, and this by a tiny clique of members of LFoP who have obviously hijacked the group.
By omission, the letter in essence denies that I have been defacto expelled by: the sheer defamation and accusation thrown at me, the gossip about my private life behind my back, being refused the right to defend myself, being excluded from the group deliberation, the avoidance of my detractors of direct communication despite my repeated invites, the avoidance of presenting their case factually and intellectually, the avoidance of polite and gracious discourse as means of engagement to discuss possible points of disagreement, the strange refusal of the accusers to debate on topic, and worse opting instead to ad hominem attacks as a way of defending their argument and political views as well as heinous accusations as a way of stifling the debate and tempting to neutralize me politically, by causing damages to me, to my reputation and even to my private life.
If this is not expulsion, what is?
Wouldn’t anyone with a sense of dignity and commonsense feel as I do?
Aside myself, there are many other far-thinking, dynamic, articulate and deeply committed members, who have also been alienated. Many approached me to express their disenchantment with LFoP.
Who appointed GD, TB, JH, LD and their cohort as “Political Commissars” at LFoP?
Does the majority of LFoP members approve of ‘Political Commissars” enforcing doctrine, and sanctioning free-thinking members?
The paragraph below is only one piece of evidence that some members of LFoP and/or MJPJ have indeed been engaging in gossip and spreading rumours and lies against myself and my family. It is but one example of the appalling consequences of such behaviour. The aim, of course, is obviously tosilence me and to discredit my research:
“In Liverpool a Palestinian activist, Nahida, who was once the mainstay of the group, changed almost overnight when she married a sinister Dutchman. Jewish conspiracies took over her life and it was with difficulty that the branch reclaimed its website, which had posted links to her anti-Semitic website (‘Spiders Web’).”
Tony Greenstein ( a close friend of both G. D. and S. S.) does NOT know me personally or my husband, yet he propagates lies about me, my family and my character. He spreads libellous accusations of anti Semitism against me, with the utter silence of those LFoP members who fed him with such defamatory lies, and with the silence of other decent members who have swallowed the lies and let them pass unchallenged without demanding a thorough investigation of such offence, without firm rejection of such behaviour from group members and without chastisement or sanctions against guilty members who took part in this smear campaign.
Had those who smeared my good name -because they have issues with my writings and views, seen some sense, apologized for the harm done and accepted my invitation for intellectual dialogue, they would’ve at least regained some dignity. As of now time for dialogue and intellectual debate with them is over. I consider any further communication with me / about me as harassment, for which I reserve the right to defend myself and my reputation.
To sum up: LFoP has allowed some of its members to engage in Zionist-style methods of operation by:
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Meddling in private affairs of members and using slander and defamation as a political tool (as seen from the writing of Tony Greenstein, who is a good friend of LFoP members: G. D. and S. S.).
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The use of the label “Anti-Semitism” as a political tool. By branding those they disagree with, with charges of racism and anti-Semitism (Racism is unlawful according to British law). Completely dismissing the seriousness and the gravity of such allegation, they (carelessly or malevolently) have accused me of committing an unlawful offence.
This has been allowed to pass under the watchful eyes of LFoP, without any investigation, cautioning or sanctioning of those members who engaged in such defamation… to the contrary, some LFoP members have voted approving of such libellous accusations.
As such, C. M’s letter is nothing but an added insult. The letter is an aggravation to the pain and injury, as it fails to refer to, reflect upon, or appreciate the harm done to my person or the damage caused to my reputation by some members.
Worse, LFoP seem to completely miss the point: they neglect to ask themselves the question ” what are the consequences of their manipulated, evasive, submissive and subdued attitudes on Palestine and the Palestinians?” ( of whom they are allegedly friends).
This letter fails to address such issues and falls very short of being a letter of reconciliation or apology.
Therefore, I consider this letter as a further evidence of harassment by:
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evading to address the defamation against me;
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escaping the responsibility of launching an investigation to uncover the guilty elements;
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failing to apologise for the damages;
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failing to sanction/punish guilty members who engaged in such libellous acts.
Thus, by turning a blind eye, pretending that nothing has happened and it’s business as usual, they have caused more harm.
Where is the indignation of LFoP against defamation, meddling in private affairs and the spreading of lies and rumours, about another member, moreover the sole Palestinian in the group?
How could LFoP allow itself to fall prey to such schemes, where slander is used as a political tool to alienate dissenters? and psychological manipulation is implemented to silence opposition?
How could LFoP be so lacking in comprehension of the meaning and manifestation of racism and the real definition of an anti-Semite, that they have been hoodwinked into accepting such accusations against me? Hasn’t the anti-Semitic charge been abused and trivialized enough?
How could LFoP become so blinded that they fail to identify the REAL RACISTS who are worthy to be rejected and fought against?
Therefore, I decline to accept their letter as a letter of reconciliation. It lacks the basic ingredients of goodwill to be appreciated: insight, sincerity, sensitivity, acknowledgment and remorse for harm done, or any willingness to rectify it.
C. M’s letter is nothing but an aggravation.
It has become increasingly apparent that some clique inside the Solidarity Movement, under the pretext of “fighting anti-Semitism”, are engaged in hijacking, deforming and sidetracking the solidarity Movement from supporting the Palestinian people and their cause of Liberation, and instead pushing PSC into morphing into yet another ADL “anti-Semite, Holocaust denier-hunter”.
True Friends of Palestine should not allow themselves to be hoodwinked or sidetracked into adopting other groups’ agendas or doing other organizations’ work.
People whose primary aim is to fight anti-Semitism are better advised to join more appropriate organizations who deal specifically with anti-Semitism, there are myriad of them around.
They should stop imposing their agenda and leave PSC to do what it was created for, SUPPORTING PALESTINIANS IN THEIR STRUGGLE OF LIBERATION.
Tragically, the excessive and inappropriate use of the word “anti-Semite”, by the likes of ADL (who have their very own definition of the word) has been taken up by some elements inside the Solidarity Movement, who, just like ADL, claim the exclusive right to define for us the meaning of words and the boundaries of debate.
As I warned before, such excessive use by Zionists and anti-Zionist alike, together they have managed to make the word vacuous and meaningless.
My prime concern has always been the cause of Palestine and the Palestinians’ inalienable Human Right of Self-Determination in their own ancestral Land, which they inhabit and protect since thousands of years, continuously. The voice of Palestinians is barely heard in the West. Therefore, those whose aim is to muffle the voice, block the research, contain the freedom and veil the views of Palestinians cannot be truly friends of Palestine.
Real friends are those who want to keep the Solidarity Movement on the right track, focused on Palestine and the Liberation of Palestine.
Hereby, I affirm my right to aspire for the Liberation of my Homeland and to pursue the intellectual means that will help to achieve that goal, moreover since this goal is the reassertion of Human Rights and strict International Law.
I affirm my right to continue my investigations into the role of global Jewish Zionist networks through their many facets, institutions and organizations supporting, sustaining and propagating the cause of the Zionist entity.
I affirm my right to continue investigating the supremacist ideology that animates the entire Israeli-settler society and to expose its consequences on Palestinians.
I affirm my right to continue my activism, to share the results of my work and to connect with people who want to learn about Palestine, without being censored or chastised by self-appointed gurus.
I affirm my right to defend my reputation and to stand up to those who cause me harm, those who use ad hominem attacks, defamation and slander as a political tool to muffle and excommunicate their opponents.
Finally, I affirm my right to continue to expose those elements who try to achieve deleterious political aims by controlling and crippling the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, through the use of debate framing, information filtering, and eviction of activists who step outside the narrow boundaries set by these elements to keep the opposition constricted and limited in its scope and efficiency.
Lastly, I would end by expressing my profound disappointment with those whom I once called friends; those who witnessed the defamation and attempted assassination of my character with explicit approval or implicit silent consent, those who endorsed the accusation of racism against me, and those who kept a submissive quietness in the face of this detrimental manipulation of our Solidarity Movement.
I detach myself from such deformed Solidarity, as it is obvious that such manipulation is conducted by individuals with ulterior motives and compromised loyalty who appointed themselves to be in charge of the flow of information, to control the direction of the Palestinian solidarity and to push it towards the acceptance of “soft” yet final and permanent colonization of Palestine, thus to steer it away from its prime objective; the unconditional support of Palestinians and their quest for Full Liberation.
Farewell LFoP
nahida