NOVANEWS
Nahida Izzat: Will PSC rise to the Challenge?
uprootedpalestinians.blogspot
As the AGM of Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) approaches, the drive to control, fragment, agitate and to steer away PSC from its fundamental core issues is at all times high.
The crusade against PSC was ignited by Zionists from outside the movement beginning in September, following an article published on the Zionist hate-website Harry’s Place (HP), and a letter from the Board of Deputies of British Jews” (BODBJ), accusing PSC and its branches of publishing anti-Semitic articles and linking to Holocaust denial websites, which arguably is a crude lie. However, the crusade was sustained, promoted and amplified by insiders with questionable loyalty, who roam freely within the Palestine solidarity movement.
Following those attacks and demands by BOD of British Jews, certain elements inside the solidarity movement picked up where Zionists stopped. Since then they have initiated a campaign of defamation against Palestinian activists (including myself) and numerous other supporters.
The smear and defamation campaign, ignited by BODBJ and its mouthpiece HP, is destined to divide and curtail the Palestine solidarity movement. It shrouds itself with a veneer of “ethicality” by invoking bogus concerns about “racism”, while the result is the expulsion of anti-racist activists including Palestinians, and the fragmentation of the Palestine solidarity movement at large, its campaigns being debased, its efficiency being crippled.
The paragraph below is only one piece of evidence that some alleged supporters of Palestine have indeed been engaging in gossip and spreading defamation, rumours and lies. It is but one example of the appalling consequences of such behaviour.
“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.
In his latest defamation article, Mr. Greenstein extends his attacks to include yet another Palestinian with this defamatory claim:
“In Liverpool the Friends of Palestine website was taken over by a holocaust denier”
Or another example is his use of insulting expletives in lieu of factual arguments:
“At the AGM there is also a not very clever motion from Gill Kaffash …. It is a stupid motion from the stupid.”
The aim of such vicious crusades, of course, is to discredit the research of those who dig deeper, and to control the boundaries of debate by shooting at those who dare to cross the line. As it appears, no one is “allowed” to investigate neither the deeper ideological motives nor the networks enabling Zionists crimes. No Palestinian is “allowed” to express more assertively the true voice of their people and their deeply anchored aspirations of FULL Liberation.
In this example,Tony Greenstein never met and never had contact with the people he is smearing. He uses lies and fabrications about their private life, to execute ad hominem attacks against them, and to propagate libellous accusations of anti Semitism and Holocaust denial against them. Obviously he has been fed with rumours, which as his blog shows, he never fails to transform in unreadable ramblings. .
I would have assumed that in all logic such attacks from external enemies and their internal contributors, would reinforce the cohesion of the movement, by a reflex of protection. What we see instead, is the disturbing reality of utter silence of other members, or even explicit approval of the attacks by the failure to reject them and sanctioning those who engage in such attacks. The occupiers and enemies of Palestine must be happy and indeed grateful, since the damage to the Palestinian solidarity movement in the UK is already substantial. Suffice to look at the nonsensical amendments and motions put forward, the waste of time and effort, and the harmful evictions and alienation of scores of members and potential members.
Such abhorrent behaviour is allowed to continue within the movement with the compliance of decent members who have swallowed the lies and let them pass unchallenged without demanding thorough investigations of such offence, and without firm rejection, chastisement or sanctions against guilty elements who took part in such smear campaign
As they exclude more and more Palestinians through their defamatory campaign, as they rally themselves up and down the country to attend the AGM, and as they strengthen their position within by appointing themselves as political guides and censors of the solidarity movement; Mr. Greenstein and his clique expose their determination to take over PSC and to define its aims.
It is nothing but deliberate Controlled Opposition, when such individuals silence Palestinians and capture the levers of decision as to what is good for Palestinians, and what is not, and what aims to pursue, and what aims need to be smothered. Has the Palestinian voice not been smothered enough already, after a century of Zionism? Does it not appear evident that post-Zionism is preparing itself to do exactly the same? Why would a campaign who claims itself to be in solidarity with Palestinians, betray the noble aim of enabling Palestinians to freely express their Legitimate and Sovereign Rights?
Instead, Mr. Greenstein and co condescendingly declare that PSC members need “more internal education on Zionism“:
He writes: “On Saturday there will be one motion on anti-Semitism and racism on the agenda from the National Executive. A motion from Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi and myself, which called for more internal education on Zionism, has been amended and accepted by the Executive.”
It is disturbing when the likes of Mr. Greenstein, -who sticks the accusatory label “anti-Semite” (i.e. racist) on whomever disagrees with his views, and who introduces to PSC redundant motions to emphatically re-reject Judeophobic racism and to emphasize yet again on “anti-Semitism”, feels vindicated to surreptitiously collaborate with the incitement of racial and religious hatred against Muslims, when for example he spreads blatant lies against the Islamic Resistance Movements Hamas, and even about the Qur’an, thus joining the ranks of Islamophobes when he propagates such hateful unsubstantiated claim:
“the Quoran also have passages that are chauvinist and today, in the context of state policy, would undoubtedly be deemed racist”
Moreover, Mr. Greenstein, the avid “anti-racist”, finds no shame in propagating Islamophobia by attacking the religion of Islam as whole and publicly participating in division, fomenting hatred and incitement against Muslims by arrogantly pretending that:
“Islam has introduced sectarianism into the Palestinian movement and has nothing to offer but further division”
Imagine for a moment someone writing: “Judaism has introduced sectarianism into the Palestinian movement and has nothing to offer but further division”, one can only imagine the outbursts of wrath, fury, outrage and accusation that would follow, by Mr. Greenstein and co.
With the acceptance of such methods; whereby the defamers give themselves the right to DEFINE the meaning of words like racist, anti-Semite and Holocaust denier, then they allow themselves to ACCUSE, LABEL and DEFAME others with such titles, without any proof or evidence, and without allowing the accused to defend him/her self, they demand the excommunication of those accused and even aim to remove the right of appeal against such accusation, justice becomes a joke!
Regrettably, PSC has exhibited signs of moral fatigue by allowing some of its members to engage in such 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).
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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 other activists of committing an unlawful offence.
Furthermore, PSC and some of its branches failed in the following:
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Evading to address the defamation against its members;
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Escaping the responsibility of launching an investigation to uncover the guilty elements;
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Failing to understand the real meaning of racism;
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Failing to identify the REAL racist;
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Failing to sanction/punish guilty members who engaged in such libellous acts;
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Failing to apologise to accused individuals for the harm and damages caused.