Why Labour should accept the international definition of antisemitism

Of late, there has been allegations that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic.  He is not, and his actions to combat this have been posted before.   However, considering the atmosphere in the Labour party, I do understand why the allegation was made.  But I think that this allegation is wrong and flies in the evidence showing the support that Corbyn has given to Jews and also in fighting all forms of racism.  And remember, Corbyn has repeatedly spoken out against all forms of religious discrimination, not just that against those who are Jewish.

With the issues that Labour have faced though, I do think it is right for it to adopt the international definition of antisemitism.  

Labour has mostly adopted the IHRA definition in its new code of conduct but has not directly included four of the organisation's 12 examples of antisemitic behaviour, including comparing Israeli policies to those of the Nazis and suggesting the creation of the Jewish state was a racist endeavour. The other two examples refer to accusing Jewish people of being more loyal to Israel than their home country, or holding Israel to higher standards than other countries.

If Labour is allowed to continue with the definition proposed by the leadership, then the comparisons that Oona King made of Gaza to the Warsaw Ghetto (before the extermination of anyone considered to be Jewish within) would not be considered to be antisemitic but under the international definition, her comments would be so.  And for the record, she is Jewish by birth and if the Nazi's were in charge, would be executed for this.  The comments that Red Ken made about the Nazi's and Jews would be allowed, and while many consider his comments to be hateful, similar comments were also stated by the Israeli Prime Minister.

While it is right to point out that the oppression of Christians and Muslims in Palestine is wrong, we should also remember that the oppression of women's rights in Gaza is nothing to do with Israel and that LGBTQ rights exist in Israel which are not present in Gaza, or the West Bank.  In addition to this, Arab citizens of Israel have more rights than those who live in most other Middle Eastern nations.

But rather than argue these points, it would be help to resolve the fears of antisemitism in the party if Labour did accept the international definition and fully implemented the Chakrabarti report, just because it would give less ammunition to those who want to smear the party with this allegation, despite the work that Labour has done in working for equal rights for all.  

Welcome to the NHS Matt Hancock

The NHS has a new Secretary of State (also in charge of social care) after Jeremy Hunt was promoted to become Foreign Secretary.  And he has written about this along with some of the challenges that the NHS faces.

Before I talk about the challenges (again), I would like to talk about what many find interesting which is the background of Matt Hancock. 

I have stated before that I am not against the involvement of the private sector in the NHS, but that is with the proviso that they provide services as good as (or better) than what the NHS does.  Sadly, due to the issues with funding and staffing that the NHS faces, this has not always been possible.  Concerns have been raised by many opposed to privatisation with the alleged financial links of Matt Hancock to a charity that is thought to be anti-NHS.  The NHS has recently had its 70th birthday, in the hands of a man who has taken money from those who wish to end it, is it safe?

The issues with staffing the NHS with enough doctors and nurses arose before him, but this is an issue that affects patient care when it comes to those involved in radiology as well as paramedics as well.  The government had cut the NHS bursary to increase the numbers of nurses being trained, but just as had been warned before these cuts came into place, the number of people training to become nurses has fallen as a result of these improvements.  The numbers of doctors being trained is to increase, but this number was cut earlier by the Conservatives.  The cuts will be affecting the numbers of doctors graduating now and the increases in medical school places will take at least five years to make up the shortfall of junior doctors.

When it comes to the use of new technology, the NHS has not got the funds, and as mentioned earlier, the staff needed to make use of what it has now.  Some of the outdated technology that some complain about is present as a backup in case of an IT failure as happened earlier (after funding to protect from this was cut).  But while the increased funds for this is needed, there are more pressing financial issues facing the NHS.

I do wish Matt Hancock the best in this job, but it will be interesting to see if he addresses the concerns that have been raised about this links to the private sector.  And hopefully he will not make inaccurate claims like Jeremy Hunt did which resulted in a challenge for a debate, which Hunt did not accept.  Or take his children to A&E for an issue a GP could have addressed.
  

And we bid goodbye

The cousin of my wife, and his better half has left.  They were only here for a few days, and it was good to see them again.  Yesterday we travelled to London where we ate at Maltby Street and then we took them to see the Tower of London.  That was a walk and a bit, and while I could have spent longer there, we came back.  We took them around London on a drive afterwards and then back. The food, history, weather and company made the day very memorable and an enjoyable one as well.

I am not sure when we will see them again but we hope that it will be next year.

School is out

It has been an interesting series of days since my last post about the family. Both children did really well in the end of year reports that they brought home, in fact, one won an award for reading!  But school is over for now.  My daughter had her last day yesterday and in addition to that, a cousin of my wife came over with his better half.  They have looked after us in the past and it was our turn and pleasure to entertain them. I collected them from the airport last night and drove them home. It has been too long since we last saw them and my son, who had school today was not able to stay up to see them, though my daughter did so (and we arrived very late).  It was a disappointment for both children as they were looking forwards to seeing them.

Today, after my son went to school, it was a big breakfast for all, and then a quick trip.  I had wanted to show them Dedham, my wife took us to Lavenham instead, and it was lovely there.  The pictures are from there.

Should our politicians vote how they feel, or based on what they are told to do?

Last week, there was a big vote about the expansion of Heathrow.  The Conservatives were told to vote to back the view of the party and Labour MP's were given the freedom to vote how they felt.

And to me, this is how democracy should work.  I think that MP's (or councillors) should be able to listen to and debate facts and opinions on proposals that they have to deal with.  And a famous example of this is how Jeremy Corbyn did so.

I disagree with his views on military intervention in Kosovo, and my views on Iraq have been discussed before.  (I also disagree with his views on NHS reform, though we agree it needs a lot more funding, and while I disagree with him on Nuclear Weapons, that is a hard decision where I am not 100% certain.)  But the reason that he is admired by so many of the new (as well as the old) members of the Labour Party, is his honesty and integrity.  And that includes the way he has voted for what he thinks is right.

I think other politicians should be allowed the same freedom, unless that is, if they have agreed to serve in the cabinet, or shadow cabinet.

Being a patriot means accepting that our nation is multicultural

I am honoured to live in a great nation.  It can, and should be better than it is, and while, like all nations, it has unsavoury aspects of its past, it has many things to be proud of.

And anyone who is proud of our nation has to accept that it is a multicultural nation and has been for a very long time.

Some may not like to hear that, but the first example I am going to cite here is the Royal Family. Ignoring the German ancestry of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (now the House of Windsor), our queen is married to a man often called Phil The Greek, Prince Philip having been born in Corfu into the Greek and Danish Royal families. And of course, there is the recent marriage of Meghan to Harry.  

One reason that I bring this up, is because some of the Far Right have doubted the right of some of our sportsmen (and women) to be part of out nation, notably a past comment by Nick Griffin about Ashley Cole.  Being an Arsenal fan, I am still bitter about the way the adulterer left our club, but he is British, and if you look at many teams that represent our country our multicultural heritage is reflected here as well. 

For those who claim that our nation has not been multicultural for ages, please remember the different languages spoken in our great nation.

Traveling around our nation and learning its history, you will find that the culture of East Anglia has many differences to that around Birmingham or in Manchester but just as we have differences within our nation, we have many things that bind us together.

And last of all, remember that the Patron Saint of England was born in the Middle East.

Labour, the credit crunch and the Redwood Report

I have got fed up with Labour being blamed for the credit crunch, or leaving the nation in debt after the general election of 2010.

First of all, the credit crunch happened across the globe.  Labour was not responsible for it.  While the Conservatives officially state that it was the fault of Labour and that Labour had overspent, they had made a commitment to match the spending of Labour, and after the Credit Crunch started to cause issues, they came up with the Redwood report.  And if this was in place, our nation would have been more exposed and fared worse.  In fact, there was one politician who was aware of the risks that we faced, and I remember his warnings in the lead up to the crunch, and he was not a Tory (though he was considered an honorary one between 2010 and 2015).

And while the Conservatives would not admit this officially, they know that the economic crisis was not the fault of Labour.  But it does not stop them repeating the lie.