Hello all, I have read the BBC article and The Independent article and, I have to be honest, I’m a little confused. Maxine Peake says the following:
“The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services.”
Is this an anti-semitic statement? It’s certainly a statement about Israel but does that automatically make it anti-semitic?
I understand if this subject is too sensitive for discussion on here but I am interested to hear your thoughts.
Izzy x
Well, it was probably ill advised for her to retweet the interview - could you imagine how Doris would make use of it?
KS is determined to deal with the issue which for so long has dogged the party and caused so much upset, so I’m not at all surprised he has acted swiftly.
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I don’t think she will be a great loss, too close to Corbynism.
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tbh I was surprised that KS actually appointed her.
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To appease the extreme lefties, but she has dug her own grave, for which I think he will be glad.
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he was probably playing the “long” game 
It’s not anti-Semitic. But it doesn’t matter. I heard that the real reason was a huge row that RLB had with Starmer about opening schools as she was Education Secretary.
He’s got a lot in common with Corbyn i.e. when attacked (by Johnson in Parliament about opening schools for example), he mostly capitulates. He’s surrounded by careerists like Reeves who are only interested in electoralism.
not what I have seen…
but I do agree with this sentiment:
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”
He makes his point and moves on, that is not IMHO “capitulation”, it is the action of a wise and learned man who has scored his point and makes time for another to hit its mark 
Doris on the other hand…
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It’s obviously not antisemitic.
We are seeing a tragedy unfold: in order to curtail crticism of its actions, the Israeli government and its sympathisers have long been trying to conflate criticism of Israel or of zionism with antisemitism - so foolish, because it cuts both ways: people that are genuinely anti-racist, and actually view jews very positively, get labelled as antisemitic, and that term itself gets emptied of all meaning; has been emptied of meaning - as this discussion proves.
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Your new leader has promised to rid the party of anti-semitism and gives you a good job in the shadow cabinet despite running against him in the Labour leadership contest, being the thicko you are though you can’t help yourself and join in with a Labour activist to bash Israel on Twitter. Whether the initial tweet was AS or not she has only herself to blame for the sacking and her career is now on the slide.
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The anti-Palestinian land grab of Netanyahu cannot just be called anti Israeli, as there has been a huge backlash across the world and many politicians have signed a letter against it.
It really is an attempt to appease the extreme right wing Likkud party, which Netanyahu needs to keep him in power and out of jail.
So if you criticise that policy are you ant-semitic or pro peace?
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What a surprise, Maxine Peake has now said she might have got things wrong about US police training etc.
Bit late Miss Peake don’t you think?
Perhaps capitulation isn’t the right word. Since his adherence to supporting apartheid Isreal is more than apparent. Yes, you could see that as a victorious strike…
Personally, can’t stand the empty vassal but hey…everyone has their own favourite Thunderbird puppet 
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my favourite is Brains…
‘Your new leader has promised to rid the party of anti-semitism.’
You can’t get rid of something that barely existed.
Unless you believe that the long-life anti-racists suddenly become ‘racist’ at the same time the Israeli state creates The Ministry of Strategic Affairs to counter BDS and smear Palestinian activists.
I mean, if I loved apartheid, I’d never do that.
'The Ministry secretly gave millions of dollars to large circulation Hebrew-language and English-language newspapers in exchange for advertising, news articles providing “favorable coverage” of the state’s anti-BDS campaign, “softball questions” asked to state officials in interviews for publication, and newspaper conferences in which a video produced by the state was screened and state officials presented. Thereafter, the Jerusalem Post published many articles and opinion pieces regarding the “links between BDS and anti-Semitism."
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We certainly need inspiration.
And a role model. 
Welsh beer?
ha! didn’t know they did that 
Best thing to come out of Wales!
Used to imbibe at the brewery tap 