Britain’s unaccountable press and broadcasting media are at the root of both Brexit, and “antisemitism” smears

We are a group of 13 Lib Dems, some of who are here to demonstrate against Boris Johnson’s Brexit, an absurd and damaging proposition, largely rooted in press misreporting in the early 90s, when the self-same Boris was The Telegraph’s correspondent in Brussels and using his position to propagate a series of Euromyths.

At the same time, we are concerned that many politicians, including our own Lib Dem leaders, have embraced an unfounded proposition that there is rampant antisemitism in the Labour Party.

A very obvious smear campaign that involves media collusion and false personal attacks

British politicians, including many leading Remainers, have repeatedly ignored hard statistical and other evidence showing the antisemitism proposition to be wildly exaggerated and based on misinformation, and in so doing, have aligned themselves with an even more tendentious media-orchestrated campaign than the one behind Brexit. It diverts attention from Israel’s indefensible settler-colonial project which involves, inter alia:

1. Depriving 200,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel living in the Negev desert of fundamental rights (electricity, water, medical care, roads, education).

2. Subjecting West Bank Palestinians to military law, while stealing land and moving in illegal settlers subject to Israeli civil law, contravening the Geneva Convention.

3. Turning Gaza into a vast open-air prison for 2.2 million Palestinians, without access to clean water, proper nutrition, medical care, travel and other rights 

4. Controlling the supply of Palestinian water resources, with the Palestinians getting 13% of the total mountain aquifer water. 

5. Controlling the lives of 5 million Palestinians who have absolutely no say in the affairs of the Israel, and risk losing their right to return if they go overseas

6. The recent Nation State Law (2018) which further entrenches the supremacy of Jewish citizens; 50 discriminatory laws already grant superior rights to Jewish population.

At the same time pro-Israel lobbyists meddle in our internal affairs, with a view to manipulating public perceptions about the situation in Israel and Palestine.

In March, the Party wrongfully suspended Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP), and only ended this in June under conditions that cripple this body’s ability to speak truth to power.  The Party has moreover unwisely adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism (along with its 11 “examples”), which Israel and its advocates use to conflate legitimate criticism of Israel with genuine antisemitism.   

We have repeatedly sought to draw our party’s attention to the issue, but the response is totally unsatisfactory

On 31st May, we raised it with party leaders in an “open letter”, but got no response.  We then tried to have it discussed with ordinary members, but much to our disappointment, found ourselves shut out of one internal policy forum after another, as if the topic were taboo.  In cases where we have managed to post something, we have at best been dogged by unwarranted censorship, and at worst subjected to vile troll-like abuse from party activists.  

We formally complained about this situation, only to find that our complaints remained unanswered for months, raising serious questions about the efficacy of the complaints process, even after July 1st when we were told it had inaugurated a new improved system. 

It is time our party returned to our core values and policies, which involve:

1. telling the truth, and checking our arguments against objective evidence;

2. ensuring that party members have space for unfettered debate on Israel, Palestine and alleged antisemitism in internal discussion forums;  

3. ensuring the complaints process is fit for purpose, and;

4. refocusing on our policy of reforming the British media landscape, much evident when, in 2018, we joined the Labour Party and some dissident Tories in demanding full implementation of Leveson II and associated reforms.

If you require further information, please write to:

Peter Downey peterofbath@gmail.com

Jonathan Coulter  jcoulter287@gmail.com

Pamela and Hugh Manning  pamjomanning@gmail.com