SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
(Photo: Garry Knight/cc/flickr)
New Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn Faces Special Guilt-by-Association Standard
For the past month Jeremy Corbyn, the British MP and democratic socialist who just won the election to lead the UK's Labour Party in a landslide, has been vociferously accused across the British media of associating with political figures who are anti-Semitic.
Sep 13, 2015
For the past month Jeremy Corbyn, the British MP and democratic socialist who just won the election to lead the UK's Labour Party in a landslide, has been vociferously accused across the British media of associating with political figures who are anti-Semitic.
"The problem," according to the Community Security Trust, a UK Jewish organization, "is not that Corbyn is an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier -- he is neither. The problem is that he seems to gravitate towards people who are, if they come with an anti-Israel sticker on them." Similarly, political journalist James Bloodworth wrote in the Guardian, "While I genuinely believe Corbyn does not have an anti-Semitic bone in his body, he does have a proclivity for sharing platforms with individuals who do." The right-wing Telegraph got so excited it falsely claimed that another Labour MP had accused Corbyn himself of using "anti-Semitic rhetoric."
Corbyn was forced to repeatedly respond in several venues. Beyond addressing the specific issues, he's made several statements such as, "I've spent my life opposing racism. Until my dying day, I'll be opposed to racism in any form ... Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, far-right racism is totally wrong and absolutely obnoxious and I've made that absolutely clear to everybody who will listen to me on this subject." And Corbyn's spokesman said that anyone found by the Labour Party's procedures committee to be responsible for anti-Semitism should not be allowed to vote in the leadership election.
The most interesting part of the Corbyn fracas isn't whether he's "guilty" or not. It's that the British media and politicians have created a guilt-by-association standard that appears to apply to Corbyn and Corbyn alone.
Read the rest of the column at The Intercept.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 The Intercept
Jon Schwarz
Jon Schwarz reports for The Intercept. Previously, he worked for Michael Moore's Dog Eat Dog Films and was Research Producer for Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. He's contributed to many publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones and Slate, as well as NPR and "Saturday Night Live."
For the past month Jeremy Corbyn, the British MP and democratic socialist who just won the election to lead the UK's Labour Party in a landslide, has been vociferously accused across the British media of associating with political figures who are anti-Semitic.
"The problem," according to the Community Security Trust, a UK Jewish organization, "is not that Corbyn is an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier -- he is neither. The problem is that he seems to gravitate towards people who are, if they come with an anti-Israel sticker on them." Similarly, political journalist James Bloodworth wrote in the Guardian, "While I genuinely believe Corbyn does not have an anti-Semitic bone in his body, he does have a proclivity for sharing platforms with individuals who do." The right-wing Telegraph got so excited it falsely claimed that another Labour MP had accused Corbyn himself of using "anti-Semitic rhetoric."
Corbyn was forced to repeatedly respond in several venues. Beyond addressing the specific issues, he's made several statements such as, "I've spent my life opposing racism. Until my dying day, I'll be opposed to racism in any form ... Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, far-right racism is totally wrong and absolutely obnoxious and I've made that absolutely clear to everybody who will listen to me on this subject." And Corbyn's spokesman said that anyone found by the Labour Party's procedures committee to be responsible for anti-Semitism should not be allowed to vote in the leadership election.
The most interesting part of the Corbyn fracas isn't whether he's "guilty" or not. It's that the British media and politicians have created a guilt-by-association standard that appears to apply to Corbyn and Corbyn alone.
Read the rest of the column at The Intercept.
Jon Schwarz
Jon Schwarz reports for The Intercept. Previously, he worked for Michael Moore's Dog Eat Dog Films and was Research Producer for Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. He's contributed to many publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones and Slate, as well as NPR and "Saturday Night Live."
For the past month Jeremy Corbyn, the British MP and democratic socialist who just won the election to lead the UK's Labour Party in a landslide, has been vociferously accused across the British media of associating with political figures who are anti-Semitic.
"The problem," according to the Community Security Trust, a UK Jewish organization, "is not that Corbyn is an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier -- he is neither. The problem is that he seems to gravitate towards people who are, if they come with an anti-Israel sticker on them." Similarly, political journalist James Bloodworth wrote in the Guardian, "While I genuinely believe Corbyn does not have an anti-Semitic bone in his body, he does have a proclivity for sharing platforms with individuals who do." The right-wing Telegraph got so excited it falsely claimed that another Labour MP had accused Corbyn himself of using "anti-Semitic rhetoric."
Corbyn was forced to repeatedly respond in several venues. Beyond addressing the specific issues, he's made several statements such as, "I've spent my life opposing racism. Until my dying day, I'll be opposed to racism in any form ... Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, far-right racism is totally wrong and absolutely obnoxious and I've made that absolutely clear to everybody who will listen to me on this subject." And Corbyn's spokesman said that anyone found by the Labour Party's procedures committee to be responsible for anti-Semitism should not be allowed to vote in the leadership election.
The most interesting part of the Corbyn fracas isn't whether he's "guilty" or not. It's that the British media and politicians have created a guilt-by-association standard that appears to apply to Corbyn and Corbyn alone.
Read the rest of the column at The Intercept.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.