When the media are unanimous on a matter, whatever they say takes on the status of an undeniable truth.   To take a counter view risks bringing down universal condemnation  or ridicule on one’s head.  This media unanimity is far more pervasive and more poisonous than so-called fake news.  It is the consequence of having most newspapers and other media platforms in the hands of relatively few rich and rightwing people and the BBC, which has always been deferential to government, now even more biddable in light of its tenuous licence fee position.

This perfidious unanimity is currently manifested over Venezuela and alleged anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.

Venezuela is an object lesson in 21st century imperialism, valuable lessons having been learnt  from  the 20th century.

In 1970, the CIA was horrified that the people of Chile, in a free election, got themselves a socialist president. How dare they! Salvador Allende  had to be undermined and deposed.  Funded and organised by the CIA, an alliance of the media and the Chilean super-rich made sure that , from 1970 to 1973, Allende was attacked from every quarter and that the economy was gradually brought to its knees.  Still the people of Chile did not buckle and so there was a military coup and Allende was replaced by the murderous dictator Pinochet, bosom-pal of Henry Kissinger and Margaret Thatcher. Thousands were imprisoned, tortured, murdered or driven into exile. Job done.

The people of Venezuela, failing to recognise that all of Central and South America must be obedient to the USA, in 1998 elected Hugo Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist as President. He embarked on a programme of nationalisation of key industries, investment in public services and poverty relief.  He was re-elected in 2000 and there was an attempted coup against him in 2002, which was defeated by his popular support. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2012.

The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra show-cased  around the world Venezuela’s social development. The country’s  adult literacy rate overtook that of the USA.

After Chavez’s premature death, Nicolas Maduro was elected President and he has continued his predecessor’s policies. Unfortunately, his election , in 2013, coincided with the collapse of oil prices and this has had a massively damaging impact on the economy. The difficulties have been exploited by the  USA and others obedient to Washington’s bidding: applying sanctions which have resulted in  a fall of over $4 billion in Venezuela’s revenue. While Britain’s refusal to return gold reserves have made it impossible for the country to import drugs and medical equipment which it can well afford, the media have gloated over the crisis in medical care. The recognition of CIA stooge Juan Guaido as “president-in-waiting” has laid the ground for an internal  coup or  foreign intervention.

 

Chavez and Maduro have made mistakes, principally in not being tough enough on Venezuela’s moguls, who dodge taxes, manipulate the markets, live in Miami and stir up civil strife in Caracas.

When times were better, Chavez should have devoted more of the oil revenue to diversification of the economy, although it was understandable that he saw the relief of poverty as a priority.

 

That  so many of our opinion-formers and Labour MPs have failed to see through the tricks of the USA indicates the extent to which they remain in thrall to the people and policies which led us into wars in Iraq,  Afghanistan,  Libya and Yemen. For them, being on the side of the majority of those in power is more important than being on the side of what is right and true.

 

Jeremy Corbyn certainly does not deserve to be stuck with such a treacherous Deputy as Tom Watson.  Quite apart from his current poisonous conniving with the recently defected MPs over alleged anti-Semitism, he has dubious features in his past.  He was a close collaborator with Blair. He accepted half a million pounds in political support (Christ knows for what precise purposes) from Max Mosley. Yes, that is the son of Oswald Mosley, who supported his father’s fascist movement back in the 1960s, then the Tories, the Max Mosley who cosied -up to Blair and dispensed funds from his substantial private means. Our Tom Watson is clearly  not very fussy about the company he keeps.

This  stuff and nonsense about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, unless vigorously put down, will have its intended consequence: the defeat of Labour at the next General Election.

 

I have sent the following letter to  Jennie Formby, the General Secretary of the Labour Party.

While we have yet to learn precisely why Chris Williamson MP has been suspended, I write to express my total agreement with his view that the Labour Party has been too apologetic over the alleged  anti-Semitism within its ranks.

Your recently published report of the outcome of investigations of complaints of anti-Semitism lodged between  April 2018 and January 2019  was largely ignored by the media and by those MPs who have been creating the most clamour over anti-Semitism.

For example, Dame Margaret Hodge MP has made much of the anti-Semitic attacks of which she has been victim, but in her hundreds of hours of media interviews she has not seen fit to acknowledge that most of the people she complained about were not members of the Labour Party and none of her interviewers have challenged her on this point. She and her Constituency Labour Party have fought a valiant battle against the BNP in Barking and have almost obliterated it electorally. It is therefore not surprising  –  although utterly deplorable  – that she should receive plenty of hateful mail and social media postings from supporters of the far right. Why would she use this as a stick with which to beat the Labour Party, much to the glee of the Tories and the media?

The reason is obvious. She, Tom Watson and the recent defectors have found a most effective formula for attacking Jeremy Corbyn and the left of the Party in general. Anti-Semitism is universally recognised as perhaps the most horrific and distasteful form of racism, so toxic that the Party machine has leant over backwards to demonstrate that every accusation is taken seriously.  Anti-Semitism and accusations of anti-Semitism are the novichok de nos jours. Nobody wants to be tainted by it and not even by questioning the extent of it.  But to apologise in face of generalised accusations is to give credence to the idea that the Party has a systemic problem.

In future, we must be prepared to  flatly deny it.  Of course, every alleged anti-Semitic offence must be investigated, but let the results be published. Where an allegation is found to be false, exaggerated,  vexatious, or the accused turns out not to be a Party member, that should be reported publicly.  If a member is disciplined in any way, make clear the nature of their offence.

At present, the membership, like the public, is left largely in the dark.  For example, Luciana Berger MP, accuses her CLP of bullying her and yet the truth may be that she has simply been criticised for repeatedly seeking to undermine Jeremy Corbyn. Criticism of a Jewish person does not of itself constitute anti-Semitism.

Unfortunately, giving the lie to the notion of an  institutionally anti-Semitic Labour Party will not see a speedy end to the campaign which has been waged by Margaret Hodge and others. Having met with such success in playing the Anti-Semitism card, they will continue to denigrate the Party.  Rather than have a Corbyn-led government, they would prefer another Tory one.

Their aim is to reverse the changes in the Party since Corbyn’s election as Leader.

They want an end to policies being determined by the Party membership in Conference.  They want to return to policy being decided by the Parliamentary Labour Party, PLP policy being decided by a claque on the Leader’s sofa. They want a return to prospective MPs and councillors being vetted by Party headquarters so that, as in the past, only supporters of rightwing policies get elected.  They will certainly have no truck with re-selection of MPs and such policies as nationalisation of public services and an end to austerity.  They would like to see disciplinary action against any member criticising the policies of the government of Israel.

 

The Israeli Embassy  has made no secret of the availability of generous funding to support lobbying in favour of Israeli government interests. It is a pity that the Embassy does not give an account of the disbursements from those funds.

 

I am copying this letter to each of the MPs I have named.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Colin Yardley

(member of Bromley & Chislehurst CLP)