This week @johnmcdonnellMP is coming to Barnet to help JVL Chair Jenny Manson's campaign to become a Labour MP. What kind of MP would Manson be for Britain's largest Jewish community? The kind who gave evidence in Ken Livingstone's defence. Here's how she did it /1 Manson appeared as a witness for Livingstone in his Labour Party disciplinary hearing last year. I've read the transcript. She said Livingstone's claim that Hitler supported Zionism - for which he was found guilty of bringing the party into disrepute - was "true" /2

Jeremy Corbyn said some positive things about antisemitism, British Jews and the Labour Party in his speech today. Good for him. The problem is that everything else he says on the subject means he can't build any trust in the good stuff. I'll explain why /1 In this interview he is asked about threats to @lucianaberger. He answers by saying there are no threats. This is what Luciana said in Parliament back in April about the antisemitism she faces within Labour. Corbyn heard it all but now denies it exists

https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1044645541978787842

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Today's Sunday Telegraph reports a story from the new edition of my book, about an antisemitic article that @johnmcdonnellMP had removed from the @LRCinfo website. But who wrote the article? And what happened to its author? /1 The article claimed "The Labour Party has become a pawn of Zionist organisations", amongst other conspiracy nonsense. It was written by Mike Cushman, secretary of Jewish Voice for Labour, and first published by Free Speech On Israel /2

In my Guardian article yesterday I claimed that Corbyn and his team want to rewrite @TheIHRA definition on #antisemitism to neuter @UKLabour's own rule against antisemitism. This is key to understanding what they are trying to do and I'll explain it a bit more here /1 If a party member is disciplined for antisemitism it is always under the rule against conduct that is "prejudicial, or... grossly detrimental to the party." This used to be at the discretion of the NEC /2

Today's Observer reports Jeremy Corbyn on Press TV in 2012 saying "the hand of Israel" was behind Jihadist terrorism in Egypt. But there was another interesting guest on that show with Corbyn: a convicted Hamas terrorist called Dr Abdul Aziz Umar /1 theguardian.com/politics/2018/… Here is Umar ("Brother Amr") via satellite with Corbyn and Lauren Booth. He got seven life sentences for helping to organise a Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem in 2003 that killed seven people. He was released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal themuslimtv.net/view_video.php… /2

Some people are saying Ken Stern, an author of the IHRA antisemitism definition, thinks Labour was right to change it and write their own Code of Conduct. I've got a paper Stern wrote in 2010 on the definition- let's see what he says (spoiler: it's not what the Canary claims) /1

https://twitter.com/TheCanaryUK/status/1021150644302852097

The paper is on p.32 of this collection, from a conference I was at in 2010 kantorcenter.tau.ac.il/sites/default/… /2

I've got a couple of questions about @UKLabour's new Code of Conduct on antisemitism that we are told is so much better than the @TheIHRA definition. These are details that have been missed but seem important /1 First: the Labour Code says "Discourse about international politics often employs metaphors drawn from examples of historic misconduct." Has there ever been a more craven euphemism for the genocide of six million people than "misconduct"? /2

There are a few claims in this article that are simply untrue. The Labour Code of Conduct on antisemitism is not stronger than the IHRA definition, and the IHRA definition does not preclude criticisms of Israeli policies as racist. I'll explain why. /1

https://twitter.com/jonlansman/status/1017353807259426816

Firstly, the Labour code requires evidence of "antisemitic intent" in relation to any "contentious views" on Israel. E.g. comparing Israel to Nazi Germany would only be treated as antisemitic if "intent" can be proved. In reality, this would be near impossible to demonstrate. /2

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has accused Ken Loach of an "accommodation with antisemitism". Loach has demanded that Michel "examine the evidence". OK Ken, since you asked - here it is /1 theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/… In 2009 the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency reported an increase in antisemitism in Europe. Loach said this antisemitism was "understandable" given Israel's actions & called the report a "red herring" designed to "distract attention" from Israel normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2009/… /2

A short thread about what links Corbyn’s position on the Douma gassings, Skripal poisonings, Gaza violence and antisemitism in Labour. Seemingly unconnected events but a thread links Corbyn’s responses: his view of power /1 For Corbyn, Stop The War Coalition & others in their part of the left, all the problems of the world are due to the unequal distribution of power & wealth. Sort that out and war, poverty, terrorism, racism etc will all disappear /2

Afshin Rattansi of RT & ex-Press TV is on #BBCQT tonight. He's not that well known to UK audiences so here's a thread with some of his previous work... /1

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This is what Rattansi wrote about the suspicious death of "Zionist and Russian fugitive" Boris Berezovsky in 2013. He didn't think the UK media or "corrupt UK police" would get to the bottom of it /2 counterpunch.org/2013/03/25/as-…

Ken Loach is in the news for his #BDS campaign to stop Radiohead playing in Israel, so here’s a little bit of history about Loach. /1 In 1987 Loach directed Perdition, a play alleging Zionist/Nazi collaboration that was cancelled by the Royal Court Theatre. /2