Lib Dems: A message from David Cesarani


By MatthewHarris
May 4, 2010
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The distinguished Anglo-Jewish historian David Cesarani has given me permission to share this email, sent by David recently to a friend who had been planning to vote Lib Dem, but had swung back to Labour for reasons of communal concern; David writes:

Dear Friend,

I think you are wrong about the Liberal Democrats and I cannot understand why you want to waste your vote on a Labour party that has betrayed almost everything you hold dear and that harbors in its ranks people who hate Israel and blithely utter anti-Jewish stereotypes without reproach from the party's leadership.

In all the fuss about Jenny Tonge's despicable outbursts one name has been conveniently been forgotten: Ken Livingstone. Livingstone remains a respected member of the Labour Party and has been out campaigning for Labour candidates in London. Whereas Jenny Tonge has been roundly condemned by the LD leadership, sacked from her front bench role and marginalized, Livingstone is fast becoming a respected elder statesman of London Labour. Why hasn't the Jewish Chronicle paid as much attention to his record as it has to Jenny Tonge's? Why hasn't it reminded Jewish voters of the appalling experiences we had while he was mayor and dominated the GLA? Remember that Livingstone, in the name of London and under the banner of a Labour municipal administration, hosted an Islamic thinker who justified the murder of Israelis (not to mention homophobia etc.)?

By contrast, a few days ago I attended a meeting of the Lib Dem Friends of Israel addressed by Ed Fordham and Matthew Harris at which I heard only good sense and deeply informed comments about Israel, the ME and the situation of Jews in Britain. If Ed is elected on 6 May - and I will do my best to see that he becomes my MP - the British Jewish community will have a real champion in Parliament who will matter a lot more than Jenny Tonge.

Last night I listened to the leaders' debate. Once again Nick Clegg was way ahead of the other two on the important things - including Trident, immigration, Europe, climate change, and the perils of international relations. All parties are coalitions and all include rogues and renegades. Knowing you as I do, I believe that the balance of your values favors the Lib Dems.

For reasons that can only be guessed at, the JC has run what amounts to a pro-Tory campaign - to the extent of defending Cameron's alliance with neo-fascists in eastern Europe - who Nick Clegg rightly called anti-semitic 'nutters'. That may explain the distorted reporting of the comments made by Lord Wallace who - as the transcript shows, is solid on the things that matter.

Lib Dem party policy on Israel is the policy of the Israeli peace movement for which you have been such a powerful voice. Jews have no stronger defenders against anti-semitism, racism and intolerance. The Lib Dem commitment to civil liberties is vital for Jews. But their fight for social justice is even more crucial for stopping this country from sliding into social division and discord - which could have terrible consequences for Jews and other minorities. Labour is appeasing white working class racism. Only the Lib Dems are challenging it and seeking to remedy the causes. How can you vote Labour? Stay with the Lib Dems : a vote for the Lib Dems is best for Britain, for British Jews, and for peace and justice in the Middle East.

Yours,

David Cesarani

COMMENTS

Jonathan Hoffman

4 May, 2010 - 20:56

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To David Cesarani's Friend

David is absolutely right when he says "how can you vote Labour"? This is the party that formed the last government that failed to veto Goldstone in the UN; failed to close the Universal Jurisdiction loophole; and failed to act on campus antisemitism.

But he is absolutely wrong about the LibDems. Surprisingly for a historian, he does not seem to have studied all the evidence.....

http://cifwatch.com/2010/05/01/the-nightmare-shidduch/

It was the LibDem’s leader, Nick Clegg, who voiced support for an arms embargo on Israel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4974808.stm

And Clegg has been advised by Nicholas Blincoe, a former ISM activist. Blincoe’s insights about Israel include this one:

Israeli archaeologists are like the fireman in the novel Fahrenheit 451; their job is to erase the traces of non-Jewish civilizations, not to investigate them.

http://www.thedrawbridge.org.uk/issue_2/o_little_town/

http://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2007/11/did-nick-clegg-approve-nichol...

And look how Nadhmi Auchi, an anti-Israel Iraqui billionaire, is close to Clegg and organised a fundraising dinner for a LibDem candidate.

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/30841/anti-israel-iraqi-billionaires-d...

Then there is Jenny Tonge, famous for saying “The pro-Israeli lobby has got its grips on the western world, its financial grips. I think they've probably got a grip on our party." Until very recently she was a Patron of the viciously antisemitic Palestine Telegraph. Only when it posted a David Duke video did she resign.
http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/the-lib-dungs

But she is still a LibDem Party member.

You can see here what Tonge and a LibDem MP Sarah Teather say about Israel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXINcYpJXsI

Here you can see the LibDems’ response to the questionnaire sent to candidates by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (the only party – as opposed to individual candidates - to respond). (The response has been taken off the PSC site). They call for a ban on settlement goods, suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and an arms embargo on Israel.

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=51&l2_id=110

http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/libdem-policy-against-israel

33 LibDem candidates have so far put their name to this.

A further 25 LibDem candidates signed the PSC’s pledge card

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=51&l2_id=110

One LibDem candidate said that the only reason that there was not an arms embargo on Israel was “the power of the Jewish lobbies in Washington and Britain”. She also echoed Tonge’s call for an inquiry to disprove allegations that Israeli army medical teams in Haiti “harvested” organs of earthquake victims.

http://thejc.com/news/uk-news/31087/lib-dem-warns-power-jewish-lobby

And the LibDems’ spokesman on foreign policy, Shadow Foreign Secretary Ed Davey MP, thinks the Goldstone Report is “balanced” and wants the UN to act on it.

http://www.palestiniangd.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=articl...

More still: Over 80% of the LibDem MPs in the Parliament which has just been dissolved are happy to see Israelis arrested in the UK on politically motivated false “War Crimes” trials

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40074

Finally remember Chris Davies? He was the LibDem MEP who told a constituent that he hoped she enjoyed "wallowing in her own filth" after she wrote to disagree with his views on Israel. He remains a LibDem MEP though he was forced to resign as the Party’s Leader in the European Parliament.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4974808.stm

No Jew or supporter of Israel should vote for the LibDems.

The best possibility for a fair deal for Israel ids to elect a Conservative government. Many Jews - eg JC Editor Steven Pollard - are voting Conservative for the first time in a national election

(Disclaimer: personal view)

Yvetta

5 May, 2010 - 07:06

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Well and good, Matthew, and no disrespect to the good professor, but as I've said before, the Lib Dems are "anti-antisemitism" but woeful - absolutely woeful - regarding communal aspirations and Israel. I'm sure that there is out Anglo-Jewish historian of professorial stature who would remind the community how poisonous the Lib Dems have been regarding Israel, and why a vote for the Conservatives - or in the case of hopeless seats where the Tories have no chance - tactical voting against the Lib Dems is the only remedy!

Yvetta

5 May, 2010 - 07:11

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Consider, once again, the evidence against the Lib Dems.
Here is is, in all its naked shame:

It was the LibDem’s leader, Nick Clegg, who voiced support for an arms embargo on Israel. Moreover he said it in CIF.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4974808.stm

And Clegg has been advised by Nicholas Blincoe, a former ISM activist. Blincoe’s insights about Israel include this one:

"Israeli archaeologists are like the fireman in the novel Fahrenheit 451; their job is to erase the traces of non-Jewish civilizations, not to investigate them."

http://www.thedrawbridge.org.uk/issue_2/o_little_town/

http://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2007/11/did-nick-clegg-approve-nichol...

And look how Nadhmi Auchi, an anti-Israel Iraqui billionaire, is close to Clegg and organised a fundraising dinner for a LibDem candidate.

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/30841/anti-israel-iraqi-billionaires-d...

Then there is Jenny Tonge, famous for saying “The pro-Israeli lobby has got its grips on the western world, its financial grips. I think they've probably got a grip on our party." Until very recently she was a Patron of the viciously antisemitic Palestine Telegraph. Only when it posted a David Duke video did she resign.

http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/the-lib-dungs

But she is still a LibDem Party member.

You can see here what Tonge and a LibDem MP Sarah Teather say about Israel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXINcYpJXsI

Here you can see the LibDems’ response to the questionnaire sent to candidates by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (the only party – as opposed to individual candidates - to respond). (The response has been taken off the PSC site). They call for a ban on settlement goods, suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and an arms embargo on Israel).

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=51&l2_id=110

http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/libdem-policy-against-israel

33 LibDem candidates have so far put their name to this.
A further 25 LibDem candidates signed the PSC’s pledge card
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=51&l2_id=110
One LibDem candidate said that the only reason that there was not an arms embargo on Israel was “the power of the Jewish lobbies in Washington and Britain”. She also echoed Tonge’s call for an inquiry to disprove allegations that Israeli army medical teams in Haiti “harvested” organs of earthquake victims.
http://thejc.com/news/uk-news/31087/lib-dem-warns-power-jewish-lobby
And the LibDems’ spokesman on foreign policy, Shadow Foreign Secretary Ed Davey MP, thinks the Goldstone Report is “balanced” and wants the UN to act on it.
http://www.palestiniangd.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=articl...
More still: Over 80% of the LibDem MPs in the Parliament which has just been dissolved are happy to see Israelis arrested in the UK on politically motivated false “War Crimes” trials
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40074
Finally remember Chris Davies? He was the LibDem MEP who told a constituent that he hoped she enjoyed "wallowing in her own filth" after she wrote to disagree with his views on Israel. He remains a LibDem MEP though he was forced to resign as the Party’s Leader in the European Parliament.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4974808.stm
No Jew or supporter of Israel should vote for the LibDems.

Jon_i_Cohen

5 May, 2010 - 07:37

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Open comment to Prof David Cesarani
This is the Lib Dem leader, please read, your comments would be most welcome with only 24 hours to go.

"Serious threat to Anglo Jewry posed by supporting Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats

Enjoyed the Leaders Debates in Britain? Found Nick Clegg cute and appealing? Think again!

Behind the Obama/Blair-clone charisma and charm there lurks a danger for Jews in Britain. Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, who is coming into the upcoming British elections in an enhanced position is close, very close, to Nadhmi Auchi.

If you care about shady characters behind those who rule I suggest you indulge yourself in a crash course on Mr. Auchi. His personal fortune in excess of two billion Sterling makes him Britain's 32nd richest person. He has lived in Britain since 1980.

Nadhmi Auchi supports Hamas, providing aid and comfort to the terror group.Auchi has funded the notorious George Galloway in his 'Viva Palestina' aids convoy with which he tried to break the blockage on Gaza.

Auchi recently said, "In the past the Arab community has not actvely participated in British political life (!). I believe this is changing and we are now close to finding a party that is not only sympathetic to our views but whose policies actively seek to address our concerns".

Nadhmi Auchi made these remarks at a fund raising banquet in honour of Nick Clegg. Auchi established the Anglo-Arab Organisation to promote understanding between Britain and the Arab world. Auchi funds one of the most anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, websites in Britain. Auchi's Middle East Online website promotes material from well-known anti-Israelis, including Jeff Gates who runs the anti-Israel 'Criminal State' blog.

Lord Steel, former Liberal Democrats leader, is a director of Auchi's main company, General Mediterranean Holdings, the centre of his global empire that includes hotels, leisure, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunication firms. The banquet was organised under the Anglo-Arab Organisation banner. Alan Duncan, a Conservative Shadow Minister, is listed as a patron.

At the banquet, Clegg said that 'the Arab community's values sit deep in the soul of the Liberal Democrats. I feel that there is a conjunction of aspirations, hopes, and values between members of the British Arab community and many of the things that the Liberal Democracts stand for today'.

The Liberal Democrat leader has condemned Israel's action in Gaza saying "We will not stand aside when unimaginable human suffering is taking place".

Nadhmi Auchi was convicted of fraud in the French Elf-Aquitaine oil company trial in 2003. He was given a suspended sentence.

Auchi is also involved in the case of a convicted Chicago fraudster, Tony Rezko, who was involved in a land deal with Barack Obama. A US court revoked Rezko's bail when prosecutors discovered that Auchi had wired Rezko $3,500,000 from a Lebanese account. Auchi is banned from into the US. Since 2003 Auchi has invested heavily in Iraq.

In short, Nick Clegg is a puppet of Arab interests and connected with an Arab billionaire and fraudster.

Clegg is not alone in his party for siding with Muslim and anti-Israel causes. The tongue of Jenny Tonge has exposed his party of openly anti-Israel sentiments. More recently William Wallace, importantly the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, openly boasted in front of the Jewish Board of Deputies that he had meetings with members of the Hamas terror organisation.

He also threatened to torpedo the renewal of the Israel-EU trade agreement, thereby hinting at support for a boycott of Israel.

Britain may already be lost to Muslim domination and interests but if Clegg is close to Downing Street power, as is likely following the televised debates, then caring British Jews can already hehe nails being driven into the coffin of their vital interests in that lost nation.

My pre-Presidential predictions about Obama were spot on. They derived from a study of his close associates. As with Obama, you judge your politicians by those they associate with and are influenced by. These Clegg predictions will also, sadly, affect Israel and British Jewry.

As did Americans, I expect the Brits to go for the cheesecake smiles and ignore the sub plot.

A closing warning to Israel. Beware of the country with whom you share classified intelligence information. The leaders may be closer to your enemies than you think".

The best hope for the Jews in the UK is a solid Conservative majority in the election tommorow.

tomeisner2

5 May, 2010 - 08:48

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May the Liberal democrats be victorious tomorrow Inshalla.

Yvetta

5 May, 2010 - 08:53

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Forget their (meagre) honey!
Remember their (nasty) sting!

Jonathan Hoffman

5 May, 2010 - 09:03

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David Cesarani would not write a history book without studying all the evidence. Yet he thinks this is OK when dispensing political advice to friends.

Shame on Matthew Harris for publishing such a blatantly misleading piece on LibDem policies and statements on Israel.

Jon_i_Cohen

5 May, 2010 - 09:13

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Matthew
It really is time for you to stop "flogging the same old dead horse".
If you truly are a supporter of Israel, it is not too late - join the Conservatives!

tomeisner2

5 May, 2010 - 09:27

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My fellow bloggers, If the Lib dems get 30% tomorrow does that according to your paranoia mean therefore that 30% of the electorate are ant-semitic?

Oy Va Goy

5 May, 2010 - 11:26

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"If Ed [Fordham] is elected on 6 May - and I will do my best to see that he becomes my MP - the British Jewish community will have a real champion in Parliament..."

Will they? http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/05/01/behind-the-spin-in-hampstead-kilburn/

Jon_i_Cohen

13 May, 2010 - 09:40

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Jon_i_Cohen

5 May, 2010 - 08:37
Open comment to Prof David Cesarani

The lack of any response speaks volumes.

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