Labour

UK should do high-tech the Israeli way, say Labour shadow ministers

Marcus Dysch — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:12:27 +0100

Britain should follow the successful blueprint of Israel’s high-tech sector to repair its battered economy, according to leading members of the Shadow Cabinet.

Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said the “remarkable story” seen in Israel’s start-up technology industries could be combined with British skills to boost both countries’ global business appeal.

Mr Umunna was speaking at a Labour Friends of Israel event at Google’s Tech City campus in London. It used video links with teams in Tel Aviv and Lagos, Nigeria, to discuss “tech-cities” and start-up businesses.

Participants included experts from Google’s projects in Israel, the British Embassy’s UK-Israel Tech Hub, and Tsofen, an organisation boosting Arab Israelis’ opportunities in high-tech industry.

Mr Umunna praised the projects he saw during a Shadow Cabinet trip to Israel last year. He said: “We all share a desire to see more start-ups in Britain and need to see far more of that in our economy. We want to increase our trade and we are seeking to learn from others.”

The British government must set up more tech-hubs and do more to back young entrepreneurs, he added.

Liam Byrne, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “One of the most exciting things we saw in Israel was the risk-taking, high-energy tech culture. We have big lessons to learn.”

Mr Byrne said he wanted to create “trade corridors” between British cities which are home to global businesses and Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

“There’s the potential for a win-win with Israel where we take great ideas and energy and unite them with our strength in global business. We need to find ways we can make that happen faster,” he said.

Tsofen’s Smadar Nehab predicted that Israel’s highly-educated Arab population would play a key role in the next stage of high-tech growth.

Businessman and philanthropist Sir Trevor Chinn, who was part of last year’s delegation, said: “I’ve been going to Israel for 50 years and this trip was an eye-opener. Britain has people, similar to Israel, who are individualistic, clever and innovative. It could be phenomenal in this country.

“The government has to ease the way and we have to find a way to encourage people that it is worth having a go.”

Tuesday's event was chaired by former Innovation Minister David Lammy MP.

Labour councillor joins the Co-operative Group

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:30:43 +0100

Munir Malik, a supporter of the boycott of Israel, has joined the board of the Co-operative Group.

A Labour councillor in the London Borough of Bexley and twice an MEP candidate, in his campaign statement Mr Malik disclosed that he had been at the heart of the group’s policies on “international issues like banning products from illegal settlements in Palestine”.

Last year, the Co-op board agreed to boycott goods from four companies producing fruit and vegetables in West Bank settlements.

LibDems and Jews

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:17:23 +0100

There will be few in the Labour Party sorry to see the back of Lord Ahmed, whose shaming of his party was long-standing and unpleasant.

He jumped before he was about to be pushed. Ed Miliband's handling of the issue was firm and just - and what a contrast with the LibDems. Even if we ignore the way Baroness Tonge was indulged for so long, the way the party has dealt with David Ward has been a disgrace.

Mr Ward, remember, condemned "the Jews" for their failure to learn from the Holocaust. The so-called disciplinary action against him consisted of requesting that he spent a few minutes with a Jew or two. Not only does he still hold the party whip, the LibDem chief whip refuses to comment on the matter. Why is it that the LibDems seem to have a problem with Jews?

Lord Ahmed quits Labour Party before "Jewish conspiracy" hearing

Zoe Winograd — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:44:15 +0100

Lord Ahmed has resigned from the Labour Party ahead of a disciplinary hearing into claims he made comments about a Jewish conspiracy.

He was due to face party executives tomorrow after being suspended by the party in March.

The Times uncovered footage recorded in Pakistan in which Lord Ahmed was said to have claimed - while speaking in Urdu - that Jewish lawyers and media were responsible for the length of a prison term he received for causing a fatal car crash.

In a JC interview last week Lord Ahmed suggested he may leave the party before the hearing if he was not presented with a full recording of the interview.

In his resignation letter to party executives Lord Ahmed wrote: “I have been considering my position over the weekend and have concluded that I should resign from the membership… I reject the core story that emerges out of the alleged interview.”

Referring to an earlier apology he made in the case, Lord Ahmed said: “Needless to say that I have many Jewish friends and I felt it was important and necessary to do this.”

Lord Ahmed had previously said he could not remember making the remarks, but apologised unreservedly and said he would be “utterly devastated” if it was proved that he had spoken in such terms.

Lord Ahmed backtracks on comments of Jewish conspiracy

Marcus Dysch — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:41:50 +0100

Controversial peer Lord Ahmed’s attempted to rehabilitate his reputation with the Jewish community this week over remarks about a Jewish conspiracy he is said to have made.

Speaking ahead of his disciplinary hearing in front of the Labour Party national executive next week, the peer gave his version of the events which have led to his latest suspension from the party.

He acknowledged that he could not remember making the remarks, but apologised unreservedly and said he would be “utterly devastated” if it was proved that he had spoken in such terms.

Lord Ahmed was suspended by Labour in March after the Times uncovered footage recorded in Pakistan in which he is said to have claimed - while speaking in Urdu - that Jewish lawyers and media were responsible for the length of a prison term he received for causing a fatal car crash.

He was jailed for 12 weeks for dangerous driving after a collision in 2007, in which a 28-year-old man was killed.

The 55-year-old Yorkshireman said he now wanted to repair his reputation and turn his attention to working with the Jewish community on matters of common interest to Muslims - kosher and halal meat, circumcision and burial.

But he also revealed that he may leave Labour before the hearing, complaining that he has not yet been presented with the video evidence the Times used to compile its report.

“I’ve not made any decisions yet, but if I don’t have the evidence against me, why should I appear before them? Not being a Labour peer is something I am thinking about. I have been suspended twice before. Maybe it is time for me to move on somewhere else.”

Following an interfaith event at the House of Lords on Tuesday, Lord Ahmed said: “I’m not saying that I’ve never made a mistake or I’ve never said something which might have been wrong and outrageous. I’ve always admitted when I’ve done it.

“I do lots of interviews in Pakistan. I cannot recollect this particular one. It was straight after I came out of prison. I went to Pakistan to talk about the accident.

“I don’t keep copies of my interviews. I’m not a senior person. I’ve been very open and very naive. I’ve talked to people honestly and openly, sometimes controversially, about how I feel.”

He admitted that his use of the word “yahoodi” – Urdu for “Jew” – in the interview was “outrageous”, but could offer no solid explanation of what was said, or why.

In an attempt to clarify the situation, he said: “People make mistakes, people say things… It wasn’t about the Jewish community. I unreservedly apologised for using that word. One reason is because there is no translation in Urdu of ‘Zionism’.”

So had he intended to suggest his prison sentence was the result of a Zionist plot?

“No, I never said it was a plot. I have never said that at any time during my political life. It’s not what I believe.

“I think what I’m saying to you is that in this context where I was reported to have been talking about pressure from the newspapers it could have been because of the accident. It was to do with my confused, bitter situation and being in prison and coming out. It was something I wanted to forget.”

Currently his attention was on attempting to clear his name over the “Jewish conspiracy” allegation.

“I would love to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “If I can see the film then we can put it to bed. I would be utterly devastated to know that I have said that.

“The Labour Party hasn’t given me any evidence. If you are charging somebody it is their basic right to see the evidence against them. How can you defend yourself when you’ve not seen any evidence against you?”

His initial apology to Labour leader Ed Miliband and the Jewish community over the matter was rejected by communal leaders in March.

Lord Ahmed said: “I have not said anything directly against the [Jewish] community. I can’t go and address the Jewish Board of Deputies or the Community Security Trust because I don’t have any relationship with them and I’ve not said anything against them.

“I have spoken to some of my colleagues here who are of the Jewish faith and said ‘help me put this record straight’.

“I’m trying my best to correct what was reported but I do realise that this is going to take a long time, to rebuild this trust and get back to the work I used to do before.”

He added: “I don’t have a media advisor. I’m not a diplomatic person. Yorkshire people are very blunt in what they have to say.

"But I can say to you, on oath, that it is not the individual Jewish community [that I have any problem with]. From cradle to grave we have the same beliefs.

“I may have made mistakes, I’m sorry. I want to work with my faith communities where I have common things, about God, about the Prophets, about halal and kosher, about burial, about circumcision, about things we have in common.

“We will have political differences about Israel and Palestine, but not over the faith and communities. If that’s how it ever came out it was not how I intended it and I am sorry.”

Rabbi Mark Winer, a long-standing friend and former senior rabbi at the West London Synagogue, appeared alongside him at Tuesday’s Lords event.

He suggested Lord Ahmed may have made the remarks in a “moment of weakness”.

“We all have our demons, of hatred and bigotry and sexism. I assumed he had said it. Lord Ahmed hasn’t asked me for help. I wrote to him and said ‘let’s get this straight’, because this isn’t the Nazir Ahmed I know.

“I have no problem acknowledging the possibility that he might have spoken badly. People are very confusing and very complex and I was willing to accept that from him.”

Rabbi Winer said because Lord Ahmed was Britain’s first male Muslim peer, people were “looking to knock him down”. He said he hoped his friend would not “take that bait” and walk away from politics.

Stirling MP Anne McGuire to chair Labour Friends of Israel

Marcus Dysch — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:11:15 +0100

Stirling MP Anne McGuire is to be the new chair of Labour Friends of Israel.

Mrs McGuire, the Shadow Minister for Disabled People, is a former parliamentary private secretary to party leader Ed Miliband.

She has taken part in several LFI trips to Israel and has regularly raised the Middle East peace process in the Commons.

She said: “It is essential that the Labour Party is steadfast in its support for Israel and a negotiated two-state solution. ”

LFI director Jennifer Gerber said: “Anne is a true friend of Israel, and brings a deep understanding of the region.”

Previous chair John Woodcock stepped down in January due to ill health.

George Galloway — no return to Labour Party

Marcus Dysch — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:30:25 +0100

Labour officials have insisted that there are no plans for George Galloway to rejoin the party after it was revealed that the Respect MP had held a secret meeting with Ed Miliband.

Reports of the meeting appeared at the weekend, angering Israel supporters. They believed it contrasted sharply with comments Mr Miliband made at a Board of Deputies event last month, when he criticised Mr Galloway's "shameful behaviour" in refusing to debate with an Israeli student at Oxford University.

But Labour officials this week rushed to make clear that the meeting had taken place a "significant amount of time" before Mr Miliband's comments to the Board. A Labour source said: "There is no attempt to bring George Galloway back into the Labour Party as many of his views are unacceptable. Ed met him purely as a courtesy to discuss the recent vote on changing parliamentary boundaries. No communication has taken place since."

The vote on boundary changes took place in January.

Mr Galloway was expelled by Labour in 2003 following disciplinary action over claims he made after the Iraq war.

Responding to reports of the meeting, Mr Galloway tweeted that the details had been leaked to the press "by Blairites seeking to weaken Ed Miliband".

Jewish leaders reject Lord Ahmed apology

Sandy Rashty — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:30:00 +0100

The Board of Deputies and the Community Security Trust have rejected an apology by Lord Ahmed for suggesting that Jews control the media.

In an interview for a Pakistani TV channel that was obtained and exposed by The Times last month, the Labour peer appeared to blame “my Jewish friends who own newspapers and TV channels” for a jail term he served in 2009 for dangerous driving after admitting sending text messages while driving his car.

In a statement to the Huffington Post, Lord Ahmed said about the comments, for which he was suspended by the Labour Party: “I’m not antisemitic or a conspiracy theorist. I only believe in facts and I should have stuck with the facts.”

The peer added that he had “the greatest respect” for the Jewish community and apologised to Labour leader Ed Miliband: “He’s of the Jewish faith and I’m sorry that I embarrassed him, or anybody else in the Labour Party.” .

But Community Security Trust spokesperson Mark Gardner rejected the statement: “We note Lord Ahmed’s apology, but it was given to a journalist rather than to the Jewish community and does not explain his appalling behaviour.

"The sincerity of the apology will only be proved by Lord Ahmed’s own future actions. This includes not only his own words, but his willingness to associate with hard-line anti-Israel activists who echo anti-Jewish conspiracy themes and deride mainstream Jewish concerns about antisemitism.”

Board chief executive Jon Benjamin said: “Lord Ahmed has no credible explanation or justification for what he said.”

The Labour peer had suggested in the TV interview that his 2009 charge had “became more critical because I went to Gaza to support Palestinians. My Jewish friends who own newspapers and TV channels opposed this.”

Lord Ahmed apologises to the Jewish community

Sandy Rashty — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:32:12 +0000

The Community Security Trust has rejected an apology by Lord Ahmed for his “unacceptable” comments that suggested Jews controlled the media and British politics.

The Labour peer, who has been suspended from the party pending an investigation, had blamed Jews for his dangerous driving charge in 2009. He claimed a Jewish conspiracy was responsible for his imprisonment for causing a fatal car crash. The peer reportedly suggested a Jewish plot against him had followed his support for Palestinians in Gaza. He was jailed for 12 weeks in 2009 after admitting sending text messages shortly before a motorway crash which killed another driver.

The peer reportedly said: “My case became more critical because I went to Gaza to support Palestinians. My Jewish friends who own newspapers and TV channels opposed this.”

Lord Ahmed made the offending comments during a television interview aired in Pakistan last April and obtained and published by The Times newspaper this month.

Now he has “completely and unreservedly” apologised for his comments in an interview with the Huffington Post.

He reportedly told the Huffington Post that he had “the greatest respect” for the Jewish community and apologised to Jewish Labour leader Ed Miliband for embarrassing the party. “He’s of the Jewish faith and I’m sorry that I embarrassed him, or anybody else in the Labour Party,” said Lord Ahmed.

“I’m not antisemitic or a conspiracy theorist. I only believe in facts and I should have stuck with the facts rather than with conspiracy theories.”

But Community Security Trust spokesperson Mark Gardner rejected the apology. He told the JC: “This apology by Lord Ahmed will be greeted with much suspicion as it comes in response to a journalist rather than have been made directly and voluntarily to those who were most offended by the remarks.”

Earlier this month, Lord Ahmed resigned from his role as a founding trustee of the Joseph Interfaith Foundation, which promotes Muslim-Jewish relations. “I strongly hope that the allegations made against me will in no way affect the good relations between the Muslim and Jewish communities in this country,” he said.

My dear, put-upon Lord Ahmed

Geoffrey Alderman — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 10:03:21 +0000

An Open Letter To The Lord Ahmed of Rotherham in the county of South Yorkshire, c/o The House of Lords:

As-salamu 'alayka!

Greetings from your Lordship's Humble Servant, Professor Geoffrey Alderman.

I take the liberty of writing to your Lordship to express my gratitude to your Lordship for having displayed such commendable courage and admirable frankness in the remarks your Lordship was pleased to make in Pakistan last year on the subject of your Lordship's most unfortunate contretemps with the British legal system, when your Lordship was imprisoned for having allegedly sent and received text messages while driving along the M1 motorway.

Your Lordship has incurred a certain amount of opprobrium for having revealed that the Jews were to blame for your imprisonment for dangerous driving. Although I am ashamed to admit that I am not fluent in Urdu, we have it on the authority of The Times that you made known during an Urdu-language TV broadcast in Pakistan that the judge who imprisoned you was specially appointed for this task after having assisted a "Jewish colleague" of Tony Blair, and that, more generally, your imprisonment was the result of pressure placed on the court by Jews "who own newspapers and TV channels."

Had you made this declaration on a British TV channel you would no doubt have been obliged to refer to "Zionists" rather than "Jews," on account of the repressive restrictions on true freedom of expression that are - alas - a hallmark of the British, Jewish Zionist-controlled state. But in freedom-loving Pakistan, breathing the pure air of a liberal state, where all (or almost all, excluding women - naturally - and Christians but no doubt including a great many others) are permitted to speak without restraint on the subject of the Jews, you were able to tell the truth - or at any rate the truth as you saw it.

You are, after all, entitled to your view. And if your view is that you were the victim of a Jewish conspiracy, so be it. We are not here concerned with facts (so-called by the Zionist-controlled press). Even if it was true that there was no Jewish plot against you following your most courageous visit to Gaza in support of Palestinians, even if it was the case that there is not a shred to evidence to support the theory of a plot, you are entitled (are you not?) to put forward an alternative version of events, more attuned to the unique prejudices of your Pakistani audience.

And as for all this Zionist-fomented fuss - stemming as we all know from a report in a newspaper of which the executive editor is a Jew (one Daniel Finkelstein) who even writes shamelessly for the Jewish Chronicle! - how were you to know that some busybody would translate your impeccable Urdu into equally impeccable English for the world to read? After all, your views were not meant for an English audience, were they? After all, didn't the British Chief Rabbi write a controversial book (Dignity of Difference) that was not meant for a Jewish readership? If Jews didn't like what he wrote, serves them right for having read it, say I. No one was forced to watch your TV exposé of the Jewish plot against you, were they? And if they were misguided enough to watch it and to read about it, they've no one but themselves to blame if they contracted indigestion as a result.

So now your Lordship has been suspended by the Labour party, and rumour has it that you might be expelled. I need hardly remind your Lordship that this party is headed by a Zionist - or at least (there appears to be confusion on this) by a Jew who claimed he was one until he was reportedly told it might be politically inadvisable to reveal this truth, just at this moment. The point is, the Labour parliamentary party is led by a Jew. The sooner you make this known - preferably in Urdu - the better for all concerned.

If your Lordship is perchance expelled from the Labour party, may I commend to you the Respect party led by Mr Galloway? I believe that Respect will give you the respect you clearly deserve, and I shall deem it an honour to provide you with the second-class postage stamp to affix to your letter of application.

wa'l-salaamu 'alayka

Gershon ben Shmuel