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Melanie Phillips

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Melanie Phillips,

Melanie Phillips

Opinion

We must not fall for the lies told about Israel

Accusations of dual loyalty and not being fully British aren't new, says Melanie Phillips

September 13, 2018 15:08
Jeremy Corbyn
3 min read

Within hours of the Labour party giving its members wriggle room to defame Israel without any pushback, posters appeared on central London bus-shelters slandering Israel as a “a racist endeavour”.

The virus of left-wing antisemitism is out of control. Why is anyone surprised? None of this is new. Jeremy Corbyn may have made the poison more toxic but he didn’t release it. He is rather its most malevolent symptom.

I first experienced this in 1982. Colleagues implied that my real country wasn’t Britain but Israel. At the time, I’d never even been there and never wanted to go. All I’d done was stick up for it against the lies and blood libels.

For that, I was instantly pigeon-holed as not fully British. During the following years, Jewish defenders of Israel like me were accused of dual loyalty.