Words have consequences. This phrase, or versions of it, has been around for a long time, and is apposite to Israel's current military actions in Gaza. The word 'genocide' courses through writing and discussion, and a UN Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide. In return Israel has furiously rejected the claim.
This piece is inspired by a Times article written by journalist Deborah Ross, 'How to be an antisemite (don't worry, it's easy)'. So that my effort is a little more than reporting her own insights, I am adding a few thoughts of my own, through some knowledge of the Jewish community.
So many have a view, with varying degrees of knowledge of the Middle East. The mainstream media are challenged over their objectivity in reporting.
I have come across a neat phrase that sums up the thinking that led to Diane Abbott's travails, 'competitive grievance', in the sense of a person alleging that their community's suffering is worse than another community's suffering. We are in the world of moral equivalence, a hopeless rabbit hole.
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There are different types of intelligence.
I needed to top up the screenwash in the car, first time with this one. The operation was ultimately a success. Opening the bonnet initially was not.
Natasha Boon and her colleagues run a flower stall close to Kentish Town Station. The last few months have not been easy for them: the tube station has been closed for escalator replacement, and by the time it re-opens in (cross fingers) September we will have been tubeless for a year. Their trade has suffered accordingly.
I love the eccentrics of Kentish Town: as examples, two old boys on the pavement consulting a tattered A-Z (none of that phone rubbish), and then a woman outside a supermarket advising entrants that all will be well. I hope she is right.
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You have to feel sorry for James Cleverly. He was apparently gutted to be moved from the Foreign Office, with ita extensive travel. In his new role all he has had so far is a day trip to Rwanda...
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And (see last month) we now know that Robert Jenrick is a true Suella headbanger.
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A sixth former Tok Tok user has shared a view on Israel/Gaza from another Tik Tok user of similar age. For me it offers a valuable insight. The other user wrote:
Values. Everyone has got them. According to Suella Braverman, there are British values. Nigel Farage had his account closed at Coutts because apparently certain of his views were incompatible with the Bank's values. Lloyds Banking Group's website says its values are 'People-first; Bold; Inclusive; Sustainable; Trust (yes, the grammar is flaky).
First of all, I declare an abhorrence of antisemitism, my feeling on which you will get through my recent autobiographical piece Writing on Israel?
The usual stuff. For anybody interested in Israel/Hamas, there is 'Writing on Israel?' plus some sideways comments below.
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