British Jewish groups have slammed former London Mayor Ken Livingstone for telling a group of pro-Labour Jewish Londoners that “Jews will not vote for me because they’re rich“. What Ken meant was that being a socialist, most Jews who are better off than the rest of Londoners, would not vote for a socialist candidate. However, what the anti-Ken Jewish media did not mention – “I am against Israel not against Jews,” said Ken.
Currently, Britain is home to three million Jews. It’s predicted that by 2025, the Jewish population will increase to 4.5 million making it world’s second largest Jewish community after United States. In 1290, entire British Jewish community was expelled. After 350 year in exile, 10,000 of them were allowed to return. In 2002 the Jewish community was worth a combined £200 billion making it the wealthiest community in Britain. The average Jewish wage is £61,300 a year.
So, calling British Jews “rich”, is not meant to insult them. However, when such statement is made by someone, who refuses to see the Muslim world through Zionist glasses, does amount to hatred against Jews. Ken Livingstone, was against Tony Blair’s joining Bush’s Israeli war against Saddam Hussein in 2003. He, along with former British MP George Galloway, has always criticized Israel’s expansionist policy in the Muslim East. He welcomed Egyptian Muslim scholar Sheikh Qaradawi in London inspite of a smear campaign against him by the British Israel lobby groups. Ken, along with George Galloway and Lauren Booth, has appeared on currently banned Iranian Press TV.
Ken Livingstone’s so-called “hatred toward Jews” include his justification of Palestinian suicide bombing in July 2005, saying: “Given that the Palestinians don’t have jet planes, don’t have tanks, they only have their bodies to use as weapons,” and that Israeli actions “borders on crimes against humanity“.
The wealthy Jewish donors of Labour Party petition to the party leader, Edd Milliband, a Zionist Jew himself but not as much blind supporter of Israel as his elder brother, former foreign secretary David Milliband, prime minister David Cameron or the current foreign secretary Willian Hague, who told the British Jewish groups: “I’m a natural friend of Israel“. According to the Jewish media, after some arm twisting, Ken agreed to apologize to the Jewish community in a lengthy letter published in Israeli propaganda mouthpiece the Jewish Chronicle on Thursday.
If someone read Ken’s said letter, like I did – he did not apology for any of his ‘controversial’ statements. What he wrote was a reminder to the British Jews how he, as London Mayor, worked for the better interests of the country’s Jewish community. However, he refused to agree with some community leaders for their loyalty toward Israel.
“On Israel I have always refused to visit the surrounding dictatorships because they are just that, dictatorships – but I have visited Israel because it is democratic. Support for a peaceful outcome with two states enjoys majority support among both peoples. I said when I was mayor that I believed in a two-state solution and that remains my position. In my view it requires strong economic ties to make both states economically successful and committed to lasting peace,” wrote Ken Livingstone.
Personally, I think, Ken needs to brush up his knowledge of “Israel’s surrounding dictatorships”. Lebanon is far better democracy than Israel; both the US and Israel played midwife to Iraqi democracy which turned out to be pro-Iran. They want to bring-in their Libyan-style democracy in Syria now. How close Israel is to western democracy – It’s suffice to quote Israel’s renowned columnist, Gideon Levi, who called Israel a half democracy only last year.
Britain:
Currently, Britain is home to three million Jews. It’s predicted that by 2025, the Jewish population will increase to 4.5 million making it world’s second largest Jewish community after United States. In 1290, entire British Jewish community was expelled. After 350 year in exile, 10,000 of them were allowed to return. In 2002 the Jewish community was worth a combined £200 billion making it the wealthiest community in Britain. The average Jewish wage is £61,300 a year.
So, calling British Jews “rich”, is not meant to insult them. However, when such statement is made by someone, who refuses to see the Muslim world through Zionist glasses, does amount to hatred against Jews. Ken Livingstone, was against Tony Blair’s joining Bush’s Israeli war against Saddam Hussein in 2003. He, along with former British MP George Galloway, has always criticized Israel’s expansionist policy in the Muslim East. He welcomed Egyptian Muslim scholar Sheikh Qaradawi in London inspite of a smear campaign against him by the British Israel lobby groups. Ken, along with George Galloway and Lauren Booth, has appeared on currently banned Iranian Press TV.
Ken Livingstone’s so-called “hatred toward Jews” include his justification of Palestinian suicide bombing in July 2005, saying: “Given that the Palestinians don’t have jet planes, don’t have tanks, they only have their bodies to use as weapons,” and that Israeli actions “borders on crimes against humanity“.
The wealthy Jewish donors of Labour Party petition to the party leader, Edd Milliband, a Zionist Jew himself but not as much blind supporter of Israel as his elder brother, former foreign secretary David Milliband, prime minister David Cameron or the current foreign secretary Willian Hague, who told the British Jewish groups: “I’m a natural friend of Israel“. According to the Jewish media, after some arm twisting, Ken agreed to apologize to the Jewish community in a lengthy letter published in Israeli propaganda mouthpiece the Jewish Chronicle on Thursday.
If someone read Ken’s said letter, like I did – he did not apology for any of his ‘controversial’ statements. What he wrote was a reminder to the British Jews how he, as London Mayor, worked for the better interests of the country’s Jewish community. However, he refused to agree with some community leaders for their loyalty toward Israel.
“On Israel I have always refused to visit the surrounding dictatorships because they are just that, dictatorships – but I have visited Israel because it is democratic. Support for a peaceful outcome with two states enjoys majority support among both peoples. I said when I was mayor that I believed in a two-state solution and that remains my position. In my view it requires strong economic ties to make both states economically successful and committed to lasting peace,” wrote Ken Livingstone.
Personally, I think, Ken needs to brush up his knowledge of “Israel’s surrounding dictatorships”. Lebanon is far better democracy than Israel; both the US and Israel played midwife to Iraqi democracy which turned out to be pro-Iran. They want to bring-in their Libyan-style democracy in Syria now. How close Israel is to western democracy – It’s suffice to quote Israel’s renowned columnist, Gideon Levi, who called Israel a half democracy only last year.
Britain: