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ok, maybe it is for someone who may not be Jewish(?) and hasn't followed this issue in depth for years. But as a Jew who has followed this closely and, like many other Jews (of course not all and I don't speak for everyone) but:
- As a general community it is clear that we feel attacked and many people do not feel that they can vote Labour because it is not a friendly place to be as a Jew. That seems to be greeted with a great shrug from many people who bizarrely simultaneously define themselves as 'For the Many not the Few'. Shameful.
- Saying that the press unequally weight it as an issue is majorly problematic. You must be aware of the antisemitic trope that Jews control the media right? So is it the Jews who are behind this devious unequal weighting in the media? Whats the reason for it? Why are the media controlling Jews so hellbent on attacking Corbyn? Or does it just plain not exist and race hate towards Jews is a grave problem that should be given as much airtime as possible
- Why can't people just believe us and support us instead of telling us to prove ourselves first? It is not acceptable usually to go around telling other minorities that 'actually, no you are not the subject of race hate, stop being hyperbolic'. That would be unacceptable to other minorities so why to Jews? It was a major finding in the Stephen Lawrence case that recognised that minorities have the right and are always best placed to define their racism, due to the insidiousness and blurred, undefinable lines that are often inherent in racism, so why is this not applied to us?
- As a general community it is clear that we feel attacked and many people do not feel that they can vote Labour because it is not a friendly place to be as a Jew. That seems to be greeted with a great shrug from many people who bizarrely simultaneously define themselves as 'For the Many not the Few'. Shameful.
punkture-
I have no arguments for 1 and 3, because I don't think there are any.
But I think it is not an exaggeration to say that Corbyn has had a much harder time in the press in general than the Conservatives have, on any issue.
And I don't think that any kind of conspiracy is behind that, just the fact that he is not very popular, and that he has made no effort to make himself more popular. Which is partly admirable and partly pig-headed and short-sighted.
But it has also meant that where criticism is due, such as Labour's handling of the Anti-Semitism, both real and perceived in the party, there has not been a lot of perspective - e.g. with Hodge's accusations, or with the anti-racism activist who said an MP he did not know was Jewish was working "hand-in-hand with the media."
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Saying that the press unequally weight it as an issue is majorly problematic.
Saying this is problematic is problematic.
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Clearly I'm coming at this from a less invested viewpoint. No, I'm not Jewish, and as such I have not been affected personally by this issue. The only strong opinion I have on the subject is that any form of racism or prejudice has no place in society or politics.
When it comes to the press, which is all I have to go on, I think it's fair to say Corbyn has been kicked from pillar to post. This makes it difficult for someone with no experience in the matter to pick out real issues where criticism is due from the sensationalist bullshit.
Of course I want to support you or others who have been victims of discrimination, and yes you are right there shouldn't be a burden of proof on victims, but in this case, sadly, the misinformation in the press surrounding Corbyn has made it more difficult for someone like me to work out where the truth lies.
tbc
salmonchild
fat_freddys_cat
On further reflection. I don't think anyone wants me posting inane reactions to articles. But the manner in which this whole issue has been reported seems, to me at least, to have become a stick with which to beat Corbyn. Yes there are issues with antisemitism and Labour, which is wrong, as it is for any political party. But the evidence that exists just doesn't seem to correlate with the unequal weighting in the press reporting the issue.