Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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The anti-anti-semitism that actually promotes Jew-hating
When Siobhain McDonagh revealed that she thought all Jews were rich capitalists, she exposed the genuine bigotry at the heart of this crass crusade, writes DAVID ROSENBERG
Labour MP Siobhan McDonagh said that 'anti-capitalist politics are at the root of anti-semitism'
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
THE right-wing Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh recently castigated the “hard left” for its strident opposition to capitalism.
She told Radio 4 presenter John Humphrys that “anti-capitalist politics are at the root of anti-semitism.” Humphrys is no friend of the left, but was taken aback. He asked her whether she believed that “to be anti-capitalist you have to be anti-semitic.” Astonishingly, she replied: “Yes.”
It was an appalling slur by a Labour politician on everyone who is consciously fighting poverty, austerity, homelessness and zero-hours contracts in capitalist Britain to label them anti-semitic, but it also revealed the ignorant and harmful stereotypes that are actually shared by rightwingers about Jews, even those that think of themselves as pro-Jewish. McDonagh thinks all Jews are rich capitalists.
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