Jewish student groups: the 1985 banning campaign
Posted on Sunday 7 March, 2010
Filed Under Israel
A MOMENT from my past has just caught up with me. Last week I received an email from Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, the Jewish-led charity that monitors anti-semitism in Britain.
Rich informed me that the CST is currently researching the campaign conducted 25 years ago - with the involvement of at least some Socialist Worker Student Society branches – to get campus Jewish societies disbanded, on the grounds that they were ‘racist’. Such a stance is in obvious contrast to SWSS’s overtly friendly attitude towards comparable Islamist-dominated Muslim student groupings over the last period.
He added, quite correctly, that I had spoken in support of a resolution to scrap the JSoc at a meeting of City of London Polytechnic students’ union in 1985. Yep, that long-haired skinny Trot kid on the platform was me. What’s more, Rich requested a meeting to talk about this episode.
Now, I am aware that the CST is held in some suspicion by many on the Jewish left, who dismiss it on grounds of its self-appointed nature. I am also bewildered that anybody has kept records of such minutiae, decades after the event.
But throughout my journalistic career, I have often written articles contrasting the actions of present-day politicians with what they said and did as college radicals. Therefore logical consistency dictates that the I should apply the standards I apply to others to myself.
So I will be getting together with Rich at some point in the week ahead. I have his assurance that the object of the exercise is not to paint me as some kind of swivel-eyed anti-semite.
In brief, I was in 1985 a member of both the Socialist Workers’ Party and City Poly SWSS, and as such, had no qualms about arguing for SWP politics. Nor can I claim to have been an ingenue; I was a young man of 24, overly booked up on Marxist theory, and well aware of what I was doing. But I was too far down the food chain to know whether hostility towards the JSoc flowed from a national or a purely local inititive.
My attitude had very much been shaped by the war in Lebanon three years earlier, especially the Sabra and Shatila massacre. So I saw things in black and white.
Zionism, I then believed, was a form of racism. Self-evidently, no student union should permit a racist student group to function under its auspices. Ipso facto, City Poly JSoc had to go.
This is not a position I now hold. I am, of course, still critical of the state of Israel from a leftwing socialist perspective, and remain convinced that a democratic secular state is the only basis on which lasting peace is possible in the Middle East.
But I have had the benefit of the intervening years to think things through. In particular, I have read Theodor Herzl’s ‘The Jewish State’, the founding manifesto of Zionism. Clearly it is a nationalist work, and I excoriate nationalism in 2010 as I did in 1985. However – and crucially, in this context – ‘The Jewish State’ is equally clearly not a book premised on racism or Jewish supremacism.
Although it would be wrong to call Zionism a racist doctrine per se, that adjective may fairly be applied to some components of the current political leadership of Israel, who define themselves primarily as Zionists. On top of that, the establishment of the state of Israel represents, in historic terms, an injustice against the Palestinian people.
Just to complicate this picture, the borderline between anti-Zionism and anti-semitism is sometimes illegitimately crossed by sections of the far left. But by the same token, supporters of Israel frequently conflate the terms for base polemical advantage. While I now consider my support for the JSoc ban a gross mistake, I remain on balance an anti-Zionist.
In short, I guess I am not expecting a meeting of minds when I do get together with Mr Rich. I naturally hope we can have a reasoned exchange of views. But some differences, as they say, are too important to split.
UPDATE: I have slightly amended the original text of the post in the light of comments below from johng, who insists that the SWP did not co-ordinate a national attack against JSocs. He is evidently better placed to comment on this than I am. But the line taken by City Poly SWSS is beyond dispute.
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my memory of this is that the swp at the time nationally regarded the banning attempt at sunderland as a mistake (although it may have been swp members locally who supported a Palestinian society motion) but also opposed sunderland being suspended from the NUS as a result. My memory might be faulty but could you clarify this Dave?
I can remember two arguments. One was that No Platform should not be extended to arguments about the Israel/Palestine conflict. Another was that it was a mistake to conflate arguments about Zionism with membership of the Jewish Society even if the existing national leadership were Zionist. And the other was an argument about the difference between the racist policies pursued by the Israeli State and the reason why Jewish people were supporters of Zionism in Europe (let alone the reasons why Jewish students joined J-Soc). I remember both making and hearing these arguments in SWSS in the immediate aftermath, including arguments with the Palestinian Society who were themselves divided on the issue. I also do remember that the occassion for all this was the fall out over the Lebanese war and large numbers of Palestinian refugee’s from Lebanon in British universities and consequent politicisation and radicalisation around the question. I remember as well that badges stating Zionism=Racism were for the reasons listed above argued against in SWSS.
In which case, your memories of the period are probably better than my (cannabis-befuddled) recollections, John.
Could it be that there was no national line on this, and that City Poly SWSS were acting off their own bat?
But IIRC, an number of SWSS groups put similar resolutions. Surely there must have been some element of central direction?
I can just remember a lot of worry about it. One reason why there might have been a number of such resolutions was quite simply that the aftermath of Lebanon. As far as I can remember the original motion in Sunderland was put foward by the Palestinian society. I will however see if I can’t find out something more concrete so that we’re not reliant on both our cannabis addled brains. Certainly the arguments above, as I said, are ones I can remember being made and making in SWSS caucuses up and down the country.
Dave,
I am not sure the reasons for this issue coming up, but it seems fairly clear that the SWP learnt absolutely nothing in 20 years, from their early attacks on Jewish students to the SWP’s pandering to Gilad Atzmon’s racism.
I suppose it shows the shallowness of their intellectual skills and analysis that someone only needs to change the word “Jew” to “Zionist” and the SWP can’t see any racism, no matter what foul imagery is invoked.
SWPers are some of the biggest supporters of the UCU boycott Israelis campaign, which has incidentally weakened UCU significantly and led to many Jews tearing up their union cards and leaving the Union.
I suppose all the shows is that the SWP learned nothing, has learnt nothing and will probably never learn much, and along the way they’ve manage to assist with the growth of anti-Jewish racism in Britain.
Not something to be proud of.
Modernity, read what Johng says above. Try to debate with real people, not those SWP people living in your head.
Anyone who wonders about Atzmon and the SWP should read this rather good post at SU blog:
Gilad Atzmon – Now an Open Holocaust Denier
http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=1559
We should naturally remind ourselves of the SWP’s 2005 statement on Atzmon:
[My emphasis].
Then we should remember those fine Jewish socialists who picketed the SWP bookshop when Atzmon gave a talk, they were attacked for their pains by SWPers, for pointing out Atzmon’s racism.
http://marx.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2005w24/msg00290.htm
Anyone who wonders about Atzmon and the SWP should read this rather good post at SU blog:
Gilad Atzmon – Now an Open Holocaust Denier
http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=1559
We should naturally remind ourselves of the SWP’s 2005 statement on Atzmon:
[My emphasis].
Then we should remember those fine Jewish socialists who picketed the SWP bookshop when Atzmon gave a talk, they were attacked for their pains by SWPers, for pointing out Atzmon’s racism.
see this link:
http://marx.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2005w24/msg00290.htm
Well in any case the SWP was never involved in a national campaign to ban Jewish student societies. Thats a flat out lie.
So it was an informal campaign?
Or an ad hoc campaign? What does it matter?
The underlying intent, which was to attack Jewish students, was all the same.
The SWP sucking up to Atzmon was done officially, and they can’t wriggle out of that one.
How many years did they host and promote the anti-Jewish racist, Gilad Atzmon?
Four years.
Four very long years.
Obviously the SWP was inexcusably tardy in recognising Atzmon for what he is. As far as moralityblog is concerned, however, we are all, for ever, condemned by he mistakes of our past. That is probably why he he is generally regarded as a prick.
Four years tardy.
Not one, two, three but four years of pressure and still they booked him, pushed him to the fore.
Four years, and the SWP haven’t yet officially admitted their continual “mistakes” nor retracted their previous supportive statement on Atzmon.
Of course, if they weren’t very serious about anti-Jewish racism then you could see why they wouldn’t be too troubled to do that.
If this thread develops I will try and make a more substantive contribution. I was personally close to this event, and also had a intersting chat with Dave Rich the other week.
In terms of the comments so far, the key point re the SWP is made, in very clear terms, by Mr G. at coment no. 1 above. The J Soc banning, he says, was a “mistake”.
No John, it was much, much worse than that, and yet the SWP never condemned it. Rather you/the SWP then, de facto, supported it.
The SWP was not involved in leading any campaign to ban Jewish societies. As I stated its simply a flat out lie.
I predict about 100 and thirty comments on this thread.
Do a post on North Korea — you will be lucky to get twenty.
Oy VEy.
it’s not the conflicts you can’t make heads or tails out of, it’s the gibberish.
PLease be advised that if I ever had a blog such as Dave Osler’s, I would be worse than STalin.
CunTs who comment here will be cringing in the face of secret trials and executions. I wooD fuckkIng well exterminate them all.
I am glad to be your enemies and I will not forget it nor yourselves. Ever.
The problem is, no matter the issue here the SWP are not going to admit they’re wrong, or have been wrong.
The SWP haven’t even officially acknowledged Gilad Atzmon’s open racism, and if they can’t do that then what can they really do?
There is a mountain of evidence concerning Atzmon’s racist pronunciations, yet what have the SWP officially said?
Nothing, no official comment.
Gameboy is a joke. Why any fuckker takes him seriously is a testament to the ignorance of humanity.
Gameboy, a dumb ignorant turd, and moron, makes a public disgrace of MArxism. He helps to show the world that marxists are a bunch of illterate backward cretins who are at least 60 years behind the times. An utter fooL beyond help.
Send donations in aid of Gameboy to Bob The Geldoff — he will put that shit to good use.
I take it that modernity and will concede that it is simply a flat out lie.
When the SWP can openly and officially acknowledge their complacency in the face of conspicuous anti-Jewish racism (see my comments on Atzmon).
When they can acknowledge, officially, their mistakes, and how their other activities in UCU are driving out Jews from the Union.
When they can address these issues in a candid fashion then I might feel charitable, but until that day comes I feel it my duty to remind those wayward socialists of how when the chips were down, they capitulated to anti-Jewish racism.
which presumably means that no-one should take you seriously when it comes to the question under discussion. Its nothing to do with ‘charity’. Its to do with the truth.
Hi all
As Dave says, this thread has come about because I am researching the history of Jewish society bannings, which began in the mid-1970s and to which the Sunderland Poly episode in 1985 was actually a bit of a hangover.
To cut a (very) long story very short, in the 1970s the SWP did pursue a national campaign to deny Jewish societies student union funding and facilities on the grounds of their Zionism. This was a very clear and openly stated policy at the time. There was some disagreement within the SWP as to whether this should extend to a full ‘No Platforming’ for Zionists.
By the time of Sunderland Poly in 1985, the SWP’s position (from what I can tell) was that the ban was a tactical error but not something to be condemned as such (if you see the difference). It also does seem that there was a national campaign from the SWP to defend Sunderland Poly, although not to push for Jewish societies elsewhere to be banned. At least this is what I think from the archive material I have found so far.
Dave, our views may differ on Zionism and Israel – although by how much I don’t know until we meet – but then that is only the backdrop to my research rather than its main focus. I’m sure we can have a reasonable and friendly chat and I’m looking forward to it. Johng – I’m happy for you to join us if you like (that invitation extends to anyone else who is reading this and remembers the period in question).
Maybe “pursue a national campaign” in my second para above overstates it a little. It was definitely the SWP’s policy though.
I wasn’t around at the same but if what is reported is true then it was wrong, it was VERY wrong. And I say this as a card carrying anti Zionist. However I am not going to tolerate the view that the SWP and other sections of the left are anti Semitic, this is an outright lie and anyone seeking to taint the left with anti Semitism is thoroughly dishonest.
Well I was told it was a mistake for the reasons I outlined (and I argued it was a mistake for the same reason and can actually remember arguing this). I can also remember, at the time, attempts being made to present the argument that the motion had been put foward because of anti-semitism. I argued against that then and would argue against that now. It was put foward because the policies Israel had towards Palestinians were racist, the war in Lebanon and the subsequent atrocities towards Palestinians were atrocious, and the national UJS supported and justified these things (including, I remember, a poster headed something like Palestine before Zionism, and a blank page: this in the immediate aftermath of the massacres of Palestinian women and children following the forced evacuation of the male population, many of whom found themselves in British universities walking past these posters).
This difference really involves the central disagreement on these matters. One line of thought tries to suggest that the development of criticism of Israel during this period reflected the rise of a ‘new anti-semitism’ around Zionism. The other argument suggests that it was associated above all with the invasion of Lebanon and the quite legitimate outrage about what that invasion revealed. Arguments of about ‘a new anti-semitism’ seem to have emerged during this period. These disagreements are ultimately political and have to do with arguments about competing national claims and national oppression.
The SWP response to this thread is entirely predictable. They seem to consider any event that portrays them in a poor light, as either 1) didn’t happen 2) everyone else is a liar, etc
Such an attitude would be slightly amusing, were it not for the seriousness of the topic.
Fairly obviously, the SWP wants to paint itself in the best possible light, that’s what politicos do, but too many people are too familiar with the SWP’s modus operandi and their capacity for untruths to be taken in.
The recent resignations from the SWP and the spin being put on it by remaining SWP members jars with reality.
The SWP’s hosting and promotion of Gilad Atzmon’s racism is far too well documented, yet you will not get an official statement from the SWP acknowledging their error (a multiplicity of errors) nor one on Atzmon’s continued racism.
So if the SWP can’t be honest about Atzmon, why do we suppose they would be honest about events that occurred over 20 years ago, which puts them in a bad light?
They won’t, they will just shout “liars”, “damn lies”, “smears” etc
Even to this day, the SWP-influenced Stop the War Coalition pushes anti-Jewish racism on the first page of their web site. Obviously, SWPers can’t spot it when anti-Jewish racism is staring them in the face.
Again, the SWP can’t be trusted to come clean with their acquiescence and promotion of anti-Jewish racism.
They can’t do it now, and certainly not about events 20+ years ago.
Moernity,
Why do you see it as your duty to smear every organisation on the left with ridiculous generalisations and distortions, you did it with the Socialist Party on a previous thread.
Am I correct in saying that you do not belong to or associate yourself with any movement whatsoever?
What is your agenda here?
I like many socialists have been disappointed, annoyed and frustrated that so many on the Left are often incapable of seeing anti-Jewish racism when it is in their face.
Until there is an acknowledgement of that problem then it is the duty of all anti-racists and antifascists to remind those insensitive, blind or otherwise incapable of seeing anti-Jewish racism, what the problem is.
Now I assume that most of you would suggest that you understand anti-Jewish racism when you see it, you can spot it and you can dissect it.
So here’s a simple challenge:
Go to the Stop the War coalition web site and spot which particular bit embodies anti-Jewish racism, once you’ve managed that, composed two paragraphs which explain lucidly and historically why it is wrong and what are the issues.
Go on, it is easy, I have even helped you with the link above.
And after you’ve managed to find the anti-Jewish racism on StWC’s front page, answer the question, why didn’t any SWPer or StWC supporter who must have read that page pick it up?
If you are talking about the organ transplant story then I agree that the motives for posting this are concerning, and I am certain the story is untrue. Shameful.
Having said that Stop the War have done great things mobilising people against the war crimes of the UK government. equally shameful is that some on the left support these crimes.
I can recall two Jewish speakers being banned from speaking at Manchester University during the 1980s – their names were Lenni Brenner and Roland Rance, and they were banned because they were anti-Zionists. I am sure Modernity is suitably outraged.
Roland Rance
One must hope Kevin The Gerbil wasn’t similarly no-platformed.
My recollection of this period is even fainter than Dave’s (since I was by 1985 an academic and a father of small children, so rather distanced from student politics; and the IMG-SL, of which I was then a member, had largely “trashed” its student work in the name of the “Turn to Industry”).
But from what I do recollect of it the line that Zionism = racism and “no platform for Zionists” was a project of the NUS Black Caucuses and the SWP merely tailed them. From the outside the underlying basis seemed to be the absolute dominance in the period of “identity politics” & the claim that only the oppressed are entitled to speak about their oppression.
At Lancaster University, [GRATUITOUS APOLITICAL COMMENT REMOVED - be a good boy please, Bill]
* I may have that wrong. Was it Barak?
MEA CULPA
My usual poor standard of spelling is utterly abysmal this evening. Sorry.
Dave,
Don’t you see how the Left in Britain is on a hiding to nothing?
Leaving aside the dreadful prospect of a Thatcherite government under the guise of Cameronism
Leaving aside the vanity projects without a hope in hell’s chance.
Forgetting that and much more, when parts of the British Left can’t cogently oppose in a vigorous fashion or even spot the anti-Jewish racism on the Stop the War Coalition front-page then, what can they do?
This is a basic, a political basic, the ABC of history, if bits of the British Left can’t recognise, analyse, oppose and deal with anti-Jewish racism then they’re fucking useless.
You will see I’m still waiting for a competent answer to my challenge above.
mod. The left are always on a hiding to nothing. They are dictators. The British even when in poverty have always slung them a deafie. Even now they are an embarrasment snuggling up to Islamic Fascists. I am surprised at the people they are now sharing platforms with. They must be desperate.
Dave Rich. I had to work for a living so university was not an option however some of my younger relatives had the opportunity to attend. I am because of them reasonably clued up about the internal struggles that went on in the Uni. You just have to make up your own mind when you hear stories. I can say as a young shop steward I had dealings with the SWP (1973). They were helpful in a campaign to save jobs which was appreciated although they did try and impose their own agenda on the campaign as expected which was resisted. It was obvious to me at this time the SWP were Palestinian supporters and were anti-Zionist but not outwardly anti-Jewish! They were like all hard left parties at this time in a pickle about Ireland. Should they support the IRA openly or just be apologists whilst the IRA slaughtered working class people for the cause. I did know a few decent SWP people one is still an activist with Solidarity in Scotland. I have made up my mind about the present SWP lot. I do not like what I see just like 1973.
“However I am not going to tolerate the view that the SWP and other sections of the left are anti Semitic, this is an outright lie and anyone seeking to taint the left with anti Semitism is thoroughly dishonest.”
OOO get her!
you fucking jerk.
Re Gameboy:
Gamebot is a well known liar and clown (and a shit).
While I’m stuck in daily life within this oppressive political reality, I’m not going to abide on a scholarly basis with dumb middle-class fucks like you.
I might be tempted to say something more about the swp even.
But I’m fuckkeD if I’m going to debate gaMebOy’s
thick lying cunTishness.
This book is written from a perspective of communism and anti-racism
http://www.engageonline.org.uk/ressources/funny/contents.html
Will you should have your own chat show!
Just quickly on this tactical error question. Attempting to ban the UJS was indeed a tactical error in relationship to solidarity with Palestinians. It was a tactical error because banning Jewish societies was wrong. I don’t have a clear recollection about the role of black sections in relationship to the debate but if they were arguing this that is what we would have argued. We would of course have argued against removing Sunderland poly from the NUS arguing instead for the rescinding of the motion and its replacement by a proper solidarity motion which did not make that error.
I see that Will’s last link includes the following:
Thus the Big Flame editorial of September 1982 actually stated that as a socialist response to the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon “it would be a serious error to participate in or help incite the emergence of a new wave of anti-semitism”. The use of the word ‘error’ implies that the question of unleashing pogroms is merely one of tactics. The perverse logic of this is that if anti-semitism acted as a break on the Israeli government then it would in some way be legitimate.
This is the debating style he has used here, and is commonly used by supporters of Israel to attack the Left. Twisting what is said into its opposite.
modernity – I don’t see such a thing on the front page any more. I notice that your link is to your website, not to the StWC one. No Jenny Tonge was probably not on to a winner with that one, but if you think everyone is going to participate in one of your condemnathons, you may be waiting a while.
Skidders – The link is on the website, it asks to sign a petition. While I disagree with everything else Modernity says and his use of this to damn the whole anti war movement I think on this one issue he is correct. It’s is very worrying why this would be given prominence, the conclusions lead to anti semitism and that is no idle matter.
Dave,
What can you do? Its sitting there and some can’t still see it.
I tried to explain it several ways but nothing penetrates. Again:
1) Anyone capable of typing stop the war coalition into Google would be taken to their site http://www.stopwar.org.uk/
2) then they could see the StWC supporting Jenny Tonge’s called for an investigation to confirm a ludicrous racist defamation.
3) I provided a link to my blog to help people, to explain the issue, and the racism is still there over at StWC web site and they can’t see it.
I always thought you were rather pessimistic in your assessment of the British Left, but I think I’m coming round to your way of thinking
PS; There’s even a screen shot of the offending bit on my blog.
Shitstripes,
Big Flame’s analysis was communitarian and exceptionalist, in exactly the same way as that of the revisionist zionists who are so rightly condemned and abhorred — and no different from the communitarian and exceptionalist line pushed by the Cliffite heresy.
Wash your pants!
What? You are meeting him? Man, are you stupid, don’t you know there’s a pre-war war on?
I can see that SWPers can’t actually see any racism on the StWC site, despite all of the clues and pointers.
I suppose that’s to be expected, but will they finally acknowledged that they participated in at least one campaign to have Jewish student society’s banned?
Will the SWP even acknowledge that?
Dean
on March 9th, 2010 at 08:30
“Will you should have your own chat show!”
Alas they won’t have me — I have attempted to gain fruitful employment with RuperTvision even and still no fuckkIng Luck.
I blame the jews.