When Antisemitism is excused - David Miller
Below is the link of 22 minutes of
the disgraceful spaces debate
When we set up Eye on Antisemitism which was based on the platform of Twitter initially, we were countering Antisemitic hate crime on the Internet and it began by receiving reports privately of what people had seen that other users had posted. We knew that there was a gap all those years ago, monitoring online hate crime against Jewish people. However, hate crime laws were non-specific. When we used to report initially, certain vile abuses of Jewish people on Twitter to the the police, they didn't really know what this platform was, and that was only fifteen years ago.
Unfortunately, due to the ignorance of organisations that failed to pick up on hate crimes on Internet platforms, the rise of Antisemitic Malicious communications increased and was not dealt with.
Between 2007 to 2021 we had around 10,000 Antisemitic tweets and Facebook posts. By then TikTok, Telegram, Gab and other platforms posts were strewn with anti-Jewish hatred. We would state that getting up to fi reports daily through our website and our direct messaging systems was a huge problem.
Statistics based on anti-Jewish attacks are not always accurate because Jewish people don't always come forward when they have been abused, however by looking at physical incidents in 2021 as being around 2,500 people are those that have been published. Adding to that, the other organisations that have experienced or had reports through of Antisemitism and other organisations that deal with this religious hate crime is just a drop in the ocean.
So yesterday on Twitter spaces, a place where public discussions can be had, there was a discussion with Professor David Miller, well known for his outrageous remarks regarding Zionists, alongside the co-founder of Palestine action and others, with a title "Zionism and Islamophobia in the UK with Professor David Miller".
If you don't know, David Miller was sacked from Bristol University accused of Antisemitic comments. His trick is to interplay the term "Zionist" and "Jew", but if we read the definition of Antisemitism, David Miller was clearly Antisemitic. He may disagree.
During the spaces conversation which I was sitting in, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Apparently, according to David Miller, it's not Antisemitism that is happening here in the UK. There may be a few problems with the far-right but it's really not Antisemitism, he says that attacks on Jews are because of Zionism.
Below a small sample of the debate
So let's get down to actual statistics.
In 2021, over 2000 Antisemitic incidents were recorded by the CST (British Community security trust). However, this doesn't show the true picture. We know that people who have had Antisemitic abuse hurled towards them are not necessarily reported to the police or to a third-party reporting agency and it doesn't cover all the hideous abuse on the internet. Another organisation "Shomrim", police the ultra Orthadox areas of the U.K.
So how can David Miller give his opinions that Antisemitism is less of a hate crime than Islamophobia? And what statistics is he basing his opinion on?
He goes back to 2001, possibly relating that year to the 9/11 terror attacks, where some Muslims across the world were focused on and abused, but there are no numbers linked to how many became victims of Islamophobia. There are some early reports we found on the internet pertaining to that year, but actual figures are again not accurate.
https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/199-Synthesis-report_en.pdf
In February2022, press articles were published about the highest rate of Antisemitism in the U.K.
Here is one article from the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/feb/10/anti-jewish-hate-incidents-hit-record-high-in-uk
The statistics again would not be wholly accurate, because when you report to the British police Antisemitism, the police will just record it as a hate crime and not define as either Islamophobia or Antisemitism. In fact, statistics based on hate crime covers all hate crime, whether it's against Jewish people, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims or the LGBTQi community.
Here is a very good article published by friend Hardeep Singh on Anti-Sikh hate crime
Statistics.
https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/factsheets/explainer-anti-sikh-hate-crime/
So, from what I gather about the discussion last night, is that it was used as a platform of excuse. It was an excuse that Jews are not necessarily being attacked because of them being Jewish, but because of Zionism.
That the highest rate of hate crime in this country is not against Jews, but of Islamophobia. That David Miller believes that the attacks against Jewish people are because of Zionism or because of Zionists. Again, interjecting Zionist, instead of using the word Jews. And as we know, as explained above, the IHRA definition of Antisemitism, clearly covers the aspects and terminologies used about Zionists or Zionism, obsessing
about Jews and using Zionism to protect oneself as to not openly being thought of as
Antisemitic.
Whether one person has been attacked because they have been Jewish is one too many and the same with Muslims. However, yesterday's debate was all about excuses. It was all about David Miller and his anger that we see constantly on his "Palestine Declassified" appearances sponsored by Press TV the Islamic Iranian regime and I believe his aim as heard before was to demonise Israel as much as he can.
The sad thing is that he is using people who have been physically attacked and dehumanised for being Jews in his rhetorical tropes of Antisemitism and using religious hate crimes as a platform to salivate his bias on.
