How We Answered the Lies
The attacks on Ilhan Omar mirror the bid to paint Jeremy Corbyn as an enemy of Jews. The Labour Party’s recent history tells US socialists how we can resist such smears — while also fighting antisemitism.
Jeremy Corbyn speaks at the EEF Manufacturing Conference at the QEII Centre on February 19, 2019 in London, England.(Chris J Ratcliffe / Getty Images)
It was only a matter of time: the US right has decided that the best way to attack rising socialist forces is to accuse them of antisemitism. In the space of a week, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez was pilloried for exchanging a friendly phone call with the British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, then Ilhan Omar faced a welter of abuse for pointing out the role the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) plays in Washington politics.
The link between Corbyn and AOC gives the game away: the inspiration clearly comes from a similar campaign to brand the Labour left in Britain as being riddled with antisemitism from top to bottom. And there’s plenty for US socialists to learn from the British experience.
1. Don’t believe everything you read.
The articles attacking AOC for her chat with Corbyn took it for granted that the Labour leader was an antisemite, as if this was a well-established fact. There’s a circular logic at work here: it’s as if there couldn’t have been so many stories in the media accusing Corbyn of antisemitism if there wasn’t some truth behind it.
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