Wizard of Whatever
Valued Senior Member
Where did I say that. You left out the quote. Is it because it is only in your mind?
World At War-Battlefront Levant: "Gaza Is Burning"
- Thread starter Killjoy
- Start date
Wizard of Whatever
Valued Senior Member
The mainstream classifies Phillips as right-wing, and on occasion paints her as a far-right sympathizer. The latter is discordant, from the standpoint that she is Jewish. She has defended Trump numerous times over the past ten years in articles and blogs, so it's safe to say that she is at least "right-populism friendly". One might arguably slot her as a neoconservative via the "mugged" refrain, but that's usually construed as an American label (i.e., a random yank would have to be contingently familiar with British neoconservatism to get that the possibility is not necessarily misbranding.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Phillips
EXCERPTS: [...] During the 1990s, she came to identify with ideas more associated with right-wing politics and the far-right and currently writes for The Times, The Jerusalem Post, and The Jewish Chronicle, covering political and social issues from a socially conservative perspective. Phillips, quoting Irving Kristol, defined herself in 2003 as a liberal who has "been mugged by reality". [...] The BBC has said that Phillips "is regarded as one of the [British] media's leading right-wing voices", and a "controversial" columnist.
_
Wizard of Whatever
Valued Senior Member
?? Jewish people (and black people, and gay people etc etc) belong to all political parties. The argument that "well she's Jewish so being right wing would be against her best interests" may have some validity - but people make poor political decisions all the time. Look at the farmers going bankrupt because they can't get workers to pick their produce. But they still voted for Trump.
There's a distinction between "right" (general) and "far-right" (a specific range). It's possible that a rare, truly authentic self-hating Jew might belong to a neo-Nazi group (etc), but 95% of the time it's going to be too crazy to bother with, and certainly not applicable if the individual espouses no overt internalized racism or bigotry.
_
Last edited:
Again, it's the establishment take on her. Following that, one can quibble about the mainstream being either left-center or right-center (or even more biased than that), as it often goes --especially with pundits.
_
There were thousands of Mischlinge (Jews with mixed ancestry) who served in the Wehrmacht in Nazi Germany. By historical accounts they did not hate themselves, and indeed shared the sense of superiority that the Aryan Nazis had.
Never underestimate the power of rationalization of ANY ideology. "Yeah most Jews are lazy and evil but I'm not like them - I am serving in the military like any other Aryan German!"
Wizard of Whatever
Valued Senior Member
These may not have been really considered real Jews by the Nazis, Jews, or even themselves, due to mixed ancestry.
In current day context, the Proud Boys reportedly had a chapter in Israel back in 2020, with only circa five members. (I.e., Jewish membership still an oddity rather than an alt-norm, even in the tensions of Zionist land.) The International list apparently no longer features it, but the Japan and the Philippines chapters are still there.
But consequently, our acknowledging that some far-right groups accept ideological-supporting Black, Asian, and Latino members (Enique Tarrio was even chairman of the Proud Boys) just bolsters their claim of being Western chauvinists. With that "cultural bias" arguably carrying less of a sting than their being outright racists (undermining a chunk of the traditional arsenal against them).
"Fortunately" (not actually intended in an overall positive context), their claims of not being anti-LGBT+ don't hold up. And the "lads only" clubs don't shed the misogynist image. (Though women are certainly not excluded from the whole range of far-right organizations. Some actively seek them out.)
_
Last edited:
I am sure that some used that rationalization, even as people with even 1/4 Jewish ancestry were being rounded up and put in concentration camps.
Wizard of Whatever
Valued Senior Member
If the mother was not Jewish they would probably not really be considered Jews.
I suspect their Jewishness was determined in practice based on their usefulness to the Wehrmacht.
Wizard of Whatever
Valued Senior Member
TheVat
Valued Senior Member
I love that in the UK, if you misspelled your sign, they can't arrest you. While the organization Palestine Action is proscribed under the UK's Terrorism Act, and you can be arrested for showing support, the police will not arrest you if you deliberately misspelled it and it's perfectly obvious what your sign means. This is truly a lovely free speech loophole. Dearth to Zylonists! Dorp Dread, Knetandyahoo!
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
Note the pushchair in the background and the relaxed demeanour of the policeman. This demo is nonetheless being demonised as an antisemitic hate march, in some quarters. All perfectly peaceful.
I love that in the UK, if you misspelled your sign, they can't arrest you. While the organization Palestine Action is proscribed under the UK's Terrorism Act, and you can be arrested for showing support, the police will not arrest you if you deliberately misspelled it and it's perfectly obvious what your sign means. This is truly a lovely free speech loophole. Dearth to Zylonists! Dorp Dread, Knetandyahoo!
There will a broader Palestine march next weekend which I aim to attend. That one won’t be in support of Palestine Action, the group now classed as “terrorist” , but just a general free Palestine and stop the genocide march. I’ve been on a few of these. The last was also entirely peaceful, spoilt only at one spot by some rowdy guys with Israel flags and megaphones, shouting at the marchers. The police seemed to have told them to stay on the other side of the march barrier, which they did.
Israel’s embrace of Tommy Robinson deepens rift with British Jewry
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/2...ommy-robinson-deepens-rift-with-british-jewry
EXCERPTS: Israel has “made the crisis for Britain’s Jews even worse,” said journalist Melanie Phillips, reacting to the Israeli government’s decision to invite far-right activist Tommy Robinson to visit the country.
[...] Phillips, a long-time defender of Israel, said the invitation by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli amounted to “a very stupid and dangerous mistake,” accusing Israel’s government of “handing an unexpected weapon to the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people in Britain.”
[...] Robinson confirmed that the Israeli government would pay for his flight and accommodation, and said he planned to meet Knesset members, visit “Judea and Samaria” — the term used by right-wing Israeli politicians for the occupied West Bank — and tour Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial.
The decision has been condemned by leading Jewish bodies in Britain, who described Robinson as a dangerous extremist and said the invitation showed contempt for the Jewish community’s views.
[...] Robinson ... has attempted to reinvent himself as a pro-Israel activist. Yet he has reportedly published anti-Semitic material... Nevertheless, Robinson has been promoted and financially supported by pro-Israel advocacy networks in the US and Europe that frame him as a defender of Israel and a “truth-teller” on Islamist extremism.
Historians have long noted the paradoxical relationship between anti-Semites and Zionism. [...] Today, scholars and community leaders warn that similar paradoxes are re-emerging as segments of Europe’s far right adopt pro-Israel rhetoric while continuing to promote anti-Jewish or xenophobic ideas at home... (MORE - missing details)
Thousands turn out for Tommy Robinson rally (few weeks ago)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/2...ommy-robinson-deepens-rift-with-british-jewry
EXCERPTS: Israel has “made the crisis for Britain’s Jews even worse,” said journalist Melanie Phillips, reacting to the Israeli government’s decision to invite far-right activist Tommy Robinson to visit the country.
[...] Phillips, a long-time defender of Israel, said the invitation by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli amounted to “a very stupid and dangerous mistake,” accusing Israel’s government of “handing an unexpected weapon to the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people in Britain.”
[...] Robinson confirmed that the Israeli government would pay for his flight and accommodation, and said he planned to meet Knesset members, visit “Judea and Samaria” — the term used by right-wing Israeli politicians for the occupied West Bank — and tour Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial.
The decision has been condemned by leading Jewish bodies in Britain, who described Robinson as a dangerous extremist and said the invitation showed contempt for the Jewish community’s views.
[...] Robinson ... has attempted to reinvent himself as a pro-Israel activist. Yet he has reportedly published anti-Semitic material... Nevertheless, Robinson has been promoted and financially supported by pro-Israel advocacy networks in the US and Europe that frame him as a defender of Israel and a “truth-teller” on Islamist extremism.
Historians have long noted the paradoxical relationship between anti-Semites and Zionism. [...] Today, scholars and community leaders warn that similar paradoxes are re-emerging as segments of Europe’s far right adopt pro-Israel rhetoric while continuing to promote anti-Jewish or xenophobic ideas at home... (MORE - missing details)
Thousands turn out for Tommy Robinson rally (few weeks ago)