Funder and fundee give their "evidence" at UCU antisemitism tribunal

The zionists' case against the Universities and Colleges Union is still rumbling on at the employment tribunal. The aim of the case is to portray the UCU as antisemitic and to have it punished accordingly.  I don't really understand why the case is being heard at all given that it has nothing to do with employment and the case hasn't been brought by an employee against an employer.  But anyway, here's a chunk from a report on the hearing from the Jewish Chronicle:

The University and College Union travelled a “dangerously slippery slope” from criticism of Israel to “plain old antisemitism”, an employment tribunal has heard.

Jeremy Newmark, Jewish Leadership Council chief executive, said the UCU’s proposed academic boycott of Israel had been “hugely concerning” for the Jewish community.

Mr Newmark gave evidence at the employment tribunal brought by maths lecturer Ronnie Fraser, who is challenging the UCU after its rejection of a widely-accepted definition of antisemitism last year.

That rejection had marked a “tipping point”, Mr Newmark told London’s Central Employment Tribunal on Tuesday.

“That was the moment we began to talk of institutional antisemitism.”

During two-and-a-half hours of cross-examination, Mr Newmark regularly clashed with the UCU’s defence lawyer, Antony White QC.

Mr White accused Mr Newmark of making “a series of false accusations” in his submitted witness statement.

Mr Newmark said that at the union’s congress in 2008 he had been “targeted” by UCU officials who saw he was wearing a kippah and stopped him entering the conference hall.

Mr White said: “What, in fact, happened was you were trying to push your way in, despite having the wrong badge.”

Mr Newmark responded: “It’s very easy to use the stereotype of a pushy Jew. That’s not what happened. Nobody else was stopped from going in. They knew me.”

Readers may recall that it was Jeremy Newmark who "had brilliant idea of funding soft Trotskyists Engage to lead the campaign against the higher ed boycott".

Now I hope whoever is hearing this ludicrous case has some idea of how casually zionists invoke the charge of antisemitism from Newmark's translation of "you were trying to push your way in" to "It’s very easy to use the stereotype of a pushy Jew".

Not content with putting an antisemitic spin on just about anything, Newmark also tried to redefine the Jewish identity:

Mr White argued that some Jewish members of the union had backed the boycott. The tribunal heard how activists from Jews for Justice for Palestinians had been supportive of the policy.

Mr Newmark rejected those Jewish views as having been “grossly, disproportionately magnified” by UCU. The Jews backing the boycott were “a tiny group of people who only identify as Jews to take political positions in debates on Israel. These people are not engaged in Jewish life in any way,” he said.

Those Jews supporting the UCU stance “could not be more irrelevant in Jewish life in this country. Most British Jews are deeply disturbed by what they have seen in British academia”.

Of course if zionists succeed in redefining Jews as zionists then anti-zionism and antisemitism become the same thing but then they might also succeed in legitimising antisemitism. That wouldn't bother them but it would bother me and many others.

Woah! I nearly forgot the point of the headline. Jeremy Newmark was the funder but who is the fundee?  I'll give you a clue. He was a member of parliament in the UK until very recently.  He too likes to redefine antisemitism so as to stifle criticism of the State of Israel.  Ok, one last clue.  He got done (but not well done yet) for fiddling expenses, paricularly over his work on "antisemitism".  Aha! you got it that time.  It's Denis the menace MacShane.  Here's the JC again:

Former MP Denis MacShane gave evidence on Wednesday. He chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism and said that the EUMC definition had been “very helpful” and “invaluable” to those combating hatred.

After the union rejected the definition, Dr MacShane “felt horrified for all the Jewish lecturers who felt obliged to resign”.

Dr MacShane likened the boycott calls to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany, and said he felt the union had “gone down an antisemitic road”.

Cor, that's powerful. I wonder what he thinks about colonial settlement. ethnic cleansing and segregationist laws. Oh yes, he supports those things and accuses the opponents of being nazis.