See the Light This Saturday!

Here's an event this Saturday 30 November 2013

Jewish Socialist Group Event

Saturday 30^th Nov, 7.15pm, Harry Rice Hall, 72-74 Hargrave Park, N19 5JN

Light up your life and celebrate Chanukah with the JSG and friends. Magical time guaranteed as our special guest is socialist conjuror Ian Saville who will take the lid off the mysteries of high finance when he performs his “Free Money Magic Show” that was a roaring success at Edinburgh this year. Chanukah gelt with a difference!

Please bring some vegetarian food to share(and some drink if you can)

All welcome – entrance by donation.

Not sure if smoked salmon counts as vegetarian food. Probably safest to assume it doesn't.

I got a whole load of other info in the JSG mailout.  See these:
 

Saturday 30^th November: Left Unity Founding Conference 10am-5pm. Details: http://leftunity.org/category/foundingconference/

Saturday 30^th November: International Anti War Conference, 10am-5pm. Organised by STWC. Details: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/events/international-antiwar-conference#.UpMQvYW6-cM

Sunday 1^st December: “The Radical Jewish East End”. Last guided walk of the year led by JSG member David Rosenberg. From 11am-1pm. Fee: £8/5. Book online: www.eastendwalks.com

Tuesday 24^th December: Traditional Jewish Xmas Eve at Hampstead Comedy Club compered by JSG member Ivor Dembina with Sol Bernstein, Lewis Schaffer and Mark Maier. Early show 7.30pm/late show 9.30pm. Details and booking: http://www.hampsteadcomedy.co.uk/?page_id=6

Saturday 18^th January, 12 noon – 2pm Protest Vigil: Cast lead Five years On: We will not forget. Opposite the Israeli Embassy, Kensington High Street, W8 5NP. Called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Forum in Britain, British Muslim Initiative, Jews for Justice for Palestinians.

 This is the Jewish Socialist Group website but it could do with a bit of an update.

Lighting the torch - Jewish Socialist Group event

From the Jewish Socialist Group website:

LIGHTING THE TORCH, ALGIERS 8 NOVEMBER 1942 Speaker: Charlie Pottins

7.30pm, Sunday 11th November 2012 at MIC Centre, 81-103 Euston Street, London NW1 2EZ (3 min from Euston station) 

How a band of poorly armed, mainly Jewish, rebels took on Vichy French forces in Algiers, opening the way for Allied forces. On the 70th anniversary, we look at a little known page of history, and at what happened afterwards.
ALL WELCOME

Note the anniversary was 8 November but the commemorative event is on the 11th.  Well it had me confused....

Book Launch: You're all invited

My book is out on the streets, and the book launch is next Tuesday - October 25th in SOAS (not the main campus). Anyone in London is invited along where I'll be discussing the book with the audience, and especially with Richard Kuper, the former head of JfJfP. All the info is below

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Jews for Justice for Palestinians

SOAS Palestine Society

London Middle East Institute

invite you to the book launch of

Jewish Identity and Palestinian Rights

Diaspora Jewish Opposition to Israel

David Landy in conversation with

Richard Kuper, former Chair of JfJfP

Tuesday, October 25, 7pm

V211, School of Oriental and African Studies

Vernon Square, Penton Rise, London WC1X 9EW

Diaspora Jews are increasingly likely to criticise Israel and support Palestinian rights. In most Western societies, Jewish organisations have sprung up to oppose Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, facing harsh criticism from fellow Jews for their actions.

Jewish Identity and Palestinian Rights is a groundbreaking study of this growing worldwide social movement, examining how it challenges traditional Jewish representations of itself. It looks at why people join this movement; and questions how they relate to the Palestinians and their struggle.

About the Author

David Landy is an Irish-Jewish academic, active in the Palestine solidarity movement. Formerly chair and currently national organiser of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, he is based in Dublin where he lectures sociology in Trinity College Dublin.

www.jfjfp.com / www.soaspalsoc.org / www.lmei.soas.ac.uk

Hasbaranik places "Israelis" in Spain in 1936

I can't quite do justice to what's happened here but there was a letter in the Jewish Chronicle on 8 July from a Martin Sugarman who has a certain amount of form for bogus Israel advocacy.  The letter claimed that the largest contingent of volunteers for the International Brigade against Franco in 1930s Spain was "Israeli".  I thought it was a strange claim given that there was no such thing as an Israeli then but I couldn't argue because I didn't know enough detail.  Never mind. David Rosenberg of the Jewish Socialist Group is a good enough historian for me and way to good for Martin Sugarman.  His letter was published in the latest JC print edition. They don't publish their letters on line but I'm well connected so I didn't need to copy it out:

It was very moving to see David Lomon and fellow International Brigade veteran Thomas Watters laying their wreaths at the International Brigade annual commemoration last weekend, recalling the volunteers for liberty who went to Spain to fight against Franco's forces. However Martin Sugarman’s claim (JC letters 8 July 2011) that Lomon is “the last surviving British-Jewish member of the International Brigade” will come as news to Stepney-born Brigade stalwart Lou Kenton who is approaching his 103rd birthday in a few weeks.

I’m sure that was an honest mistake. but then Sugarman goes on to claim that “the Israelis” per head of population “sent the largest contingent from any nation”, a claim made presumably so that those who support Israel today should feel a vicarious pride in those who courageously volunteered to fight against Franco.

The truth may be less palatable to them. There was no State of Israel in 1936, but there were Jewish immigrants in Palestine. The 300 Jews who went to Spain from that community (of whom 70 were killed) were overwhelmingly Communists who were committed to creating a bi-national state built on workers unity between Jew and Arab – a far cry indeed from the current state of Israel.

Moreover, the leaders of the Zionist movement in the Yishuv – left and right – completely disapproved of them going to Spain rather than staying in Palestine to work to create a Jewish state. Zionist leaders coined the phrase “Hanita before Madrid”, referring to a kibbutz that had been established in Northern Palestine. But the volunteers for the International Brigade went anyway, having decided that the fight against international fascism must take precedence.  Their conflicted lives have been celebrated in the film “Madrid Before Hanita” made by the Israeli film-maker Eran Torbiner.[links added by me]

Now consider why anyone would seek to misrepresent the identity of those fighting fascism?

More recent anti-fascism here.

Public Meeting - After the war on Gaza

Wednesday 11^th February, 7.30pm

Tudor Room, Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London WC1B 5BB

Public meeting – all welcome

After the war on Gaza

What next for the Palestinians?

And how can Jews here and in Israel help

bring about a just peace?

Speakers: Karma Nabulsi, Gerald Kaufman MP,

Yishay Mor, David Rosenberg

Karma Nabulsi is an Oxford-based academic who formerly worked as a PLO Representative at the UN and in Beirut, Tunis and Britain.

Gerald Kaufman has been a Labour MP since 1970 and has been an outspoken supporter of a just peace in Israel/Palestine.

Yishay Mor is an Israeli peace and social empowerment activist

David Rosenberg is on the editorial committee of Jewish Socialist magazine

Organised by the Jewish Socialists’ Group www.jewishsocialist.org.uk