Here’s a funny thing. Remember “unconscious bias”? As in, the theory that white people can be racist without even realising it? Not so very long ago, this was a favourite theme of the progressive Left. More recently, however, they seem to have gone strangely quiet about it. Why do we suppose that is?
Allow me to venture a suggestion. It’s because, since October 7 last year, it’s been nakedly obvious that if anyone’s guilty of “unconscious bias”, it’s the progressive Left themselves.
Hence their constant furious condemnation of Israel, having shown minimal interest in conflicts that are far bloodier (e.g. Syria), and their curious reluctance to condemn Hamas or call for the release of Israeli hostages. From this evidence, I don’t think it’s wildly unreasonable to infer that it’s not just Netanyahu these people hate, it’s Jews. Of course, they themselves will hotly deny this. But then, that’s the nature of “unconscious bias”, isn’t it? You don’t even realise you’re doing it.
At any rate, the above inference is now harder to avoid than ever. Because the terrifying rise in Left-wing anti-Semitism has just been shockingly laid bare.
Consider the results of a new poll, published this week. The CAA (Campaign Against Antisemitism) commissioned YouGov to, in the CAA’s words, “survey British adults’ attitudes towards Jews”. And, among the results, one pattern is impossible to ignore. People who describe themselves as Left-wing are vastly more likely than the wider public to sympathise with Hamas: the Jew-hating terrorist group.
For example: 28 per cent of people who identify as “very Left-wing” said the October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians was “justified” (compared with 7 per cent of the public). Meanwhile, 31 per cent of the “very Left-wing” declared that Hamas are not terrorists (again, compared with 7 per cent of the public).
But it isn’t just the views of the “very Left-wing” that should trouble us. Almost half of 2024 Labour voters (45 per cent) said Israel treats Palestinians “like the Nazis treated the Jews”. This is disturbing. Because, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which was formally adopted by the UK government in 2016, “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is anti-Semitic.
Still, the poll isn’t necessarily a surprise. Not after the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s investigation into previous Labour party anti-Semitism, in 2020. Perhaps the truth is that Left-wing anti-Semitism hasn’t grown – it’s simply become more overt.
The question is: Why would anyone on the proudly “anti-racist” Left be anti-Semitic? Is it because, having mindlessly swallowed the ancient stereotypes about Jewish wealth and power, they’re incapable of seeing Jews as victims? Or is it because they blame Jews for the fall of the Corbynistas, believing that allegations of Labour anti-Semitism were merely a “smear”?
Whatever the reason, it’s depressing to see young British Leftists still gormlessly joining in with those hideous marches. Chanting “From the river to the sea”, even if they themselves can’t name either body of water – and wearing keffiyeh, in contravention of their normal diktats about “cultural appropriation”.
What could have led these avowed anti-fascists to march alongside people who brandish placards daubed with swastikas? What could have driven these noble pacifists into the arms of people who bellow lustily for “jihad” and wave signs that read “I love Hezbollah”?
The answer, I’m afraid, is now all too plain.
Here’s a funny thing. Remember “unconscious bias”? As in, the theory that white people can be racist without even realising it? Not so very long ago, this was a favourite theme of the progressive Left. More recently, however, they seem to have gone strangely quiet about it. Why do we suppose that is?
Allow me to venture a suggestion. It’s because, since October 7 last year, it’s been nakedly obvious that if anyone’s guilty of “unconscious bias”, it’s the progressive Left themselves.
Hence their constant furious condemnation of Israel, having shown minimal interest in conflicts that are far bloodier (e.g. Syria), and their curious reluctance to condemn Hamas or call for the release of Israeli hostages. From this evidence, I don’t think it’s wildly unreasonable to infer that it’s not just Netanyahu these people hate, it’s Jews. Of course, they themselves will hotly deny this. But then, that’s the nature of “unconscious bias”, isn’t it? You don’t even realise you’re doing it.
At any rate, the above inference is now harder to avoid than ever. Because the terrifying rise in Left-wing anti-Semitism has just been shockingly laid bare.
Consider the results of a new poll, published this week. The CAA (Campaign Against Antisemitism) commissioned YouGov to, in the CAA’s words, “survey British adults’ attitudes towards Jews”. And, among the results, one pattern is impossible to ignore. People who describe themselves as Left-wing are vastly more likely than the wider public to sympathise with Hamas: the Jew-hating terrorist group.
For example: 28 per cent of people who identify as “very Left-wing” said the October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians was “justified” (compared with 7 per cent of the public). Meanwhile, 31 per cent of the “very Left-wing” declared that Hamas are not terrorists (again, compared with 7 per cent of the public).
But it isn’t just the views of the “very Left-wing” that should trouble us. Almost half of 2024 Labour voters (45 per cent) said Israel treats Palestinians “like the Nazis treated the Jews”. This is disturbing. Because, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which was formally adopted by the UK government in 2016, “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is anti-Semitic.
Still, the poll isn’t necessarily a surprise. Not after the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s investigation into previous Labour party anti-Semitism, in 2020. Perhaps the truth is that Left-wing anti-Semitism hasn’t grown – it’s simply become more overt.
The question is: Why would anyone on the proudly “anti-racist” Left be anti-Semitic? Is it because, having mindlessly swallowed the ancient stereotypes about Jewish wealth and power, they’re incapable of seeing Jews as victims? Or is it because they blame Jews for the fall of the Corbynistas, believing that allegations of Labour anti-Semitism were merely a “smear”?
Whatever the reason, it’s depressing to see young British Leftists still gormlessly joining in with those hideous marches. Chanting “From the river to the sea”, even if they themselves can’t name either body of water – and wearing keffiyeh, in contravention of their normal diktats about “cultural appropriation”.
What could have led these avowed anti-fascists to march alongside people who brandish placards daubed with swastikas? What could have driven these noble pacifists into the arms of people who bellow lustily for “jihad” and wave signs that read “I love Hezbollah”?
The answer, I’m afraid, is now all too plain.