By the way – “self-hating Jew” and “court Jew” are never, in my experience, used by anti-Semites – it would defeat the purpose they have in mind which is making use of these useful idiots by claiming that “as-a-Jew” their anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist, and often anti-Jewish opinion must have a special authenticity.

The Guardian uses them all the time.

You seem to be speaking as a representative of the Guardian.

I have stated numerous times that I have no idea why I was “banned”, since the Guardian does not see fit to explain why.

Here are links to two of my several assumptions:

http://cifwatch.com/2010/01/13/who-gets-banned-on-comment-is-free/

This happened instantly while commenting on the article Why a boycott of Israel is wrong by Rivka Carmi, which she wrote in response to Neve Gordon’s heavily criticized article proposing a boycott of Israel (excluding, of course, a boycott of himself and his articles for the Guardian). Rivka Carmi is the president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel, where Neve, for lack of a better word, teaches.

Those “banned” are never informed as to the reason for their banning, so I have to try to recall the events as best as I can. I was at work at the time, absolutely appalled by the cyber-mobbing attack on Ms Carmi orchestrated by the anti-Israeli crowd on the thread following her article. At work I was unable to keep a record of my comments, which were all deleted (as were, later, some of the most offensive that I was complaining about). However, I was banned after writing my third (now deleted) or fourth or other (now “disappeared”) comment that was something to the effect of:

“The words of the mob attacking Ms Carmi are reminiscent of the cries of the crowds baying for blood around the guillotine in Paris”.

If you doubt the truth of my comment, take a look through the comments that remain on the thread. Roughly speaking, 90% include attacks on Israel and attacks on Ms Carmi and her opinions, in a manner that would not be tolerated for an instant if the author was one of the Guardian’s stable of Israel-bashing writers. The deletions of comments are so extensive one must assume they were removed because they were supportive of her and opposed to the attacks launched on Israel – or, perhaps, as vile as I pointed out. In addition, the excessively large number of recommendations approving the comments critical of Israel and Ms Carmi give you an idea of what the thread was like before being cleaned up.

But be that as it may – which is the comment that should result in banning?

“The words of the mob attacking Ms Carmi are reminiscent of the crowds baying for blood around the guillotine in Paris”.

Or:

“Sadly, there’s only one way to deal with these religiously motivated maniacs who think their superstitious beliefs trump international law. 1. We ask them to leave their squats, kindly. 2. If they don’t, we force them to [leave] at gunpoint. 3. If they still refuse, they must be slaughtered, every last man woman and child.”

http://cifwatch.com/2009/09/03/combating-biased-moderation-how-to-save-posts-before-deletion/

Ariadne – yes, I’m afraid my oppostion to the howling lynch mob calling for Rivka Carmi’s head was more than the Guardian could tolerate. Possibly my reference to the mob as reminiscent of crowds gathered by the guillotine did the trick, and for a while I’ll have to sit things out.

Not a bad thing altogether – the increase in anti-Israeli invective, anti-Semitic comments thinly masked as pleas for academic freedom, endless postings of faked “quotes” attributed to Ben Gurion and others, etc. were taking up more time than I can afford in efforts to refute them

That thread was the worst I have seen since Freedman accused the parents of the just murdered Habad Rabbi in Mumbai of being Rottweilers, which, I thing, set the bottom of the pit for CIF, though the comments on the Carmi thread come close.

The Guardian presumably did not take your hard-hitting insinuations clearly, so I’ll hazard some approximate answers to your various questions in their stead:

“Why does the Guardian have an obsessive focus on the Israel/Palestine conflict that is quite out of proportion with any other conflict in the world?”

Possibly because it’s of more interest to more people than any other conflict in the world; and it has international implications which the others lack?

“Why is your newspaper constantly delegitimizing, demonizing and subjecting Israel to double standards through articles and editorials by contributors that harbor openly antismetic views including by a fringe group of self-hating house Jews? ”

Is it not fair to infer that the term ‘self-hating house Jew’ is derogatory towards somebody on the basis of being Jewish? Does it not touch upon the anachronistic anti-Semitic trope of ‘court Jews’? Would that not constitute an anti-Semitic attitude if your own perspective is accurate? Is it not inevitable that a left-wing paper would prioritise left wing points of view?

“Why do you not ban posters that have a track record of making antisemitic comments? This website is replete with examples.”
= Irony, Jonathan. There’s missing a trick and then there’s lacking sense.

“Why do you instead ban pro-Israel posters? In particular why was AKUS and Cityca banned?”

You would have to ask them, but if they were honest they would probably own up. And there’s no need to be quite so pompous now, is there? If people are posting under pseudonyms to begin with then substitutes can be easily formed.

“Have you ever asked yourself what makes the Guardian such a fertile ground for attracting antisemitic views?”

It’s an international newspaper of high standing; it’s universally accessible, and has more credibilty than any other newspaper – for better or worse, incidentally. And this is beside the point of what actually constitutes anti-Semitism: your own definition is neither objective nor sincere, Jonathan.

“Did you try taking our recent poll where posts from the neo-Nazi website Stormfront were largely indistinguishable from the comments posted regularly on the Guardian/CiF Israel/Palestine threads?”

Perhaps the same users are capable of accessing more than one website? Perhaps the Stormfront users opinions on liberals and left-wingers are pertinant here?

“here is what I wrote in the last hyperlinked post to Brian Whitaker”
Citing yourself as an authority is hardly credible, Johnathan.

“And while we’re at it, why didn’t Elisabeth Ribbans, managing editor of the Guardian, respond to Dennis MacEoin’s critique of Guardian editorial anti-Israel bias.”

Maybe she doesn’t read CIFWatch? I think it’s her loss personally. It must leave her deprived of thoughtful talking points such as this. Personally, I enjoy few things more than spending time with my CIFWatch posse.

“What do you think the other board members of the Guardian Media Group and the Scott Trust will say when they discover the depth of antisemitism on the pages of the Guardian? [...] And what do you think your advertisers will say when they too discover that many a guardianista harbors deeply antisemitic views?”

Advertisers are interested in making money; whatever else may go on in the world is likely to leave them unmoved.

“Last but not least do you not think that CiF Watch readers and more generally the Jewish community is owed an explanation as to what steps you intend to take to clean up your act or will you continue to stick your head in the sand just like Georgina Henry, Matt Seaton and Brian Whitaker do.”

How are you owed anything, Jonathan? How can you cite “the Jewish community” given your own acrimonious assessment of left-wing Jews? You can’t really have your cake and eat it now.

Best wishes.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by CiFWatch: CiF Watch Exclusive: Alan Rusbridger’s Daughter, “BellaM” Reprimanded for Ad Hominem Attack on Melanie Phillips: http://wp.me/pAT9U-LL...

You be the judge:

http://i38.tinypic.com/15wmamv.jpg

Believe me. I don’t forget the other obsessive areas of interest to the GWV. The very basis of their obsession with Israel is somewhat an offshoot of their raison d’etre. To oppose United States hegemony over the whole world and return the ‘masses’ back to the ‘delights’ of socialism/communism.

They deplore the fall of the ‘great and inspiring Soviet Union’. Shameless Milne in particular, when not castigating Israel for being so successful is involved in vilifying the United States in one way or another.

As has been published on this site before if I remember correctly, it is:

White=Bad
Black/Brown=Good
Israel=Bad
Palestinian/Arab/Iranian/(Not European)=Good
Being rich=Bad (Except the senior staff at the Guardian and SWP)
Being poor and hungry=Good
Walking to work=Good
Riding in a limousine=Bad

The list is endless.

Like daughter, like father:

“We are forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about how the dream of a sanctuary for the Jewish people in the very land in which their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped has come to be poisoned. The establishment of this sanctuary has been bought at a very high cost in human rights and human lives. It must be apparent that the international community cannot support this cost indefinitely.” – Alan Rusbridger

http://tinyurl.com/yc23eft

The Guardian’s Editorial policy on the Middle East is only one aspect of the fraud perpetrated against the public. There is also the laughingly called ‘Moderation policy’ which is not what they say it is

Don’t forget their other areas of distortions, lies and biased silences. They are trying to stuff the public with the following opinions too:

The US is worse than Nazi Germany and anyway a third world economy, 9/11 was an either an understandable act or the work of the Mossad, CIA, Bush government (take your pick),

Hamas, Taliban and Hezb’allah are freedomfighters,

Iran, Syria are democracies wishing world peace, Ahmadinejad is a democrat and a benign man of the people,

The ex communist countries of East-Europe were pretty good for the people and now when they are in the hands of the neocon worldcapitalists
the population wants the Soviets back ,

Cuba, Venezuela are second only to the Garden of Eden etc

Israel is not their only hobby but undoubtedly bashing it can bring to them many allies and supporters especially a crowd of uneducated ignorant losers who never would read the Guardian without some hatefests against Jews going there.

Alyth Synagogue London: Wednesday 18 November 7.30pm Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) event – “Nowhere to Belong: tales of an extravagant stranger”. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown will perform her one woman, Shakespeare inspired show about the challenges of belonging. Tickets £20 pre booked / £25 at the door.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has made many antisemitic comments. She went to all three Party Conferences and then wrote “all three parties were lavishly entertained by the over-influential Friends of Israel”.

http://engageonline.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/yasmin-alibhai-brown-and-the-over-influential-friends-of-israel%E2%80%9D/

Who will they invite next … George Galloway? Nick Griffin?

Rusbridger et al just don’t believe that they or anything they’ve said or printed in the newspaper (or on Cif) is biased, anti-Semitic or unreasonable. They live in a universe where everyone takes it as the norm that Israel is evil, non-whites are flawless and Jews act in a cabal to influence others to support Israel’s darstardly plans for the enslavement and destruction of the Palestinian people.

The more you complain the more you reinforce their view point. Angering Jews (or anyone else who supports Israel’s right to exist) encourages them and reinforces their beliefs that they are correct.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t complain – I think this blog and the other agencies that highlight this hypocrisy are vital, like HonestReporting and CAMERA – but we have to complain to the right people. Not (just) the editorial – how about advertisers and sponsors? What else can we do?

The Guardian’s Editorial policy on the Middle East is only one aspect of the fraud perpetrated against the public. There is also the laughingly called ‘Moderation policy’ which is not what they say it is. What it is is a tool used the tip the scales on various threads so the basically, only the GWV is allowed to ‘shine through’ and talented ‘NON GWV’ commenters find their commenting rights withdrawn with no explanation.

Yet morons like Moron, Berchmans and other social misfits are allowed to maintain their rant against the one Liberal Western Democracy in the Middle East.

And that is apart from allowing such phrases as Carpet Bombing, Massacres, Ethnic Cleansing, Apartheid etc to be used flagrantly against Israel.

The Guardian management has marked Israel for denunciation, denigration and de-legitimization. If it said this openly, I could have some respect but it claims to be ‘fair’ and, don’t laugh, ‘balanced’.