Sunday, June 11, 2017

What Makes Corbyn Shine?

So what is it about British Labour's Jeremy Corbyn that makes him shine - despite an unremittingly hostile mainstream media, the constant undermining of Blairats-in-the-ranks, and a smear campaign by the Israel lobby?

If Corbyn can elicit a letter from the Labour Friends of Israel head, Joan Ryan MP (Enfield North), to her constituents that opens thus:

"Dear Resident, I know from speaking to people around here that many who have previously voted Labour are thinking hard this time because, they tell me, they have more confidence in Theresa May as PM than they would have in Jeremy Corbyn" (2/6/17)...

Or if he can prompt a post-election confession such as this from the Guardian's Jonathan Freedland:

"I opposed Jeremy Corbyn when he first stood for the Labour leadership in 2015, and thereafter, and I did so on two grounds. First on principle: I was troubled by his foreign policy worldview, with its indulgence of assorted authoritarian regimes, and by what I perceived as his willingness to look past antisemitism on the left... " (Jeremy Corbyn didn't win - but he has rewritten all the rules, 10/6/17)...

(The Zionist Freedland really means here Corbyn's willingness to criticise Israel.)

... then we have reason to conclude that he passes Kishore Mahbubani's infallible litmus test for intellectual and moral courage, namely, speaking truth to power on the Middle East in general, and on Palestine/Israel in particular.

And all intelligent, right-thinking people respect those qualities in a leader.

4 comments:

Grappler said...

Saudi Arabia and Egypt under Sisi are not included in the list of "assorted authoritarian regimes" that Corbyn would "indulge" but that I am fairly convinced Freedland would. Let me try to work out why.

At least Haim Saban (funder of Hillary Clinton's campaign) is honest: "I'm a one-issue guy, and my issue is Israel."

On the other hand, Corbyn would not send British forces to fight wars of regime change, resulting in more suffering of the people of those countries.

Grappler said...

You will enjoy this, MERC. Check out the comments with the most likes.

https://off-guardian.org/2017/06/10/jonathan-freedlands-corbyn-apology/

Anonymous said...

The question I have; will Corbyn's win finally kill off the sickening, one line media grab politicis we have here in Oz?

Grappler said...

On the role of media and our Western foreign policy in the ME, see this article by Elijah J Magnier:

https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2017/06/11/the-danger-of-isis-will-remain-until-after-the-liberation-of-syria-and-iraq-why/