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Anti-racist activists – tarred with the Bogus AS Brush
Read more about those who have been tarred with the bogus antisemitism brush. How these anti-racist activists have been suspended, expelled, sacked and mauled by the media. Sadly, this is an ever-growing list.. The most famous would be Desmond Tutu- see South African politician Andrew Feinstein’s 13 minute video noting that Tutu wouldn’t be allowed into Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. Tutu was attacked by Zionists such as US Lawyer Alan Dershowitz as antisemitic!
Of course, here in the UK it all started with Ken Livingston, whose comments about the relationship between Hitler and Zionism – embodied in the infamous Haavara agreement, resulted in his 2016 suspension from Labour- after which he resigned from the party in 2018. Then Jackie Walker was hounded out of Labour too for mentioning on Facebook in 2016 that her ancestors were Jews who had profited from the slave trade. The film about her, WitchHunt, can be viewed here on the Electronic Intifada website. Chris Williamson MP (see our Politicians page) has suffered for the same reasons that Corbyn was dethroned – pointing out that the problem of antisemitism had been exaggerated- and, in Chris’s case, observing that Labour had given too much ground to its attackers.
Alistair Hudson, Head of Manchester Whitworth’s Art Gallery was hunted by UK Lawyers for Israel out of his job for exhibiting pro-Palestinian art. More here. We wrote to Manchester University, who were his employers, protesting about this.
Actress Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) spoke up in support of Palestine in Jan 2022 and was attacked by Israeli officials as antisemitic for so doing. In February, Manchester gallery director Alistair Hudson was sacked for mounting a pro-Palestine exhibition after UK Lawyers for Israel complained.
This “Rogues Gallery” lists those in touch with us who’ve been charged with anti-Semitism for doing nothing wrong. To get your name added, email your experience to info@onepalestine.land So far we have:
Anne Gomez
– a therapist from Scotland and FB editor of “Celtic Fans Against Apartheid” is being investigated by Labour for posting an article on FB of Israeli soldiers dragging Palestinian children across the street which she simply headed “Scum”. She also posted one of Theresa May, headed “Scum” (which suggests she is fond of this word). That such conduct is now deemed to “bring the Party into disrepute” when Dame Margaret Hodge gets off scot-free for calling Jeremy Corbyn “a fucking anti-Semite” suggests questionable judgement at Labour HQ. Find Anne on FB and send her your support.
Paul Jonson
Paul was formally suspended on 31 October 2018, after 30 years of service with Dudley council. A complaint against Paul by the “Campaign Against Antisemitism” drew directly on the IHRA “working definition” of antisemitism, citing a post by Paul promoting a lobby of local MP, Ian Austin, over civilian deaths in Gaza. In the post Paul posted “Stand with Palestine – Israel is a racist endeavour”.
Much to his relief, on 19 December, Paul was informed that a complaint of alleged antisemitism against him had been dismissed. It was found Paul had “no case to answer” regarding his post, nor had he brought the council into disrepute.
The complaint against him was a disgrace. Demands that Paul be sacked give the lie to assurances that the IHRA “working definition” do not jeopardise trade unionists’ right to campaign on Palestine. Individuals may have strongly held and differing views on the state of Israel but there was nothing antisemitic in anything Paul posted.
Paul took a highly principled stand just weeks before his retirement, insisting that his suspension represented an attack on basic trade union freedoms and that his name be cleared. Paul has a longstanding record as a principled local campaigner against racism and fascism and has actively opposed mobilisations by the Nazi EDL and BNP.
More at Jewish Voice for Labour website here
When asked what made the difference, Paul said UNISON had accepted the case and “inactively” stuck with it. It was the overall campaign that helped him keep his job; very much in excess of 800 signatures- including his brave colleagues at work who thought the allegation was both ridiculous and outrageous over Paul’s dogged lobbying of Ian Austin and confronting him at his surgery. Paul summarised how best to save yourself “Really going on the offensive. I wrote quite a lengthy letter to the Chief Exec and Heads of Service explaining why solidarity with Palestinians is neither antisemitic or an Employment conflict of interest. Pointing out over 40 Jewish Groups support Palestinian Human Rights and not Zionism.”
Pete Gregson
Pete took Illan Pappe’s advice to heart (“Lets Breach the IHRA”- video, 2.5mins, Middle East Monitor) but has paid heavily for it. He was the first to be expelled from a trade union for criticising Israel. He was expelled by his union, the GMB, for whom he was shop steward, for saying Israel was a racist endeavour and claiming it exaggerates the Holocaust for political ends. (He used the Merriam-Webster definition of “exaggerates” to mean “to enlarge or increase especially beyond the normal : ie OVEREMPHASIZE“). Whilst it clearly breaches the IHRA definition, the GMB went further and said this amounted to Holocaust denial!
Initially, Pete had been told by the then Scotland GMB Secretary, Gary Smith, that he was being investigated for an email he had written to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on 28th Sept 2018 [which could only have been passed on by one person] decrying the IHRA proposals and stating “I appreciate that the Labour Party felt the Jews to be an oppressed minority back in the mists of time when Zionism was deemed a cause worthy of support. But the actions of a state founded on the ethnic cleansing of 700,000 Arabs out of Palestine into the makeshift bomb-riddled townships they occupy today, denied access to energy, medicine and rights to trade has well and truly taken any kind of moral cause out of the Zionist creed.”
For anyone caring to study the case, it will be apparent that Rhea Wolfson, a leading light in the NEC and the Jewish Labour Movement (formerly Paole Zion), had forwarded Pete’s email to her boss at GMB Scotland. Gary enthusiastically took up the attack and informed Pete that he was going to be investigated for antisemitism. In the following exchange of emails with Smith, Pete expanded on his views of Israel; he was well aware of what would breach the IHRA, and purposefully told Gary that “Israel exaggerates the Holocaust for political ends”, as this comment is specifically barred under the IHRA Definition. Pete thought that making comments about Israel was not antisemitic and expected other GMB comrades to agree. He wanted to provoke further debate about the IHRA definition and felt it was important to do so.
Smith then accused Pete of “misogynistic and abusive behaviour towards a young Jewish woman”. But Pete had never met the woman. What Pete had actually done was identify in the comments string of the National newspaper that Rhea Wolfson [who both sat on the NEC up till the end of Sept 2018 and who was also a regional organiser at the GMB] was his GMB accuser. Pete had been told the attack was coming from Wolfson by insiders at the union. He went onto describe her in this document on his website as a “raving Zionist”. Gary Smith, (who is now General Secretary at the GMB), then exaggerated this description into “misogynistic and abusive behaviour towards a young Jewish woman”. Wolfson was planning to stand as Labour’s Westminster candidate for Livingston North; the expression “if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen” applies to anyone seeking a career in politics. But to hide behind the defence of exploiting her Jewishness, in the face of political criticism (Pete didn’t even know she was a Jew) was rank manipulation of GMB disciplinary processes. The full letter of 13th Dec 2018 from Gary Smith with allegations, along with Pete’s responses of 17th Dec, can be viewed here. Pete’s minute of the Appeal hearing in London on the 5th March 2019, which Rabbi Cohen and Tony Greenstein attended to speak on his behalf can be viewed here.
(As well as demanding that Pete be expelled for criticising Israel, Wolfson, a regional organiser who worked in the same office as Smith at the GMB, had been a key player in getting both her union and Labour’s NEC to adopt the full IHRA definition; she had written several press articles about why she would not feel safe until it was adopted everywhere).
More info in the National newspaper here . Also see Pete’s post on the “holocaust denier” slur here.
Even though Pete had Rabbi Ahron Cohen come to the GMB hearing in Glasgow on 17th Dec 2018 to plead on his behalf- it made no odds; the Rabbi travelled from Manchester and his train was 45 mins late to the meeting; the GMB refused to wait and so refused to hear the Rabbi’s statement from the Rabbi himself. Pete made a film about it which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/ZvlXwQ8LR4I
The Herald Slander
A month after this, Pete had lodged a petition to Edinburgh council seeking to get his city twinned with Gaza. Just the day after his well-publicised “Gig for Gaza” in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens, the Herald ran a front-page story (they had interviewed Smith of the GMB) declaring that Gregson had said the Holocaust was exaggerated. Gregson complained to the Independent Press Standards Office (IPSO); his complaint was dismissed. Pete pointed out to both IPSO and the Herald that they were misunderstanding basic grammar: “Israel exaggerates the Holocaust for political ends” is very different from saying “The Holocaust was exaggerated”. In the first, the subject is acting on the object in a manipulative way; the second is a generalised statement purporting to be a truism. Another example might be observing that “Trump exaggerates racism in the US for political ends” – which is not the same as saying “Racism in the US is exaggerated”.
In an effort to justify his statement, Pete had pointed out to the GMB that of the 11 million killed in the Holocaust, as far as Israel presents history, the slaughter was purely about 6 million Jews. Israeli university courses on the Holocaust ignore non-Jews. There is no mention of the millions of Russians, Poles, Roma and others murdered en masse. Norman Finkelstein documents Israel’s use of the Holocaust as its indispensable ideological weapon in his book “The Holocaust Industry- Reflections on the exploitation of Jewish suffering.” Please also see Holocaust survivor Dr. Hajo Meyer’s 2010 speech on Israel – “The Misuse of the Holocaust for Political Purposes“.
One Democratic Palestine policy 5 states: “Israel exploits and seeks to uniquely sacralise the Nazi Holocaust for political ends. Whilst observing Britain did little to protect the Jews or help them escape persecution in WW2, we consider the Nazi Holocaust was not a uniquely barbaric event; 10 million black Africans were massacred by the Belgian colonial regime in Congo at the turn of the 20th Century. Imperialist crimes everywhere (including those of the British in America, Africa, Asia, Australia, India and Ireland) are of the same cold-blooded order as the Nazi holocaust, which was a crime of imperialist capitalism, not a unique slaughter outside of history.”
Even Israelis admit they exploit the Holocaust. Israeli former minister of Education, Shulamit Aloni, said in a US interview that “anti-Semitism is a trick. We always use it“. The interviewer said: “Often, when there is dissent expressed in the United States against policies of the Israeli government, people here are called anti-Semitic. What is your response to that as an Israeli Jew?”. Aloni replied: “Well, it’s a trick, we always use it. When from Europe somebody is criticizing Israel, then we bring up the Holocaust….”
More at The IHRA Definition of Antisemitism and Labour Page
Neither the GMB nor IPSO accepted any of Pete’s arguments. Presumably it was to encourage confusion about what Israel does with the Holocaust that Zionists put the condition into the IHRA definition in the first place- and to deter any suggestion that they exploit Holocaust guilt.
The Labour Party – witch-hunting Pete
Labour’s Disputes Dept were also investigating Pete (he’d been a member and activist for 38 years), because he had set a Change.org petition in mid-September 2018, directly after Labour’s NEC adopted the IHRA definition, for Labourists to sign, declaring that Israel was a racist endeavour (in another, provocative, clear breach of the IHRA definition) , and calling on the executive to abandon the definition. [see petition at tinyurl.com/israelihra – 2,640 have signed- more add their names daily].
Pete was later suspended- he read of his suspension a week before Labour informed him.. in the Jewish News! He reported Labour HQ to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for this very clear breach, but ultimately the ICO did nothing. He believes the fact the press knew about his suspension before he did indicates strong collusion between Labour staffers and the Zionist media.
In July 2019 he was sent 50 questions by Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit to answer within a week; see his response here, In January 2020 he was called to Labour HQ for a disciplinary hearing. Suspecting he was going to be expelled, and knowing Corbyn was doomed, he then resigned his membership.
Labour Against the Witch-hunt .. go witch-hunting Pete too
Although initially championed by Labour Against the Witchhunt (LAW), Pete later had his membership terminated, at Tony Greenstein’s behest, because he had not acceded to Tony’s demand that he delete a link on an update he’d posted to his petition. What Tony objected to was a link posted to a very long article by Ian Fantom about Herzl, the architect of the Jewish state. That article of some 6000 words had a small mention to another article which questioned the execution of a million Jews at Auschwitz. Pete had warned readers of the link to this piece, describing it as “toxic”, but thought the article on Herzl was of wider interest. What particularly galled Pete was the manner of Tony’s approach: he had emailed him and copied in LAW, demanding the deletion of the reference to the Herzl piece. So Pete refused.
Whilst LAW claims it supports freedom of speech, in truth it did not. With that obsessive absolutism that cripples so many initiatives of the left (“If you don’t fit the mould, you must be banished”), Pete was expelled. He was was kicked out for simply referencing Holocaust denial. LAW accepted he was no anti-Semite, but the Jewish Chronicle reported the story and claimed, ridiculously, that Pete “supported Holocaust deniers”.
The Guardian Pile-on
As is becoming well-known, the Guardian is, as pushed by columnists Hadley Freeman and Jonathan Freedland, pro-Zionist (though it does cover some attacks on Palestinians). After a furore from readers, its initial refusal to declare that Bishop Desmond Tutu supported Palestine forced a backtrack. But most of the time the Guardian editors there refuse to amend copy that damages lives.
Pete was criticised by the Guardian and the Observer for giving this speech to the “Keep Talking” group. The newspapers declared that he had spoken at a meeting alongside Holocaust deniers.
In February 2020 they published this article: UK left activists attended events with far right antisemites | Antisemitism | The Guardian. In it, they declare that “Former Labour party members have regularly met elements of the far right to discuss and propagate antisemitic conspiracy theories, an undercover investigation has found. Infiltration of the conspiracy theorist group Keep Talking found that Jeremy Corbyn supporters and confidantes of former Labour MPs have attended meetings addressed by Holocaust deniers.” …. They said: “During the meeting at which Thring spoke, on 5 March 2019 at a Kentish Town cafe, ex-Labour party member Peter Gregson was the guest speaker with a speech titled: “The loss of freedom of speech on Israel, thanks to bogus antisemitism claims.””
There are a number of inaccuracies here. They suggested that Pete was the former Labour Party member who regularly met elements of the far right. This is blatantly untrue. Firstly, it was not “regular”- it was one instance and there is no evidence of any “far-right” participation. Secondly it was not “met”- this was Pete giving one lecture at a meeting. Can giving a talk really be construed as “holding a meeting with”? And what is wrong with meeting with Holocaust deniers- how else might their views be challenged? The Guardian, it seems, is a fierce advocate of “no-platforming” and is in this manner an opponent of free speech. When Pete wrote to them to complain about their article, they refused to act. See the Guardian response here. Their inaccurate story was tweeted widely, resulting in significant damage to Pete’s reputation.
When he pointed out to the Guardian copy editor that he was the only one on the platform that evening and a Holocaust denier had simply asked a question from the audience, the Guardian argued that they were factually correct in that both had actually “spoken” at the meeting. It was this kind of ridiculous guilt by association that Pete helped set up the Campaign Against Bogus Antisemitism to expose. (And if Pete had known in advance that Holocaust deniers would be present in the audience, he would still have done his speech – and explained that chemistry proved those denying the gas chambers to be wrong [he has a degree in biochemistry])
Pete believes we need to speak to Holocaust deniers at every opportunity, to explain why they are wrong. Shouting and shunning them achieves little, he says, for it only pushes them into the shadows, where their lies fester and multiply. Sunlight, he believes, is the best disinfectant.
He notes what Gitta Sereny and Noam Chomsky had to say about dealing with Holocaust deniers. Sereny observed in the New Statesman “…we dare not ignore them. Their lies must be confronted and exposed as often as they appear..” Raul Hilberg, the greatest Holocaust historian, said that we might even learn from them as they seek to poke holes in our narrative.
Friendly Fire?
There was a more “friendly fire” to come. Pete was attacked in a post on the JVL website in 2020, in an article headed “Flimsy and vindictive: the ‘case’ against Ken Loach” – Antony Lerman’s blog
Ken, a patron of LAW, had originally supported Pete’s principled stance with the GMB after seeing his video with Rabbi Cohen speaking in Pete’s support. But later Loach himself was under attack for his views on Israel and he withdrew his support, in an astonishing volte-face. Why? He was to be a judge on Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC)’s school essay competition of 2020. JLM and other Zionist groups decided to kick up a stink and started demanding that SRtRC cancel Loach’s appointment because, they declared, Ken was a vile anti-Semite. At the time, other Zionists were busy in the press- there were calls to cut SRtRC’s funding, vilification of its staff and abuse was directed at Ken Loach and his family. Two things resulted- Loach withdrew as judge on the competition – and, upon being nobbled by the GMB (Gary Smith and Rea Wolfson), Loach decided to throw Pete under the bus.
He called Pete an anti-Semite in a joint press statement with SRtRC, a slur that was immediately republished in a digital pile-on by Antony Lerman (blog), Jonathan Cook (blog), Artists for Palestine and Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL). Thus anyone Googling Pete’s name gets the impression from these multiple sources of lefty antiracism that he is, indeed, a Jew-hater. Pete has written to all of them (most frequently Ken) asking for their evidence of his antisemitic views- only JVL has responded (see below).
Loach had apparently been fooled into believing the GMB allegations that Pete was a Holocaust denier and had abused a Jewish staffer. What Pete had actually done was point out how Israel exploited the Holocaust for political gain and identify Wolfson as a raving Zionist.
JVL’s post was particularly insidious; it states “Ken Loach’s response to Gregson was categorically not an endorsement of Gregson’s antisemitism.”
The post goes onto say “Loach made it clear that he was entirely unaware of Gregson’s ‘deeply disturbing and antisemitic comments’ which he found ‘utterly reprehensible’ and ‘unequivocally’ rejected’. He profoundly regretted not making himself aware of Gregson’s character and the complete picture. Had he possessed that knowledge, Loach said, ‘I categorically would not have engaged with him.’”
Because none of his accusers are prepared to explain themselves, Pete and others tried to make clear how inaccurate and hurtful these “friendly fire” attacks are. Redress Information and Analysis published Pete’s Open Letter to Ken Loach and later published a defence of Pete here .
[update of 19/02/2022: whilst not replying to Pete’s messages, it appears that Jonathan Cook has now deleted the offending post in his blog. ].
[Sadly Loach has been since expelled from the Labour Party, as part of Starmer’s ongoing witch-hunt – in this case because Loach continued to support other victims of bogus antisemitism]
At the 2023 Edinburgh Festival, Ken Loach revealed to Pete that he had condemned Pete because of pressure put upon him by Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) and the GMB- see Ken Loach challenged before 500 people on Bogus Antisemitism – One Democratic Palestine (onepalestine.land). [The video of the conversation has been viewed by over 25,000 people on TikTok].
The attack by JVL was particularly hurtful as Pete had been an associate member of some years. He had always been a great supporter of JVL and was saddened to read it. Of all the attackers, they are the only ones who answered Pete’s emails. He pointed out there was no evidence and asked JVL to delete the post; they have refused. JVL’s slogan of “Always with the oppressed – never with the oppressor” rings rather hollow for Pete , as he feels they have sided with Zionists against him.
The JVL condemnation of Pete is ironic: nine of JVL’s 16 officers and committee members have themselves been investigated by the Labour Party for bogus antisemitism, with three currently suspended. Yet they do to Pete what the Labour Party does to them… JVL, Loach and the rest are unable, or unwilling, to explain why they deem Pete antisemitic. He feels the only explanation is that they have adopted the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism themselves, as it is only that definition he has breached.
Tony Greenstein in now involved in Socialist Labour Network and blocked Pete’s application to join because he had addressed a Keep Taking event. Pete pointed out to Tony that Miko Peled had done so as well; was Tony going to condemn him too? Read of more folk scapegoated for addressing Keep Talking here.
Pete was attacked all over again by Tony Greenstein in late September 2023, which led to this defence from Consistent Democrats- Open letter to Tony Greenstein regarding Peter Gregson – Consistent Democrats – LCFI (consistent-democrats.org) which was also published at https://www.redressonline.com/2023/10/open-letter-to-tony-greenstein-regarding-peter-gregson/
Since then, Pete was able to confront one of Tony’s signatories, Asa Winstanley at his book signing event. See what happened on You-tube and on TikTok – it has had over 5,300 views.
Scouts
In mid-May 2022, Pete was suspended from the Scouting movement (for which he has been treasurer for almost 10 years, as a parent volunteer). The local scout District Commissioner felt that his chairmanship of the Campaign Against Bogus Antisemitism was in some way incompatible with being the treasurer for the 150th Craigalmond Scout Group and in other ways supporting the scouting youth movement. Read the full story in the Weekly Worker, 5th letter in, “Suspended” at www.weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1396
Pete was suspended by Scout District Commissioner (DC) Mark Hesketh, treasurer of the Bethany Christian Trust, a man who clearly favours Israel, who is possibly a Christian Zionist and one who certainly does not appreciate the work Pete has put into keeping his local Scout Group afloat.
Pete holds a Chief Scout’s award from Bear Gryls; he points to Bear Grylls: ‘To have faith in our everyday lives takes courage’ | British GQ | British GQ (gq-magazine.co.uk) and notes the Chief Scout is a Christian.
He put the question to Grylls and the DC:
“Does our Chief Scout support Israel? Is he a Zionist? The DC’s actions will be putting this question on every young person’s lips.
“And of course, their parent’s lips, too. Because Gryll’s agency has suspended me for campaigning against apartheid Israel.
“I would have abandoned scouting years ago if it condoned racism. Which the DC presently gives every appearance of so doing.
“Is it because of this group that Mr Grylls will be compromised? Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel – Wikipedia Or does he prefer these folk? Palestinian Scout Association – ScoutWiki
“Thanks to the DC’s actions, I think Grylls must soon take a choice on these two. And, by his actions, the DC is forcing him to the Hebrew movement. And to the wrong side of history.”
The Scout Information Centre responded on Bear’s behalf to say “We won’t be providing any press lines on this matter as this is an internal dispute that’s still a live case.” The DC did not respond to Pete’s questions. More here
On 30th June 2023, the UK Scout Association expelled Pete. He has set up a petition to Bear Grylls Petition to Bear Grylls draws 1000+ in support of Edinburgh Scout leader expelled over bogus antisemitism – One Democratic Palestine (onepalestine.land)
PSC- more concerned about the feelings of Zionists than Palestinians
In May 2019, Pete applied to join the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, then a month later was told that his membership bid had been refused. When Pete asked why, PSC Director Ben Jamal wrote in July 2019 to give the reason. He wrote that comments Pete had made using his Kids not Suits website had “failed to exhibit support for PSC’s core values, including opposition to all forms of racism”. Pete was surprised at this complaint, coming as it did from a Palestinian working as Director of the PSC. The words that Ben Jamal disapproved of so strongly were from the article written by Pete in Oct 2018 “Does the IHRA Help Jews?”
“There is anti-Semitism in the UK because, I think, the Jews have so much leverage here. And they clearly do – as the most outspoken ones, those in support of Israel – the Zionists- have shown- as they have exerted considerable leverage on the UK’s political parties- the police, the schools and universities, the local authorities – to adopt the IHRA – and has it made the Jews safer?
“Not at All. But it does indicate the Jews in the UK (that with 370,000 or 0.5% of the population) generally wield significant influence.
“My statement “The Holocaust gives Jews so much leverage that they could call for the beatification of Margaret Thatcher and the country would probably jump to their desire” , clearly refers to the UK. And I think it’s true that they have far more influence in the UK because of the Holocaust”.
Although Jamal had ignored the context of Pete’s statement, Pete feels it could have been better expressed and was certainly inflammatory. Were he to write it now he would have phrased it differently and more carefully to avoid what looked like generalisations that were not intended. What he was trying to say was that the UK’s Holocaust guilt placed our Jews in a unique position of vulnerability; a vulnerability which Zionists shamelessly exploited, with their ongoing portrayal of all Jews as potential victims- one which only the adoption of the IHRA could remedy. And- the Thatcher comment? Overwhelmingly, those calling themselves Jews in the UK support the Conservative party (see here).
[Pete has recently come to the view that most Zionists are more correctly “lapsed Jews”, or ex-Jews, because they neither follow the Torah nor are descended from the ancient Hebrews. According to the Merriam Webster definition, a Jew is 1: a person belonging to a continuation through descent or conversion of the ancient Jewish people or 2: one whose religion is Judaism. Whilst most UK Zionists view themselves as Jews, they are more truthfully atheist Europeans whose ancestors may have followed the Torah, but being Ashkenazi, have genetic roots in Khazakstan- not the Holy Land. Pete notes that Zionists reject the Torah’s teachings that Jews should not have a state and so have rejected Judaism, preferring to follow evangelical Christianity in their claim to Palestine. Ergo, he says, they cannot consider themselves to be Jews. Those who follow the Torah properly are clearly Jews, of course, no matter where they are from.]
The paragraphs formed part of Pete’s ongoing Change.Org petition asking for Labour to abandon the IHRA definition and exploring whether this new definition had really helped any UK Jews feel safer? To do this, he thought it important to look at the levels of antisemitism in other countries who had NOT adopted it. Pete was exploring why so many of our UK public and political bodies had embraced- without question- a definition of antisemitism that seemed more about protecting Israel, than protecting Jews.
When Pete requested an appeal against the matter at the 2020 AGM, Jamal claimed that Pete had never been a member despite the email confirming his membership. He refused to enter further discussion.
When fellow campaigner Ian Donovan later submitted a motion to the Jan 2020 PSC AGM, asking that Peter’s issue be discussed, he was expelled too!
Ian made an appeal against his expulsion to Ben Soffa, PSC Secretary (who works for Keir Starmer); read Ian’s posts of the 7th March 2021, 16th April 2021 and 20th April 2021 for more. Also see our comments on PSC under Bad Faith Actors.
Pete says “PSC only want justice on the terms of the white English middle classes. The fact that Palestinians are devout Muslims, most of whom would prefer an Islamic state, is something we in the West choose to ignore. By so doing, we adopt the Israeli perspective that Hamas are evil, because they want Sharia law. It’s all rather dispiriting… It’s not what Palestinians want.”
Having left the Labour Party, Pete is now a member of the Workers Party GB. Having been expelled from the GMB, he is now a member of Prospect trade union; neither of these bodies accept the IHRA Definition of antisemitism. He is an active member of various groups campaigning for Palestine. He has made a number of IHRA videos. See them here.
In August 2022, the Jewish Telegraph repeated the lie that Pete had said that the Holocaust had been exaggerated. This is completely untrue; it is another example of the smears widely employed by Zionists to undermine those who support Palestine. As noted above, Pete had actually said that Israel exaggerates the Holocaust for political ends. Redress published Gaza campaigner Pete Gregson defends himself against press attacks claiming he said the holocaust was exaggerated – Redress Information & Analysis (redressonline.com). An abridged version as a reader’s letter was published on 12th August in the Weekly Worker, last letter. Eventually the Jewish Telegraph admitted a mistake and published a correction, though, as usual, it is unlikely many of its readers noticed it.
Other media outlets enjoy attacking Pete- read more on his post at Pete Gregson defends himself – One Democratic Palestine (onepalestine.land)
If you’ve got 1.5 hours spare in your life, watch his talk at Keep Talking in March 2023 in London- on Cancel Culture. Plenty of laughs and horror stories at https://odysee.com/@911KeepTalking:d/keep_talking_2023-04:8
Tony Greenstein drew attention to GMB’s Gary Smith in his blog of Jan 2023: Tony Greenstein’s Blog: In July Lowkey was Cancelled from the TUC’s Tolpuddle Festival as a Result of False Allegations of Anti-Semitism by Gary Smith, General Secretary of the GMB (azvsas.blogspot.com)
On 25th October 2023, Pete was invited to address the Cross-Party Working Group on Palestine at the Scottish Parliament, to talk about how best to help Gaza, as he is also chair of the Edina-Gaza Twinning Association- only to be told two days before that the agenda was to be devoted solely to a surprise visit from the Palestinian ambassador. But evidently he was bumped for criticising Israel, according to press reports- https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/activist-who-claimed-israel-exaggerated-31265582
Jewish Support for Pete
In response to ongoing attacks upon Pete for his campaign to get Edinburgh twinned with Gaza (see www.twingaza.com) , Rabbi Yisoel Dovid Weiss, leader of the Neturei Karta International (Jews United Against Zionism) issued this letter of support for Pete:
Pam Bromley
[needs updating] Pam was a Rossendale Borough Councillor and was suspended from the LP in March 2017 on allegations of anti-Semitism social media posts and a variety of comments on different topics with which, it is alleged, she is bringing to LP into disrepute and damaging its electoral prospects locally.
See the charge sheet which contains 3 items out of the original however many it was. She is not sure what has happened to the rest , which you can see here.
Pam has been waiting since June 2017 for her SAR (Subject Access Request: this request requires the recipient body to disclose all data it holds on you). The ICO told the LP again at the beginning of December to supply it, but she is still waiting. So Pam’s investigation starts without her knowing what they have got on file, yet she is asked to submit a written response by 28 January.
She argues that the accusations are absurd. She says “What I said in points 1 and 2 was the opposite of anti-Semitic. Based on conjecture, not facts, the Investigator claimed there were hidden meanings in my statement, without any proof or evidence at all. It is simply made up to suit the charges. I am getting Jewish friends who I’ve known for up to 45 years to affirm to the LP that I do not hold anti-Semitic or racist views. I’m also getting colleagues in the LP to be character witnesses.”
“The 3rd point they have raised actually criticises the Tories for their undemocratic methods – as you will see I am expressing concern that the Tories had troops on the streets of Manchester just before an election: look at what’s happened since. That does not suggest I am less interested in the human cost – as a Mancunian myself I was very bothered about it.”
“The rest of the screen prints they’ve been on about contain a whole load of nonsense from discussing the theories of Karl Marx to repeating what the Press said about, and quoting Chris Williamson. Their questions with the screen shots and my replies are in Compliance Qs and As.”
“The case has taken 9 months to get to this stage, during which time I couldn’t attend Labour Group or LP meetings or canvass. So effectively a Labour councillor not allowed to engage in anything – how does that affect the Party locally! Communications with the LP have been poor with many unanswered emails and letters. The Press knew I’d been suspended before I knew myself. Fortunately the locals recognised it for the nonsense it was. This rather contradicts the confidentiality clause they have now slapped on my case. I do think it’s important that these cases are in the public eye.”
Jon de Rennes
TRANSGRESSION ONE
A victim of Zionist Luke Akehurst (aka “Arse Ache”), who made a complaint against Jon. There was basically a thread on the FB LAW page where a member posted something along the lines of “What should we do with the Blairite right wingers esp “Arse Ache” – take them out one by one or … leave him till last to make an example?”
Someone else replied “by taken out do you mean a) take them out for dinner or a movie or b) remove them from the Labour party?” Somewhat cheekily, Jon added “c) killed. LOL” Then, a moment later he added “b) is probably the best option. LOL”, thus making it fully apparent that his previous words were a joke. On that basis he had done nothing wrong, just made a daft joke. Nonetheless, Akehurst saw the post and made a fuss, with the result that Jon was investigated as an anti-Semite, thus wasting valuable Labour Party cash on a pointless investigation. See the letter from Labour here and Jon’s defence/ apology here. In late January 2019, the NEC announced it was closing the investigation against him and announced a formal warning; read his letter here.
TRANSGRESSION TWO
As Jon says:
“So I am now officially in exile. Funny thing is that the notification of Autoexcludia came on the 13th August 2021 and the NOI 5 days later on 18th. Seems like the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. What’s the point of an investigation when I’m already Autoexcluded? Seems like a pointless incompetent waste of resources to me. No wonder they’re going bankrupt financially as well.”
First Jon got this:
5 days later Jon received this Notice of Investigation:
Jon’s response to the Notice of Investigation:
