The Observer - 04.08.2019

Section:OBS 2N PaGe:11 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 18:29 cYanmaGentaYellowbla

• The Observer
  News 04.08.19 11

help the Palestinian cause. I have

been there, called out what I’ve seen

and spoken in the press. Am I now

not meant to work to improve this

dreadful situation?

“I have worked with Palestinians

across the Middle East for 10 years

• but these racists think they can sit
  behind a keyboard in the UK and troll
  someone who is genuinely trying to
  help. It’s revolting – it’s wrong.”
  The abuse directed at her included
  “basic antisemitic tropes” and “fur-
  ther backlash from people unable
  even to recognise antisemitism in the
  tweets,” she told the Observer.
  Her discussion with Bar-Li had
  been lengthy, robust and useful.
  “Bar-Li agreed with me that a child
  dying alone is inhumane. But it’s
  what they choose to do about that
  that’s important.” The meeting had
  been “most defi nitely worthwhile”.
  Dialogue and pressure were essen-
  tial tools in trying to effect change,
  she said. “I’m not afraid of a trip to
  the [Israeli] embassy. But a lot of
  people might be put off by the lev-
  els of abuse and be discouraged from
  speaking out.”
  The Twitter trolls who purport
  to be championing the Palestinian
  cause were not interested in nego-
  tiation and dialogue, she said. “In a
  battle over who can shout the loud-
  est, it’s the most vulnerable who lose
  out.”
  Jewish “friends and comrades” in
  the Labour party had been support-
  ive of her efforts to raise the issue of
  Palestinians’ access to healthcare.
  The party’s own issues with anti-
  semitism were ugly and depressing,
  she added. “There is absolutely no
  place for antisemitism. At the same
  time, there must be robust criticism

of the Israeli government’s policies

and actions.

“I have called out genocide against

the Rohingya in Myanmar, but that

doesn’t mean I have anything against

Buddhists,” she said. “And I have

criticised human rights abuses in

Bahrain, but that doesn’t make me

Islamophobic.”

Allin-Khan has been the MP for

Tooting, south-west London, since

a byelection in 2016 after the previ-

ous incumbent, Sadiq Khan, became

mayor of London. Her mother is

Polish , her father originally from

Pakistan, and she is Muslim. She

spent more than 10 years work-

ing as a humanitarian doctor in the

Middle East, Africa and Asia, and she

still does occasional shifts in the A&E

department of her local hospital, St

George’s in Tooting.

According to pressure group

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel ,

more than 7,000 travel permits were

issued to children from Gaza last year,

but fewer than 2,000 were issued for

parents to accompany them. The

Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem

has said that, in the 18 months to June

this year, six babies died there with-

out a parent present.

After three conflicts in the past

12 years, hospitals in Gaza excel at

treating trauma injuries. But they

often lack the drugs and equipment

needed to treat cancer and other seri-

ous diseases.

Despite the onslaught against

her on Twitter – which Allin-Khan

described as cowardly – the MP said

she would redouble her efforts to per-

suade the Israeli government to ease

travel restrictions for the parents of

sick Palestinian children. “This inhu-

manity has to stop.”

Jamie Doward

Social media

ON

OTHER

PAGES

Andrew

Rawnsley:

Johnson’s

Armageddon

clock – what

is it really

counting

down to?

Comment,

page 41

Martin

Moore: We

need more

light on dark

campaigns

with opaque

funds

Comment,

page 44

Nick Cohen:

Behind the

Tory claims of

bold action is

only empty

bravado

Comment,

page 48

Report ‘fi nds Twitter

accounts at heart of

antisemitism battle’

BELOW

Allin-Khan with

a young patient

in a hospital on

the West Bank.

Countdown’s Rachel Riley

has been targeted on Twitter.

LEFT

Rosena Allin-

Khan was

shocked by

the Twitter

responses.

Photograph by

Rii Schroer/

Eyevine

Researchers say they have identifi ed

36 key pro-Labour Twitter accounts

being used to dismiss claims of

antisemitism levelled against the

party.

Their claim is based on a trawl

of four years’ worth of tweets sent

by the accounts that have pushed

pro-Jeremy Corbyn and pro-Labour

social media messages under Twitter

hashtags such as #GTTO – Get The

Tories Out.

Their report, “Engine of hate, the

online networks behind the Labour

party’s antisemitism crisis”, has been

produced for the Community Service

Trust , a charity that protects British

Jews from antisemitism.

It found that the accounts have

tweeted content claiming that alle-

gations of antisemitism in the party

are “exaggerated, weaponised,

invented or blown out of proportion,

or that Labour and Corbyn are vic-

tims of a smear campaign relating to

antisemitism”.

All were connected to Twitter net-

works that have used hashtag cam-

paigns to attack MPs or public fi gures

who have raised concerns about anti-

semitism and Labour. These include

#BoycottRachelRiley , which tar-

geted the Countdown presenter who

has spoken out on the issue, and

#SackTomWatson , which focuses on

the party’s deputy leader.

“This report points to a deeply

troubling online culture where anti-

semitic narratives have been allowed

to take root,” Watson said.

“I hope this intelligence is shared

with the investigators at Labour HQ

so that they can explain to the dom-

inant faction that control our party’s

national executive how a small group

of prolific social media users can

infl uence our internal discussions if

they are not called out or dealt with

swiftly.”

The tweets were examined by a

data analysis fi rm, Signify, that found

some of the accounts had changed

their position during the four years.

A third had themselves tweeted anti-

semitic content. Nine were deleted

between the research for the report

and its publication.

One popular pro-Corbyn account,

@SocialistVoice , has more than

66,000 followers on Twitter. The

account holder, Scott Nelson, was

expelled from Labour for a series of

tweets including one that displayed

an image of an Israeli fl ag peeling

away to reveal a swastika, something

for which he later apologised.

Another account, @otivar55, has

accused Labour moderates of being

controlled by the Israeli embassy.

A third, @WarmongerHodges,

has labelled Riley “unhinged” and

“deranged” for criticising Corbyn.

“These are Labour’s social media

cheerleaders ,” said a CST spokes-

man. “Our report reveals how they

set the tone and drive the vitriol on

social media, attacking anyone who

criticises the party’s appalling fail-

ure to deal with its antisemitism

problem.”

Joe Glasman, head of political

and government investigations at

Campaign Against Antisemitism ,

described the report as disturbing,

yet unsurprising.

“Prominent Labour party fi gures

and rank-and-file members and

supporters have long been denying

the antisemitism crisis in Labour

by claiming that Labour and Jeremy

Corbyn are victims of a smear cam-

paign. Labour’s outriders on social

media have been fuelling this and

meting out appalling abuse to those

who stand up against antisemitism.”

A number of key Twitter accounts
run by Labour activists and sup-
porters – some of which are signif-
icantly more infl uential than those
identifi ed in the report – have used
social media to successfully challenge
antisemitism.
In addition, several of those behind
accounts that have tweeted offensive
comments have apologised for their
actions and helped educate others on
the threat of antisemitism.
“A small number of accounts are
identified, some of which are not
Labour members or supporters, and
others have been expelled or sus-
pended,” a party spokeswoman said.
“The analysis does not look at pro-
Labour social media as a whole, and
therefore does not include the main
Labour-supporting accounts that
actively call out such bigotry. We
stand in solidarity with Jewish com-
munities, and are committed to root-
ing out antisemitism from our party
and wider society.”
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