"...if we leave this topic closed and quiet for much longer...we will be forced back into the shadows whispering quietly for fear of being deemed anti-Semitic and that is of no more benefit to the people of Israel than it is to the people of the rest of the world."

And which incredible clairvoyant said this in July 2006?

I DID!

I am telling you this because the exact scenario that I predicted is unfolding and the window of discussion is closing with it.

14 MPs heading up a panel to investigate anti-Semitic incidents across the UK since 2000 have come to the decision that action against anti-Semitism must be taken...And I agree.

People should never be attacked because of their race, religion, colour or for any other reason for that matter, and if they are, something should indeed be done about it.

However, what I do object to is they way that this committee is making inflammatory and unjust statements such as the following:

"Acts of violence and abuse towards Jews are an affront to any modern society," said panel chairman Denis McShane, a former Foreign Office minister.

"The most worrying discovery of this inquiry is that anti-Jewish sentiment is entering the mainstream, appearing in the everyday conversations of people who consider themselves neither racist nor prejudiced.

"All forms of anti-Semitism are racism and should be treated as such."

To the first part of that statement I would suggest that acts of violence and abuse towards ANYBODY are an affront to any modern society.

To the second part of that statement I would suggest that the people that they speak of are almost certainly not, for the most part at least, being anti-Semitic at all but are in fact sick and tired of watching the Israeli government act violently and with impunity at each and every turn. These people are more than likely venting their despair at having to sit through news reports of dead civilians everywhere that Israel chooses to invade and occupy . They are tired of the double-standards applied when the government of Israel is being told that it has a right to defend itself and yet it seems that their idea of defence is to attack, attack and attack again.

The use of cluster bombs for 72 hours prior to the end of the war with Lebanon is probably something that will cause anguish amongst people for many years to come as we see the devastation that they have and will continue to cause long after this particular phase of the war has ended.

To make matters worse, Israel knew that the UN Security Council resolution was going to call for a complete cessation of violence and they even knew which date and time fighting would stop. It appears that it was no more than a last effort to destroy the Lebanese spirit even if it could not destroy all of the Lebanese people.

The murder of the UN peacekeepers in their bunker in Lebanon, who were there to PROTECT Israel after the last time they invaded Lebanon in 1982, is certainly getting on many a person's goat, one assumes.

Oh, to hell with it, I could do this all day...

The only major problem that the vast majority of Britain has with regard to Jews is their leaders and those members of Jewish communities who believe, mainly through the propaganda and mind-control tactics of the Israeli government, that Israel's action are perfectly justified and should never be questioned.

The war in Lebanon could not possibly be justified. The current and even more disgraceful re-occupation of the occupied territories in Palestine cannot possibly be justified.

People are allowed to discuss the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia and not be accused of racism towards Muslims because the real world understands that when you become embroiled in such situations everybody is entitled to their opinion and, as long as that opinion does not turn to attacks motivated by racial or religious hatred, there is no problem. Those whose opinions do lead to personal attacks are and always have been breaking the law and should be prosecuted as such.

The Jewish community tends to feel a little differently. I once suggested that, were Palestine given the money and military aid that Israel has received, we would find Israel clambering for the negotiating table at an incredible speed. My Jewish friend with whom I had been enjoying a perfectly decent and fairly long discussion on various topics regarding the situation in various parts of the Middle East immediately got up and left. Later, when I asked her why she had reacted this way she asked me if I did not think that 6 million deaths justified financial aid from the rest of the world!

The point was completely missed because she has been "programmed" to react in that manner should anybody question ANY of the status quo.

Clearly there is a problem on both sides of this debate - Jewish people are far too defensive for there to be any real debate and nobody else can ever question Israel's actions or believe that the "opposition" has any case at all.

As for the final statement, it could be worth noting that the people of Iran are ALSO Semites and yet nobody seems to mind calling them anything they want and usually whilst standing behind a podium in the House of Commons IN YOUR NAME!

Anti-Semitic is the most over-used and, due to this over-use, meaningless label ever invented. It has been used as a defence mechanism by the likes of Peres, Sharon, Netanyahu, Olmert et al since time immemorial to deviate attention or discussion from their own various acts of terrorism. The occupation of Palestine is and always has been a terrorist act. Too many innocent civilians have died since the creation of the state of Israel and no amount of labelling and name calling can ever remove that simple fact...

The truth is that the label anti-Semitic has always been used to remove the voice of those that wish to discuss Israel's actions in anything other than a positive manner.

Were we talking about any other nation on Earth invading Lebanon and causing the massive destruction to its people and infrastructure, we would all be discussing at full volume with marches in the streets, refusal to buy products from that country and suggesting war crimes tribunals for all.

Now, I am sure that some people will automatically label me anti-Semitic for this article (although I currently support Iran's position in the nuclear debate so that must be something of a conundrum for them to say the least!) but let me state, one final time, I DO NOT CARE WHAT RELIGION YOU ARE...I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO STOP DYING BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS BE YOU JEWISH, CHRISTIAN, MUSLIM OR ANY OTHER RELIGION.

Good, that is that out of the way and, should this committee get its way, this may be the last time I get to discuss any of this situation.

I cannot end this article without highlighting the following statement:

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an international Jewish human rights organisation, said recently that the British authorities had to do much more to stem the rising tide of anti-Semitism.

I have a few suggestions for them that may really help the situation...

• Stop asking for special treatment from a government that is currently waging a war against Islam as they do not have a leg to stand on when it comes to this sort of thing.
  
  
• It may be worth thinking about why the Jewish lobby groups in Britain convinced Blair to attend a temple wearing a skullcap and saying things like "Israel will always be a friend of Britain" just prior to Israel bombing the hell out of Lebanon - It looks sycophantic and it doesn't smell too good either!
  
  
• It may be worth getting Blair into a mosque sometime soon and saying things like Palestine will always be our friend so that he does not appear too biased - But that's not going to happen any time soon, is it?

Having taken the time to read the report I can tell you something that is remarkably obvious even at a glance...A good sized portion of this report sets out to make almost anything you say to a Jewish person an anti-Semitic remark. I quote:

Broadly, it is our view that any remark, insult or act the purpose or effect of which is to violate a Jewish person’s dignity or create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him is antisemitic. This reflects the definition of harassment under the Race Relations Act 1976. This definition can be applied to individuals and to the Jewish community as a whole.

Broadly...BROADLY? Broadly is not the word! Think about what that says for just a moment.

"Any remark, insult or act the purpose or EFFECT of which..." - So anything at all and it matters not whether the Jewish person has taken your remark, insult or act in totally the wrong context at all. A good, broad start there!

"...to violate a Jewish person's dignity or create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him is antisemitic" - There is a massive problem here. This states that if a Jewish person feels any of those things, whether they are being over-sensitive or not, whether the act is intentional or not and, most importantly, whether the person causing the problem is aware of the person's "Jewishness" or not, is irrelevant.

So, to recap, any act which a Jew does not particularly like for whatever reason is anti-Semitic whether the person being accused of being anti-Semitic is actually aware that they are "dealing with" a Jewish person or not.

RIDICULOUS!

Let us turn that on its head with an example...

After England lost to Portugal in the World Cup finals I went to a bar for a consoling beer. There was a group of Germans and Spaniards at the bar who were a little drunk and they were celebrating England's loss saying that England had the worst football team in the tournament and that they should have been thrown out after the group stages because all of the English fans are a disgrace to football. One German even stated that, in his opinion, the English fans were the only people in Germany who were more ignorant than the English players. He called Rooney an animal who acts more like a fan than a player and said that Beckham was gay and must have paid one of the Neville brothers to father his ugly kids.

After a fairly upsetting start to my "eavesdropping" I nearly died laughing! Not only were some of these comments funny but they were as foolish and ignorant as the very people they claimed to know all about and that was also funny.

However, I did choose to say something, although mainly because some of the beer that I spat everywhere when I heard the Beckham/Neville comment landed on one of them!

Put simply, I agreed with what they said about the team, I agreed that Rooney was an animal although I suggested that they would have loved to have him in the German or Spanish sides as would most of the teams in the tournament but that I felt the "gay Beckham" comment unnecessary and, whilst his children are not the least bit ugly, I thought that the Neville joke was hilarious. I further pointed out that the English fans had not behaved particularly badly and that the stereotype was doing more to stir problems than the reality.

We ended up drinking beer together, watching the sun go down and enjoying each others company immensely.

Can you imagine if I had claimed that his comments were anti-Christian because they made me feel humiliated? What if I were a practicing Sikh? Would his comments have been anti-Sikh?

The broad problem is the broad definition of anti-Semitic and definitions like that are not going to help healthy debate and discussion which is exactly what was used to solve the situation in the bar.

Sometimes I feel as if the Jewish community think that their government is bent on the destruction of the entire region one way or another and they would not want to risk a debate because they would probably find a lot of the actions of that government hard to defend. Many Israeli's are speaking out against their government and, in particular, the war in Lebanon. Are they being anti-Semitic? They are probably making Ehud Olmert feel humiliated.

This definition is broad with intention and the intention is to stop anybody discussing Israel regardless of the level, topic or relevance of the discussion.

And that is just plain dangerous.

I have made the findings of the committee available as a PDF document and I urge you to download it and read it carefully, making extra effort to understand what your rights are due to this document as it may save you from being arrested for being "anti-Semitic" without even realising that you are being so.

The law itself, handed down from the EU as most laws are nowadays, is also worth reading, so I have included it here:

EUMC WORKING DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM

Working definition: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” In addition, such manifestations could also target the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews
for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.

Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:

• Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.

• Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective – such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

• Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.

• Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).

• Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.

• Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.

Examples of the ways in which antisemitism manifests itself with regard to the state of Israel taking into account the overall context could include:

• Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour.

• Applying double standards by requiring of it a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.

• Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.

• Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

• Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.

Antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law (for example, denial of the Holocaust or distribution of antisemitic materials in some countries).

Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries – are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.

Antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services available to others and is illegal in many countries.

I should say that I particularly enjoyed the section that makes it illegal to suggest that the the world is being "run by the Jews" or even that "the media is controlled by the Jews". You cannot even claim that "the Jews have control over any government or societal institutions" - EVEN IF THEY DO!

Just in case you missed it, here it is again...

Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective – such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

Be under no illusions...Discussion of almost any kind on almost any facet of the Israel, Jewish or Zionist topics is now "off the menu"...

Enjoy the fact that you have just been silenced...