4 May 2018

Over 5,000 people Sign a Petition saying the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism should not be a charity


It’s time for the Charity Commission to Deregister a Political Rottweiler which libels, smears and destroys individuals who oppose Zionism and support the Palestinians

Some 5,680 people have signed a petition calling on the Charity Commission to deregister the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.  It brings the whole charity sector into disrepute. There is no discernible public benefit arising from its operation.  It is widely suspected to be funded by the Israeli state as part of its anti-BDS dirty tricks operations.
Extract from JNF lease
In reaction to the Israeli Supreme Court decision that they couldn't refuse to rent to non-Jews the JNF responded saying that 80% of Israeli Jews prefer a Jewish to a democratic state.  The Knesset overturned the ruling in Kadan.
The CAA is chaired by Gideon Falter, who is a Director of JNF UK. The JNF is committed by its constitution to managing land on behalf of Jews only.  It owns and controls 93% of Israeli land.  It is one of the main instruments of apartheid in the State of Israel. It is an openly racist organisation and it is no surprise that Falter is a Director.
The CAA specialises in targeting and bullying vulnerable individuals, smearing and discrediting critics of Zionism, especially Jewish opponents, by taking out of context, distorting and manipulating what they say.  Lies come easily to them. 
Malaka Shwaik Mohammed, a 26 year old Ph. D. Student at Exeter University was an ideal target. Malaka comes from Gaza. She was understandably traumatised by Israel’s blitzkrieg in 2014, Operation Protective Edge, when 66 of her own family and friends were murdered.
The CAA harvested tweets and social media posts by Malakha, in particular one where she said ‘If terrorism means protecting and defending my land, I am so proud to be called terrorist. What an honour for the Palestinians!’ This was enough for Malaka to be described as ‘a terrorist-supporting antisemite.’
Although I wasn’t party to this conversation I imagine that Malakha was accused by a Zionist opponent of being a ‘terrorist’ and she replied that if support for things like the Right of Return and the creation of a democratic rather than a Jewish state meant that she was a terrorist then so be it. That wasn’t an admission that she was either a terrorist or an anti-Semite it was merely a ways of saying that if being a Palestinian meant she was defined as a terrorist then so be it.
Likewise Malakah said that “The shadow of the Holocaust continues to fall over us from the continuous Israeli occupation of Palestine to the election of Trump”.  If Israel claims its foundation was the consequence of the Holocaust then it can hardly complain that its actions are seen as the legacy of the Holocaust.  One would think this would be an uncontroversial statement. 
The CAA falsely claimed that ‘According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is anti-Semitic.’  This is an example of the CAA’s brazen dishonesty.
What they term the ‘International Definition’ of anti-Semitism is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, which specifically states that it is ‘non legally binding.’
The actual definition, which is 38 words long, says nothing about drawing comparisons with the Nazis.  The IHRA definition is accompanied by 11 examples of behaviour which it says ‘may serve as illustrations’ of anti-Semitism.  Note the word may.  One of these examples speaks of ‘Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.’
The introduction to the 11 examples of ‘anti-Semitism’ states 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:’  and then it gives a list of the 11 examples, 7 of which refer to Israel.
In other words the CAA, by stating that comparisons, regardless of context, between Israel and the Nazis are automatically anti-Semitic are simply lying.  Israelis make comparisons between their opponents and the Nazis regularly. Daniel Blatman, a Holocaust researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, makes just such a comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany in Heading Toward an Israeli Apartheid State .
None of this stopped the CAA smearing and libelling Malaka as an anti-Semite, despite her involvement in anti-fascist and anti-racist mobilisations at Exeter University.  When the Exeter Guild of Undergraduates investigated the CAA’s allegations they were found wanting and she was cleared.  The Daily Express, Mail and other media outlets apologised for taking up the CAA smears. The full story is told here.
The CAA accused Jackie Walker of Holocaust denial before realising that she had only been quoting Israel's fist Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion - the post has since been taken down!
The 'anti-semitic' text that according to the CAA were holocaust denial thus proving Jackie Walker was anti-semitic.  In fact they came from David Ben Gurion!
Possibly the most ludicrous of their vile nasty attacks on individuals came when they accused Jackie Walker of posting texts asking whether Hitler can be blamed for the Holocaust!  On 7th February 2017 the CAA posted that Jackie Walker has now posted a text on Facebook which asks whether Hitler can be blamed for the the (sic!) Holocaust, and leaves open the possibility that he was justified.
What you may ask did Jackie Walker say? What anti-Semitic inquity?  Well it was a quote from Nahum Goldman, the former President of the World Jewish Congress and the  Zionist Organisation asking why the Arabs should make peace when they were expected to pay the price for Hitler and Auschwitz. It takes a quite malevolent and insidious mind to twist such a quotation into Holocaust denial.  However, given them their due, the CAA has a limitless talent for invention and creative writing.  What made matters worse was that Goldman, in his autobiography A Jewish Paradox was quoting from David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel! Needless to say the CAA quickly pulled the post when they realised their error but it is indicative of their methodology.
The CAA's viciously racist image of a 'typical' Muslim - substitute 'Jew' for 'Muslim' if you have difficulty seeing it
The CAA has dedicated itself to stirring up trouble and conflict between Jews and Muslims.  The CAA is a viciously Islamaphobic organisation.  In the Forward to a pamphlet British Muslims and Anti-Semitism the CAA write:
On every single count, British Muslims were more likely by far than the general British population to hold deeply antisemitic views. It is clear that many British Muslims reserve a special hatred for British Jews, rating Jews much less favourably than people of other religions or no religion, yet astonishingly British Muslims largely do not recognise antisemitism as a major problem.
The CAA also posted a racist image of the archetypal Muslim man, reminiscent of similar cartoons depicting Jews in years gone by.  If someone posted a similar cartoon about a typical Jewish male there would be universal outrage.

If you go to the CAA site there are no less than 200 articles attacking Corbyn.  In a piece entitled J’Accuse, an absurd parody of the anti-racist article that helped ensure the pardon of Alfred Dreyfuss, a Jewish officer in the French army, Gideon Falter wrote explaining why they were calling a demonstration outside the Labour Party HQ.
 “Under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party has been seized by racists. Jeremy Corbyn is at home amongst them, having spent his political career seeking out and giving his backing to Holocaust deniers, genocidal antisemitic terrorist groups, wild antisemitic conspiracy theorists and a litany of Jew-haters. This is the point of no return: Britain must stand up for its Jewish community against the racists in control of the Labour Party.
Bob Blackman MP - an Islamaphobic CAA patron
The ranting hysteria, the hyperbole and the outright lies would be appear odd if it came from Britain’s fascist fringe.  Even Nick Griffin at his worst would find it difficult to emulate Falter. The suggestion that Corbyn has ‘given his backing to holocaust deniers’ is a lie without a shred of evidence to support it, yet this is a charity with a list of Zionist patrons such as the Islamaphobe Bob Blackman MP. 
I have previously written about how the CAA fiddle and manipulate surveys they commission and how they draw tendentious conclusions such as that nearly half of Britain’s Jews are about to take the boat to Israel.  They have even come under heavy criticism from sections of the British Jewish establishment with their sloppy and unscientific methods with the intent of deliberately stoking up perceptions of anti-Semitism in order to create an atmosphere of fear and tension. 
In the Charity Commission’s Guidance Campaigning and political activity by charities at a glance, there are a number of bullet points that the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism are in breach of.  In particular there is a legal requirement that
political campaigning, or political activity... must be undertaken by a charity only in the context of supporting the delivery of its charitable purposes. Unlike other forms of campaigning, it must not be the continuing and sole activity of the charity’.
The Charity Commission stipulates that
‘in the political arena, a charity must stress its independence and ensure that any involvement it has with political parties is balanced.’
The Charity Commission has, until recently, been Chaired by the Islamaphobe and right-wing bigot William Shawcross. Shawcross was an ex-Director of the cold war Henry Jackson Society and he was reported in the Guardian as having said in 2012 that ‘Europe and Islam is one of the greatest, most terrifying problems of our future”.  The CAA, in response to a petition calling on the Charity Commission to deregister them tried to intimidate Change.org into taking the petition down (they failed!).
The CAA politely ticks of the anti-semitic press for their coverage of George Soros - no hysterical attacks on antisemites or genocidal killers
These newspaper headlines about George Soros the 'puppet master' merited no criticism from the CAA
This has however got to be the beginning of the campaign to remove this political cancer. The CAA needs to be treated as any other racist and fascist organisation. It’s actions against genuinely anti-Semitic individuals are a mask for its real purpose. It pursues individuals like Alison Chabloz, a complete nonentity with severe personality and mental health problems, whilst refraining from criticising any anti-Semitic organisation that is pro-Israel. When the Tory newspapers launched a campaign against George Soros, using the traditional anti-Semitic meme that he was an international Jewish financier who was trying to ensure that Britain remained subject to the control of ‘global interests’, the CAA exonerated them.  It’s headline was: ‘Today’s article in the Daily Telegraph about George Soros’ intervention in British politics is not antisemitic, but editors chose their headline poorly. Yes quite. And its reaction to the Sun’s ‘Puppet Masters’ headline?  There wasn’t one!
What you can do – share this post as widely as possible on social media.  The CAA is at the heart of the false anti-Semitism campaign.  It works closely despite being on the far-Right, with the so-called Jewish Labour Movement. We may need to take legal action to force the Charity Commission to act so people need to know what is at stake. Below is my letter to the Charity Commission.  Please email Ms Grenfell and the Charity Commission at the email addresses below to let them know what you think of their inactivity to date
I have also posted a considerable number of posts on the CAA see!
Tony Greenstein
Thursday, 03 May 2018


Jane Grenfell,

Senior Technical Case Manager,
Regulatory Compliance
Charity Commission 

8th May 2017
20180226 - FAO Mr Greenstein -Campaign Against anti-Semitism CRM:0050736
Dear Ms Grenfell,
Fifteen months ago I submitted a complaint to the Charity Commission concerning the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism [CAA], Charity No. 1163790.  I asked you to launch an investigation into this bogus charity and to derecognise it. To date you have done nothing.
I am therefore writing to you again asking you to deregister this bogus charity.  It’s behaviour has become even more outrageous and it is openly running a campaign to slander and remove the Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn MP.  I enclose a Petition of over five and a half thousand people who are making the same request.
My complaint is a very simple one. The CAA is an overtly political organisation whose principal concern is to label as anti-Semitic supporters of the Palestinians or the opponents of Zionism.  The CAA has not hesitated to smear Jewish anti-Zionists as anti-Semitic whilst turning a blind eye to anti-Semitic supporters of the Israeli state.
There is, for example, not one mention of Tommy Robinson, the anti-Semitic founder of the English Defence League. Robinson is a died in the wool racist who is also a supporter of Zionism.  Contrast this with veteran Israeli anti-Zionist, Professor Moshe Machover who is the target of 7 articles such as the absurd CAA lodges complaints over professor’s support for genocidal antisemitic terrorists.
A cursory look at their website demonstrates where the CAA’s concerns lie.  180 articles attacking Jeremy Corbyn compared to 20 articles supportive. of Theresa May, for example CAA congratulates Theresa May.
Because the CAA is only interested in the ‘anti-Semitism’ of opponents of Zionism there are just 2 posts concerning the British National Party and nothing at all about the English Defence League.
The CAA has however take umbrage at the formation of Jewish Voice for Labour calling it a sham.  Why should the JVL arouse its ire?  Because it isn’t a Zionist organisation.
An example of how the CAA deliberately distorts the message of its opponents is its blatantly false article Jeremy Corbyn’s friend Marc Wadsworth expelled from the Labour Party for accusing Jewish MP of orchestrating media conspiracy. Marc didn’t even know that the MP in question, Ruth Smeeth, was Jewish.  He didn’t accuse her of orchestrating anything. 
The CAA followed up this series of lies with CAA calls for Chris Williamson MP to have the whip withdrawn after he backs expelled activist Marc Wadsworth .  What possible charitable purpose is served by this non-stop diet of personal and polemical attacks on Black and Jewish anti-racists by this so-called charity?
On Sunday 8th April the CAA called a protest demonstration outside the Labour Party headquarters.  Gideon Falter, the Chair of the CAA was quoted as saying:
“Under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party has been seized by racists. Jeremy Corbyn is at home amongst them, having spent his political career seeking out and giving his backing to Holocaust deniers, genocidal antisemitic terrorist groups, wild antisemitic conspiracy theorists and a litany of Jew-haters. This is the point of no return: Britain must stand up for its Jewish community against the racists in control of the Labour Party.
How can the Charity Commission possibly accept these continual attacks on the Leader of Britain’s second major party?  To accuse Corbyn of backing holocaust deniers, genocidal anti-Semitic terrorist groups etc. is reminiscent of Nazi propaganda. There isn’t a single word of truth in these vicious lies yet the Charity Commission is like the 3 wise monkeys -it neither sees, says or hears anything. 
If this kind of attack on the Labour Party is allowed to continue then you may as well tear up your Campaigning and political activity guidance for charities (CC9) which states that ‘in the political arena, a charity must stress its independence and ensure that any involvement it has with political parties is balanced.’ 
This kind of demonization owes more to Goebbels than a British charity.  It is unacceptable and I am asking you to revoke their charity registration without further delay.
If the CAA’s charity registration is allowed to continue then virtually any political campaigning organisation, as long as it’s not standing for elections, should be eligible to register as a charity.  The CAA demonstrates its political balance by repeatedly using the phrase ‘racist labour’.  Not once has it applied such a pejorative term to the Conservative Party despite its history of racism from Enoch Powell to the present Windrush scandal.  The CAA has never commented on the Conservative Party’s links with anti-Semitic parties such as Poland’s Law & Justice Party in the European Parliament.  Why?  Because these parties may not like Jews but they love Israel.
The primary purpose of the CAA is not to oppose anti-Semitism per se but to tarnish and smear supporters of the Palestinians and opponents of Zionism as ‘anti-Semitic’. 
In addition to those who have signed the Petition calling on the Charity Commission to deregister the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism I also enclose nearly 1,000 comments which have also been made by the signatories. I look forward to an early and positive response.  In the words of one of the signatories, David Reece of Exeter:
Anti-Semitism is abominable. Using false accusations of anti-Semitism to silence legitimate political disagreement is despicable, and should not be tax-exempt.’
It’s a message I expect you and the Charity Commission to take to heart and quickly. You have had enough time.
Yours sincerely,

Tony Greenstein 

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