Guardian again publishes claim that CAA is a pawn of the Israeli government

The Guardian has yet again published a claim that Campaign Against Antisemitism is a pawn of the Israeli government. The claim was first made in 2015, when The Guardian printed a letter alleging that “the CAA was set up last summer, not to fight antisemitism but to counter rising criticism of Israel’s murderous assault on Gaza.” Today, we have been accused of being “pro-Israel lobbyists” because we have dared to condemn Jeremy Corbyn’s peerage for Shami Chakrabarti in return for her whitewash report clearing him and the party of rampant antisemitism.

Both claims were made in letters signed by a fringe assortment of British Jews. There is an overwhelming, cross-denominational consensus amongst British Jews that Jeremy Corbyn has allied himself with and granted impunity to antisemites on the left. Yet for the second time, The Guardian has published a letter from a tiny fringe group of Jews who are wilfully blind to antisemitism and prefer to accuse those fighting antisemitism of dual loyalties and ulterior motives.

Accusing Jews who oppose antisemitism of dissembling, and promoting the interests of a foreign government is an antisemitic trope that should be considered unacceptable for publication in a British newspaper. In this case it seems The Guardian’s justification is that the letter is signed by some Jewish people; no matter that they resort to incorrectly trying to undermine a charity fighting antisemitism.

That this has now happened twice shows how willingly The Guardian will assist those who smear British Jews who speak out against antisemitism, using as cover the fact that the libels are spread by a tiny group of Jews, even though their views are abhorred by the Jewish community.

Letters to The Guardian can be sent to [email protected].