Partyofshalom?Maybenot with not-so-sweet Caroline
PLEASE DON’T do a double-take. Reading today’s column may feel like déjà vu but, as political life in Westminster got back into full swing this week, the same issues, the same characters and the same concerns immediately bubbled back to the surface.
While I cannot bring myself to revisit Ken Livingstone’s incendiary comments on Hitler and Zionism, other recurring matters cannot be avoided.
The return of Caroline Lucas to head the Green Party will remind readers of her record of anti-Israel activism.
Her commitment to renewable energy and a sustainable society has not precluded her from repeatedly lobbying against eco-friendly projects in her Brighton constituency.
Ms Lucas was accused of “selling out” in 2012 when she backed a protest against an Israeli-owned EcoStream store in the city which offered customers recyclable household products.
The following year she went further, by helping to ensure a constituent avoided having one of the world’s leading water meters fitted at their home. While Ms Lucas acknowledged the importance of water conserva- tion work, the hi-tech device had been manufactured by an Israeli company, so could not possibly be installed.
Ms Lucas is this time sharing the top job with Jonathan Bartley. Standing in for the party’s candidate at a London mayoral hustings in April, he described the Greens as the “party of shalom”, praised Israel’s technological developments and said the capital should follow Israel’s example.
How I would love to be a fly on the wall at the Greens’ leadership meetings when the question of boycotting Israel inevitably comes up. Party of shalom? It is unlikely to be peaceful.
While the focus is on Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola going head-to-head in Manchester’s big football derby this weekend, the hottest ticket in town for the Jewish community is Sunday night’s showdown between Shami Chakrabarti and the North West Friends of Israel (NWFoI) group.
Since the news of Ms Chakrabarti’s peerage broke last month she had kept a relatively low profile until appearing on the BBC’s
on Sunday. She looked somewhat Co-leader Caroline Lucas bruised by her weeks in the headlines. So is Shami now (the Yiddish word for ashamed or embarrassed)?
Any suggestion the lawyer might attempt to swerve the Manchester encounter was rebuffed by NWFoI co-chair Anthony Dennison, who said Ms Chakrabarti would “definitely” be there.
The NWFoI supporters are a vociferous bunch. If she thought Marr was a tough grilling, Sunday evening could prove torturous. came to an end with its publication this week. The Community Security Trust’s deputy communications director has provided a fascinating read. Indeed, as I read his thoughts on Jackie Walker, the Labour member whose comments about Jews and the slave trade sparked an inquiry, her suspension and then her speedy reinstatement, up popped a photograph of Ms Walker on Twitter. And who was she pictured alongside at a rally? Jeremy Corbyn. As I said, it’s back to business as usual, and Dr Rich may soon have more material for another book.