Gary Spedding
@GarySpedding
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Rugby Union 🏉 grassroots player & supporter of Palestinian human rights/liberation. Can also be found fighting antisemitism. Contact: [email protected]
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Joined July 2011
I understand how Twitter (X) can be. However, this place is now more than ever before an open breeding ground for neo-nazism, racist oppression, & strategic disinformation designed to cause a devolution of the mind. Please find me on the other place:
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This requires an immediate explanation because right now it looks like the UK is complicit in a massacre in Rafah.
The British Air Force Shadow R1 Spy Plane was active over Gaza when Israel conducted its strike on the tents of displaced people in Rafah & killed dozens civilians.
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"My biggest fear while there [in Gaza] was being killed by the Israelis" - Professor Nizam Memode recounting his recent period in Gaza working in one of the hospitals. He describes the multiple and deliberate targeting of UN convoys by Israeli soldiers. This is horrifying.
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Met Johnny Depp in Bridge Tavern Newcastle just now. that was quite surreal
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@LeeAndersonMP_ Why are you paying Katy less than £30k a year when you literally have the option to pay her up to £37,466 per year? She deserves it - especially if she is going to be subject to public postings like this from you in an effort to exploit her for cheap political points on austerity
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In 1930's and 1940's Germany, the Nazis literally claimed that Jews were being moved for 'safe resettlement to the east', and that they were being transferred to 'Labor camps' where they'd be 'safe' and 'have work' to do. In the Rwandan Genocide, there was Operation.
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I've not seen a single media outlet in the UK, Europe, or US report on the killing of this little girl by the Israeli military. Not a single political leader has spoken of this incident. No emotive interviews have been done with her family. No condemnations have been issued.
Last night, Israeli forces fatally shot Laila Mohammad Ayman Khatib, 2, while she ate dinner with her family in their home near Jenin. Soldiers shot four bullets through the living room window, one of which struck Laila in the back of the head. Read more:
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@KarenPollock100 If your only defence is to compare Gaza genocide to. *checks notes* other genocides then you've kinda already lost the argument, Karen. Also which one of those genocides that you listed do you think is 'worse' than the others? Is it Rwanda? Perhaps Cambodia? Or Darfur?.
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Document containing the UNRWA allegations is absolutely scandalous for multiple reasons - but the most striking is that if this is the 'dossier' that various governments used to justify suspending funds then it should make waves politically speaking because there is NO evidence. .
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Hey @JuliaHB1 you're not very used to brown people speaking up for themselves are you? That is evidently why you did an islamophobic slur toward @MustafaBarghoti with your comment about letting women speak. People like you do so much harm & peddle so much racism. Vile.
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It is now appropriate for me to announce that I have raised this with the @metpoliceuk as an instance of racist hate crime and act of vandalism. It is my hope that Yoseph Haddad, should he still be in London, will be placed under arrest and charged for his incitement, racism and.
We fight back against the anti-Israel population in London in every possible way. even with graffiti!
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Luke Akehurst is one of the most horrific Islamophobes and anti-Palestinian racists in the Labour Party. He heads up an organisation called 'We Believe in Israel' as its director and has lobbied on behalf of Israel for over a decade. He is an apologist for Apartheid Israel.
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Important yet very straight forward question from @BrendanOHaraMP: Does bombing a hospital and having patients on IV drips burned to death in their beds constitute a war crime?. UK government minister blusters and is unable to give a direct answer to this question.
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Rarely do this but it was just so blatant. Hi @Tesco, why are you stocking 'Jordan River Dates' that are exported through a front company within green line Israel but which are grown in the illegal Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley? It is both unethical and illegal.
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Currently in hospital for treatment and a man is sat talking loudly about how all Palestinians are terrorists and the only way to deal with them is 'his way' which is to 'bend them down on the ground and shoot them in the back of the head'. he's currently chuckling.
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Okay, even though I don't get paid for this, let's go. we will start with the overall premise of your article: That Israel isn't Apartheid South Africa. You are correct. That is why every single human rights organisation & legal advocacy group doesn't make that analogy 1/?.
@GarySpedding Instead of childish insults, read the article and tell me specifically which bit is factually incorrect.
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So twitter ('X') has now suspended the account of one of the most eminent Palestinian writers & bloggers @mariambarghouti. We are seeing this more & more now a silencing of Palestinian activists & their social media accounts. Anti-Palestinian racism goes right to the top!
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Situation at al-Shifa hospital is worse than what most people are capable of imagining. there are patients who have severe wounds that are infected, teenagers who are amputees with maggots crawling around in their open flesh. no food, water, and increasingly limited medical.
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Full solidarity with @PresidentIRL Michael D Higgins, who is being subjected to a shameful smear campaign falsely accusing him of being antisemitic. Michael D Higgins is a scholar, diplomat, and a poet. One of Ireland's national true national treasures. He embodies compassion.
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Suggesting a person isn't impartial on the basis of their ethnic and national background?.
The President of the ICJ is a former ambassador of Lebanon to the UN. Nobody can seriously call this a fair trial. He must recuse himself.
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Watch Professor Nizam Mamode break down as he tells @CommonsIDC about the systematic & persistent targeting of civilians by Israeli drones immediately after they drop bombs on areas of civilian population living in tents. Thanks to @SarahChampionMP's words as he composes himself.
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Blake knows full well that the Palestinian intifadahs were a response to violent oppression by Israel. He knows that intifadah is an Arabic word to 'shake off' I.e. resist. He knows this is not a call to murder Jews. But he will demonise Palestinians anyway because he's racist.
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We should not simply dismiss the allegations made in the WSJ piece alleging that 10% of UNRWA employees have links to militants. However, it is right to scrutinise the background of one of the authors of the article in terms of their links to the IDF & the IDF spokesperson unit.
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Any UK citizen who has travelled to Israel & volunteered with the Israeli Defence Force should be on notice that they will face legal consequences. They will be subject to investigation and be held fully accountable. Complicity in genocide & war crimes will not go unpunished.
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@tonydixonUK You're basically a bad faith actor in this and engaging in nonsense propaganda. If you were genuinely interested in educating yourself or even basic fairness and decency you'd not be engaging in genocide denial and apologism for the slaughter of Palestinians. Get fucked.
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Imagine being so hateful and so desperate to demonise Palestinians that this is what you tweet out. Seeing young people playing games at religious sites should be looked at as a lovely heart warming thing. but for Emily it's just another opportunity to promote hate & bigotry.
They care about Al Aqsa so much that this is what they are doing there tonight — playing football ⚽️ . Unbelievable
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It needs to become more widely known that our Prime Minister, @Keir_Starmer, who outrageously just this week denied that Israel is conducting a genocide of the Palestinian people, represented Croatia during the merits phase of the genocide hearings at the @CIJ_ICJ in 2014 >.
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Key questions for the Labour Party in relation to Luke Akehurst's candidacy:. 1. Why have they not taken immediate action in response to complaints that have been raised regarding his offensive social media posts (which he has been frantically deleting in recent weeks). We are.
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Actually, Israel is one of the few countries in the world engaged in a belligerent long-term military occupation and mass violent oppression of a civilian population that then tries to portray itself as a victim defending itself. Is Russia defending itself by occupying Ukraine?.
It’s quite unbelievable how Israel is the ONLY country that has to defend WHY it defends itself.
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A woman living in the Heaton area of Newcastle Upon Tyne has had her car vandalised & home targeted because she is displaying pro-Palestine posters opposing the war on Gaza in her front window. Police are treating this as a hate crime.
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This is. quite something. Mandela was explicit in his support for Palestinians and the liberation of Palestine. He also spoke quite eloquently of how lessons from South Africa could be used to help heal other conflicts around the world including Israel-Palestine.
Today we visited the #MandelaSquare with Arab Israeli activist @YosephHaddad to remember the legacy of Nelson #Mandela and show solidarity with Israel. Contrary to popular belief, Mandela was a strong supporter of #Israel! 🇮🇱 🇿🇦
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This is just an example of the mainstream anti-Palestinian racism that is rampant throughout society. I'm horrified to be witnessing this person exclaiming these things loudly.
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A second Labour Party councillor in North Durham has resigned over the parachuting of Luke Akehurst into the seat:
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Protestors have now blockaded Luke Akehurst's car outside the community centre in North Durham. A few supporters of Akehurst (around 4 or 5) have started threatening protestors. Police are on the way.
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Brilliant from @johnmcdonnellMP who advocates the economic and military isolation of Israel to prevent war crimes and bring it to a negotiated settlement. He makes a really powerful point regarding @IsraelinUK Ambassador pointing out that @TzipiHotovely is an Israeli ambassador
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Police have arrived, and Luke Akehurst is now on his way elsewhere. Tensions extremely high here especially among protestore, local residents and some Labour Party members furious that Akehurst wouldn't answer any questions whatsoever or face scrutiny.
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I have lodged a formal complaint with Blackrod at the @UKHouseofLords regarding @LordIanAustin's islamophobic rhetoric and incitement. I will also be writing to the Lords Commissioner of Standards too. You all can email in as well: lordsstandards@parliament.uk.
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David here wants to mislead you on two crucial matters:. 1. That Jews purchasing land prior to 1948 means that private land ownership justifies expression of exclusive sovereignty (essentially saying land has an ethnicity/national identity by virtue of who owns the land) . 1/2.
You only have to go to the archives to see mountains of files about Arabs selling land to the Jews long before 1948. The fact anti-Israel activists continually claim the Jews 'stole' the land is just more ignorant, ahistorical, antisemitic nonsense.
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Please note: . Not that it's really anyone's business but I was at A&E bleeding quite profusely so, no, I didn't challenge this person myself because in all honesty when I'm sat bleeding everywhere I don't really fancy a full on confrontation with a racist zealot.
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@LozzaFox You’ve just appropriated MLK in order to prop up your own white privilege and toxic masculinity. Does it hurt that a woman of colour called you out on your white privileged? It must do given the amount of whining you’re doing on twitter today. You’ve a racism & sexism problem.
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Very successful? This is selective footage. You ended up raging at them because they successfully disrupted your talk with a protest and you got really upset when they laughed at you.
Also at the University of Exeter, anti-Israeli students tried to sabotage my lecture. but again they did not succeed and the event took place and was very successful. Yalla on my way to the next destination 💪🏽
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BREAKING: @TheGreenParty MPs have written to @DavidLammy on the UK government's position on the risk of genocide in Gaza. In the letter the MPs highlight the obligation to prevent, and duty to act, where there is a plausible and serious risk of genocide.
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There is still time for the Labour Party to review the candidacy of Luke Akehurst and select a local candidate instead. Nominations don't close until Friday for this General Election. Akehurst's candidacy for Labour in North Durham should be withdrawn on the basis of the.
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Attacking someone who is LGBTQ+ for showing solidarity with Palestinians, implying that because they are LGBTQ+ they shouldn't care about Palestinian human rights and fundamental freedoms, isn't just racist towards Palestinians but also homophobic and deeply problematic.
אם סם סמית כבר החליט להחרים את ישראל והפך בגלל זה לגיבור הפרו-פלסטינים החדש, אולי שכבר ילך פשוט להופיע בעזה או ברמאללה, אני בטוח שהוא יתקבל באהבה גדולה לא?
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Labour Party members - including a councillor - are exiting the North Durham CLP meeting furious, some highlighting that they weren't informed about Akehurst's candidacy until later on Thursday and they found out via social media. They report that they had three local candidates.
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Brilliant from @ChrisLawSNP highlighting that Yair Golan attended the @UKLabour conference last month, holding meetings with MPs and having photo opportunities with @davidlammy and @HFalconerMP:. "This is the same Israeli politician who said late last year that starving [Gaza] to
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I have contacted @CreativeDebuts in an email alerting them to the fact a complaint has been raised with @metpoliceuk regarding the defacing of their artwork. It is my hope that they will make a statement this morning on the matter and raise a direct complaint with authorities.
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Here at Pelton Community centre to protest Luke Akehurst - a local resident has a children's party that has been booked for months here. They're livid that this meeting has been put together and is interrupting their party and that Akehurst's supporters have made derogatory.
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@fayekinley @JackDunc1 Sending this unsolicited is a crime and you can report him and his number to the police. He’ll likely have a contract phone so police will be able to trace him.
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Luke Akehurst's partner - Linda Smith - who I believe is an Oxford Labour Party councillor (please say if I'm incorrect and I'll update) telling pro-Palestine demonstrators that they and their views belong in Iran. This is naked racism and bigotry.
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Anti-Palestinian bigots want the world to think there's no other explanation for Palestinian anger towards Israel other than them being 'taught Jew-hate' from a young age and that its all antisemitism. Come along now, just ignore the decades of constant violent oppression. .
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The moment that the @CIJ_ICJ rules in favor of South Africa in it's genocide case against Israel I want to see immediate action to prosecute @Keir_Starmer @DavidLammy and all others in the current and previous (Tory) government for complicity in genocide and failure to uphold.
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@KarenPollock100 No problem. Happy to point out the flaws in your arguments and the awfulness of your anti-Palestinian bigotry and racism any time. It is appalling that you're so dismissive of the Palestinian reality and that you spread condescending nonsense like in your original tweet.
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"Would you regard what you saw as Genocide" - @SarahChampionMP asks Prof. Nizam Mamode at the @CommonsIDC . Acknowledging he isn't an international human rights lawyer, so he can't discuss the absolute definitions, but it is . "difficult to find another word for it, given what we
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If this was a video of Palestinians engaged in target practice we would see wall to wall condemnation and immediate criticism of the clear incitement. But because it's an extremist settler in Hebron it barely makes the news and has (presently) a handful of retweets & replies.
DEFENDING ISRAEL - with God's Strength and with unending vigilance!
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Israel advocacy is trying to promote an allegation that the three hostages so far released from Hamas captivity were held at an @UNRWA site. The source of this appears to be the opinion of a @newsisrael13 presenter. I've spent hours checking and it turns out there is NO verified
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This is a vile tweet from a despicable individual. This is nothing but incitement & dehumanisation of Palestinians - in particular through the grotesque suggesting the Palestinians deserve to live under Israeli oppression & violence because of one individual (Amin Al-Husseini)
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I think it's important that people are aware that this 'Palestinians desecrate Al Aqsa by playing football in the mosque' line has been used multiple times each year by hasbarists looking for ways to further demonise & dehumanise Palestinians and justify brutal Israeli violence.
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No. You are illegally settling in occupied territory in violation of international law. Land doesn't have an ethnicity and doesn't belong to one group of people over another. The territory is recognised as occupied Palestinian territory. You shouldn't be there at all.
I live in a Jewish community built on barren hilltop in Judea were there was never ever an Arab Palestine. I'm not a thief, I'm a resettler. The Land is my people's. I'm am telling you my truth. If you choose to deny it, that's your business, but it won't get rid of us.
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There is a crowdfunder open to put together a fighting fund to oppose Luke Akehurst in his candidacy for North Durham - this will either take the form of running a viable independent against Akehurst or putting out messaging informing voters of Luke Akehurst's background and.
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. not a single piece of evidence is presented in the entirety of the document. It contains allegations and a political statement attacking UNRWA and the staff identified. Nome of the claims can be independently verified because the evidence is not contained in the document.
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@YosephHaddad @TelAvivUni Running around screaming at protesting students isn't the look you think it is. 🤣 just reveals how nasty, vicious, and violent you are towards those you consider opponents. We all knew you had a chauvinism problem. This is just confirmation of your insecurities. Desperate!.
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Some of the top human rights organisations in the world, using the international convention rather than an analogy to South Africa, say it is apartheid:. 1. Amnesty: 2. Human Rights Watch: 3. OHCRH:
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Just to recap: . Today protestors who turned out against Luke Akehurst's candidacy were subjected to. - threats and intimidation.- physical violence.- Islamophobic and anti-semitic remarks .- Nasty insults and harassment.
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@LordIanAustin Israel really isn't a democracy. It is an ethnocratic state. Suggest you look up what that means since it's clear you need an education. Also what is outrageous here is a privileged ageing white man having the audacity to tweet what is and isn't an insult to black South Africans.
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Luke Akehurst accused of antisemitism in complaint to Labour Party - . Labour have a lot to answer for in relation to Akehurst and that they've failed to take action in time before he submitted nomination papers. Why is he still the candidate?.
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Outrageous that Labour Friends of Israel, under Christian Wakeford MP, is hosting an event in Parliament on 7th May 2024 entitled 'UNRWA, antisemitism and a better future for Gaza'. This is despicable at a time where Gaza is utterly destroyed & unliveable.
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Surreal to have met this man an hour before the verdict came in for him and I'm so pleased he's in my home town of Newcastle able to relax, celebrate and enjoy himself.
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At the @CommonsForeign earlier this week @DavidLammy falsely states that there are no journalists in Gaza when discussing the UK government's inability to verify who is behind the looting of aid trucks. He fails to elaborate or discuss the now over 137 journalists and media
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Essentially, this doc is a briefing file without the sources included or attached. There can be no scrutiny whatsoever because it simply refers to 'intelligence sources'. Honestly, the UK Government's complicity in trying to dismantle UNRWA at the behest of Israel is shameful.
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Here we have a white Conservative MP telling a person of colour to ‘be nice’ and ‘appreciate the country’. this is brazenly racist and a massive dog whistle too. I’ll be lodging a formal complaint with both Parliamentary standards and the Conservative party.
Yasmin, why don’t you just try to be nice? Maybe appreciate just a little the country and the people you have chosen the live, work and benefit from all of your life.
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@darrengrimes_ Oh fuck off Darren. It's so blatantly obvious you've just been instructed to tweet this out to falsely stir another nonsense culture war over the false claim that Easter eggs aren't being called such in stores anymore.
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Ultimately, I have proven in the above thread that @LordIanAustin talks out his arse and has no real grasp of the factual reality in Israel-Palestine. He has zero interest in a just and peaceful solution to this conflict. He simply repeats right-wing Israeli hasbara.
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2. Why was Akehurst parachuted into the seat of North Durham despite the fact the local Labour Party at least THREE local candidates ready to stand for selection in this constituency? Is it not grossly offensive to Labour Party members to parachute an Israel lobbyist from Oxford.
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Israel's Palestinian & Arab citizens absolutely do not have freedom of movement and most definitely the Palestinians held in the Occupied Palestinian Territory do not have free movement. There is also mass employment & study discrimination against Arabs in Israel.
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@LexiAlex @LaraFriedmanDC They're mad because young people, by in large, reject Israeli propaganda and are engaging directly with content from Palestine and Palestinians. They're upset because Palestinians are being humanised through these platforms. They're mad because ordinary people are listening.
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Once again, Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people is raised at Prime Ministers Questions #PMQs with independent mp @AyoubKhanMP pointing to Art II of the genocide convention, asks @Keir_Starmer if he will share his definition of genocide. asks for action to save lives.
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@theadegallier @LeeAndersonMP_ He literally could pay Katy more if he wanted. up to £37,466 as it happens.
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Furthermore, an Arab Israeli or Palestinian citizen of Israel cannot marry a partner from the Occupied Palestinian Territory and live with them inside Israel. In comparison a Jewish Israeli can marry an illegal settler and live basically anywhere.
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Israel is not a multi-ethnic democracy. It is an ethnocracy. This is why the overall rhetoric, laws and its very foundation are based on the necessity of maintaining a Jewish demographic majority. In addition, there is a whole list of discriminatory laws:
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If a pro-Palestine public figure took an image outside of a congresspersons office where there is an Israeli flag flying (there are several examples where this is the case) and published on twitter 'who are they representing' it would be criticised as racist & antisemitic.
I'm confused 😕 who is she representing? .@RepRashida you are an embarrassment to the American people!
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I too join those speaking out about our treatment from @UKLabour under @Keir_Starmer my statement on my own experience and a short thread:
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Akehursts comments fall neatly into the Good Jew vs Bad Jew antisemitic trope. Belittling Jews who don't necessarily support Israel or Zionism by suggesting they're just not Jewish enough is grossly antisemitic. Labour has been repeatedly asked to tackle Akehurst's candidacy.
As a Jewish @UKLabour Member I've just submitted a complaint about Luke Akehurst's remarks here to the Party. Considering Keir Starmer has promised me that "under his leadership he takes a Zero Tolerance approach to Antisemitism" I expect a prompt response
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I have not and never will deny Jewish history, Yishai. Yet here you are calling Palestinians a fake people. you are nothing but a racist scumbag and an illegal settler. I hope one day to see you in prison for the crimes and bigotry you engage in on a daily basis.
@GarySpedding The facts of Jewish rights in Judea acts are not racist. Your denial of our history is.
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Anti-Palestinian propagandists are desperate to condition audiences around the world into thinking that Palestinians killed by Israel all look like this and are all militants. It is a total fabrication and is part of a wider agenda to completely dehumanise Palestinians.
Palestinian terrorists target and kill civilians. The IDF and Israel security forces target terrorists. There’s a HUGE difference. Next time you see “X Palestinians killed” keep in mind they don’t differentiate between men who look like this ⬇️ and civilian casualties:
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In addition to reputable international organisations, we also have Israeli & Palestinian organisations telling you (@LordIanAustin) that it is apartheid:. 1. B'tselem: 2. Al-Haq: 3. Al-Mezan:
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Emily wants you to believe it's totally fine for the Israeli military to murder Palestinians and that images like this are what you should think of whenever you hear about a Palestinian being killed. For Emily there is no such thing as an innocent Palestinian. Period. Evil.
“Innocent Palestinian” killed in Jenin by IDF in counter terror operation yesterday. 🙄
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One of the more amusing things from today's Luke Akehurst protest was that one of his organisers had to take a stack of the placards for him back because very few Labour Party members would take them to put up in their houses.
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In using the legal definitions and the convention under international law what we are doing here @LordIanAustin is reviewing how the LAW applies rather than whether some vague analogy is accurate or not. We aren't discussing opinion here, rather, we are looking at facts.
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Palestinians: Stop demolishing our homes, terrorising our people, illegally settling our land and violently oppressing us. Israeli propagandists: My parents came from Iraq and Tunisia so shut up and stop complaining.
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3. Does Akehurst have any connection to North Durham? Has he shown any interest prior to this election for the issues faced by those in Stanley, Chester-le-Street, Pelton and other surrounding areas? Why is it okay to push a candidate that has never even been to these areas and.
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6. One of the more significant questions is why a local Labour councillor who is supporting Akehurst seemingly organised today with actual skin heads and fascists who came along to threaten those protesting against Akehurst?
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Israel advocacy always insists on inserting the claim that Palestine solidarity activists are comparing Israel to Apartheid South Africa but this simply isn't true. We look at the International Convention on the crime of Apartheid -
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Also, gay marriage isn't legal in Israel. If you want to get married in a same sex relationship or basically anything outside of a religious/ethnic marriage then you have to fly to Cyprus and then get the Israeli govt to retroactively acknowledge your marriage as valid/legal.
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Update @LordIanAustin responded to my tweets but almost instantly deleted what he said - I didn't get a screenshot but he essentially claimed this thread was the 'usual bluster' and demanded I respond to specific points (lol) as though the above thread doesn't do that. .
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You are an antisemite Ben. Period. You don't get to go around telling your audience that @SenSanders isn't Jewish because you dislike his politics. Judaism isn't decided like that, & to tell a Jew they aren't Jewish because they support Palestinians is invoking the traitor trope.
Bernie Sanders is approximately as Jewish as a ham sandwich topped with shrimp on lard bread.
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