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Yet Again, British Justice Fails British Jews

April 02, 2013 17:30

Ben Cohen has it right, here

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/03/28/how-british-justice-failed-...

Paragraph 156 of the Judgment:

When a rugby player takes the field, he must accept his fair share of minor injuries. Similarly a political activist accepts the risk of being offended or hurt on occasions by things said or done by his opponents (who themselves take on a corresponding risk).

Jaw-dropping. The Tribunal sees resisting antisemitism as akin to participating in a sport with the 'teams' evenly balanced and the contest played according to some kind of rulebook!

What planet do they live on?

Would they dismiss black or Muslim victims of racism - or female victims of sex discrimination - who oppose their treatment as simply voluntary players in a sport?

Paragraph 150:

Belief in the Zionist project or an attachment to Israel ... is not intrinsically part of Jewishness ...

Is it really possible that Judge A M Snelson, Mr A Grant and Lady Sedley could have sat through 20 days of the hearing, done their post-hearing due diligence and STILL failed to appreciate why Israel was created and the centrality of Israel to the Jewish people?

Postscript:

The most obvious flaw in the Judgment: 'Belief' is a Protected Characteristic under the 2010 Equalities Act.

So belief in the right of Jews to have a Jewish state should be a Protected Characteristic.

The Tribunal demonstrably did not 'get' this ... I'd have thought this alone is strong grounds for an Appeal.

Postscripts

Excellent piece by David Hirsh here:

http://engageonline.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/tribunal-in-the-fraser-case...

FROM ZF - RONNIE FRASER STATEMENT

The ZF was very disturbed to read the Judgement in the Fraser versus UCU (University College Union) case. We were particularly distressed to read the assertion that belief in the Zionist project or an attachment to Israel is not intrinsically part of Judaism.

This part of the Judgement shows a deplorable ignorance of the history of the Jewish people and of Israel . Israel is at the centre of the prayers of Jews and before Israel was created in 1948, there was an unbroken Jewish presence in the land for thousands of years. Moreover, Israel was borne out of centuries of antisemitism towards Jews, similar to the antisemitism that Ronnie Fraser endured at the hands of UCU. Israel is the only country in the world grounded in Judaism and for the Tribunal not to recognise that does a profound disservice to the Zionist cause.

Paul Charney, Chairman of The ZF said “The ZF will always fight antisemitism and applauds Ronnie Fraser - a member of our National Council - who represented not just Jews but all right-minded people in the Tribunal hearing“.

April 02, 2013 17:30

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