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David Feldman ( @PearsInstitute), @b_mcgeever & I have written in the Guardian about the #EHRC's Labour antisemitism report, standing back from the factional tumult to understand what the findings mean for anti-racism. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/03/ehrc-report-anti-racist-politics-antisemitism-labour-party Here’s a thread summarising it:
2/ The noise and emotion in the aftermath of the report have drawn attention from its substance beyond the top line that Labour has been found responsible for harassment and discrimination. In the piece we draw out the implications for anti-racist politics in Britain
3/ It is now untenable to say that the volume of antisemitic narratives circulating among Labour member can be measured by cases alone. The cases were the tip of an iceberg, and didn’t include likes and retweets on social media. What does this say about Labour’s culture?
4/ The likes and retweets highlighted by the EHRC provide a window onto the spread of antisemitic ideas within society in general as well as Labour’s membership. We know from @jprinstitute research how widespread antisemitic ideas are in the UK: https://www.jpr.org.uk/publication?id=9993
5/ As we argued in @po_qu, antisemitism should be seen as a reservoir: a repository of representations & stereotypes, flowing deep in our culture. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-923X.12854 The EHRC report should lead Labour and its supporters to a serious reckoning with this reservoir
6/ This means reassessing Labour’s record on racism. Despite real achievements such as equalities law, Satnam Virdee & others have shown how migrants & minorities have had to fight for recognition from the movement, and Labour governments have helped craft state racism.
7/ Responses to the EHRC report reflect an impoverished mainstream British conversation about racism, which too often sees racism as a moral failing only, not a problem with structural foundations. The debate focuses on disciplining or absolving individuals, not changing culture.
8/ We need a multi-directional and indivisible anti-racism to reconnect the fight against antisemitism with the wider fight against racism. Labour now faces the challenge of engaging with that task. [thread ends!]
