KEN LOACH....a thread.
So Ken Loach is trending and the subject of a hashtag of solidarity by "antiracists". The claim goes that it is his support for the Palestinians which has caused a campaign to "silence" him.
It is untrue and ignores the reality of the man and his history/1

Too many commenting are too young/ignorant to remember Perdition back in 1987. I remember it well and was active in the campaign against it. I even tangled personally with Loach over it. From that day to this I have never been in the slightest doubt the man is an antisemite/2

Perdition was a play written by Manchester writer Jim Allen to whom Loach was close. Allen wasn't a member of the Labour Party but a follower of Gerry Healey and the WRP. Their claim to infamy was the belief in a 'World Zionist Conspiracy' which didn't seem to trouble our Ken! /3

Loach enthusiastically took on the production of this vile play which alleged essentially that Zionism and Nazism were compatible and cooperated. Reliance for this 'thesis' was placed on the notorious Lenni Brenner's 'Zionism in the Age of the Dictators' /4

Dismissed by all reputable historians it nevertheless was treated as holy writ by Allen, Loach and later Livingstone.
The play was to be staged at the Royal Court theatre and was the subject of outrage. After a public campaign the theatre cancelled its run /5

At a press conference in the wake of cancellation Loach alleged there was a "Zionist conspiracy" which had "infiltrated" British broadcasting, publishing & theatre. The BBC, daily papers and theatres had been "incapacitated" by a "small but powerful international Zionist lobby"/6

He went on "I can't think of one political party that has as much of an 'in' with BBC as the Zionists"
"It was a Zionist conspiracy, we were vilified by a monopoly of daily papers".
Loach from the outset and as far as I am aware, to this day, stands by the play and its content/7

Much has been written about Perditon and its grotesque distortion of the historic reality. Equating Zionists with Nazis is of course antisemitic per se. However, and this is the point lost on Loach's supporters this was antisemitic in even worse ways besides. /8

In the original draft which Loach, the great self proclaimed antiracist, vouched for American jewry was described as "ALL POWERFUL".
Themes of jewish power recur unnoticed by or unobjected to by Loach./9

Another striking feature is the repeated use of traditional Christian antisemitic imagery. I alight on but 2 egregious examples:
"The road to Golgotha passes down Park Avenue where rich American jews in 'fur lined dug outs' hurl contributions at Israel"./10

At the play's conclusion one character turns to the 'hero' lawyer who cross examined the Zionist 'villain' saying "You CRUCIFIED him"./11

To those unaware of this background that is who and what we are dealing with : an old school antisemite.
P.S. I note that since I tweeted about Loach last night I gained a notable new follower @JimLoach , Ken's son. I am sure it is just coincidence. Say hello to your dad for me.