The political and media class, including grand-standing participants in the Labour Together project, are going to go into overdrive condemning the Greens for their Zionism-is-racism motion, accusing the Greens of virulent antisemitism. But it'll just reveal their utter hypocrisy - and their own anti-Jewish prejudice. The whole political and media class has repeatedly supported the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism. During the Corbyn period, they united in condemning the Party for being reluctant to adopt it in full. Eventually Corbyn's team relented and it was adopted. The Tories also adopted the definition, and Theresa May decided it would be integrated into government policy. Both the Tories and the Labour Party under Starmer pressured councils to adopt it, which many did. Wes Streeting ensured it was adopted by the NHS. Labour and the Tories adopted the IHRA Definition into their Rule Books. The effect of this was that any person expressing views that violated the IHRA Definition would be expelled for antisemitism; practically, both parties have agreed to "filter" and exclude anyone expressing views violating the IHRA. The problem? The IHRA Definition includes 11 examples. Cumulatively they say that anti-Zionism is antisemitic. This is the key illustrative example in the Definition: "Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor." To reiterate: you cannot be a member of the Labour Party or the Tories if you express anti-Zionist views. Setting aside (for now) how that totally excludes Palestinian anti-Zionists, it also practically means anti-Zionist Jews are excluded from both parties on the grounds that they are antisemitic. According to the Institute for Jewish Public Policy Research's October 2025 survey, 12% of all British Jews identify as anti-Zionist.; 13% identify as non-Zionist. The figures are polarised further by age. 24% of British Jews aged 20-29 are anti-Zionist, as are 20% of British Jews aged 30-39. Less than half of British Jews aged 20-29 are Zionist. To reiterate: the Labour Party and the Tories now say that 12% of all British Jews are not welcome in their Party; that 24% of Jews aged 20-29 are unwelcome. This is not an abstract issue. Since the adoption of the IHRA Definition in 2019, and accelerating under Starmer since 2020, the Labour Party has extensively investigated, suspended and expelled Jews for antisemitism for expressing anti-Zionist beliefs (often very cogently and respectfully expressed). I have read over 100 letters from anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jews to the Labour Party after they were suspended or expelled. They are almost always heartbreakingly dignified defences of their views. By 2023, Jewish people were 6 times more likely to be investigated for antisemitism than non-Jews in the Labour Party. The media class celebrated this. It was treated as proof that Starmer had resolved the "antisemitism crisis." The systematic exclusion of anti-Zionist Jews was not just tolerated, it was encouraged. On the extremely rare occasion when Labour Party grandees were asked about this, their response was brusque. When Ruth Smeeth was asked about anti-Zionist Jews in JVL feeling unsafe in Party meetings, she said tough. So when the media class and Labour politicians take to the soapbox over the next week, feel free to ignore them. Because they have all cheered on and celebrated the systematic exclusion of Jews from political life for anti-Zionist views. The kicker: they've all been violating the Equality Act, because anti-Zionism is a protected belief, as found by the tribunal in David Miller's case. The IHRA Definition almost certainly violates the Equality Act, following the Miller judgment. That's right - they've been excluding Jews for expressing a belief protected by law. And when this all shakes out, it'll be the IHRA Definition that is ruled unlawful, not the Greens' motion

What once was the peak, is now just the beginning. Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling. We chose this name for a few important reasons. First and foremost, as we bring Paramount and Warner Bros. together, we wanted to preserve what has made each of these studios iconic. Both have distinct identities, extraordinary legacies and brands that have resonated with audiences for generations. We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one. Instead, we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. — and all our extraordinary brands — to remain in the spotlight. We have big goals for Skydance, and we intend to pursue them with passion, imagination and a willingness to take smart risks. At the same time, we will honor what makes Paramount and Warner Bros. special — giving both studios the opportunity to grow, tell more great stories and bring those stories to even broader audiences around the world, powered by the scale and capabilities of Skydance. I couldn’t be more excited about what we’re going to build together.

- @Freedland wheels out the old "Zionism means different things to different people" argument here. In practice Zionism has always meant the brutal dispossession of Palestinians. Palestinians have every right to relate to it as it has been inflicted upon them. "There are leftwing Zionists who think [Israel] should be broadly within the much smaller boundaries that existed before the 1967 war." That's 78% of the territory. From which 80% of the previous inhabitants were expelled. Because they belonged to the wrong ethnicity. theguardian.com/commentisfre…

Tonight at Gillette Stadium, Zach Bryan, one of the biggest country music artists in the world, wore a Free Palestine shirt onstage. Gillette Stadium is owned by Robert Kraft, who pushed Ed Sheeran and his promoter to drop Macklemore from his tour. Bryan isn’t just a major country artist. He is one of the biggest live draws in music, filling stadiums across the United States and in major cities around the world. Bryan served eight years on active duty in the US Navy and served overseas in Bahrain and Djibouti. Members of Bryan’s band also wore shirts supporting the Palestinian cause, including his drummer, who wore a jersey honoring the memory of Hind Rajab. Zach Bryan has a second show at Gillette Stadium tomorrow, Saturday night.

As if our lives had become a queue—yet this queue tells a thousand stories and more. While I stood in one of those long lines, a young man of twenty-five and a half stood ahead of me, half his hair already white. I teased him: “You’ve grown old at this age.” He turned and looked at me. In his eyes I found a grief so heavy it seemed they might burst from its weight. Then he said: “I left my mother, my father, and my little brother under the rubble, and now I stand here to collect a tent, not knowing who will live in it.” Then a hand rested on my shoulder. I looked behind me and found an old man of seventy, leaning on a cane. I asked him: “Why didn’t one of your sons come instead of you?” He looked at me, his eyes filling with tears, and said nothing. In that moment I understood that none of his children remained. It was as if I were standing at an age where my youth runs ahead of me and my old age follows behind—and between the two, so much pain, grief, and loss; so much oppression, exhaustion, and humiliation. I stand now in the queue of life, and it teaches me a great deal. But this time the lesson is not free. Every question you ask will cost you its answer in many tears, and much regret. I looked to my left. The women’s queue stretched farther than ours, its sorrow and pain even greater. One woman was saying to another: “A bullet pierced my older sister’s chest while we were fleeing from the hail of gunfire. I couldn’t go back to save her. To this day I cannot sleep.” I remembered then how a bullet had pierced the heart of my brother’s wife as she held her son Ahmad in her arms. Bombing and gunfire were everywhere. The difference was that we were able to carry her body with us. What we share is that we no longer know sleep.

Benjamin Netanyahu now looks to be a political liability, even for Trump. The US president, nosediving in the polls, needs a scapegoat – and the Israeli prime minister appears the only one suited for the role. The antagonism is, in part, personal. A number of recent reports indicate that Netanyahu pulled out all the stops to seduce Trump, against the advice of his generals, into launching an unprovoked and illegal war on Iran. The promise of a decisive victory persuaded Trump he could secure his place in the history books as the president who “remade the Middle East”. Once Iran was out of the picture, the US would enjoy unchallenged control over the region’s oil. And all of this would supposedly take place weeks after Trump had cemented his command over Venezuela’s oil, following an illegal operation at the start of the year to kidnap President Nicholas Maduro. With Iran’s defeat, and Venezuela subjugated, economic rival China would find itself utterly dependent on the US for access to the main lubricant of the global economy. Trump could avoid a direct military confrontation with Beijing, bringing it to heel simply by threatening to turn off the oil spigot. But, of course none of this came to pass. Washington is now in an unwinnable war with Iran that has clarified to Tehran the extent of its power over the Strait of Hormuz - and of the parallel power of Ansar Allah, its allies in Yemen, over the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Together, they can inflict unmitigated damage to the world economy. Soaring petrol prices on US forecourts are likely to be a critical factor in the collapse of the Republican vote in November’s mid-term elections and the likely loss of both Houses to the Democrats, turning Trump into a lame-duck president. Meanwhile, the war has educated Washington’s client states in the Gulf that they are supremely vulnerable to any retaliation from Tehran and from Yemen - a fact they are reminded of every time Trump orders another reckless round of strikes on Iran. For all its military might, Washington has shown it is unable to defend its Gulf allies. This is an extract from my latest article The West wants Netanyahu gone - so Palestinians can be killed more quietly again. Find a link to the rest in the reply post ⬇️

I saw NAZA tonight. There were no shocking revelations as I knew from other public sources about the IDF atrocity crimes. What was meaningful & moving was that those complicit were talking about it, & pressed by the interviewer to say how they saw themselves being involved. 1/n

There's a lot here. On a narrow level @EmilyThornberry's attempt to wriggle out of responsibility by effectively saying " I didn't say what you thought I said" is for the birds. When Yaev Galant announced what Israel intended to do in imposing a siege his meaning was clear. We are going to prevent Palestinians In Gaza from receving food water and essential supplies because they are not human. His remarks came at the same time as Isaac Herzog, Israel's President , saying there were no innocents In Gaza and Netanyau saying Israel would turn Gaza into a deserted Island. Galant wasn't talking about a brief temporary measure to aid the rescue of hostages and it is incredible for anyone to say they understood it in that way. If thats what she thought she's a fool. More likely she is lying . The true reason for her remarks takes us deeper. It is the same explanation , in my opinion, for why Starmer said Israel had the right to cut everything off. If you watch the interview again you can see how uncomfortable he is... which was why he came up with the absurd caveat that they could do this as long as it was " within International law" He's an international rights lawyer. He knows collective punishment of such a nature is a violation of IHL. So the caveat was there to reassure himself he wasn't endorsing law breaking as he did exactly that. The core message he wanted to convey was I fully support Israel to do whatever it wants to do. Both Starmer and Thornberry as Human rights lawyers knew that Israel at the time of Oct 7th had been enacting an illegal Occupation for 56 years. They know this compromises the notion of its right to defend itself. Force used ultimately to sustain an occupation is not justified regardless of whether Hamas had breached IHL on Oct 7th. So go deeper and ask why did both lawyers end up in the grotesque place they did. And the answer is that they had learned that unquestioning support for Israel in alignment with the US , is the price you pay for being seen to be a credible statesperson and as a Labour politician, to avoid charges of antisemtism. Now the dial has turned because the genocide has awakened people to the nature of this racist supremacist state and being a supporter of Israel is now toxic . Hence no cabinet minister at LFI reception for the first time in living memory. So Thornberry now wants to say not only am I on the right side of this.... I always was. Remember Omar Al Akkad.... one day everyone will always have been against all of this. We should welcome this shift but be clear eyed about its motivations. It is a response to the pressure generated by the movement .... everyone of you who joined us in marching, lobbying, boycotting. The further massive change required for this Gov to be truly confronting injustice and ending complicity with it requires further such pressure. We keep the foot on the pedal.

Wow! Just wow!🤯

As someone who actually lives in the Gulf it’s been really obvious to us what’s going on- remember in the past 3 years the “israelis” published multiple fake stories claiming that GCC countries were close to signing the Abraham Accords- the reality is the complete opposite. “Israel” is hated more than ever throughout the Gulf now. To the point where the only two signatories to the AA- the UAE & Bahrain- have been ostracized by the rest of the Gulf. Israelis know they have lost the west- who are the governments that fund and maintain their existence- so they’ve been trying to convince their own population that they have a future among us. 600 million of us surround them and all of us will take revenge for Gaza and every atrocity they committed back to the 1940’s. They are fucked.

We have reached 28.1 Celsius so far today at Kew Gardens 🌡️ That warmth will remain overnight with a rather muggy feel for many Temperatures in many areas could be 7-9 Celsius above the average

Norman Finkelstein is asked if he believes there is "very rampant anti-Semitism in the US" by an interviewer who claims he himself has experienced it. Here is his response:

Israel murdered journalist Mohammed Al-Najjar today in a drone strike in Khan Younis, Gaza. “When evil doing comes, like falling rain.” — Bertolt Brecht