LBC radio has yet again given a platform to UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), one of the most extremely-extremist of the UK’s Israel lobby groups. And yet again it was a car crash. The more people see of the cold-eyed, denialist fanaticism of a group that supported Israel’s criminal starvation blockade of Gaza by claiming it combats obesity, the better.

As so often, UKLFI was represented by Natasha Hausdorff, opposite Owen Jones representing the many who have not yet forgotten they are human beings. Jones is a deeply problematic character on the left, though he has been solid on the Gaza genocide. But opposite Hausdorff, he looked like Gandhi and Pope Francis rolled into one.

Somehow still a ‘charity’

UKLFI is a group of ‘lawfare’ horrors that ‘does what it says on the tin’. Despite its clearly political nature, somehow it’s still allowed to be a charity. A charity that relentlessly pursues the medical licence of doctors who dare to speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza despite repeated humiliating defeats. One that bullies hospitals into removing displays of plates painted by Palestinian children and art venues into cancelling anti-genocide exhibitions. One that can’t stand to have the word ‘Palestine’ mentioned in museum displays. And one that wants nurses sacked for daring to support Palestine — even away from the workplace. One that’s even arrogant enough to demand obedience from Netflix and the BBC.

Denial

And Hausdorff was in full UKLFI denialist mode on LBC. She wasn’t satisfied with denying that Israel is committing genocide. No, Israel is doing and has done nothing wrong at all. Even Israeli genocide scholars — who say Israel is — are committing ancient, antisemitic ‘blood libel‘, so of course anyone else who dares suggest the mass slaughter of Palestinians is genocide is, too. In fact, what mass slaughter – never mind that international humanitarian organisations note its existence, that’s just the “projections of the “Hamas propaganda machine”.

No, the only genocide going on is the one against Jewish people – and the peace ‘hate’ marches are to blame. So of course they must be banned, because the “balancing act” of freedom of speech must, of course, be ‘balanced’ completely on the side of those who support Israel (you know, because ‘feelings’):

this incitement and these vile calls for genocide against Jews…

…the levels of ignorance we have seen in combating these calls for genocide for the attacking Jews and of course for um globalizing the intifada, which it’s important to note we also saw on the 7/7 bombings … And it’s high time we take the proper measures, the home office, the police…

At this point, to be fair, host Lewis Goodall did push back ever so slightly, asking how people were supposed to register their disapproval of Israel’s crimes if protests are banned — though of course he couldn’t resist parroting some pro-Israel talking points as well:

There can be no doubt that there are some things that are said on these marches that will be appalling and I’m sure the police ought to deal with them. But if you are a person who feels passionately does not agree with the
idea of genocide against Jews, does not agree with the idea of violence against Jews, indeed you stand per fiercely against that sort of appalling racism.

But you still want to register your profound abhorrence with what the Israeli government is doing in Lebanon and Gaza. If these marches are banned, how are they to do so? …

…but could it be that things the Israeli government itself is doing are driving people to attend these marches?

This was too much for Hausdorff. Crimes?? Israel??!! No, even the mealy-mouthed, Israel-lobby funded Starmer government is spreading disinformation and nothing said against Israel can ever be true. Ever! And if people’s democratic rights get in the way of Israel’s unblemished stature, then those rights have to be cracked down on:

I think this is perhaps the most critical aspect of our conversation, the most important part of this discussion,
which is what the driver of this wave of antisemitism that we have seen is. And the critical driver that is not being discussed, Lewis, is the false information being spread regarding Israel. And this is something the government um does have powers to do something about.

Of course, in a democratic society, people are free to express their views. Um even if I might consider them to be abhorrent, but there are things the government can do with respect to uh ministers spreading false information about Israel…

Well, there I would actually push back and challenge very strongly because what I continuously hear on these marches and in the media, the allegations that are supposedly underpinning this action have no basis in reality. They are, if you will, the modern version of the blood libel.

Now, you may say to me, well, there are lots of well-meaning people who believe them. I’m sure in the Middle Ages there were many well-meaning people who’d been deceived who believed that Jews targeted children to use their blood for religious ritual. Uh that was not the case then. It is not the case now.

Yep. The live-streaming of the most documented genocide in history is akin to the frothing babbling of pitchfork-wielding, illiterate simpletons who still think the earth is flat. No truth in it at all. None whatever, nonononononono.

And so it went on. It was all so blatantly propagandistic and denialist that Jones observed that “The world’s been turned on its head”. Yes it has — at least in the minds and mouths of fanatics like UKLFI and the whole Israel lobby, which clearly includes the UK government, even if they’re not jumping high enough for Hausdorff.

LBC doesn’t seem to care

LBC and other right-wing media have regularly platformed Hausdorff. But just about every time she’s on, she’ll come out with comments so horrific or so absurd that even Piers Morgan and LBC’s anti-left and soft on Israel Iain Dale can’t stop themselves from pointing it out:

And that’s exactly why she and her fellow friends of the-genocide-they-insist-doesn’t-exist should be on. The world may be upside down to them, but to ordinary, right-thinking people who still find mass slaughter unacceptable and undeniable, every appearance is a reinforcement of what a racist, murderous project Israel is. And of the contortions and ‘head-in-sand’s that its apologists have to perform to try to justify it.

Enjoy:

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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