After
writing my blog about Miriam Margolyes I was very happy to have
received emails from her in response. In one of them she told me that,
after the Daily Mail attack on her ‘savage remarks’ about Boris
Johnson she had received some vile messages.
This
has left me wondering how many of these messages are a reflection of hostility to her for criticising Israel. An early example was Howard
Klineberg’s personal attack on Miriam in the Jerusalem Post. “There
is much that sickens me about you
including,
your blatant attempt to self-publicize your limited talents. Miriam
it’s people like you, especially the Jewish people like you, who
are to blame for the rise in UK anti-Semitism.”
Wrong
on two counts, ‘limited
talents?’ and ‘blame
for
anti-Semitism.’
Miriam,
you are in good company and join the following -
Sigmund
Freud:
“I
concede with sorrow that the baseless fanaticism of our people is in
part to be blamed for the awakening of Arab distrust. I can raise no
sympathy at all for the misdirected piety which transforms a piece of
a Herodian wall into a national relic, thereby offending the feelings
of the natives.”
Albert
Einstein:
“The
(Israeli) state idea is not according to my heart. I cannot
understand why it is needed. It is connected with many difficulties
and a narrow-mindedness. I believe it is bad.”
Erich
Fromm:
“The
claim of the Jews to the Land of Israel cannot be a realistic
political claim. If all nations would suddenly claim territories in
which their forefathers lived two thousand years ago, this world
would be a madhouse.”
Primo
Levi, Auschwitz survivor:
"Everyone
has their Jews. For the Israelis they are the Palestinians."
Marek
Edelman, One of the leaders of the 1943 Warsaw uprising who wrote in support of the Palestine resistance, comparing them
to ZOB, the Jewish fighters in Warsaw. He opened with, "Commanders
of the Palestine military, paramilitary and partisan operations - to
all the soldiers of the Palestine fighting organisations.”
Isaac
Asimov, novelist:
“I
find myself in the odd position of not being a Zionist ... I think it
is wrong for anyone to feel that there is anything special about any
one heritage of whatever kind. It is delightful to have the human
heritage exist in a thousand varieties, for it makes for greater
interest, but as soon as one variety is thought to be more important
than another, the groundwork is laid for destroying them all.”
Hannah
Arendt, political scientist:
“The
trouble is that Zionism has often thought and said that the evil of
antisemitism was necessary for the good of the Jewish people. In the
words of a well-known Zionist in a letter to me discussing the
original Zionist argumentation: 'The antisemites want to get rid of
the Jews, the Jewish State wants to receive them, a perfect match.' “
I.F.
Stone, US journalist:
“Israel
is creating a kind of moral schizophrenia in world Jewry. In the
outside world the welfare of Jewry depends on the maintenance of
secular, non-racial, pluralistic societies. In Israel, Jewry finds
itself defending a society in which mixed marriages cannot be
legalised, in which the ideal is racial and exclusionist.”
Noam
Chomsky:
“In
the Occupied Territories, what Israel is doing is much worse than
apartheid. To call it apartheid is a gift to Israel, at least if by
"apartheid" you mean South African-style apartheid. What’s
happening in the Occupied Territories is much worse.”
Gabriel
Kolko, historian:
“The
large majority of Israelis are not in the least Jewish in the
cultural sense, are scarcely socialist in any sense, and daily life
and the way people live is no different in Israel than it is in
Chicago or Amsterdam. There is simply no rational reason that
justifies the state’s creation.”
Uri
Avnery, ex-Israeli army officer:
Avnery
wrote that after an Israeli military victory, “What will be seared
into the consciousness of the world will be the image of Israel as a
blood-stained monster, ready at any moment to commit war crimes and
not prepared to abide by any moral restraints.”
Henry
Siegman, Rabbi and director of the U.S./Middle East Project:
“Israel
has crossed the threshold from ‘the only democracy in the Middle
East’ to the only apartheid regime in the Western world.”
Richard
Cohen, US columnist:
“The
greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that
Israel itself is a mistake … the idea of creating a nation of
European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has
produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing
now. Israel fights Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, but
its most formidable enemy is history itself.”
Rabbi
Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine:
“If
a Jew today goes into any synagogue in the U.S. or around the world
and says, 'I don’t believe in God or Torah and I don’t follow the
commandments,' most will still welcome you in and urge you to become
involved. But say, 'I don’t support the State of Israel,' and you
are likely to be labeled a 'self-hating Jew' or anti-Semite, scorned
and dismissed."
Richard
Falk, the former UN special rapporteur on human rights in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories:
Israeli
policies in the Occupied Territories are
“a crime against humanity.” Falk has also compared Israel’s
treatment of the Palestinians to the Nazi treatment of the Jews. Falk
has said, “I think the Palestinians stand out as the most
victimised people in the world.”
A
friend asked me yesterday why I was writing so many blogs on the
coronavirus. In slow motion here’s my answer.
I
started this one today at 6 am after waking from a curious dream. In
it, my wife and I were eating dinner cooked by one of our best
friends, a life-long vegetarian. Her Irish father ran 'The Vegetarian Cafe' in London's Earls Court ten years before Cranks claimed to be the pioneers in vegetarian catering.
In
the dream meal she had seared a large slab of steak for me. I was
puzzled because she told me I must eat it to stay alive. I
tucked into the meat, but cannot tell you how it tasted because I
woke feeling guilty. I was strangely moved because, not only had her
dream-self tolerated the death of this poor cow, she had cooked it
for me.
This
dream was a double surprise, not just because the cook had abandoned
her long-held beliefs, but also because, although not vegetarian, I
have chosen not to eat cows since being given a bovine heart valve. I
don’t eat pork either because pigs are intelligent. I know, lambs are
cute and chickens can count!
My
heart operation was the second of a trio of health crises over the
last six years. First was a subdural haematoma and brain operation.
Later, I had open-heart surgery, then a stroke caused by a bacterial
infection that necessitated a 7-week hospital stay.
A
couple of weeks ago I had a call from the Stroke Association to ask
how I was getting on during the Covid-19 crisis. The friendly woman
told me, “You do know you are high risk and looking at your
records, you’re very high risk.”
I
told her that I am lucky because I am in lockdown with my wife and
that I have good friends and neighbours, including a total stranger
who has been food shopping for us.
Here’s
a sobering statistic. To date, a city the size of Salisbury has died
from Covid-19.
Ill and old, I know that I am on Dominic Cummings’
‘to be culled’ list.
So
here’s the answer to my friend’s question. This murderous
government keeps my blogs going and flowing. So long as my cow
forgives me for that dream meal, and my right hand continues to
connect to my brain to type, I will fight these state assassins with
my blogs.
I
leave you on a positive note. Last night I attended a Zoom meeting of
the North East Peoples Assembly. Watched by 4,500 people, I know that
our numbers are growing.
And
if you need help, or want to offer help to others, I recommend
contacting your local Mutual Aid group.
UPDATE WITH COMMENTS
Last
week The Daily Mail ran a ‘public outrage’ story on Miriam
Margolyes. Apparently she doesn’t ‘share true British values.’
The Mail is owned by the 4th Viscount Rothermere whose great
grandfather founded the Daily Mail and was quite keen on Hitler and
Mussolini.
This
is how the Mail reported her comments: “Asked by Channel 4 how she
thought the government had responded to the coronavirus pandemic
Miriam answered ‘appallingly’ and added that she ‘had
difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die … Then I thought that
will reflect badly on me, and I don’t want to be the sort of person
who wants people to die. Miriam continued with another savage remark
about the prime minister. She said: 'So then I wanted him to get
better, which he did do, he did get better. But he didn't get better
as a human being. And I really would prefer that. So, we're in the
shit, basically, here.'"
What
do you think? I think The Daily Mail has a long history of sharing
those British values linked closely to hypocrisy and that we should
be asking what ‘British values’ Boris Johnson and his government
are sharing as the Covid-19 death toll in the UK breaks world records.
In
the first 24 hours this blog got 17,000 hits on one Facebook page
alone with hundreds of ‘shares’ and comments. Miriam is delighted as she has been receiving some vile messages which I will
not repeat here except to report her own words … “I’ve had
some VERY unpleasant remarks, incl being compared to
Hitler-apparently I am WORSE. Oh well.”
Here
are just a few of the hundreds of positive comments ..
Marc
Lavelle She is a star in every sense of the word. She honestly
tells the public the truth about this bloody awful Tory boy
government. Three cheers for Miriam a truly best of Britain person.
Christine
Harfleet All clear thinking compassionate people agree completely
with Miriam . Love you Miriam For speaking the truth. If you don't
agree with her then you are a warped personality
Sue
Walker I love Miriam, she speaks the truth, too few people do
that these days.
Geraldine
Roper I think she was honestly reflecting what many feel today.
Jane
Ingham I didn’t want him to die nor did I want the 32,000 plus
have died including many working as key workers in the NHS, Care
Homes, transport, etc. Miriam just says it as it is and she is right,
he didn’t get better as a person. If the govt was a private company
there would be a case for charging them with corporate manslaughter.
Margaret
Lewin Miriam is a great person who speaks from the heart. I am
with her completely for saying what many people felt but then in
reality didn’t mean because we didn’t really want anyone to die.
Sadly tens of thousands have died though and many need not have if
the government had acted on the Cygnus report and then listened to
WHO when they gave advice on the pandemic of testing. The PM leads
the current government so as the saying goes, the buck stops there.
Joan
Morris Salmond Miriam is a lady in every sense. She spoke out
about a Bad PM and a Bad Government. Very many people in this Country
I m sure feel the same. After all , where is the sympathy from the
government for the health workings and the people who died . Boris
won t make sure every front line worker is equipped properly, hence
the large number of people dying that I m sure would still be alive
today if we had a Government focused on the wellfare of the people
and not the Billionaires profit margins.
Pauline
Evans She
says it like it is no matter what, calls a spade a spade and manages
a pretty good fart. Job done. She gets my vote!
Liz
Williams I love her and I love that she is using her position to
say what we are thinking! I back her all the way and I will be happy
when the daily fail stops production (and dies) ! The fail has
attacked vulnerable people time and time again, it doesn’t speak
for me and doesn’t represent my truth
Sheila
White As previously stated: I love this woman! Intelligent, wise
and says precisely what she likes and cares not a jot for the
reaction of the right wing media and shit wankers currently running
our Country. My Hero
Carol
Marshall Brave woman, to say what so many were thinking, and
feared being labelled 'unpatriotic'... forget patriotism.. let's
concentrate on the the human race... I'm with Miriam.
Mal
Fidler Miriam Margins is a national treasure. She is honest up
front and be ery self effacing. She does not suffer fools or
idiots..without telling them so. The Daily Mail..... gutter press,
scaremongering dishonest...and two faced....and in bed literally
(Gove/Vine) with the current government.
Jenny
Bush Line me up on Miriam's side. Lovely woman and I know how she
feels.
Vicky
Palmer No one disses Miriam! She is like the Queen of straight
talking, comm
Maggie
Cowan This woman is a decent, honorable human being. Of course
the Daily Mail are going to attempt to vilify her.
Julie
Ann O'Maley She only said what a lot of people were thinking. I
love Professor Sprout
Lynda
Baldwin Gotta love this woman, fiesty, brave, humourous and
absolutely only one face not two
Jacqueline
Clement Miriam for Prime Minister. More sense in her little
finger
Jim
Doughty I’m very pleased that he got better - as you can’t
send a dead man to the gallows.
****
Here
is a Guardian interview with Miriam about her new Australian TV series,
Almost Australian. and here is a short video interview with her about it in The New Daily.
“If you’re in Australia, or have chums
there, please watch on ABC, starting May 19th @8.30pm.
It’s a 3 part series, 1 hour each.”
Rowena
Mason in the Guardian writes, “The
decision to set out an ambition to reopen schools and some shops in
June and some hospitality venues in July – without the epidemic in
care homes and hospitals yet under control – also shows Boris
Johnson has also been swayed by the hawks in his cabinet.’
I wouldn't give the man credit for anything more than being swayed by a personality shaped by membership of the Bullingdon Club in Oxford forty years ago.
Harriet
Sherwood interviewed a woman in The Guardian who recruited members to the Bullingdon
Club at Oxford in the 1980s when Boris Johnson was a member.
The
woman said: “The whole culture was to get extremely drunk and exert
vandalism. Every time someone was elected, they had to have their
room smashed to pieces. People talk about the Bullingdon Club
‘trashing’ places, but it was serious criminal damage.”
One
former member told The Daily Beast how they sprayed the walls of the room of the person they were
initiating into membership with champagne, tearing photographs, and cutting
up mattresses.
An 'initiate' classmate of Johnson told how he endured the ritual.
At the end of it, he shook Johnson’s hand, was congratulated and
told, "you have been chosen.”
“We always hired whores,” he
added,
“but there is not really much point in hiring a prostitute if you
consume two bottles of champagne.”
Today
as Prime Minister, Johnson is exerting vandalism on a far greater scale
and trashing the whole country. In following the 'hawks' he is no longer spraying walls with
champagne, but our lives with death.
How many of you are happy to
have been ‘chosen’?
www.davidwilson.org.uk
“Since
Blair, the NHS has been sold off piece by piece. Now, the mendacious
Matt Hancock and fellow Tory extremists are accelerating privatisation
under cover of a state of fear. It’s a power grab. Wake up. Get
angry. Or the NHS is lost.” JOHN PILGER
The
windows in my street are full of rainbows and “Thank You NHS”
signs. On Thursday evenings the occupants stand outside their homes
and give audible expression for their gratitude.
That
is important, yes, but we must recognise that the NHS has already been
cut to pieces and ‘profitted’ off. I've had first-hand
evidence of this from my own hospital experiences as I spat out the
results of Serco catering: the morning breakfasts of damp, cold toast trucked in from Swansea.
Matt
Hancock recently put Serco in charge of the phone lines for Covid-19
contact tracing. At the same time, the company G4s was awarded the contract for
testing and providing security at the ‘phantom’ Nightingale
hospitals. Meanwhile, Capita are recruiting returning doctors and
nurses. Deloitte's, with their expertise of helping government to
privatise our national resources, are advising on PPE. Oh—and Amazon are delivering testing
kits, the ones that are recorded as having been sent, but never
reached their destinations.
There is no
record of any of this important health work being carried out by the
actual NHS. One more thing—the Royal Mail workers offer to deliver the kits for
free was ignored.
The
biggest scandal of all are Covid-19 deaths in care homes. Three
years ago, in a government simulation of an influenza
epidemic, Exercise Cygnus forewarned us as to what a Covid-19 type crisis could do in
care homes. Its conclusion was that the UK was woefully unprepared. The report was hushed up
with Matt Hancock telling us that, “Everything that was recommended
was done.” The Chief Executive of Care England, Martin Green,
declared this to be a lie.
Covid-19
has swept through care homes, killing nearly 7,000 up to 1 May. I
personally know of a premier North London home which has recorded a death rate of 25%.
This is, I guess, the price we have to pay for ‘herd immunity’
and for keeping the anti-semite Jeremy Corbyn out of power.
