Britain’s University and College Union (UCU) has announced three one-day seminars about the dangers of anti-Semitism to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th. The seminars will address “The Holocaust”, “Jewish Resistance to the Holocaust” and “Historical Anti-Semitism in Europe: Patterns and Explanations.” (David Hirsh, over at Engage, spoke at the first of these seminars earlier this week.)
There is, of course, a certain irony associated with these events, since the UCU has singled out Israel for an academic boycott campaign and recently sponsored a speaking tour of Bongani Masuku—International Relations Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions—who is known for his anti-semitic tirades.
This poster [pdf] produced by the UCU offers a visual example of what ails some self-described “progressives” these days. It’s a wallchart to “help mark Holocaust Memorial Day and educate against the dangers of anti-Semitism, fascism and racial discrimination.” The lower part of this poster is titled “From Black Shirts to the BNP – Resisting Fascism.” It features a 1932-2009 timeline of fascism in Great Britain, with captions and photos of rallies, and violence committed by the followers of Oswald Mosely and the British National Party.
So, what’s missing from this picture? How about photos of British shops with alleged Jewish ownership that were vandalized at the encouragement of leftist “anti-imperialist” activists? How about photos of London protesters carrying signs declaring their solidarity with Hezbollah—an organization whose anti-semitism was enough to make even Robert Fisk gag.
I hope something good emerges from these seminars—but that won’t happen unless the UCU realizes that “fascism” is not only black and brown, but also red and green.
