Oh Joy, Oh Bliss.

The conflict in Gaza has brought back a nationally well known, though not necessarily well-loved, face to Newham. The Newham Independent Group are advertising an event in Newham with George Galloway.

We have previously noted (at p8) how George Galloway has been wheeled out to support specifically Muslim or even Islamist causes. He spoke at a rally to support the building of the “Mega-Mosque” at Temple Mills and in support of council candidates for Respect. The rally pictured below was organized by Newham People’s Alliance, the principal cheerleaders and social media organisers in the selection campaign of one Rokhsana Fiaz.

In the event, and in one of the more bizarre local twists, some of the candidates on the platform with him chose to stand, not for Respect, but for the Conservatives. Most notably Mufti Sadruddin, (seated in white jacket).

Sadruddin was not an example of multi-cultural toleration. Indeed, the less sympathetic reader might even suggest that he is a religious bigot.

We also see on the platform, former hostage in Afghanistan, Yvonne Ridley, who stood as the Respect candidate for mayor. Ridley, it appears, thought “that ‘Israel is a vile little state’ and has reassured us that Respect is a ‘Zionist-free party’ while the mainstream parties are ‘riddled with Zionists’”. But that’s all ok because we know that anti-Zionism and antisemitism are entirely different creatures.

But back to Mr Galloway.

We look forward to hearing what gems Mr Galloway has to offer on peace in Gaza, and we hope that they don’t involve simply expelling of all the Jews. With regard to peace; no Jews, no problem. We only mention this because in our conversations, we have become very aware that the road to peace in Israel/Palestine for some Newham residents, is simple. Get rid of the Jews. If they leave, good. If they die, well, that’s not much of a loss. It is possible that this opinion will be represented in the audience on the 12th January.

Coincidentally, that is the position stated by Hamas. Though sometimes they are less charitable, (they’ll kill some, but they won’t kill all of them) and sometimes it’s downright hostile, (of course they’ll kill them all).

It would be instructive to learn whether this particular brand of anti-Zionism is, in Mr Galloway’s opinion, antisemitic. 

On the positive side, it may be that Mr Galloway is able to offer some advice on improving inter-communal relations at a time of heightened tension, but we are not holding our breath.

Mr Galloway has history. Famously forthright, acerbic and humorous, this long-time Labour MP had the whip withdrawn when it was found that he had incited voters to back a non-Labour candidate and worse, had encouraged Arabs to kill British soldiers in Iraq.

For almost 20 years he was the Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin, followed by one term as Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, (during which he was suspended from parliament for 18 days), and one term as Respect MP for Bradford West.

He now heads “The Workers Party”, whatever that is.

One might describe Galloway’s later career as colourful. There was, of course, the famous exchange with Rula Lenska on Big Brother, in which Lenska “fed milk” to Galloway, who was in the role of a cat. Clearly, this was a man destined for greatness.

For many years he was a regular on the Iranian Press TV channel. Neither the channel nor its backers (the Iranian government) seemed to sit comfortably within the British social democratic tradition and it was an association which did not endear Galloway to many in the Labour Party. This was not helped in later years when Press TV found itself as the focus of allegations of antisemitism. 

In a heated exchange on Good Morning Britain, (which continued on social media), Alan Sugar accused Galloway of being “antisemitic and a racist”. In 2019 he lost a gig with Talk Radio amid accusations of antisemitism.

What we would hope is that this long-time supporter of Arab and Islamic causes would bring coolness and understanding to a highly fraught situation. That he would build bridges. Possibly offer suggestions as to how Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews might find ways to live peacefully alongside one another and support the contact between Jews and Muslims in Britain, with a view to resolving differences peacefully. That is what we hope, it is not what we expect.

It will be interesting to see who he shares a platform with.