Back to 1930s-style politics

Some people said already long time ago that Muslims have now the same role Jewish people had during 1930s. That seems to become more and more obvious. Many kinds of right-wing groups and parties seem to use Muslims as a way to foster divisive politics and to strengthen their own power.

I have already written about the rising Islamophobia in Britain. Anti-Muslim hate crimes increased across Britain by 593% in the week after the Christchurch terrorist attacks (1). The British Conservative Party seems quite complacent regarding Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric within the party (2). British far-right UKIP party hired notorious Islamophobe Tommy Robinson as a special adviser (3). British far-right figure Katie Hopkins has started touring in Europe and USA with prominent counter-jihadist Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff (4, 5).

The developments in Britain are similar to the situation in mainland Europe, North America and Australia. Anti-Muslim rhetoric and sentiment has become commonplace within right-wing political circles and mainstream media. Therefore it is no wonder that Muslim leaders around the world have criticized mainstream media, politicians and academics for cultivating systemic and institutionalized Islamophobia (6). During his recent visit to Cairo, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres expressed his concern regarding the growing anti-Muslim sentiment and the increase of hate crimes all over the world (7).


During this spring there will be several important elections in Europe and elsewhere. European far-right populist and nationalist parties are expected to gain more votes because of their anti-immigrant and Islamophobic rhetoric (8). However, the first elections to watch for will take place today in Israel where Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to win the elections with his far-right allies (9).

References:

1) “Anti-Muslim hate crimes soar in UK after Christchurch shootings” The Guardian 22.3.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/22/anti-muslim-hate-crimes-soar-in-uk-after-christchurch-shootings

2) “The Guardian view on Tory Islamophobia: inaction speaks volumes” The Guardian 28.3.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/28/the-guardian-view-on-tory-islamophobia-inaction-speaks-volumes

3) “Brexit party leader hires prominent anti-Muslim extremist as adviser” The National 23.11.2018

https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/brexit-party-leader-hires-prominent-anti-muslim-extremist-as-adviser-1.795130

4) “Finland: Katie Hopkins and Elizabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff at the Finnish House of Parliament during live sessions” Tundra Tabloids January 2019

http://tundratabloids.com/2019/01/finland-katie-hopkins-and-elizabeth-sabaditsch-wolff-at-the-finnish-house-of-parliament-during-live-sessions/

5) Katie Hopkins on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/KTHopkins/status/1105498588627521536

6) “‘Systemic Islamophobia’ fuels terror attacks, say Muslim leaders” The Guardian 18.3.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/18/uk-muslim-leaders-seek-funding-for-mosque-security

7) “UN head warns against growing anti-Muslim sentiment during Cairo visit” Middle East Eye 2.4.2019

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-head-warns-against-growing-anti-muslim-sentiment-during-cairo-visit

8) “Populists are whipping up a storm as Europe faces lurch to the right” The Guardian 6.4.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/06/brexit-distraction-far-right-nationalists-eu-elections

9) “Israelis prepare to go to the polls: here’s what we know” The Guardian 8.4.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/08/israelis-prepare-to-go-to-the-polls-heres-what-we-know

The enthusiasm of hard-line Brexiteers

The original Brexit day has come and gone. Minting of the commemorative coin has had to be scrapped (1) and Brexit memorabilia has become collectible for entirely different reason. The situation in Britain remains chaotic and difficult – however, one positive thing is the fact that there haven’t been any serious riots or violent clashes.

On Friday, some planned celebrations of the hard-line Brexiteers were cancelled (1) or turned into a campaign against “Brexit betrayal.” UKIP leader Gerard Batten advertised his party’s event on Twitter:

“Today’s the day we could & should remove ourselves from rule by a foreign power. We know our quisling political establishment will betray Brexit, but the fightback resumes its next phase in Whitehall today. Be there at the UKIP event…” (2)

Another far-right Brexit leader Nigel Farage issued a dire warning to British MPs – he believed that British people would wake up angry on Saturday the 30th because Britain had not left the EU (3). However, perhaps the most memorable event on Friday evening and Saturday morning was the appearance of a lonely trespasser with St. George’s flag on the roof of St. Pancras Station – the incident led to cancellation of several Eurostar trains (4).

References:

1) “Brexit coins and cancelled parties: What is happening on 29 March now?” BBC News 29.3.2019

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47712530

2) UKIP leader Gerard Batten on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/GerardBattenMEP

3) “Nigel Farage issues DIRE warning to MPs about MORNING of March 30th – ‘Just you wait!'” Alpha News UK 29.3.2019

https://youtu.be/j5IIBfAZmJ8

4) “Eurostar passengers stranded as trespasser with St George’s flag halts trains” The Guardian 30.3.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/30/eurostar-trains-cancelled-as-man-spends-night-on-st-pancras-station-roof-with-st-georges-flag

The Brexit cliffhanger in Britain continues

Things are heating up in Britain. Britain was supposed to leave the EU today, but during the recent days it has become more and more likely that there will be a delay – just how long, it is unclear. The chaotic cliffhanger continues. Prime Minister May promised to resign, if her Brexit deal is accepted. Her promise predictably started a fervorous leadership competition within the Conservative Party. (1) The hard-line Brexiteers lead by Nigel Farage will congregate on the Parliament Square around 4 p.m. GMT today. Farage tweeted yesterday:

“Westminster has betrayed the greatest democratic vote in the history of our country, and we won’t let them get away with it.” (2)

The far-right UKIP Party has been advertising their own Make Brexit Happen Rally which is sponsored by notorious far-right figure Tommy Robinson and his TR News service (3). Leader of UKIP Gerard Batten tweeted yesterday:

“There are reports that water cannon may be deployed tomorrow in London, & that some of the police may try to aggregate and provoke Brexiteers. There is always the danger of provocateurs planted to cause trouble. I hope it is not true but I call on everyone present to be peaceful.” (4)

Several far-right extremists and groups are going to try to cause riots and other trouble. For example, members of the UK “yellow vests” threatened on social media:

“If you stop Brexit, we’ll make the Paris riots look like a f***ing tea party.” (5)

Counter-protesters, including anti-fascists and trade unions, are going to oppose the far-right rallies. The police are bracing for possible unrest and clashes between different demonstrators. (5)

References:

1) “At least 10 cabinet ministers considering prime ministerial bids” The Guardian 28.3.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/28/cabinet-ministers-considering-running-prime-minister-theresa-may-conservatives-tories

2) Nigel Farage on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nigel_farage

3) UKIP National News 25.3.2019

https://www.ukip.org/national-ukip-news-item.php?id=196

4) Gerard Batten on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/GerardBattenMEP/status/1111394659551584257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3AUKIP%7Ctwcon%5Etimelinechrome&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukip.org%2Fnational-ukip-news-item.php%3Fid%3D196

5) “Brexit protest: Police brace for disorder after far-right threaten to riot at London rallies” The Independent 29.3.2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-brexit-riot-violence-far-right-tommy-robinson-leave-ukip-eu-met-scotland-yard-a8844181.html

President Trump’s decision regarding the Golan Heights and American-Israeli oil interests

Hello again. After my last post my computer crashed and it has taken a little while to fix everything. The horrible terrorist attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, have had serious consequences for example in Britain, where amount of anti-Muslim hate crimes increased by 593% in the week after the attack (1). While we are still trying to find out all the reasons why the Australian man became a white supremacist terrorist, this post is about slightly another kind of right-wing politics.

President Trump made controversial and provocative decision by formally recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over Israel-occupied Golan Heights. Trump’s declaration was condemned widely. According to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “clear that the status of Golan has not changed.” The Arab League said that “Trump’s recognition does not change the area’s status.” (2, 3)

Trump’s decision has been seen as an attempt to help Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to win the parliamentary elections next month (2), but there may be other reasons, as well. In 2013, Israel granted the first license to explore for oil and gas in the occupied Golan Heights to an American company called Genie Energy – the company’s advisory board includes former vice president Dick Cheney, Lord Jacob Rothschild and media mogul Rupert Murdoch (4, 5). One of the biggest owners of Genie Energy is hedge fund Renaissance Technologies LLC – Robert Mercer, the co-CEO of the hedge fund, was also financial backer of Cambridge Analytica, a voter-data firm that worked closely with the presidential campaign of President Trump (6, 7).

The Economist reported in 2015, that Genie Energy and its Israeli subsidiary Genie Oil & Gas believed to have found an oil reservoir “with the potential of billions of barrels” (8). In 2017, Genie Energy created a new subsidiary, Atid Drilling Ltd., to take care of various drilling projects in Israel. Atid has worked together with another Genie Energy subsidiary, Afek Oil and Gas, in order to drill oil exploration wells in the Golan Heights. (9, 10) Zack Colman reported in E&E News in February 2018 that (former) US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met Efraim “Effie” Eitam, far-right former Israeli politician and head of Afek Oil and Gas, in September 2017. Colman wrote that Afek Oil and Gas “has drilling operations in the Golan Heights, a disputed territory that the international community has explicitly said does not belong to Israel.” Colman continued that the meeting raised “concerns about the appearance that the Trump administration is sanctioning unlawful energy exploration.” Colman also mentioned that Ira Greenstein, ex-chairman of Genie Energy’s former parent company, IDT Corp., is a family friend of Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner. Greenstein also worked in the White House. (11)

F. William Engdahl wrote in 2017:

“…unless there is some very careful rethinking on the part of Washington and of Israel, we might find ourselves in another war for oil in of all places the Golan Heights…” (9)

References:

1) “Anti-Muslim hate crimes soar in UK after Christchurch shootings” The Guardian 22.3.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/22/anti-muslim-hate-crimes-soar-in-uk-after-christchurch-shootings

2) “Trump formally recognises Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights” Al Jazeera 25.3.2019

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/trump-formally-recognises-israeli-sovereignty-golan-heights-190325153937336.html

3) “Trump’s support for Israeli Golan Heights draws global anger” Al Jazeera 26.3.2018

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/trump-support-israeli-golan-heights-draws-global-anger-190325185150944.htmlh

4) “Israel Grants First Golan Heights Oil Drilling License To Dick Cheney-Linked Company” Business Insider 22.2.2013

https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-grants-golan-heights-oil-license-2013-2

5) Company overview of Genie Energy Ltd. Bloomberg 26.3.2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/board.asp?privcapId=113359359

6) Top 10 owners of Genie Energy Ltd CNN Business

https://money.cnn.com/quote/shareholders/shareholders.html?symb=GNE&subView=institutional

7) “Robert Mercer, Bannon Patron, Is Leaving Helm of $50 Billion Hedge Fund” The New York Times 2.11.2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/business/robert-mercer-renaissance.html

8) “Black gold under the Golan – Just one catch” The Economist 7.11.2015

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2015/11/07/black-gold-under-the-golan

9) “Golan Heights, Israel, Oil and Trump” New Eastern Outlook 30.3.2017

https://journal-neo.org/2017/03/30/golan-heights-israel-oil-and-trump/

10) “Drilling firm to pursue water, gas, oil projects” The Jerusalem Post 10.1.2017

https://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Environment/Drilling-firm-to-pursue-water-gas-oil-projects-477953

11) “Zinke met Israeli energy boss who called Arabs a ‘cancer'” E&E News 9.2.2018

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060073391

The growing threat of right-wing extremism

According to some media reports, Australian white supremacists have attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing several Muslims. This is another terrible reminder that right-wing extremism and terrorism is becoming a truly serious threat to us all.

Before we get more information about the horrible attack and the attackers, here is an old post of mine regarding the growing problem of right-wing extremism and terrorism in USA – I published this post in my old blog in August 2017:

STATISTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT DOMESTIC TERRORISM IN USA

The threat of Islamic extremism and terrorism was one of the most important themes during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. After becoming the president, he has banned foreign nationals from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering USA. Several wealthier Muslim-majority countries, where the Trump Organization has business interests, are not on the list. President Trump claimed that the temporary ban is needed in order to avoid terrorist attacks. Some critics have argued that the ban is just a backdoor way to bar Muslims from entering USA (1).

What seems to have been overlooked is right-wing extremist terrorism. The Investigative Fund and Reveal have compiled a database of nine years of domestic terrorism incidents in USA (2). The database gives very interesting statistical information about the domestic terrorism in USA.

DOMESTIC TERRORISM INCIDENTS IN USA

January 2008 – End of December 2016


Type of domestic
terrorism

Number of
incidents
Foiled plots*
(% of total)
Number of
fatalities

Islamic extremist

63
76 %
90

Right-wing extremist

115
35 %
79

Left-wing extremist**

19
–
7

* foiled plots = no attack took place    ** including ecoterrorism and animal rights (Source of the data: The Investigative Fund)

During January 2008 – end of December 2016 there were 63 Islamist terrorism cases. Vast majority (76 %) of these cases were foiled plots, i.e. no attack actually took place. 48 % of these cases were sting operations. 13 % of Islamist terrorism cases caused fatalities. However, the total number of fatalities was greater.

According to the database, there were nearly twice as many (115) right-wing extremist terrorism incidents. Only 35 % of these cases were foiled plots and only 12 % were sting operations. The right-wing extremist terrorism was often more deadly – nearly 1/3 of these incidents caused fatalities.

Left-wing extremist terrorist incidents were comparatively rare. Only 10.5 % of these cases were sting operations.

Before President Trump signed the ban regarding the six predominantly Muslim countries, he claimed that vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offences since 9/11 came from outside USA. According to the database, only 13 % of perpetrators or alleged perpetrators were foreign born and only 1 % of them came from the countries that are on Trump’s list. The Department of Homeland Security analysis came to the same conclusion – it stated that citizens of nations named in the ban are “rarely implicated in U.S.-based terrorism.” (2)

References:

1) Samuel Osborne: “Muslim-majority countries where Donald Trump does business not included in travel ban” The Independent  27.6.2017

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-travel-ban-muslim-majority-countries-business-organisation-syria-iran-yemen-islamic-a7810711.html

2) David Neiwert: “Home is where the hate is. Trump’s fixation on demonizing Islam hides true homegrown US terror threat” Reveal  21.6.2017

https://www.revealnews.org/article/home-is-where-the-hate-is/

“Time for some structured anarchy” – British hard-line Brexiteers preparing to fight for Brexit

With less than three weeks to the official Brexit day, Prime Minister May is expected to face another defeat on Tuesday, when the parliament will vote on her Brexit deal proposal. The hard-line Brexiteers are getting ready to fight for Brexit. The hard-liners also seem to want to polish their image.

Boris Johnson wrote on The Telegraph on the 24th of February:

“…I am getting sick of the constant suggestion that anyone who sticks up for Brexit must have far Right tendencies. I can’t understand why people are suddenly claiming that anyone who wants to get out of the EU – and follow the instructions of the British people – is a zealot, or an extremist, or Ukip, or Blukip, or some kind of ultra-conservative bigot. Where is this stuff coming from?” (1)

Johnson himself has become infamous for his racist and Islamophobic remarks. Last year he caused an uproar by comparing veiled Muslim women to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers.” Bizarrely, Johnson was not considered to have breached the Conservative Party’s code of conduct. (2)

Last Tuesday, chairman of the European Research Group ERG Jacob Rees-Mogg once again accused May’s government and the Remainers of trying to block Brexit. He wrote in The Sun:

“…the extreme Remainers do not just want an extension — they want ­reversal (i.e. of Brexit referendum) and see this as a first step.

It is worth remembering that those who love the European Union prefer it to democracy and always have done.”

“…the Government must prove that it is committed to the referendum result, for that is the authoritative ­constitutional voice.

No responsible government ought to allow the constitution to be subverted because of its own weaknesses. The ­conventions are there for good ­reasons and, if ignored, confidence in the system that has served well for ­centuries will be damaged — with ­consequences that could include the rise of extremist parties. Failure to deliver Brexit would be a gift to Tommy Robinson.” (3)

Leave Means Leave campaigner Nigel Farage tweeted yesterday that “it’s time for some structured anarchy.” He also advertised March To Leave campaign and “historic rally of Brexiteers” on Parliament Square, London, on the 29th of March. (4)

References:

1) “Brexiteers are not far-Right zealots. Just ask the younger Tony Blair” The Telegraph 24.2.2019

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/24/brexiteers-not-far-right-zealots-just-ask-younger-tony-blair/

2) “Conservatives rule Boris Johnson comparing Muslim women in veils to letter boxes and bank robbers was ‘respectful'” The Independent 21.12.2018

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-cleared-burka-niqab-bank-robber-letterboxes-conservative-party-a8693761.html

3) “We the people have spoken on Brexit… let us now have have lift-off ” The Sun 5.3.2019

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8570432/jacob-ress-mogg-people-have-spoken-on-brexit/

4) Nigel Farage on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nigel_farage

British Conservative Party suspends 14 members because of alleged Islamophobia

The Tories have suspended 14 members after abusive Islamophobic comments were uncovered on social media. Many of the comments were found on a Facebook group supporting hard-line Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. The Muslim Council of Britain and former Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi repeated their calls for an inquiry into the anti-Muslim abuse and Islamophobia within the Tory Party. Mrs Warsi said that the party had “a deep-rooted problem of anti-Muslim comments, Islamophobic comments, racist comments” and that the party chairman and the prime minister had not taken the problem seriously enough.

Read the full story on The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/05/tories-suspend-14-members-over-alleged-islamophobia

Far-right party’s online poll got surprising results in Czech Republic

Czech Republic has been considering relocation of Syrian orphans. Czech far-right party “Freedom and Direct Democracy” SPD opposed the proposal and decided to organize an online poll in order to get support for their stance. However, 73% of the people who joined the survey supported helping the orphans. SPD quickly erased the poll from their website.

References:

“Czech far-right supporters expose their party, back Syrian orphans” EurActiv 22.2.2019

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/the-capitals-czech-far-right-supporters-expose-their-party-back-syrian-orphans/

Netanyahu’s far-right alliance in Israel

Ahead of the upcoming elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has forged an alliance with two far-right parties – far-right, pro-settler Jewish Home Party and extremist Jewish Power Party. The Jewish Power Party is an offshoot of Kach Party which was banned and considered to the be a terrorist organization in Israel and USA. According to experts, the Jewish Power Party is like Ku Klux Klan of Israel. (1)

In addition to the decision to join forces with right-wing extremists, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud Party has faced criticism also because of their reluctancy to increase transparency in the new ways of political campaigning, particularly in online media. Also, parliament speaker of the Likud Party Yudi Edelstein has reportedly rejected calls to employ an international body to monitor the upcoming elections. (2)

References:

1) “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Trump, just united with a political party that experts say is like the KKK” Business Insider 22.2.2019

https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-netanyahu-trump-ally-extremist-political-party-jewish-power-2019-2

2) “Israel election committee asks Facebook to implement transparency tools: report” i24News 4.2.2019

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/194622-190204-israel-election-committee-asks-facebook-to-implement-transparency-tools-report