News Line editorial of April 9, 1983, and comment by Ken Livingstone, on "the Zionist connection"

Submitted by AWL on 18 July, 2006 - 12:16

The Zionist connection. News Line editorial, Saturday, April 9, 1983

A powerful Zionist connection runs from the so-called left of the Labour Party right into the centre of Thatcher's government in Downing Street. There is no difficulty what ever in proving this.

Top of the list, we have the most recent appointment of Mr Stuart Young, a director of the 'Jewish Chronicle', as youngest-ever chairman if the BBC, having been a governor only since 1981. He is the brother of Mr David Young, another Thatcher appointee who is chairman of the Manpower Services Commission.

This is the key organisation which the Tories are transforming into a 'corporate front', behind which they seek to mobilise jobless youth from 14 years upwards into a 'slave labour body to break trade union wages, safety procedures and working conditions.... Thatcher has rolled out these appointments with magisterial arrogance while the Labour Party and TUC chiefs have accepted without even a murmur of protest'. (News Line, March 28, 1983).

The Tories know they can rely totally upon Zionist imperialism to produce the most hated reactionaries, in order to transform the situation at a later date into a pro-fascist, anti-Semitic pogrom against all the Jews in general.

Zionism made it possible for a number of rich Jews to leave Nazi Germany with the agreement of the Fuhrer provided they agreed to become Zionists. The Tories know too they have a powerful anti-Semitic trump card up their sleeves to replay once again as the most reactionary manifestation of racialism, which is anti-Semitism.

From the support and advance publicity which the 'Jewish Chronicle' gave the BBC 2 'Money Programme' on March 20, the reactionary Zionist link was clear for all to see. But it also stretches through Downing Street channels right into the White House and President Reagan.

The latest Reagan military provocation against Libya early in March raises in its sharpest form the central political question. Do Trotskyists defend the Libyan regime of Gaddafi against US imperialism of a matter of principle, or do they denounce it as 'the reactionary Islamic government of Libya' and seek a 'neutrality' between US imperialism and Gaddafi. This is the position of 'Socialist Organiser', claiming to speak for 'lefts' in the Labour Party.

The same organ supported the Zionist-sponsored 'Money Programme' on March 20. They wrote: 'We ('Socialist Organiser') didn't wait for the BBC to tell us about the WRP's probable links with Libya. The fact that the BBC now says it doesn't make it any less likely to be true.' (April 7, 1983) (Our emphasis)

Here is unqualified support for the work of Thatcher's appointee as chairman of the BBC, who is also a director of British Caledonian Airways and the British Overseas Trade Group for Israel. 'Socialist Organiser' has landed itself right bang in the middle of Thatcher's hand-picked Zionists as an outright supporter of their policies of witch-hunting the WRP and the News Line for our principled stand against imperialism and in support of the Libyan masses under their leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The question of the hour, we repeat, is the pro-Zionist policies of the Reagan and Thatcher administrations and their hatred of the Palestinians and Libyans alike.
In the background of the 'Socialist Organiser' one can detect a powerful current of anti-Arab racism – also shared by Reagan and Thatcher. This is the substance of their support for the 'Money Programme' and their lying affirmation that Gaddafi finances the WRP with a '£1.5 million subsidy,' claimed by the faceless person on the BBC 2 programme.

This is a lie from start to finish. because the WRP unhesitatingly supports the Libyan and Palestinian people and its leadership against the nuclear war plans of Reagan, Thatcher and the Zionists in their campaign to destroy all national liberation movements in the Middle East, 'Socialist Organiser' has joined the class enemy.

The Zionist connection between these so-called 'lefts' in the Labour Party right through to Thatcher and Reagan's White House is there in its unprincipled nakedness.

The movement must fight back as one.

Article accompanying the News Line editorial of April 9, 1983

Ken Livingstone, leader of the Greater London Council, and one of the editors of Labour Herald said:

'The 'Money Programme' attack on the News Line, 'the Labour Herald' and the 'Dundee Standard' was gutter journalism at its crudest level.

It's amazing that with major economic crises both in Britain and the rest of the world that the 'Money Programme' made time to devote to a small printing company.

What we saw was the smear technique developed by papers like the 'Sun' used on TV against the labour movement press.

It was the case of don't let the absence of facts stand in the way of a good story.
The objective of the programme-makers was obvious – to discredit the tireless work put in by supporters of papers like the News Line to keep it coming out each day.

I think it is a major achievement to have a daily paper which gives you an objective presentation of the news and political developments and supports the base struggles of the working class in industry and the community.

That is why I spoke at the 13th anniversary meeting of the paper last November.
My own experience of being witch-hunted by the Tory press is that the labour movement needs a paper like the News Line to hit back.

I know how much my colleagues value the support given to the struggles of the Greater London council by the News Line.

It is obvious that those who inspired the Money Programme want to silence you.

We need to know how a programme which is made up entirely of innuendoes. with every remark being prefaced by phrases like 'it is believed that,' came to be made at all.

There is certainly a case for suspecting the hand of the forces opposed to the Palestinians. The Zionists were particularly upset by the role the Labour Herald played in winning the Labour Party to an official policy to support the recognition of the PLO.

The fact that smear about me are being led to the 'Jewish Chronicle' on a fairly regular basis suggests that agents of the Begin government are active in the British labour movement and press at present.

Labour's right wing was also involved, in the shape of Patrick Cheney, an organiser for Labour Solidarity.

It is important when these kind of attacks are made that the labour movement stands united and fights back as one.'

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