Mick Hartley

A new progressive alliance is looking very much like the old progressive alliances. From the Times:

Jewish groups say they have been ignored by the organisers of an anti far-right march in London, which has been backed by celebrities including Sir Lenny Henry and Paloma Faith.

The Together Alliance, which is made up of groups claiming to represent more than 15 million people, is hoping that a record crowd will travel to the capital for its march against “hate and division”. 

The trade union-backed body has won the support of actors such as Sir Mark Rylance and Steve Coogan and musicians, politicians, comedians, authors and broadcasters. 

What a catalogue of the great and the good. Paloma Faith! Steve Coogan! Sir Mark Rylance! But please – no Jews.

Jewish leaders said they believed they had been frozen out by the organisers despite the event’s far-right focus, while groups they perceive as being linked to “extremist rhetoric and outright antisemitism” were listed as supporters.

Russell Langer at the JC – How ‘progressive’ celebrities help fuel extremism on Britain’s streets:

“Together Alliance”, a new self-described “anti-far right” umbrella group, is gearing up for a major demonstration in central London on March 28.

Many celebrities have put their names to the event, but so have several organisations that have been criticised for links to, or sympathy with, Islamist or antisemitic ideological positions. Many of these groups have also been involved in organising the regular national marches for Palestine that have included repeated and well-documented instances of antisemitic rhetoric and expressions of support for proscribed terrorist organisations.

The sort of hateful rhetoric we see on these marches is not just tolerated; in some circles it appears increasingly normalised as a condition of social acceptance.

We’ve heard about the red-green alliance, between the hard left and Islamism. Now it looks like it’s extending to the soft left – the “nice” progressives. On board here are the old familiar pro-Palestinian crowd, with those Muslim groups nicely embedded. Firmly excluded are the Jews.

And who are the “far-right” they’re marching against? Zionists, by any chance?