Mike Cushman
Although Mike Cushman is the leader of the movement in the University and College Union to exclude people who work at Israeli universities from UK campuses, he has always denied being antisemitic. Indeed, he speaks often “as a Jew”.
Now Cushman has approvingly posted an old antisemitic article from The Palestine Chronicle on the “Just Peace UK” website.
The article about “Zionist” influence begins by listing the number of “Jews” who sit in the British Houses of Parliament.
It goes on to construct a story to demonstrate how Tony Blair required Jewish “Zionist” money to run the New Labour project after he had cut Labour’s reliance on trade union funding.
The article is available on The Palestinian Chronicle website here. Cushman posted it here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JustPeaceUK/message/25717.
A pattern is beginning to emerge with Mike Cushman.
Cushman is the man who leapt to the defence of the UCU member who advised union colleagues to read a piece of conspiracy theory on former KKK leader David Duke’s website.
Cushman is also the man who came up with the following stereotype about Jews and their relationship to universities:
“Universities are to Israel what the springboks were to South Africa: the symbol of their national identity.”
He is the man who was feted by the Iranian state propaganda machine.
He is the man who wrote a fawning account of his recent trip to Hamas-ruled Gaza.
But surely now that he has posted an antisemitic article on a Palestine solidarity website, his reputation in the union will be in tatters and he will be forced to resign from his leadership position in BRICUP?
No. I don’t suppose it will make any difference at all.
Engage 
February 20, 2009 at 10:33 pm
No of course it won’t!
February 21, 2009 at 3:33 am
Of course it won’t. That would only happen if he had insulted any Other people. Anti-Semitism is not just alive and well; it’s now considered kosher in so-called “polite” company.
Regards,
Inna
February 21, 2009 at 10:50 am
Cushman also wants to get Israel Science Day cancelled. He is trying to persuade the Science Museum to discriminate against Israeli academics. In the context of the academic boycott, two Counsel opinions have suggested that such discrimination would contravene equality legislation. In other words, Cushman is trying to get the Science Museum to break the law.
February 21, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Stephen Sizer sent this on too, it ended up in the inbox of Martin Webster’s NorthWest Nationalists!
http://northwestnationalists.blogspot.com/2008/06/power-of-labour-friends-of-israel.html
February 21, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Siesmicshock,
Can I clarify the point I think you are making?
Michael Cushman, a Trade Unionist and a leading member of the Boycott Israeli Jews movement has posted on a website the same article that was posted elsewhere by a leading British neo-nazi?
So, Michael Cushman has, in effect, cited an article commended by nazis on “Zionist influence” as a legitimate comment regarding the situation in the Middle East.
Could anyone tell me what action JustPeaceUK has taken for allowing its webpages to be used to host virulent antisemitism. I would like to ask UCU members the same question.
February 21, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Mordechai of Seismic Shock
Do you have evidence that the Reverend Dr Stephen Sizer PhD (OakHill Theological College) is mailing antisemitic links to fascists? Because if you do, I think some people need to know – like Rowan Williams and his Congregation at Christ Church, Virginia Water – don’t you?
February 21, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Mordechai
It IS clear evidence
Sizer has emailed antisemitic material to a fascist
You have nailed him!
Brilliant!
February 21, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Sure, have a look here:
http://seismicshock.blogspot.com/2008/09/bigmouth-strikes-again-stephen-sizer.html
February 21, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Remember JustPeaceUK will gladly sing antisemitic carols in churches doctored by the antisemitic Amos Trust, they’ll march with Hamas supporters, this new development of them posting neo-Nazi tripe doesn’t surprise me!
Found this from the article’s author Janine Roberts on David Duke’s page:
http://www.davidduke.com/general/in-some-ways-the-zionist-lobby-in-britain-has-been-more-successful-than-in-the-us_3950.html
February 21, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Gosh, quoting stuff from or that is on David Duke’s site appears to be quite the habit for the anti-Zionist [sic] boycotters.
Of course, maybe it changes its meaning if it is cited by someone who speaks “as a Jew”; you know like putting a rack of pork in salt water for a while and rinsing it to make it kosher. No, wait, pork is and can never be kosher – it is inherently unkosher – no matter how it is prepared before eating, even by “a Jew”.
February 21, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Saul:
I think the point Seismic Shock is making is that Martin Webster, Mike Cushman and Stephen Sizer all find the same article useful to their purposes. That tells us something important about the three men
Edward T: Martin Webster is not the only dubious e-contact of Stephen Sizer PhD (Oak Hill Theological College):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shamireaders/messages/373?xm=1&m=e&l=1
February 21, 2009 at 10:37 pm
EdwardT, you might find this post from the Seismic Shock archive interesting too:
http://seismicshock.blogspot.com/2008/09/stephen-sizer-unintentional-anti-semite.html
February 22, 2009 at 12:34 am
Typical
Those who attack the only Jewish State because it is the only Jewish State – Israel are ipso facto
anti Semitic as they deny Jewish National Rights to Jews and deny them to no one else .
The desire to return to Zion and the Land of Israel was in Jewish thought and belief for nearly 2000 years.
Its fulfilment is anathema to those whose dream “Communism ” has failed and to those extremist Christians and Muslims to whom the sight of a living believing Jew is anathema .
February 22, 2009 at 1:10 am
Would this be the same “Michael Cushman” who spoke proudly on some website or another that he regularly accepts invitations to address groups who are interested in understanding “antisemitism”?
Is that not the very definition of irony; you know, someone who peddles nazi-like views on Jews – and what appears on neo-nazi sites – “teaching” others what antisemitism is and is not?
February 22, 2009 at 11:58 am
Whilst “Zion” has played a role in Jewish theology for millenia, it is was rarely if ever to be understood in a literal sense (the notion of a nation-state is of relative recent origin).
Be that as it may, the point raised is irrelevant. It only serves to mistify the contemporary situation, feeds into the ideology of, and mirrors the absurdities of the other “extremist” sections of the religion you mention. As Marx quite rightly noted, turning history into superstition helps no-one.
I have no idea why Cushman peddles antisemitism – I have no idea if, like many before on the non-Marxist left, Cushman’s turn to antisemitism is a consequence of the inability of communism to turn into a reality. In many ways, I don’t care (maybe J. Rose will pen a few words on the truama of the failure of communism for its adherents)
I agree more with “Baffled” with one proviso; whatever it tells us about the “three men” may be of interest. What is of real interest is what it tells us a great deal about contemporary politics in general and of certain tendencies within Palestinian solidarity in general.
February 22, 2009 at 8:28 pm
[…] 22, 2009 · No Comments They all have their ‘Protocols‘ […]
February 23, 2009 at 1:06 am
This author of the piece, Janine Roberts, is an HIV / AIDS revisionist who links to sites which spread the idea that AIDS is caused by poppers and malnourishment, and that drugs intervention is just a pharma company ruse. Completely goes with the territory. If you believe in the existence of one conspiracy, you’re more likely to be susceptible to other conspiracy beliefs. Some people argue that conspiracy beliefs are utopian. Others point out that people who hold them are often fairly Machiavellian – they believe in the conspiracy because it makes sense to them – they could envisage themselves conspiring in the same way. In other words, be wary of trusting people who hold conspiracy beliefs.
February 26, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Saul wrote “Whilst “Zion” has played a role in Jewish theology for millenia, it is was rarely if ever to be understood in a literal sense (the notion of a nation-state is of relative recent origin). ”
Saul, I would suggest that you learn some Jewish history before making this point again. Most of the great medieval Jewish writers spoke of exactly that. Ramban and Yehuda Halevy just to name two. the first modern Zionists were actually religious rabbis, like Yehuda Alcalay. Jewish law is rife with laws about how to manage the affairs of state and they were codified centuries after the last jewish commonwealth had fallen.
If a nation-state is of relatively recent origin, then why would Jews have all these seemingly ‘redundant’ laws??
February 27, 2009 at 1:08 am
Plus, of course, the (Passover) Hagadah finishes with the prayer “Next year in Jerusalem”, and the oldest known Haggadot with the prayer/invocation are some 5+ centuries old. And this is not the only place which contains this invocation in the Jewish liturgy.
However, I’m sure that Saul knows this, and was merely placing the debate in the context of _modern_ Jewry.
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