South African Jewish Board of Deputies make formal complaint against COSATU

The SA Jewish Board of Deputies have issued a press statement indicating that they have laid a formal complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission against Cosatu’s International Relations secretary Bongani Masuku.

Masuku has been featured extensively on this blog for his crazed outbursts against South African Jews who support Israel. Amongst other things, he has called on Israel-supporting Jews to leave South Africa (said in an email to me) and threatened students at Wits University that he (and Cosatu I assume, as he was representing them at the talk) would make their lives “hell”.

More on It’s Almost Supernatural.

The Livingstone Formulation

I’m doing some work on the use of the Livingstone Formulation.  I’m collecting examples.  If anyone knows of examples that I’ve missed, please quote in the comments box with links or references.  I’m particularly interested in its use in academic and high profile public discourse.  I’ve got instances from, in no particular order:

Judith Butler, Ken Livingstone, Stephen Sizer, Jenny Tonge, Tam Dalyell, UCU, UCU mark II, Jacqueline Rose, Richard Ingrams, BBC website (on David Miliband), Anatol Lieven, Tony Judt, Antony Lerman, Mearsheimer and Walt, Charles Linbergh, Norman Finkelstein, David Duke, Nick Griffin, Caroline Lucas, Johan Hari, Bruce Kent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, BBC website (US withdrawal from Durban Review), Martin Shaw twice,  Caryl Churchill, Paul Oestreicher, Tariq Ali, Kare Willoch, Ken Loach, Fintan O’Toole, Michael Neumann.

There are two elements to the Livingstone Formulation.  Firstly a conflation of something which is arguably, at least, connected to antisemitism into “criticism” and secondly an accusation (usually implied) that the “critic” is being characterized as antisemitic knowingly and in bad faith by the Jews or by the ‘Israel lobby’ (usually implied)  in order to try to de-legitimize criticism of Israel.

All help gratefully received.

Reconciliation and understanding, not boycotts and exclusions

In the NY Times.