Why you are not anti Semitic if you stand against Israel's abusive human rights activities.

The media in the UK is having a field day over the comments made by Bradford MP, Naz Shah about her views on Israel and how Israel treats Palestinians. She has been accused of being antisemitic by making comments that are deeply hurtful to the Jewish community.

I agree that the MP made comments at a time of tension and anger and perhaps her choice of words were unfortunate, but what she was expressing was anger at the devastation that Israel delivered to Gaza in 2014.

It would seem that in some parts of the Jewish community , Israel very much defines their identity as Jews. It is deeply rooted in the history of this religion and in many ways has a root for Christianity too. Indeed, Israel spends a lot of money giving young Jewish people from all over the world a free 10 day vacation in Israel so that they can get a sense of what their 'homeland' is all about.  This is a small part of Israel's Public relations machine. Being a part of a religion often does have a geographical context eg Israel for Judaism and Christianity, Saudi Arabia for Islam, India for Hinduism.

But I struggle to understand why criticising the acts of a country that are perpetrators of serious human rights abuses means that you can be labelled as antisemitic. What is happening in the West Bank and Gaza in terms of Israel's illegal oppression of those territories is a an attempt at land grabbing, ethnic cleansing and a clear lack of respect for the value of human rights.

Palestinians are being displaced from their homes , many of their children are being put in detention and land that is owned by Palestinians is being occupied with illegal Israeli settlements.

My time in the West Bank made me think clearly about how much of the world has been deceived by Israel who still uses the Holocaust to halt comments about the state being an abuser of human rights. Yes the holocaust was terrible and should never happen again and yes perhaps comparing the Israeli government to Hitler and the Nazis is wrong and hurtful. But both organisations share a common appetite for displacing a race living among them and have turned to violence to oppress them.

Let's be clear here. These actions are not about being Jewish, these actions are being taken by people who do not respect human life and are looking to extend their prosperity and greed. There are many Jewish people that are against Israel's actions against Palestinians too all over the world, including many that live in Israel itself. Israel isn't a bad country, but it's leaders are racist, make no mistake.

Don't you dare try to warp the discussion on these human rights abuses by playing the anti-Semite card because if you do, you are aligning yourself with human rights abusers, not Jews.