UK Newspaper Investigation Uncovers Links Between Top Corbyn Aide and Anti-Israel Terror Groups

Benjamin Kerstein

Britain’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (R) and Seumas Milne, the Labour Party’s Executive Director of Strategy and Communications (L), arrive at the annual Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Britain, September 23, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay

A top aide to controversial UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has long-standing ties to anti-Israel terrorist groups and would likely be denied a security clearance as a result, a new report has revealed.

Seumas Milne, Labour’s head of strategy and communications, is considered so influential that he has been referred to as “Corbyn’s brain,” and Corbyn, who is considered antisemitic by the vast majority of British Jews, reportedly relies upon him completely.

According to a weekend exposé by The Mail on Sunday, Milne’s links with terrorist groups dedicated to destroying the Jewish state are decades old. A party staff member, speaking anonymously, said, “Seumas has been supporting groups that deny Israel’s right to exist for many years.”

While he was at Oxford University in 1977, Milne traveled to Lebanon and met with PLO terrorists. According to a New Statesman profile, Milne “learned Arabic, heard shots fired in anger, escaped from a blown-up building, and was briefly captured by militiamen.”

Palestinian activist Hussein Agha who has known Milne for years related that the political adviser “went to Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank — a young boy on a Leftist grand tour. He adopted a Palestinian accent. He used to speak English with Arabs the way they spoke to him.” He added that Milne met with Fatah members while the group still openly called for Israel’s destruction and the ethnic cleansing of its Jewish population. “I met him when he came back,” he told The Mail. “He was not antisemitic, but he was very, very anti-Israel.”

Returning to Oxford, Milne co-founded the Oxford Palestine Campaign, an extremist anti-Israel group. The organization disseminated PLO propaganda and aggressively denounced the 1978 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, saying, “We must now expect the Palestinians to react in the only way that is left to them: to escalate their armed resistance.”

Agha, who has since been involved in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, remarked that Milne “thinks I have sold out, become too soft. He is a purist.”

According to the Mail report, Milne eventually developed links with Hamas and took Corbyn to the Middle East to meet with leaders of the Islamist terror group, which still openly states that its goal is Israel’s destruction.

In 2009, Milne stated, “The idea that Israel is a racist state is largely uncontroversial” and charged that Israel was “built on ethnic cleansing.”

In response to the Mail report, a Labour source said: “Seumas Milne does not endorse the Hamas charter. He has criticised it.” The source added, “Seumas has never advocated violence. The right to resist illegal occupation is enshrined in international law.”

On the overlap between Milne’s and Corbyn’s views, one Member of Parliament noted anonymously, “Without a shadow of a doubt, Corbyn trusts Milne more than anyone. I actually think Corbyn is a little bit thick. It’s no exaggeration to say that Milne is Corbyn’s brain.”

Milne has apparently been heavily involved in Labour efforts to deal with accusations of antisemitism against Corbyn and the party. “Again and again, MPs have asked to see Corbyn to talk about antisemitism, and when they got to his room, they found themselves talking to Milne,” the MP said.

In addition to Israel-related issues, The Mail said Milne had defended Russia’s invasions of Afghanistan and Ukraine, and said an IRA attempt in 1984 to assassinate then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher was a “very daring attack.” After 9/11, he wrote that Americans do not understand that they are “hated with such bitterness” because of their “unabashed national egotism and arrogance.” He has also defended the theocratic Iranian regime, which calls for the destruction of Israel, and called protesters against it “Tehran’s gilded youth.”

Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of British intelligence agency MI6, said that as a result of Milne’s history, it would be impossible for him to pass the required security checks to see classified information if Corbyn becomes prime minister.

“Anyone with his sort of background could not be let anywhere near classified information. It would be out of the question,” said Dearlove.

“I am alarmed enough by Corbyn’s past associations, but Milne’s put him beyond the pale. That means Corbyn could not make the judgments and decisions a PM has to make unless he stopped consulting him,” he explained.

“There would be a recommendation made by the head of MI5, who would have to see the PM and say, ‘This man cannot be allowed to see any classified information.’ Either Corbyn would have to cut contact with him — or the head of MI5 would have to threaten to resign, and do it if he still refused. It would blow up into a major constitutional issue, and it would be huge,” Dearlove added.

European Jews: Should they stay or leave?

Arutz Sheva Staff

President of Conference of European Rabbis urges governments around the world to confront rising tide of violence anti-Semitism.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt (archive)

Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis, hosted a high-level panel discussion Sunday morning titled ‘Should Jews stay or leave? When anti-Semitism turns to lethal terror: how to secure Jewish communities around the world’.

The panel was chaired by Chief Rabbi Goldschmidt and focused on the steep rise in the spread of anti-Semitic incidents and how the language surrounding anti-Semitism has rapidly evolved.

Speakers on the panel included: Professor Michel Friedman, lawyer and former Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician, Tom Malinowski, US Congressman and member of the Democratic Party in the United States, Ronen Bergman, Israeli journalist and author, and Amos Yadlin, former IDF Intelligence Chief.

A key agenda point addressed how rhetoric from both the Left and Right has made the threat of terror more prevalent and real for the Jewish community than ever before. During the discussion, the panel explored the changing nature of hate crime and subsequent threats posed against the global Jewish community. The speakers concluded that authorities in every country must stand up for pluralism and lead the fight against rampant anti-Semitism.

Speaking to the Munich Security Conference, Rabbi Goldschmidt said: “Jewish communities around the world are facing the same problem: that anti-Semitism is getting worse. Governments and societies around the world must take action to guarantee security for its minorities.”

Professor Michel Friedman, lawyer and former Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician, went further in saying that we are “facing a political crisis of European leadership, accepting the rise of anti-Semitic movements and far-right parties such as Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)”, before concluding that “we need a change in our political culture to tackle these concerning developments.”

Andrzej Krakowski: urodzeni w Polsce zdobyli w sumie ponad 60 Oscarów

PAP

– 36 artystów urodzonych na terenie obecnej lub przedrozbiorowej Polski zdobyło łącznie ponad 60 Oscarów. Tymczasem w kraju rozpoznaje się jedynie ośmiu z nich – powiedział PAP profesor filmu w nowojorskim City College, Andrzej Krakowski.
Gina Lollobrigida, Billy Wilder i Audrey Hepburn

Krakowski podczas wtorkowego spotkania w Fundacji Kościuszkowskiej zwrócił uwagę na nieprecyzyjność kryteriów oceny: kogo spośród zdobywców Oscarów uważa się za Polaka. Przypomniał, że w Polsce zalicza się do nich na ogół np. Romana Polańskiego, który urodził się w Paryżu, ma żydowskie pochodzenie, a w języku polskim nakręcił tylko jeden film fabularny – “Nóż w wodzie”. Nie wspomina się natomiast Janusza Kamińskiego, z Ziębic, który mówi po polsku i nie jest Żydem.

– Ja za Polaków uważam wszystkich ludzi, którzy się urodzili na terenach polskich – powiedział Krakowski. Przypomniał, że kiedy kilka lat temu przedstawicielka PiSF – organizująca wystawę honorującą laureatów nagrody – zwróciła się do niego z prośbą o ekspertyzę, wyszczególniła tylko osiem osób – byli to Ewa Braun, Jan Kaczmarek, Paweł Pawlikowski, Roman Polański, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Alan Starski, Leopold Stokowski i Andrzej Wajda.

– Zastanawiam się, dlaczego nie znalazł się w tym gronie zdobywca siedmiu Oscarów Billy Wilder? Wychował się w Krakowie i mówił po polsku, urodził w Suchej Beskidzkiej i zawsze o nią pytał? Brak też Freda Zinnemanna urodzonego w Rzeszowie, który dostał pięć Oscarów. Cztery, w tym im. Irvinga G. Thalberga, dostał Sam Spiegel urodzony w Jarosławiu i postrzegany jako najwybitniejszy producent w historii. Samuel Goldwyn urodzony w Warszawie miał dwa Oscary – wyszczególnił Krakowski.

Paul Muni

Przypomniał, że pierwszą kobietą-scenarzystką, uhonorowaną Oscarem, była Sonya Levien urodzona w Panimuniku (dzisiejsza Litwa), a pierwszym polskim scenarzystą Heinz Herald z Międzychodu. Z kolei pierwszym nagrodzonym aktorem, był Paul Muni ze Lwowa. Irving Berlin z Tołoczyna zdobył Oscara jako kompozytor najlepszej piosenki, a Mack Gordon z Warszawy za słowa i muzykę do piosenki.

Krakowski wyjaśnił, że Zinnemann i zaprzyjaźniony z nim laureat Oscara za najlepszą muzykę mówiący po polsku Bronisław Kaper pochodził z Warszawy i był z tego dumny. Obydwaj nazywali się wzajemnie przez cały czas Polakami. Dimitri Tiomkin, nagrodzony czteroma Oscarami za muzykę przyznawał raz, że urodził się w Kremenczuku, kiedy indziej, że w Krzemieńcu, to znów, że w Krzemienicy.

– Twórca Akademii Filmowej, szef studia filmowego M-G-M Luis B. Mayer z Mińska Mazowieckiego zawsze podawał jako miejsce urodzenia Rosja/Polska. Nie musiał dodawać Polski, która nie istniała wówczas jako państwo, a zawsze to robił, bo miał taką potrzebę – zaznaczył autor książek “Pollywood: jak stworzyliśmy Hollywood” oraz “Pollywood II: uciekinierzy w raju”.

Wspominał, że kiedy był w Amerykańskim Instytucie Filmowym (AFI) na przełomie lat 60. i 70. przybył tam Goldwyn, który po wypadku samolotowym musiał korzystać z wózka inwalidzkiego. – Kiedy szef Instytutu George Stevens, który go woził przechodził koło grupy studentów wskazując na mnie powiedział do Goldwyna: “przecież ty się urodziłeś w Polsce, a mamy tu studenta z Polski”. Goldwyn zapytał, gdzie się urodziłem i kiedy powiadomiłem, że Warszawie, przyznał, że on też. Zapytał z kolei, ile mi zajęło czasu, żeby się dostać do Ameryki? Na moją odpowiedź, że trzy dni odparł: “A mnie trzy lata na piechotę” – wspomniał w rozmowie z PAP Krakowski.

Na kilka dni przed 91. ceremonią wręczenia statuetek Krakowski zapoznał miłośników kina z długą listą polskich twórców obdarowanych prestiżowym wyróżnieniem. Pośród nich wymienił m.in. Irvinga Sarafa, który się urodził w Łodzi i ma Oscara za pełnometrażowy dokument “In the Shadow of the Stars”, a także operatora Borysa Kaufmana pochodzącego z Białegostoku.

Max Factor i Petula Clark

Jak dodał, niewiele osób zdaje sobie sprawę, że Amerykańska Akademia Filmowa wyróżnia także osiągnięcia techniczne – za takie właśnie urodzony w Polsce producent najwyższej jakości sprzętu nagrywającego, Stefan Kudelski, zdobył cztery Oscary w kategorii technicznej; natomiast scenograf Anton Grot z Kiełbasina – jedną statuetkę za wynalezienie maszyny imitującej fale.

Tadeusz Krzanowski urodzony w Krośnie dostał nagrodę Akademii Filmowej za stworzenie systemu komputerowego do poruszania miniaturek w efektach specjalnych. W tej samej kategorii wygrał Eugen Schufftan pochodzący z Wrocławia. Wynalazł tzw. Filtry Schufftana i dostał Oscara za najlepsze zdjęcia do “Hazardzisty”.

Krakowski przypomniał, że w ogóle pierwszy nadany Oscar trafił do Maxa Factora ze Zduńskiej Woli. Ponieważ nie było jeszcze wówczas odpowiedniej kategorii, otrzymał on trofeum za rozwój światła żarowego. – Ci ludzie, a także wielu innych, są zapomniani. Nikt o nich w Polsce nie wspomina – argumentował Krakowski, który za produkcję dokumentu “California Reich” sam otrzymał w 1976 roku nominację do Oscara.

– Chcemy być mocarstwem, mamy wszelkie powody, żeby się chwalić, a tego nie robimy – podsumował reżyser, scenarzysta i producent, Andrzej Krakowski.

Can Israel’s first lunar mission solve a magnetic mystery?

Abigail Klein Leichman

With SpaceIL’s unmanned spacecraft set to lift off next week, the organization’s Science Team has included instruments that will help unlock the secrets of the Moon’s magnetic rocks.

SpaceIL’s Beresheet craft was shipped from Israel to Cape Canaveral in January 2019 ahead of an expected February launch. Photo courtesy of SpaceIL

After eight years of preparations costing $100 million, the SpaceIL Israeli unmanned spacecraft “Beresheet” (Genesis) is tentatively scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on February 21 and reach the rocky surface of the Moon six to eight weeks later following multiple orbits around Earth.

Prof. Oded Aharonson of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Department hopes to be at the launch along with the other seven members of SpaceIL International Science Team he heads.

The team members – from Israel, France and the United States — put scientific instruments aboard Beresheet to take measurements that they hope will shed new light on one of the basic enigmas about the Moon:

Although rocks collected by Apollo missions were found to be magnetic, the Moon’s iron core does not generate a global magnetic field as does the Earth’s iron core.

“On Earth the rocks are magnetized from the global magnetic field, but how and when did the lunar rocks get magnetized? If we can measure the magnetism of these rocks, we can begin to understand how and when this magnetism arose,” Aharonson tells ISRAEL21c.

Weizmann Institute of Science Prof. Oded Aharonson and the Beresheet lunar craft at Israel Aerospace Industries. Photo: courtesy

Scientists have various theories about how a temporary magnetic “dynamo” may have been generated on the Moon, perhaps from repeated asteroid impacts or from the long-ago dynamo action of the iron core that is now cool. But nobody knows how long that dynamo lasted.

“As we find younger and younger rocks – say 2 billion years old instead of 3 billion years old — that still have a magnetic signature, then we conclude the dynamo must have been alive for longer than previously hypothesized.

We’re motivated by this basic science question, to help us understand the universe around us,” says Aharonson, who earned his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Magnetometer expert Asaf Grosz from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s department of electrical and computer engineering helped integrate a sensor built at UCLA onto the Beresheet spacecraft.

This instrument will be calibrated by measuring the magnetic field of the craft itself while it is still on its way. Once Beresheet is in orbit around the Moon, the instrument will be able to detect and measure the lunar magnetic field in different areas.

The lander will employ this “retroreflector” to return a laser beam to its source on a NASA Moon Orbiter and thus determine Beresheet’s precise location. Photo: courtesy

The craft also carries a unique array of mirrors provided by NASA for reflecting a laser beam of light precisely back in the direction of its source, a NASA Moon Orbiter (LRO), enabling the scientific team to track the position of Beresheet on the surface.

The landing site was chosen carefully by the scientific team to ensure a smooth and safe touchdown in a suitable area for performing the scientific experiments and relaying results back to Earth.

“We’ve had a lot of experience studying the surface of the Moon including its topography and temperatures, so we synthesized all this information and narrowed it down to a dozen candidate landing sites without a lot of rocks and slopes, from which we selected the primary site to aim for,” says Aharonson. This area covers a few kilometers.

The Israeli spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. If it touches down successfully it will make Israel only the fourth country to land there after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.

SpaceIL is an independent initiative started in 2011 by Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Yonatan Winetraub to compete in the Google LunarX Prize competition. Although the competition officially ended in March 2018 with no winners, SpaceIL and its donors decided to continue working toward the goal of landing on the moon.

The 180-kilo Beresheet craft, built at Israel Aerospace Industries, was transported on January 17 in a cargo plane from Ben-Gurion Airport to Florida.

“After eight years of hard work, our dream has come true: We finally have a spacecraft,” said SpaceIL CEO Ido Anteby. “Shipping the spacecraft to the United States is the first stage of a complicated and historic journey to the moon. This is the first of many exciting moments, as we look forward to the forthcoming launch in Cape Canaveral.”

The Roast of Yasser Arafat

FazzFire