Tony Greenstein in three easy steps

A while ago there was some brouhaha on the ENGAGE site, caused by the rash (we think) decision of the team to provide space for Tony Greenstein's rebuttal of an excellent article by David Hirsh. David wrote about the pitiful attempt of TG and his few remaining friends to exonerate themselves of antisemitism accusations, leveled at the rabidly anti-Israeli Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).

The decision was a rash one, in our opinion, because, first of all, TG is not able to discuss anything at the level required for a dispute with David Hirsh. Being an indoctrinated old style communist, he tends to see the world in black and white, and his analytical ability is hardly above that of a dedicated Soviet party member (or a medium sized cucumber, for that matter). Just look at the way TG argues against the latest report on antisemitism in UK:

1. The chair of the committee is a right winger who denounced Chavez as "a ranting, populist demagogue". Besides Chavez being all that indeed, how is this relevant to the anti-Semitic attacks?
2. The committee "came to the question of anti-semitism from a rightwing political perspective." Probably being beat up by a leftwinger changes the picture drastically for a good Jew in Tony's book.
3. And where is a committee on the anti-Muslim abuse? It must be clear to all that absence of such committee makes that other committee's conclusions invalid...
4. The committee did not consult with anti-Zionists (read TG). Such a pity indeed that the committee preferred dry and boring police reports to TG's broader views...
5. And more of such claptrap

The above clearly shows TG the intellectual colossus, undoubtedly stretching the envelope that confines his scholarly prowess. What it also reveals is that he may require a smidgen more grey matter than he empirically possesses to stand David Hirsh a fair chance of igniting at least one used brain cell.

The other TG revelation is definitely one to be shunned by the gentle folks of Engage. We, however, will not overlook it. It appears that the fearless freedom fighter, the fervent communist, the dedicated community worker apparently has talents which are unjustly confined by the lowly limitations of the law. Using these astutely fine tuned talents, he has amassed an impressive portfolio:

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Well, well, what do you know? To repeat a few especially poignant sentences from the above:

• Mr Greenstein was not legally represented in court. Notes to which he referred during the hearing were written on the back of notepaper from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
• Reference was made in court to eleven previous convictions for a variety of offences.
• He had been barred from the university and was now writing a book about the Middle East.

Quite. A fraud, a crook and an expert on the Middle East...

(Of course, Tony Greenstein is not the rarest name in the world, but somehow I doubt that it is some other TG).

We normally do not deal with the issue of antisemitism, since the whole subject became a mire of accusations, counter-accusations, spins, straw men etc. Generally, we consider that we (the Jooz) do not have to be neither especially liked nor especially hated - just like all the other, moderately good, moderately evil, moderately straight, moderately lying, ... people. With TG and his ilk, however, it is kinda different. TG himself, of course, will vehemently deny a charge of antisemitism - after all he is not only a Joo but also a valiant fighter against antisemitism, as his latest escapade with his own baby PSC proved. After all, it is not that pleasant for one to be spat, pissed and shat upon by the organization one considers his brainchild (well, the baby has certainly inherited dad's brains in this case).

So, for the purpose, let's define a new category of antisemitism - let's call it de facto antisemitism. You see, Tony Greenstein says openly "Yes, I want the state of Israel to be destroyed." No, of course, he does not mean by that a physical extermination of 6 million Israelis. He just does not care what will happen to them - dispersed, drowned in the Mediterranean, knocking on the doors of benevolent Europeans for shelter or just subjected to the usual, run of the mill dhimmitude of the new Caliphate - no matter, as long as Tony sees what he perceives as historic justice carried out.

From where we stand, it makes Tony practically indistinguishable from any neo-Nazi or a two-bit Muslim Joo-hating tyrant: they want to kill or subjugate Jooz, he wants the same. The texts may vary slightly, the motives may be different, but the goal is the same. And the definition of "de facto anti-Semite" applies to TG in its fullness.

So, it is time to summarize. Who (or, rather, what) is Tony Greenstein:

1. A cerebrally incapacitated pixie.
2. A small-time tea leaf
3. A de facto anti-Semite

And this is only a short, partial and very sympathetic description. To boot - there are some more disgusting things I had an unhappy opportunity to step on, but not so many of them that I would need two hands to count.

There are many more details on this creature here. But to finish this TG probe on a happier note, here comes some poetic distraction:

Greenstein (to the tune of Greensleeves)

Composed by Syrian poet Abu Jihad:

Alas, Hamas, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in terrorist company.

chorus:
Greenstein, Nasrallah's joy
Greenstein's Hamas delight,
Greenstein the jihad toy,
And who but my dear Abu Greenstein.

More where the above came from.

Take care and do not step on it.

Cross-posted on Yourish.com.

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