I will never understand what leads otherwise intelligent, otherwise liberal, otherwise compassionate and caring individuals along the well travelled path to anti-Semitism. To be fair, I'm sure they'd say it was anti-Zionism rather than anti-Semitism. That they have nothing against individual Jews. Per se. But all I hear are members of the National Front saying that they have no particular issue with individual black people per se.
The roots of Labours Anti-Semitism problem go way back. Farther still than when the Jewish Board of Deputies quit Ken Livingstone's Rainbow Coalition to back Margaret Thatcher in the 80's. But that's certainly where the roots of the current problem lie. The student activists I knew back then were enamoured of Red Ken and the GLC. And Thatcher was part of everything we hated - she was pro-Pinochet, pro-Reagan, pro-Apartheid. Pro strong far right Israel, depriving the Palestinians of a state. There was a far right alliance of Eighties evil supervillainy, and Israel chose.
But that's just stupid isn't it?
Every Labour group in the land had Palestinian friends. Did you see the Little Drummer girl? That was us, with our head scarves. Our demos and our marches. And the people who ran the Labour party? If you questioned the dogma, Militant were there to quash you. If you didn't believe 100% in glorious socialist revolution, if you hadn't picked a side - THE side - you were an enemy.
Remember when Ken Livingstone said a Jewish reporter was acting like a concentration camp guard?
Dogma is insidious like that. It dehumanises. Dogma of all shapes and all sizes, is what we on the left should be fighting against. And sometimes that means yes, I can hold two incontrovertible and opposed policies in my head at once. Sure, maybe that means I can't be part of your secret squirrel club. But it means I treat every individual I meet as their own person - hopefully. I won't blame them for the actions of people whose religion they share, or the actions of their government.
Because deep down I am selfish. God knows, our country was part of that axis of evil too. So I have to hope that people treat me with the same accord.
Here's the thing. Labour have been caught in a bind, of having friends and enemies driven by forty year old dogma. That's the sad truth here. But anti-Semitism is driven by two thousand year old dogma. It's a slippery slope, well signposted. You know well who your fellow travellers are.