US Jewish media is reporting on a meeting between UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and US academic Hatem Bazian. According to the Algemeiner report:
DECEMBER 11, 2016 An official with British Jewry’s leading representative body sharply denounced last week’s meeting in London between Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and the co-founder of an international anti-Israel student group, saying it amounted to ‘two steps back’ in the battle against antisemitism.
Referring to Corbyn’s attendance at an event celebrating the publication of a book by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) founder Dr. Hatem Bazian, Board of Deputies of British Jews Vice President Mari van der Zyl told The Algemeiner on Friday that the move marks a departure from recent actions Labour has taken to combat Jew-hatred among its members.
‘In a week when the Labour Party has produced a discussion document on how to confront antisemitism within its ranks, and Corbyn visited the Nazi concentration camp at Terezin, it is profoundly disappointing that he also saw fit to attend a book launch hosted by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC),’ she said.
The IHRC, Van der Zyl said, is responsible for organizing ‘Al Quds Day’ in Britain, an annual display of hatred for Israel and support for terror movements, such as Hezbollah. The organization is also the same group that ‘gave its ‘Islamophobe of the Year’ award to the murdered staff of Charlie Hebdo — two months after they were butchered — and whose Genocide Memorial Day is deliberately timed to undermine Holocaust Memorial Day,’ she said.
‘We call on Corbyn to immediately disavow this disgraceful organization,’ she added.”
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Unfortunately, the article fails to identify other important ties of Hatem Bazian. According to an online biography, Bazian is a co-founder and Professor of Islamic Law and Theology at Zaytuna College,described as the 1st Accredited Muslim Liberal Arts College in the United States and a lecturer in the Departments of Near Eastern and Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. In Spring 2009, Bazian founded at Berkeley the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the Center for Race and Gender. In addition to academic work, Bazian is a is founder and national Chair of the American Muslims for Palestine and a board member of the Islamic Muslim Legal Fund of America.
The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is a Palestinian advocacy group with strong ties to both the US Muslim Brotherhood and to the Hamas support infrastructure in the US. A report by the Anti-Defamation League describes the AMP as follows:
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is the leading organization providing anti-Zionist training and education to students and Muslim community organizations in the country. Founded in 2005, AMP promotes extreme anti-Israel views and has at times provided a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans about ‘the just cause of Palestine and the rights of self-determination.’
Although the size of its membership remains unclear, the Chicago-based non-profit organization operates several chapters across the country. While its educational efforts have been primarily geared toward providing the Muslim community with inflammatory rhetoric and false accusations against Israel to promote advocacy for Palestine, AMP has also placed a heavy emphasis on supporting and helping coordinate the activity of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the primary organizer of anti-Israel events on campus with dozens of chapters.
AMP seeks to delegitimize and demonize the Jewish state. Its materials are prominently featured at its events and conferences, in its publications and through materials available on its website.
In March 2013, AMP unveiled a billboard campaign on Metro North stations in suburban New York falsely accusing Israel of ‘apartheid.’ The ad, which was announced on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, features the silhouette of an Israeli soldier aiming a gun at a Palestinian child and called for an end to ‘unconditional American aid for Israel.'”
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Fore more on the AMP, go here.
At least half of the board of Directors of the Muslim Legal Fund (MLFA) is comprised of individuals who are leaders in US Muslim Brotherhood organizations including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT) which operates the Dallas Central Mosque that has been known to be tied to Hamas support.
UK Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn is known for his close relationship to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support infrastructure in the UK.