Asa Winstanley
 Asa Winstanley    (journalist) | |
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Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist living in London who writes about Palestine and the Middle East. He has lived in occupied Palestine and writes for The Electronic Intifada, the New Left Project and Ceasefire. He worked for two years in the occupied West Bank and was managing sub-editor of the Palestine Times, an English language daily newspaper.[1]
Contents
Suspended by Labour
On 12 March 2019, Labour Against the Witchhunt condemned the suspension of Asa Winstanley, a journalist and associate editor of The Electronic Intifada. Winstanley learnt this from a story in the Jewish Chronicle, which stated that he had been suspended for calling the Jewish Labour Movement a “proxy for the Israeli Embassy”.
The disciplinary measures against Asa Winstanley are a full frontal attack on freedom of speech. Winstanley has written a number of well-researched articles showing how the ‘anti-Semitism campaign’ in the Labour Party has been manufactured by pro-Zionist groups (for example, How Israel lobby manufactured UK Labour Party’s anti-Semitism crisis and Jewish Labour Movement was refounded to fight Corbyn).
Leaked to Jewish Chronicle
We are outraged that once again, the compliance unit has leaked details of Labour’s disciplinary processes to the Jewish Chronicle and the press before the person themselves has been notified. This is in clear violation of the General Data Protection Regulations and is illegal. The compliance unit should be shut down. It is not fit for purpose.
Automatic suspensions reinstated
The last two weeks have seen a worrying acceleration of the witch-hunt against pro-Corbyn members. It seems that general secretary Jennie Formby has reinstated automatic suspensions over the most minor accusations:
- Councillor Stuart Porthouse, former mayor of Sunderland, was suspended for sharing an interview with George Galloway on Sky News.
- Sean McCallum, mayoral candidate in Mansfield, has been suspended on the basis of two tweets questioning the origins of a meme that Naz Shah MP had posted.
- And Chris Williamson MP has been suspended for daring to question the party’s tactics over the campaign to conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
None of the above are under investigation for anything remotely anti-Semitic. It has become an offence merely to question the very assertion that there is widespread anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. What we are now seeing is Orwellian. As Asa Winstanley said at a recent meeting:
- “They’re trying to defeat the man by demoralising, splitting and defeating the left movement supporting him.”[2]
Books
Asa Winstanley is the co-author of "Corporate Complicity in Israel's Occupation" (Pluto, 2011).[3]
A Document by Asa Winstanley
| Title | Document type | Publication date | Subject(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Labour expulsion hearing set for anti-Zionist Jackie Walker | Article | 5 February 2019 | Israel/Lobby Jeremy Corbyn Jewish Labour Movement Chris Williamson WitchHunt Jackie Walker National Constitutional Committee | WitchHunt documentary: “We are determined to get it out whatever the threats,” Jackie Walker vows |
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Festival of Whistleblowing Dissent and Accountability | 8 May 2021 | 8 May 2021 | Internet | Whistleblowing event held in 2021. |
