Some excerpts:

"According to a nationally prominent Zionist spokesperson, former Congressman, Federal Judge, White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton and early backer of Obama, Abner Mikvner, “Barack Obama is the first Jewish President”. Mikvner’s affirmation reflects both Obama’s one-sided and longstanding commitment to the State of Israel and loyalty to the Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC) in the United States, as well as the long-term and successful effort of a network of financially and politically powerful Jewish Zionists to ‘embed’ Obama to their ‘Israel First’ political apparatus."

"...Historically this has been mirrored in the continuous claims of some American Jews to have fought and won the battle of Civil Rights in the 60’s on behalf of African Americans – essentially denying black Americans any independent political role in their own struggle."

(Even if true - which I've seen no evidence of - this has absolutely nothing to do with "Zionism," or Israel for that matter. It does, however, focus on "the Jews" as a people group.)

"The ZPC offers positive inducements for the ‘recruitable’ and threats of retaliation and intimidation via media slanders and systematic public pillory through most Jewish communal organizations for the public political critics of Israel who remain recalcitrant and refuse to toe the Israel-First line."

"Brzezinski was accused of advocating what he called “an even-handed Middle East policy”, something clearly ‘anti-Semitic’ in the eyes of the unconditional supporters of Israel who dominate the Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations (PMAJO). Worse still he praised the Walt-Mearsheimer book critical of the Israel Lobby, a capital offense in the eyes of most of the Jewish political spectrum."

"Obama’s purge of any and all moderate voices on Middle East policy, his placement of fanatical Israel-Firsters in most key positions in his campaign and new Administration reflects his long-term, deep immersion into the Zionist Power Configuration. The result is a “Jewish President” – in the sense that most key White House, economic and security appointments reflect pre-election Zionist power in the making, indoctrination and scripting of the Obama candidacy."

* * *

The article makes a deliberate effort to blur the line between "Jewishness" and "Zionism." In doing so it simply mirrors the agenda of those it claims to criticise by identifying Israel the nation state with the Jews as a politically, socially and geographically diverse group. That the author hijacks the Palestinian situation to do so simply makes the situation that bit more revolting.

Similarly, the dire warnings about the supposed Jewish political and financial elite orchestrating US politics behind the scenes, combined with terms such as "Zionist Power Configuration" (does ZOG ring any bells?), make the author's agenda abundantly clear.

Why, then, is the article still visible on the newswire over thirty hours after it was first published - particularly given that other articles published later have been placed on the promoted newswire, showing that administrators are awake and active?

Israel is a nation state and it, and its supporter organisations around the world, are as legitimate targets for criticism as any other nation or group. However, attempts to tie this criticism to "The Jews" as a collective group are frankly despicable, and that this - rather than nationalism, religious fundamentalism and foreign policy - forms the focus of the article is a major cause for concern.

I should make one thing very clear. I am not, in any sense, accusing the IMC UK collective of promoting, supporting or harbouring anti-Semitic beliefs. I have been a regular reader and contributor of Indymedia for many years and see it as a valuable resource. It is for this very reason that the abuse of the site by anti-Semites and fascists is so troubling. More troubling is the apparent reluctance to deal with this problem.

Anti-Semites have, unfortunately, used Indymedia for their own ends in the past. Information can be found at:
 http://www.socialistunity.com/?p=1707
 http://geniza.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/atzmons-anti-semitism-part-v/
 http://www.shiftmag.co.uk/3gohamasgo.html

I do not agree with all of the statements in the articles linked above. However, they demonstrate the concern which has risen in recent years over the use of Indymedia by anti-Semites and a variety of conspiracy theorists, cloaking their bigotry in progressive, humanitarian language.

Politics may make strange bedfellows, but some supposed comrades should be made to sleep on the couch.