http://azvas.blogspot.com/2008/05/trance-pleads-with-left-for-political.html

You are completely misinformed about the JSG as regards Women Against Fundamentalism – our link with them has been strong throughout, though WAF itself has had quieter periods. Nevertheless, over the years members of WAF have spoken to JSG meetings and written for our magazine. Last year two longstanding WAF members, Pragna and Georgie, gave a talk to the JSG about issues around education and religion.

WAF has revived its activities in the last couple of years – which we are very pleased about as we are on very similar wavelengths – and members and close friends of the JSG participate within it very actively. When WAF relaunched itself with a seminar nearly two years ago a JSG member was one of the key speakers.

Mikey, yes we do have factional disputes in the JSG . Some of us support West Ham while others support Spurs or even Man U. This has not prevented us from unity in action. And btw, a groysen dank for your concern for my kishkas while I was playing footie.

I can only speak from my erstwhile close friendship with 2 people in JSG and a previous aquaintance with one other- so the attitude to Islam and other aspects are based on frequent discussions with them, reports from them, and occasional sight of various resolutions. I did wonder how much this person knew about the history of socialism, not only on the evidence that I once jokingly called her a useful idiot and she was deeply shocked, thinking I had literally insulted her intellectual capacity- she had never heard the phrase and it held no resonance for her.

I may have also been influenced by the complete ignorance you displayed about our politics. To put it charitably if you did read our magazine you didn’t understand it.

For example you say,”Given the reverence I was hearing at the time for Islam from your ranks,” – if you know anything at all about the JSG (which I’m not sure you do) you’ll know that we are strongly secularist and pretty unforgiving of any attempt by anyone from any religion to undermine human rights or link their religion to political power – whether it is Islam, judaism, Christianity, Hinduism or others. Over many years the JSG has worked very closely with Women Against Fundamentalism (in the first instance in the wake of the Rushdie affair in 1989) and we fully share their irreverence and their attitude of putting human rights first.

If you know anything about the JSG’s involvement in the anti-war movement you will know that we have argued that it should be a movement under a secular umbrella rather than an alliance with an Islamist organisation representing a particular political strand within Muslim communities. So I don’t honestly know what your comment is based on other than your own uninformed speculation.

Still I agree 100% with you when you say “there is enough of JSG in the public domain that speaks for itself regarding its qualities.” But please have the decency to read what we say and understand it before you rubbish it. Read it and you might even find that we agree on some things

We’re always happy to argue our case with those who disagree strongly and honestly with our analysis. That seems a bit more worthwhile than just hurling gratuitous insults.

Thats the reason why the Palestinians always insist the post-48 Arab expulsion, dispossession and racism against the Jews of Arab states has to be separated from their concerns. They know that the other Arab regimes will never cut a deal on this issue with reference to them – they’ll just leave them in the refugee camps rather than pay out the compensation.