Searchlight

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The logo of the organisation is similar to a 1919 widespread image by the Jewish Soviet Communist El Lissitzky, which was intended to illustrate the supremacy of the (Soviet) Red Communists over the (Soviet) White anti-Communists.[1][2] See also Mass killings under Communist regimes regarding Soviet treatment of opponents and others.
Searchlight front cover from 2017.

Searchlight was founded in February 1975 and is a Jewish-communist "anti-fascist" magazine, and describes itself as an "organisation" in the United Kingdom. In fact it is a tiny group of fanatics. It is in involved with surveillance and propaganda and has significant similarities with the ADL and the SPLC. Its obsessions border on paranoia.

Founding

Founders included the communist Jews Maurice Ludmer and Gerry Gable.[3] Ludmer was the first editor and a member of the steering group of the first Anti-Nazi League. Gable, who stood for the Communist Party (UK) in several elections, was editor for decades until he handed this role to his wife, Sonya.

See also the article on the 62 Group.

Activities

Searchlight's main focus is to survey and attack groups such as the National Front, the British National Party, the New Right and anyone else, groups or individuals, remotely right-wing or seriously conservative. During the 1970s in particular they concentrated a great deal of effort on stigmatising and demonising the Conservative Monday Club. In the 1980s they paid similar attention to the Western Goals Institute. They were completely obsessed with the British National Party and its steady rise culminating, in the early 21st century, with several seats in the European parliament. More recently it published criticisms of the UKIP, sections of the Conservative Party and, lately, the Traditional Britain Group. In May 2013 Gable made direct contact with Member of Parliament Jacob Rees-Mogg who was to address that year's Annual Dinner of the group, advising Mogg that he should not attend, and libelling and smearing the TBG urging the MP to cancel. Mogg, however, honoured his obligation. In 2015 he provided libellous and unsubstantiated smear "evidence" (doubtless supplied by the SPLC et al) against American author Michael Cushman[4] to the fake conservative Home Secretary Theresa May who then banned him from entry to the United Kingdom just as he was about to board his plane.

Some of the claims made by Searchlight derive from unsubstantiated information provided by hostile infiltrators and defectors, who are Far-Left fellow-travellers, and non-neutral and unreliable sources. Some claims have even been stated to be from agent provocateurs. (See the "External links" section.) The veracity of some of Searchlight’s claims has been called into question in court, occasionally resulting in legal damages, notably in the cases involving Alexander Baron.[5][6]

Alleged links

Searchlight's publisher Gerry Gable is said to have links with MI5. His leaked 1977 London Weekend Television memo stated that he had "given names I have acquired to be checked out by British/French security services".[7] A 1987 profile referred to Gable's "wide range of contacts, including people in the secret services".[8]

Criminal activities

In November 1963, David Irving called the London Metropolitan Police with suspicions he had been the victim of a burglary by three men who had gained access to his flat claiming to be General Post Office (GPO) engineers. Gerry Gable was subsequently arrested and admitted breaking in with intent to steal private papers. At the trial, counsel for the defence claimed that this was no ordinary crime, telling the court, "they hoped to find material they could take to Special Branch". The case was reported in the Daily Telegraph, 17 January 1964 and other newspapers.[9]

BBC

In 1984 Gerry Gable was commissioned by the Far-Left BBC to produce "research" for a BBC Panorama programme "Maggie's Militant Tendency". The episode was to focus on the BBC's claim of right-wing extremism in the Conservative Party. Gable claimed that his "research" drew upon the information previously published in Searchlight![10] Gable claimed that two right-wing Conservative party politicians, Neil Hamilton and Gerald Howarth, were secret extremist "Nazi" supporters was met with their libel action against the BBC. The programme had alleged (not admitted as evidence in court) that Hamilton gave a National Socialist salute in Berlin while 'messing around' on a Parliamentary visit in August 1983. The Guardian reported that "Writing for the Sunday Times after the collapse of the case, Hamilton admitted he did give a little salute with two fingers to his nose to give the impression of a toothbrush moustache. "Somebody on the trip clearly did not share our sense of humour," he wrote."[11] The BBC were forced to capitulate on 21 October. Hamilton and Howarth were awarded £20,000 each in damages and in the next edition of Panorama on 27 October, the BBC made an unreserved apology to both. Costs of £1,000,000 were awarded against the BBC.

Antifa

Even politically correct sources state that Searchlight has been closely associated with antifa (Anti-Fascist Action).

Questioning Funds

At the insistence of the British National Party, Searchlight and its associated bogus Searchlight Educational Trust were investigated by the British Charity Commission as a result of a complaint that claimed that the Educational Trust had been engaging in political activity incompatible with its charitable status.

The Commission's report stated that, in its opinion, the Searchlight Educational Trust had gone beyond the Commission's guidelines on political activities, and found there was a need for a greater distinction between the public activities of Searchlight magazine and the educational trust. No action was taken as the charity agreed to follow the Commission's recommendations.

Infighting

In 1962, after 10 years' membership, Gable left the Communist Party to "concentrate on anti-fascist work and because the party had begun to adopt an anti-Israel line".[12] Gable's son has served in the Israeli army.[13]

Searchlight had an earlier close relationship with CARF, the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, whose magazine was published as an insert from 1979. This arrangement was put under strain by the perception that Searchlight maintained too close a relationship with pro-Zionist groups. This strain came to a head in 1991 when Gerry Gable was accused of excluding leading Asian anti-racists, and when he published an article promoting the openly pro-Israeli/pro-Zionist Jewish Action Group in the pages of Searchlight the CARF editorial group decided to end their relationship with Searchlight.

The British anarchist website www.libcom.org has a number of articles critical of Searchlight.[14][15][16] The magazine Green Anarchist has also been critical.[17]

Factions & splits

Searchlight was earlier part of the steering committee of Unite Against Fascism but split after a falling out. This may reflect conflicts between the pro-Zionist Searchlight and the pro-Muslim Unite Against Fascism.

Hope not Hate was founded in 2004 by Nick Lowles, a former sub-editor of Searchlight. Hope-not-Hate functioned as part of Searchlight until 2011, when the two organisations split.[18] As a separate organisation, Hope-not-Hate took with it two of the three units of Searchlight: Searchlight Educational Trust (SET), a charity; and Searchlight Information Services (SIS), its research and investigative function.[19]

See also

External links

The Website Of Alexander Baron

Article archives

References

  1. ↑ Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge. University of Southern California. Retrieved on 14 March 2012.
  2. ↑ “Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge” by Lissitzky (1919), “Books!” by Rodchenko (1923), and “Electrification of the Entire Country” by Klutsis (1920). Art as Inspiration and Source of Meaning. Retrieved on 14 March 2012.
  3. ↑ http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/gerry-gable/
  4. ↑ Our Southern Nation - Its Origin and Future, by Michael Cushman.
  5. ↑ Alexander Baron Alexander Baron v.Gerry Gable and Others: Summary of One of the Libel Actions of the Decade (and Related Legal Actions) ITMA, ISBN 1871473195 (1997)
  6. ↑ The Independent 22 June 1996
  7. ↑ First published in the New Statesman 15 February 1980, reproduced in Lobster magazine, issue 24 December 1992
  8. ↑ Jewish Chronicle 23 October 1987
  9. ↑ You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.. Kate Sharpley Library. Retrieved on 20 September 2009.
  10. ↑ Searchlight, No.130, April 1986, p2
  11. ↑ Wilson, Jamie (December 22, 1999). "Who will listen to his story now?". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/dec/22/hamiltonvalfayed.jamiewilson3. 
  12. ↑ The Review, February 1999
  13. ↑ Jewish Chronicle, October 23, 1987
  14. ↑ http://libcom.org/library/searchlight-for-beginners-larry-o-hara
  15. ↑ http://libcom.org/library/bash-the-fash-anti-fascist-recollections-1984-1993/appendix-1-searchlight
  16. ↑ http://libcom.org/library/searchlight-and-the-state
  17. ↑ At War with the Truth The True Story of Searchlight Agent Tim Heppl: http://www.spunk.org/library/antifasc/sp000525.html
  18. ↑ Lowles, Nick. The Future of HOPE not hate. Socialist Unity. Retrieved on 29 October 2012.
  19. ↑ Hope not hate structure. Hope not Hate. Retrieved on 25 April 2014.}
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