S6: Episode 43 - Asa Winstanley

Asa Winstanley, an investigative journalist for the Electronic Intifada who has covered Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn since 2015, joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola to talk about the result of the UK election. Conservative Party Prime Minister Boris Johnson and conservatives won a resounding victory. Corbyn announced his resignation as Labour Party leader after a harsh defeat. Much of the outcome is owed to Brexit and how it divided the working class. There were many working people upset that the Labour Party supported a second referendum on Brexit, which seemed anti-democratic to them. Asa addresses this in the interview. But as Asa , from the very beginning, Corbyn failed—or refused—to forcefully reject the "Labour anti-Semitism" lying smear campaign directed at him. Propaganda pushed by the Israel lobby, the UK military and intelligence agencies, neoliberals, and right-wing conservatives was initially rejected by voters. But as the smears continued, it soon became accepted—Labour has an anti-Semitism problem and isn't doing enough to address it. By November, the campaign fully escalated to Corbyn is an anti-Semite. Asa discusses many aspects of this smear campaign and warns supporters of Bernie Sanders: don't let the same smears that sank Corbyn tank the Sanders campaign.