Tony Greenstein

Tony Greenstein has been a political activist for all his adult life, mainly focusing on Palestine, anti-racist and anti-fascist activities. Tony is a founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Britain and Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods. He has recently authored A History of Fighting Fascism in Brighton and the South Coast.

Tony has written for many publications including Tribune, Labour Briefing and Weekly Worker. His writings have been published in Hodder & Stoughton’s The Essentials of Philosophy & Ethics (2006). Tony has also written a number of articles for the Guardian’s Comment is Free, before being censored because he rejected the idea that comparing Zionism and the Israeli State to the Nazis was anti-Semitic. He has been a fierce critic of anti-Semitism in the Palestine solidarity movement, in particular the supporters of Gilad Atzmon.

Tony is a member of Brighton & Hove Trades Council, UNISON and Secretary of Brighton & Hove Unemployed Workers Centre. He is an activist in the Brighton Benefits Campaign. Tony is a law graduate who works in the area of employment rights.

Latest articles by Tony Greenstein

They are all Palestinians

We should invest our hopes in national uprisings, not working class unity and socialism. Tony Greenstein replies to Moshé Machover

Distracting from genocide

In the midst of Israel’s war on Gaza the ‘official communist’ CPB has launched a series of seminars on anti-Semitism. The problem is that the narrative comes directly from Zionist sources. Tony Greenstein investigates

My Zionist general secretary

Sharon Graham attacks Unite’s own staff and declares her support for Nato and western imperialism, writes Tony Greenstein. So when are the SWP, SPEW and Counterfire going to stop supporting her?

Is Hamas anti-Semitic?

October 7 was an attack directed against Israelis - not because they were Jews, but because they were occupiers. Tony Greenstein accuses Dan Lazare of being an apologist for Zionism

Not a religious war

Daniel Lazare lumps Hamas together with the Zionists, argues Tony Greenstein. But socialists should unconditionally support the oppressed

Elephant in the room

It is Zionism, not anti-Zionism, that is joined to anti-Semitism. Tony Greenstein calls out the CPB’s resident Zionist, Mary Davis

Placing anti-Semitism in context

Supposedly demanding free speech for everyone is mere infatuation. Tony Greenstein defends David Miller and upholds no-platforming as a fundamental principle

Not a minor issue

Marching with Zionists, excusing Zionism and standing in solidarity with Palestine. Tony Greenstein investigates the contradictions generated by crass opportunism

A bogus imperialist narrative

Many people imagine Israel as the natural representative of Jewish memory. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tony Greenstein introduces his new book Zionism during the holocaust

Far right triumphs

Tony Greenstein refuses to shed a tear for the virtual disappearance of the hypocritical Zionist ‘left’. They provided cover for Israel’s racism and kept alive the bogus two-state solution

Moving ever further right

November’s election is far from certain. The only thing for sure is that the next coalition government will be dominated either by the far right or the still further to the right, argues Tony Greenstein

An open letter to ACR

Tony Greenstein accuses Anti-Capitalist Resistance of giving succour to the ‘anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism’ witch-hunt in the Labour Party

All about press freedom

The case of Julian Assange represents the most dangerous and concerted attack on journalism and freedom of the press in over a century, says Tony Greenstein

Pro-war socialists

In the name of ‘critical support’ for ‘Russian defence’ of Donbas, Tony Greenstein attacks Gilbert Achcar, Anti-Capitalist Resistance and the so-called Fourth International

Key issue is not Russia

Left must oppose the invasion of Ukraine, insists Tony Greenstein, but who bears ultimate responsibility for the carnage?

Get out of Zionist ghetto

Communists say national liberation is a task of the working class. Tony Greenstein takes issue with the left Zionism of Daniel Lazare

Self-declared heretic replies

Tony Greenstein insists that the merging of LAW and LIEN is precisely the ‘twin-track’ approach that Jack Conrad advocates

Not a liquidation?

Abandoning any pretence of class politics, Tony Greenstein defends what he calls the ‘merger’ of LAW and LIEN and advocates yet another ‘transitional’ halfway-house broad front

No saving graces

Tony Greenstein reviews 'Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis: what the left got wrong and how to learn from it' by David Renton (Routledge, 2021, pp230, £19.99)

Double standards

If there is free speech for gender-critical feminists, asks Tony Greenstein, why does this not apply to critics of Zionism?

Setting the record straight

Tony Greenstein reviews 'Labour, the anti-Semitism crisis and the destroying of an MP' by Lee Garratt (Thinkwell Books, 2021, pp237, £10)

Facing terminal defeat

Yes, we must continue to fight in the Labour Party, writes Tony Greenstein, but what about those who have left or been expelled?

Poverty of solidarity

The failure of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign to oppose Zionism and the Jewish supremacist nature of the Israeli state renders it politically incoherent, argues Tony Greenstein

Discussion not permitted

Supposedly, debating a motion on ending the illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and imposing sanctions on Israel would make Jews in the Labour Party feel ‘unsafe and unwelcome’. Tony Greenstein reports on Labour's silencers

House built on sand

The only common factor in the aspiring eight-party coalition is an aversion to Binyamin Netanyahu. Tony Greenstein thinks it cannot last long

Pogrom state made manifest

The far-right terror campaign against Palestinians sees the police arresting those who dare resist. Meanwhile global opposition to Israel grows apace. Tony Greenstein looks at the changing picture

Reality of ethnic cleansing

Tony Greenstein argues that despite its military might the Zionist state is losing the propaganda war

Protecting death factories

Tony Greenstein reports on his arrest and week-long detention over a planned direct‑action protest against Elbit, a notorious Israeli arms company

Collapse of Corbyn project

Tony Greenstein reviews 'Left out: the inside story of Labour under Corbyn' by Benjamin Pogrund and Patrick McGuire as well Owen Jones's 'This land: the struggle for the left'

An establishment bigot

Tony Greenstein does not mourn the death of rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks (March 8 1948 - November 7 2020)

Destroyed by fake ‘anti-Semitism’

The pro-Starmer right has succeeded in bringing down Brighton and Hove’s Labour administration, writes Tony Greenstein

Contradictions of Zionism

Tony Greenstein reviews Daphna Levit's 'Wrestling with Zionism: Jewish voices of dissent'

Cowardice and opportunism

Lindsey German has refused to withdraw the implication that the Stop the War Coalition will not associate itself with those expelled from Labour. Tony Greenstein reports

Socialist Fight’s split

Gerry Downing has dropped his support for Ian Donovan’s anti-Semitic theories about a pan-national Jewish-Zionist bourgeoisie. But, asks Tony Greenstein, what took him so long?

Decline of secular Zionism

Despite indictments for corruption, Netanyahu has come out on top, writes Tony Greenstein.

Zionism and anti-Semitism

Stanley Heller 'Zionist betrayal of Jews, from Herzl to Netanyahu' self-published, 2019, pp147. Available from Middle East Crisis Committee, Box 3626, Woodbridge CT, 06525, USA, for a donation of $10 or more.

An exercise in futility

For the leadership of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign it as though the last four years of ‘anti-Semitism’ smears and the defeat of Jeremy Corbyn had not happened. Tony Greenstein reports on the AGM.

Smoke without fire

Jamie Stern-Weiner (editor) Anti-Semitism and the Labour Party Verso, December 2019, free e-book, pp278

Expect the worst, hope for the best

Corbyn has only himself to blame for Labour’s predicament, writes Tony Greenstein.

Socialists should support Williamson

The left is not obliged to abide by rules which the right holds in such contempt, argues Tony Greenstein.

Book they want to ban

Greg Philo, Mike Berry, Justin Schlosberg, Anthony Lerman, David Miller 'Bad news for Labour: anti-Semitism, the party and public belief' Pluto Press, 2019, pp288, £14.99

Still deadlocked

As Israel moves further and further to the openly racist far right, there is no longer any room for a hypocritical Zionist left that talks equality and practises ethnic cleansing, writes Tony Greenstein.

Reject the IHRA

The decision of Tower Hamlets council to refuse to host the Big Ride for Palestine is both cowardly and shameful, writes Tony Greenstein

BBC’s war on Corbyn

Panorama’s ‘Is Labour anti-Semitic?’ would have made Pravda proud, argues Tony Greenstein

Zionism’s political crisis

Tony Greenstein looks beyond the possible voting figures, as Israel awaits a second election

Reclaim the holocaust

The holocaust memorial industry is doing nothing to either remember or warn against other genocides, writes Tony Greenstein

Israel and the ‘new anti-Semitism’

Review: ‘The British left and Zionism - history of a divorce’ by Paul Kelemen, Manchester University Press, 2012, pp227, £16.99

Decline and fall of the Zionist left

While the Israeli Labor Party has slumped to a record low, Meretz was saved by Arab votes. Tony Greenstein reports

Ever further to the right

In the Knesset election campaign, writes Tony Greenstein, the main parties are arguing about who will be more successful in getting rid of the Palestinians

No longer part of left

The AWL is clearly in alliance with Tom Watson and the Labour right, argues Tony Greenstein

In alliance with neo-Nazis

While Labour MPs fuel fake ‘anti-Semitism’ witch-hunt, Israel moves to the far right. Tony Greenstein reports on the tectonic shift

Zionism’s inherent contradictions

Review of 'Judas' by Amos Oz (Vintage, 2017, pp274, £8.99)

Siding with Labour right

There is a rogue’s gallery of left sects, says Tony Greenstein, but the AWL must surely be the worst

Far-right rising: time to rethink

Exaggerating our numbers and claiming non-existent victories does not strengthen us, writes Tony Greenstein. It leads to complacency

IHRA and free speech

Both Zionists and the British far right want to make criticism of Israel unacceptable, reports Tony Greenstein

Sophistry in the service of Zionism

Brian Klug, the Oxford academic, cannot see the wood for the trees, writes Tony Greenstein

One rule for members ...

Tony Greenstein describes how his defence of Stan Keable, who was dismissed as a council housing officer under the ‘anti-Semitism’ purge, led to his own suspension

United with far right

Tony Greenstein reports on a demonstration against ‘anti-Semitism’ that brought together the English Defence League and Jewish Labour Movement

A racist state

Labour’s adoption of the IHRA definition was a shameful betrayal of the Palestinians, writes Tony Greenstein

Time for Corbyn to start fighting back

Israel is an apartheid state, writes Tony Greenstein, and saying so is not anti-Semitic

Not fit for purpose

Margaret Hodge’s attack on Jeremy Corbyn demonstrates why the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism must be ditched, writes Tony Greenstein

Clarity as to the reality

The open racism of Netanyahu is preferable to the platitudes of liberal Zionism, argues Tony Greenstein

Ethnic cleansing continues

Israel is moving Palestinians into bleak and desolate townships located next to rubbish dumps, writes Tony Greenstein

No such thing as socialist Zionism

The historic contradictions of the Zionist left are being played out in the death throes of Meretz, writes Tony Greenstein

No criticism permitted

Tony Greenstein reports on the case of Stan Keable, whose employer is threatening to dismiss him for his opposition to Zionism

Corbyn: grow a backbone

Sacrificing an outstanding anti-racist for having dared to criticise a pro-Israel MP will only increase the appetite of the right, warns Tony Greenstein

Both sides of the fence

Leftist intellectuals have taken fright when faced with the ‘anti-Semitism’ smear campaign. Tony Greenstein responds to Richard Seymour

Another agenda

After the March 30 Israeli massacre of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza, Tony Greenstein examines the hypocrisy of Britain’s Zionists

Demonstrators mowed down

But if you protest too much you will be condemned as anti-Semitic, warns Tony Greenstein

Shame on the SWP

SUTR accepted the Zionist ‘anti-Semitism’ narrative, writes Tony Greenstein. Despite that the Confederation of Friends of Israel Scotland was finally kept off the march ... by unofficial action

Racist by definition

Tony Greenstein explains why Israel’s government is introducing a Jewish nation-state law

Expelled for opposing Zionism

Tony Greenstein reports back from his disciplinary hearing

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer man

Jeremy Newmark, the ‘ideal representative’ of the Jewish Labour Movement, stands accused of all manner of wrongdoing. Tony Greenstein calls on the Labour Party to act

Two-faced hypocrisy

The Ahed Tamimi affair exposes the failure of western feminism to oppose Zionism and imperialism, writes Tony Greenstein

Being black is their only crime

Thousands of Israelis are attempting to stop the deportation of African refugees, reports Tony Greenstein

Anti-Semites not welcome

Tony Greenstein explains why Socialist Fight must be excluded from Labour Against the Witchhunt

Anti-Semitism? It’s Israel, stupid!

Tony Greenstein responds to the false accusations made against him as part of the rightwing-driven witch-hunt. This is an edited version of his submission to Labour’s national constitutional committee

Zionism and holocaust abuse

It is completely legitimate to draw comparisons with the Nazis, insists Tony Greenstein

Both sides of the witch-hunt

It is not anti-Semitic to refer to the mutual praise exchanged between the Nazis and Zionists. Tony Greenstein examines the AWL’s political schizophrenia

Centrepiece of imperial strategy

On the centenary of the Balfour declaration, Tony Greenstein looks at the reasons underlying British support for Zionism

Don’t be disheartened

Despite the outrageous expulsion of Moshé Machover, writes Tony Greenstein, Labour’s pro-Zionists are increasingly isolated

Don’t abandon Palestinian cause

The National Policy Forum wants to end Labour’s opposition to the occupation, writes Tony Greenstein

What Zionists want suppressed

Tony Greenstein reviews: Thomas Suarez, State of terror - how terrorism created modern Israel, Skyscraper Publications, 2016, pp418, £20

The Corbyn phenomenon

It is important to know where we are and where we are going, argues Tony Greenstein

May’s fatal miscalculation

Corbyn must press home his advantage after June 8, urges Tony Greenstein

Collaboration that haunts Zionism

Tony Greenstein reviews: Paul Bogdanor, 'Kasztner’s crimes', Routledge, 2016, pp335, £61.59

No self-determination

The overthrow of Zionism is incompatible with a Hebrew nation, argues Tony Greenstein, in this reply to Moshé Machover

Defend Livingstone against the witch-hunt

The April 9 London Communist Forum featured two opening speakers. Each comrade took a particular angle on the ‘Anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism’ lie

Labour’s Star Chamber

Why do the witch-hunters refuse to deal with the content? Tony Greenstein comments on the Livingstone verdict

Behind the charitable mask

Not only Theresa May, but Jeremy Corbyn too, have lent their support to an entirely bogus definition of anti-Semitism. This can only benefit Zionist outfits such as the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, writes Tony Greenstein

Zionist attack on free speech

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign must oppose bogus definitions of ‘anti-Semitism’, argues Tony Greenstein

The fight for democracy is not a split

Lansman’s coup should be resisted by founding a democratic Momentum, urges Tony Greenstein

Slow moving car crash

Support for article 50 is a failure of both principle and strategy, writes Tony Greenstein

Zionism cannot be appeased

Jon Lansman’s coup was an act of desperation. No credibility should be given to his imposed constitution, argues Tony Greenstein

Fake claims blown apart

Al Jazeera’s The lobby exposes the establishment’s ‘anti-Semitism’ claims for what they are, writes Tony Greenstein

Jewish or a democratic state?

The left should welcome Donald Trump’s nomination of David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel, writes Tony Greenstein

Quest for purity

Is dubbing Israel a ‘racist state’ anti-Semitic? Tony Greenstein looks at the reality on the ground

A welcome for Trump and Bannon

Anti-Semitism has never been a problem for Zionism, observes Tony Greenstein

Silence is as good as compliance

Iain McNicol has banned discussion of Zionism, anti-Semitism and the internal witch-hunt, reports Tony Greenstein

Redefining anti-Semitism

The transparent dishonesty of the home affairs select committee is remarkable, writes Tony Greenstein

More than just cowardice

Tony Greenstein explains why the case of Jackie Walker is so important

Caving in to the witch-hunt

The targeting of Jackie Walker is a disgrace, writes Tony Greenstein

Enemy of working class

The JLM, like Zionism itself, has no place in the labour movement, argues Tony Greenstein

Ethnic cleansing?

Binyamin Netanyahu’s video might have caused outrage, but Zionism still has friends in high places. Tony Greenstein comments

Apologists for Zionism

Tony Greenstein introduces his open letter to Labour MP Joan Ryan

Time for Corbyn to speak out

What does the right do when it loses an election? It voids the result! Tony Greenstein reports on the suspension of the largest local Labour unit

A marred report

Chakrabarti relies on the subjective, writes Tony Greenstein. She also fails to understand how ‘anti-Semitism’ was weaponised by the Labour right

Why Ken Livingstone was right

Who exactly is making ‘factual misrepresentations’? Tony Greenstein replies to Paul Bogdanor

My encounter with the thought police

Tony Greenstein is still in one piece following his grilling by a Labour Party witch-hunt apparatchik

Right’s heresy hunt

If I am anti-Semitic, so is the Israeli press, writes Tony Greenstein

Recipe for disaster

Labour’s election results have given Corbyn only a temporary reprieve, predicts Tony Greenstein

Reinstate Ken Livingstone

Corbyn must fight back against Britain’s Cointelpro, urges Tony Greenstein

Slurs, lies, innuendos

Defend Malia Bouattia and Naz Shah, urges Tony Greenstein

Don’t appease: fight!

The Labour Party’s Compliance Unit is employing TheDaily Telegraph to pursue its allegations of ‘anti-Semitism’, writes Tony Greenstein

Weapon of choice

False accusations are being carefully aimed at Jeremy Corbyn and the left, argues Tony Greenstein

Confusing the question

Tony Greenstein dissects Zionism, Jewish identity and the ‘socialism of fools’

No backtracking on Palestine

Unfortunately the Labour leader appears to be beating a retreat, writes Tony Greenstein

In the cause of imperialism

What lies behind moves to outlaw boycotts? Tony Greenstein investigates

Palestinians provoked final solution?

Tony Greenstein debunks Netanyahu’s claims about the grand mufti of Jerusalem

Labour turned upside down

The right’s attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat must not succeed, writes Tony Greenstein

Beginning of a third intifada?

Tony Greenstein assesses the situation for the Palestinian struggle.

World’s most racist state

All pretensions of adherence to basic democratic values are being abandoned, writes Tony Greenstein

Why the right won

Tony Greenstein welcomes the lack of hypocrisy in the new Israeli government, if nothing else

Polarisation continues to grow

Tony Greenstein thinks that the chances of a Labour-led coalition are slim

The meaning of Jewish identity

Shlomo Sand How I stopped being a Jew Verso, 2014, pp102, £9.99

Zionist racism on display

The disparity in the treatment of two bereaved families is a direct consequence of a Jewish state, writes Tony Greenstein

Palestine: Collectivising the mice

The Arab working class is the agency that can win a Palestinian state, argues Tony Greenstein

Israel-Iran: An enemy at all costs

Alongside the Saudis, Israel is pulling out all the stops to prevent a settlement with Iran. Tony Greenstein looks at Binyamin Netanyahus contortions

Arab spring turns to winter

Tony Greenstein gives his view on the cooling prospects of the Arab Springs

Israel: Old wine in new Zionist bottles

Tony Greenstein comments on the 2013 Israeli general election

Zionism review: How Zionist McCarthyism devours its own

Tony Greenstein reviews: Antony Lerman -'The making and unmaking of a Zionist: a personal and political journey', Pluto Press, 2012, pp240, £20

Middle East: Israel annexes more land

A UN vote giving increased recognition to Palestine has produced an Israeli show of contempt, writesTony Greenstein

Gaza: Masters of the Goebbels lie

The mainstream narrative of Israel, Palestine and the middle east is a Big Lie, writes Tony Greenstein

The Left: There’s no success like failure

Tony Greenstein bemoans the continuing self-marginalisation of Britains far left

Comment is not always free

Why did The Guardian censor Israeli anti-Zionist Moshé Machover? Tony Greenstein investigates

Pragmatism in the service of imperialism

Norman Finkelstein admits he has switched from,in his own words, being a critic of Israel to a diplomat who wants to resolve the conflict. Tony Greenstein looks at the issues

Police try to stop anti-fascist book launch

Despite the clearly political intervention of the police, cowardly Quakers, and a handful of EDL youth, there was no stopping Tony Greensteins book launch in Brighton.

No room for anti-Semites

Tony Greenstein looks ahead to this weekend's AGM of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Anti-Semitism in anti-Zionist garb

Tony Greenstein reviews Gilad Atzmon 'The wandering who?' Zero Books, 2011, pp203,

Support Israeli protest movement without illusions

Tony Greenstein argues that there is no such thing as the Israeli Jewish nation

Victory claimed as GMB rejects workfare

What was a union's logo doing on a report recommending the privatisation of the employment and benefit service? Tony Greenstein reports

Re-enacting Nakba crimes

Ever since 1948 Israel had been engaged in trying to erase the collective memory of the Nakba, writes Tony Greenstein

Two-sided reconciliation

Tony Greenstein argues the importance of continuation of Palestinian resistance

'Anti-Zionist' holocaust denier

Israeli jazz musician Gilad Atzmon represents a small but important current within the broader Palestine solidarity movement, writes Tony Greenstein. He sees the oppression of the Palestinians as being due to something inherent in Jewishness

Fear of the masses

There is one thing that unites Israel, Hamas and Fatah, writes Tony Greenstein - opposition to the Egyptian revolution

The religious right and genocide

Tony Greenstein looks at sections of Israel's orthodox rabbinate and makes a less than flattering comparison

Unison and the politics of class

Why does a leading member of Socialist Resistance give her backing to a free-market attack on the disabled and elderly? Tony Greenstein reports on Unison's support for the 'personalisation' of care

Road to nowhere " the never ending 'peace talks'

Tony Greenstein examines a war by other means

Apologists for 'war on terror'

Tony Greenstein reviews Yitzhak Laor's 'The myths of liberal Zionism' Verso, 2009, pp192, £14.99

Official: Gaza is a prison camp

Tony Greenstein sees a Palestinian David versus an Israeli Goliath

Proving Euripides right

We are now seeing the beginning of the end of the Zionist state, writes Tony Greenstein

Aiming to be Arab-free

What we are seeing in Israel is the beginning of a curtailment of civil rights for Israeli Jews as well as Palestinians, reports Tony Greenstein

By way of deception

Israel is fully signed up to the hypocrisy and double standards of western imperialism, writes Tony Greenstein

Socialist Action relegates solidarity

Tony Greenstein gives his view of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign annual conference

Socialist Action and the PSC

Ahead of this Saturday's Palestine Solidarity Campaign AGM, Tony Greenstein of Brighton PSC argues that Socialist Action is leading the movement nowhere

Know your enemy

Tony Greenstein looks at the obstacles placed in the way of the pro-Gaza mobilisations by Egypt and Hamas

A nail in the Zionist coffin

Tony Greenstein reviews Shlomo Sand's The invention of the Jewish people Verso, 2009, pp313, £18.99

Zionist collaborators with Nazism revealed

Tony Greenstein reviews two books by Francis Nicosia: The Third Reich and the Palestine question London 1985, pp320, £25.50; and Zionism and anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany Cambridge 2008, pp344, £50

Time to say goodbye

Why does the SWP not break its links with holocaust-denier Gilad Atzmon? Tony Greenstein has more evidence of his anti-Jewish racism

Solidarity with the oppressed

Tony Greenstein calls on socialists to support a boycott of Israel

Legitimising anti-semitism

As the Israel lobby comes under unprecedented attack in the US and George Soros is described as "a cog in the Hitlerite wheel", Gilad Atzmon and his friends continue to peddle conspiracy theories, writes Tony Greenstein

Solidarity and SWP's favourite anti-semite

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign wants to have it both ways over saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and the Deir Yassin Remembered group. Tony Greenstein (a founder member of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and a member of Jews Against Zionism) reports on the annual general meeting