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Pro-Israeli judge Myerson sanctioned for ‘judicial misconduct’ for social media
Well-known Israel advocate and Corbyn critic found to have breached professional standards in attack on trans rights campaigner
Pro-Israeli barrister and part-time judge Simon Myerson KC has been disciplined by the Lady Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor for attacking a transgender rights campaigner on the Twitter/X social media platform.
Myerson supports Israel against accusations of genocide and has frequently attacked Corbyn and his supporters
Myerson received a sanction for ‘judicial misconduct’ after complaints were upheld for a series of offensive tweets. Myerson accused the campaigner of having a “tiny intellect” and making “idiotic statements”. The disciplinary decision can be found here. Myerson broke the principle that judges should avoid participating in online debates on politically controversial topics to maintain the integrity and dignity of their judicial office.
Myerson insists Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza despite its slaughter of tens of thousands of women and children and insulted a Jewish anti-genocide campaigner
Some observers might consider there to be a suggestion of hypocrisy to Myerson’s behaviour. In September 2023, Myerson was a witness against a solicitor accused of posting offensive tweets at a disciplinary tribunal. Myerson’s evidence was that the solicitor’s tweets went “well beyond the bounds of acceptable conduct”, raising questions about whether he gave evidence to a tribunal about another person’s offensive social media posts without telling the tribunal that his own offensive posts were under investigation by the Lady Chief Justice.
Myerson also has a history of controversial comments on Twitter/X about the suicide of the Northumbria University academic Dr Pete Newbon, who died after a row with his wife. Newbon had posted to Twitter/X a meme of an image that originally showed Jeremy Corbyn reading much-loved author Michael Rosen’s Bear Hunt to some children, but in which the title of grossly antisemitic forgery ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ had been photoshopped onto the book.
Rosen, who is Jewish, was understandably unhappy that the Protocols had been photoshopped on his book. Myerson suggested that it was Rosen’s tweet in response to Newbon that led to complaints to Newbon’s employer that were linked by Newbon’s supporters to his suicide. Rosen’s tweets were far less offensive than the tweets Myerson has now been disciplined for and the coroner did not mention Rosen or his tweets at all in his inquest findings. Newbon, who had tried to get fellow academics sacked, was in fact on a final warning from the university because of his repeatedly awful conduct on social media – and was doing badly in a lawsuit brought by another individual whom his false claims on social media had endangered. Rosen has featured frequently in Myerson’s Twitter/X timeline.
Myerson, like Newbon a founding signatory of the so-called ‘Labour against antisemitism’ (LAAS) group that weaponised antisemitism allegations to attack then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and whose directors have also attacked Michael Rosen, continues to be active on Twitter/X in support of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Myerson rejects the finding of the International Court of Justice that Israel may be engaged in genocide. His position is that Israel’s actions in bombing Gaza and refusing to allow aid to enter are proportionate responses to the October 7 attack by Hamas. Most serious legal commentators are clear that Israel’s actions are disproportionate and are likely to amount to war crimes.
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Simon Myerson criticised a court for finding anti-Zionism is a protected political belief and insists that Israel was not told to implement a ceasefire even though the International Court of Justice told it to stop killing Gazans and protect them instead.
Those reading Myerson’s recent social media output might feel justified in concluding that a change in his behaviour is unlikely. Yesterday he bizarrely accused a Jewish Twitter/X user of having learned to be snide ‘almost certainly aided by being Jewish’ when the user gently mocked the Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy.
Mr Myerson did not respond to a request for comment accompanied by an initial draft of this article.
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Genocide apologist deletes ‘Jew-hater’ smear after legal threat from Galloway
Pro-Israel hardliner gets the Galloway treatment
Hardline Israel apologist Ben Freeman has deleted a tweet smearing new Rochdale MP George Galloway, shortly after Galloway responded to the smear with a legal threat.
Freeman – whose Twitter feed is full of rants against peaceful anti-apartheid activism and smearing marches against Israel’s genocide in Gaza as ‘hate’ and ‘racist’ and who has defended Israel’s blockade of Gaza and described antizionism as ‘post-Holocaust Jew hatred ‘propagated by the USSR’ – smeared Galloway as a ‘virulent Jew-hater’ and the votes that gave him his landslide election victory as a ‘dark day for British democracy.
And Galloway responded promptly to tell him to ‘remove this immediately or face the legal consequences’:
Sure enough, the tweet promptly disappeared:
Galloway has a consistent record of taking no nonsense from those who attempt to smear him and has already terrorised a number of journalists who tried to trap him with government lines and bias. And he has a long track record of successfully suing, for large amounts of money, people and organisations who smear him, for example the Daily Mirror group in 1992, the Telegraph in 2004, winning £150,000 in damages plus £2m in legal costs, radio station Jcom in 2008, pro-Israel Guardian hack Hadley Freeman in 2015, who deleted rather than fight, and Twitter – after which its designation of his account as ‘Russian-affiliated state media’ was removed.
As one commenter put it of his interaction with Ben Freeman, Freeman got ‘the Galloway treatment’. Other politicians could learn much from his approach:
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Unite’s Graham slammed for silence over Gaza
GS silence and ongoing ban on Unite banners at Gaza demos infuriates officials and members as Unite Scotland passes ceasefire motion
A search of Sharon Graham’s Twitter account reveals no mention of anything related to Gaza
Unite members and officials are infuriated by union general secretary Sharon Graham’s continued silence over Gaza, with even previously ardent supporters demanding to know why she is completely absent from the fight for peace and justice for Palestinians.
Skwawkbox has previously reported an effective ban by the Unite management on the participation of the union’s officers, and the use of official union banners and paraphernalia, in marches and rallies. This ban appears to be ongoing. The ban is matched by a complete lack of comment from Graham on her social media or other appearances on the issue of Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian civilians, even after the International Court of Justice put Israel formally on trial for genocide and ordered the state to protect Palestinian lives, an order the regime has flouted.
Unite members are now demanding to know whose side Ms Graham is on, as in the example shown above. But even formerly entrenched supporters have lost patience, such as the activist behind this account – who has previously attacked Skwawkbox for scrutinising and exposing the general secretaries actions and alleged actions:
Original tweet and video here.
But the criticism is widespread, as the representative examples below demonstrate:
Where's your support for Palestine #GazaGenocide
— #EnoughisEnough #FreePalestine #FreeJulianAssange (@carolehope2) February 6, 2024
I too am a member of Unite but not for much longer @UniteSharon @unitetheunion I am appalled at your lack of Solidarity with the other unions and Palestine
— Jezzabeau C. #GazaGenocide (@JezzabeauC) February 3, 2024
@UniteSharon not one post on her feed about palestine in recent days. Disgusting.
— Traderboy (@Aminthegreat4) February 13, 2024
I too am a member of Unite but not for much longer @UniteSharon @unitetheunion I am appalled at your lack of Solidarity with the other unions and Palestine
— Jezzabeau C. #GazaGenocide (@JezzabeauC) February 3, 2024
Your silence on Palestine goes against Unite policy.
— Mike (@Fleabag2016) January 23, 2024
Unite’s democratically-decided policy is to support the international ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ movement against Israel’s oppression, apartheid and illegal occupation. Yet members in Ireland have been forced to demonstrate against Unite’s use of Israeli-linked firms, entire regional groups have condemned the lack of support and solidarity for Palestinians, and members have accused Graham of using proxies to ban pro-Palestine events on union premises and even to try to cancel a solidarity event organised by union officials at Labour’s 2023 conference.
And while other unions have been clear in their solidarity with Palestinians facing the genocidal assault of the occupying Israeli regime, Unite – at least at an organisational level – appears determined to say nothing that will upset Keir Starmer’s Zionist apple cart.
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