Out With the Antisemitic Officer Caste¶
Core Argument¶
This chapter from Socialist Appeal (No. 28b) launches a polemical assault on the antisemitic officer caste within the British military, using a specific incident as its detonator: a letter circulated to British troops in Palestine, attributed to Lieutenant-General Sir Evelyn Barker. The letter, which the author insists was circulated with official approval, contains what is described as a vicious and rabid antisemitic attack. Barker is quoted as declaring that the Jewish people in Palestine as a whole must be made to “suffer punishment” and that measures such as placing Jewish shops and homes out of bounds are justified because they strike at “the race” in a way it dislikes most—by hitting their pockets and demonstrating contempt.
The chapter argues that this is no isolated outburst but rather a symptom of a deeply entrenched antisemitism within the top officer-junta controlling the capitalist armed forces. This reactionary poison, it claims, is deliberately propagated to cover up the criminal responsibility of British capitalist diplomacy for the tragic situation in Palestine. The legitimate anger of British troops at terrorist attacks is being cynically fanned by these officers to create an impassable barrier of prejudice between Jewish people and British soldiers. The terrorists themselves are condemned for playing into the hands of British imperialism; their “futile acts of terrorism” are denounced as false methods of struggle. The only genuine solution, the chapter insists, lies in a revolutionary programme of struggle in common with the working class against world capitalism.
The text draws heavily on the historical precedent of Germany, warning that this reactionary officer caste constitutes a menace to the working class. It argues that antisemitism goes hand in hand with anti-labour ideology, and that the German officer-caste provided the military basis for the fascist terror gangs that imposed the Hitler regime. The polemic is directed squarely at the Labour government, which is accused of condoning the antisemitism by failing to condemn it. Herbert Morrison’s statement to the House of Commons on 1 August is cited as evidence: while dissociating the government from the “tone” of the letter, he expressed admiration for the army’s discharge of its duties, offering not one word of condemnation of the antisemitism itself. The chapter concludes by demanding that the organised working-class movement force the Labour government to oust this reactionary military-caste and replace it with worker-officers who will genuinely serve working-class interests.