Talk:Peter Willsman

Tenenbom

@Jontel: reverted an edit in which I reduced In May 2019, a further recording of Willsman emerged, made by Israeli-American author and undercover journalist Tuvia Tenenbom in January 2019, in which Willsman stated that the Israeli embassy were 'behind all this antisemitism' and were 'the ones whipping it all up". He added "They caught somebody in the Labour Party. It turns out they were an agent in the Israeli Embassy." referring to The Lobby. Willsman stated that an open letter signed by 68 rabbis was "obviously organised by the Israeli embassy". Willsman had been unaware that the informal conversation was being recorded. Tanenbom has written several books on antisemitism and Israel as an undercover journalist, using a false persona to elicit revealing interviews. Willsman's comments were widely condemned, with several members of the NEC and Labour MPs calling for his expulsion from the party. to In May 2019, a further recording of Willsman emerged, made by Israeli-American author and undercover journalist Tuvia Tenenbom in January 2019, in which Willsman stated that the Israeli embassy were "behind all this antisemitism" and were "the ones whipping it all up". Willsman said that an open letter signed by 68 rabbis was "obviously organised by the Israeli embassy". Willsman had been unaware that the conversation was being recorded. Willsman's comments were widely condemned, with several members of the NEC and Labour MPs calling for his expulsion from the party. with the edit summary I think it's relevant to the event Willsman has grounds for his views and that Tananbom is an ideologue with a track record of this technique.

The first passage I had removed said He added "They caught somebody in the Labour Party. It turns out they were an agent in the Israeli Embassy." referring to The Lobby. There are already two quotes from Willsman in the paragraph, so I think including a third helps. None of the sources included link this comment to The Lobby, and I can't find any reliable source that does so, which means that this would be original research to include (unless another reliable source makes this link?).

Tenenbom is introduced as an "undercover journalist", so I don't see why we also need the passage Tanenbom has written several books on antisemitism and Israel as an undercover journalist, using a false persona to elicit revealing interviews, which seems like a borderline-POV restatement of his introduction, that's sourced to a book review that doesn't mention Willsman at all. If readers want to know more about Tenenbom, his own biography is linked. I don't think either passage is appropriate for this article. Ralbegen (talk) 14:17, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

In response to Ralbegen. Regarding the first part of your editing, you put forward two arguments. The first is that There are already two quotes from Willsman in the paragraph, so I think including a third helps. From the context, I presume you intended to say There are already two quotes from Willsman in the paragraph, so I DO NOT think including a third helps. This is an incorrect argument for two reasons. The first is that the first two quotes are essentially one, as they make the same point, being Willsman stated that the Israeli embassy were "behind all this antisemitism" and were "the ones whipping it all up". Feel free to delete either if he number of quotes is a concern. The second is that you do not address why the quote you removed helps. In referencing the "agent in the Israeli Embassy" "caught in the Labour Party", Willsman is explaining why he is blaming the Israeli embassy. It is unfair to him to include his assertion but not his explanation, given in the next sentence. The reference to the Lobby is a different point. It is a inevitable inference that Willsman was referring to Shai Masot, an Israeli operative who received extensive publicity following his exposure in the airing of the Lobby, for his activities with reference to the UK Labour and Conservative parties. There are no comparable cases that Willsman could have been referring to. You can add presumably if you wish but even that seems unnecessary. Linking to the basis for Willsman's explanation is helpful background.

On Tenenbom, his track record of what you might call entrapment is relevant in that it makes it plausible that he sought out Willsman precisely to elicit remarks which could then be used against him. While that does not change what Willsman said, it made his saying it more explicable and Tenenbom's technique and motivation is part of interpreting the interchange. The reference is given a source for his modus operandi. Jontel (talk) 15:19, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

You're right, I did mistype—I think it's always best to moderate the use of quotations, especially from an article's subject. Thanks for pointing that out. Surely an "inevitable inference" not supported by a reliable source is original research? I'd be happy to include the quote instead of one of the others, but the link to The Lobby is unsupported and shouldn't be on the page. The passage about Tenenbom also goes against RS coverage. Sky News ([1]) describes "a chance meeting at a hotel restaurant in Oxford in January - where Mr Tenenbom was staying to promote a new book" and that Tenenbom "described getting into a chance conversation with Mr Willsman, who was not aware that he was Jewish". The JC also describes it as a chance encounter. I don't see how including the passage about Tenenbom using false personae in his work as a writer is useful, but it does seem misleading... Ralbegen (talk) 15:38, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

I understand your points about sourcing. How about this, for now? In May 2019, a recording of Willsman in an informal conversation emerged, made covertly by Israeli-American author and undercover journalist Tuvia Tenenbom in January 2019, in which Willsman said "Almost certainly it was the Israeli embassy (behind the antisemitism allegations). They caught somebody in the Labour Party. It turns out they were an agent in the Israeli Embassy." Willsman also said that an open letter on the issue signed by 68 rabbis the previous year was "obviously organised by the Israeli embassy". Willsman's comments were widely condemned, with several members of the NEC and Labour MPs calling for his expulsion. Jontel (talk) 16:16, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

That's good, thanks for that. Tenenbom also said he was unaware that the conversation was being recorded (BBC). Whilst I think that'd be too much detail to include in this paragraph, I think it'd be worth tweaking to: In May 2019, a recording of Willsman emerged from an informal conversation he had had with Israeli-American author Tuvia Tenenbom in January 2019, which Willsman had been unaware was being recorded. Willsman said "Almost certainly it was the Israeli embassy (behind the antisemitism allegations). They caught somebody in the Labour Party. It turns out they were an agent in the Israeli Embassy." Willsman also said that an open letter on the issue signed by 68 rabbis the previous year was "obviously organised by the Israeli embassy". Willsman's comments were widely condemned, with several members of the NEC and Labour MPs calling for his expulsion.. How's that? Ralbegen (talk) 16:28, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

I accept your suggested draft. Thanks. Jontel (talk) 16:44, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

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