Whose idea was it to have an anti-Zionist and a Muslim Brotherhood supporter put Israel's case to the Cambridge Union?

Jewish Chronicle, 13 March 2015: Note the words of student Alex Davis

Last week Cambridge University Union debated the motion "Israel is a rogue state". The motion passed easily (51% voted in favour, 19% against, and 30% abstained).That is both astonishing and depressing to Israel supporters. Of even more concern is the fact that, while the main speaker for the motion was the very experienced and obsessive anti-Israel propagandist Norman Finkelstein, the Israel 'case' was made by two people whose 'support' for Israel is at the very best ambivalent:

1. Hannah Weisfeld, the leader of the anti-Zionist Yachad - which is still trying to con British Jews into thinking it is pro-Israel, even though all the evidence suggests that they fully support the motion that their leader was supposed to be arguing against.
2. Vivien Wineman, the useless and discredited Chairman of the Board of Deputies who has devoted his leadership of the Board to developing ties with the Muslim Council of Britain (which is the official Muslim Brotherhood organisation in the UK) and to stopping pro-Israel speakers from coming to the UK.

It's a bit like choosing a Dalek and a Cyberman to make a toast to Doctor Who. And irrespective  of their views, Weisfeld and Wineman are also both appalling speakers as anybody who has had the misfortune to hear them will know. It is difficult to imagine a more striking example of how the so-called Jewish leadership in the UK is failing the vast majority of British Jews; unlike Weisfeld and Wineman they are strong supporters of Israel and know that failure to properly support Israel (and counter the propaganda lies against it) is fuelling the rise in antisemitism.

I really would like to know how either of these goons got selected to make the case for Israel. Was it the Cambridge University Jewish Society? Did nobody raise any concerns? The result of the debate (which interestingly was a complete reversal of a similar motion in 2010) shows what a bad decision it was. But don't take it from me. In the words of history student Alex Davis* who was there:

"Many Cambridge students felt frustrated by the inability of some of the speakers to argue effectively in defence of Israel"

These are desperate times for British Jewry. Wherever you look for leadership and support (the Board, the JLC, UJIA, and both Jewish newspapers) there is an increasing dominance by a small unrepresentative clique who are eager to throw Israel under the bus and appease her enemies. Even BICOM is not immune to this, while the ZF continues to be timid and reactive, rather than strong and proactive.

*Alex Davis has since written an article for the JC about the meeting - see comments on this article. I was certainly not impressed

Update: Daphne Anson has provided the full video linl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjkivkkZYNo It is truly woeful. Listening to Weisfeld it really is difficult to know whether she is speaking for or against the motion. She actually does a very good job for the Palestinians. As for Wineman - well I've seen him give this kind of presentation before and it is weak and defensive; you would have thought someone would have told him by now that it is not actually helpful to our case to stress that Palestinians regard Jews as invaders and aliens to the land.

See also:

• Yachad: a statement
• Don't let Yachad take you for a ride
• Yachad's Ben White love-in
• Board of Deputies spends three times as much on pandering to radical Islam as it does on combatting anti-Semitism
• BoD bullies Zionist Federation into boycotting pro-Israel speaker
• BoD's deal with the Muslim Brotherhood
• BoD: proud to have kept a low profile for over 200 years
• More on the Jewish Board of Deputies disgraceful kowtowing to Islamists
• UK bans Spencer and Geller: free speech is dead in the UK and the ban was supported by the Board of Deputies
• Geller and Spencer were banned from the UK because of their 'pro-Israel views' 
• A Statement on behalf of the UK Jewish Board of Deputies on the banning of Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller from entering the UK
• Board of Deputies partners antisemitic and ferociously anti-Israel Oxfam
• Britain's 'official Jews' submit to Islam
• Panel debate: more cluelessness and lack of activity from the Board of Deputies 
• Leading to surrender