Bob Crow: a tribute from the Trade Union Friends of Israel?

Crow in 2012 (note 'Free Palestine' means the end of Israel)

Bob Crow - the leader of the RMT (Rail Maritime and Transport) Union who died today - was a life-long communist who made life a misery for millions of  London commuters. That much is well known and will not be ignored in the reporting of his death. However, the role he played in demonizing Israel and supporting Palestinian terrorists will be ignored. Indeed, incredibly, the Jewish News reports** that the Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI) has just paid tribute to Crow:

The TUFI, which promotes trade union co-operation between Israel and the Palestinians, issued a statement on Tuesday saying: “Condolences to the family and friends of Bob Crow. He was always willing to talk to TUFI and friends of the Israeli dockers. He will be missed.”

Could this be, by any chance, the same Bob Crow who (along with the likes of Jenny Tonge and Caryl Churchill) was Patron of the misnamed 'Palestine Solidarity Campaign' (PSC) - misnamed because its only interest is in the destruction of the State of Israel.  In May last year Bob Crow was one of the signatories of a letter to the Guardian demanding the boycott of Israel from hosting the European Under-21 championship.

But far worse than being a 'patron' of the hateful PSC in his personal capacity was the fact that Crow used his position as leader of the RMT Union to formally align the RMT with the PSC, and to demonize Israel and support Hamas on many occasions. An example of  this abuse of his power came in November 2012 when he called on all RMT members to "demonstrate against the Israeli attacks on Gaza" after Israel finally responded to a barrage of 130 missiles launched against its civilian population in 24 hours (you can still see Crow's personal message to all RMT members on the RMT website here - second item).

My own 'favourite' memory of Bob Crow was his interview on LBC Radio (and also I believe ITV News) within an hour of the London 7/7 Tube bombings. Even though by then it was already clear that there had been at least three separate explosions on the tube network he claimed that any explosions were "clearly the result of poor fire safety procedures that his union had been warning the bosses about." 

** Update 12 March: While the story is still on the Jewish News website they have removed the comment I posted, which simply pointed out Crow's patronage of the PSC. More confirmation (see eg here and here) that the Jewish News has become a key part of the British Jewish disease of ambivalence to Israel, and  the more general media cover-up of anti-Israel hatred.

** Update 14 March: The increasingly unhinged Jewish Chronicle has an even more glowing tribute than the Jewish News under the headline "Israeli tribute to Bob Crow" speaking about Crow's 'friendship' with Israeli trade unionists