In wanting Mumsnet to help Judi Dench and Joanna Lumley

[GiantBranch]

Last week, Israel banned 37 international aid organisations from operating in the strip, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Medicine Sans Frontieres (MSF). MSF delivers one in three of Gaza’s babies, and experts warn that immediate action must be taken to prevent a catastrophe.

It has prompted more than 100 leading members of the arts, including Dames Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Joanna Lumley, Sienna Miller, Suranne Jones and singer Paloma Faith, to sign a letter urging popular online platform Mumsnet to join them in demanding urgent government action ensuring maternity care is accessible in Gaza.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/gaza-israel-baby-birth-judi-dench-letter-b2896981.html

Can we keep this thread related to the plight of those currently suffering in Gaza and any attempts to help them receive much needed aid please.

This thread is not about that. It is about a nonsense letter sent by a load of luvvie women who should know better, bullying a woman who runs a website.

If the celebs wanted it to be about that they should have addressed the letter to politicians. Making it about Mumsnet was unhinged

Oh but sure, try and brush away the reference to "vermin" 🤔

Again, can we keep on topic please.

Some of us are.

I'm confused re the bullying claim. Surely they were just reaching out to raise awareness on a forum aimed at women and mothers to support women and mothers in Gaza who are currently struggling?! I would have thought this was a worthwhile and humane thing to do and seems in good faith.

Fuck off

Oh. Hmm. Did they do it in private? A personal letter to Justine? No, they didn't. They published it, putting public pressure on a mother, ironically.

Did they create a thread on Mumsnet? No.

They published their letter to Justine, and informed loads of media outlets, as a way to to pressure a woman to do what they want.

Exactly - I’m sick of everyday women being expected to rectify problems created by men.

There are many pregnant women all over the world suffering, including in this country. Poverty and DV rates in pregnancy are shamefully high and maternal care absolute dire. And we are not governed by a terrorist group that doesn’t give a flying fuck about the welfare of their women.

It’s funny how the Uyghers in China - who are Muslims being put in concentration camps, I won’t even type what they do to pregnant women - are never championed by celebs. Not trendy enough I guess

All in all Being told by millionaires that I HAVE to care about this very particular cause grinds my gears. They also conveniently omit the truth nearly all of the time because heaven forfend we stray from Israel are Baddies narrative

I actually don’t agree that just because I’ve been through something that suddenly it’s on me to help others going through the same thing.

Hamas can’t take care of their women. They steal aid, their leaders are billionaires and somehow very well armed, they poured millions given by EU countries and the USA into trying to kill Jews rather than build up their own country and people. Yet it’s on me to make it all better?

She is the representative of a public forum aimed at providing support for (predominantly) women.
Pressure needs to be put on the Israelis so that those suffering can receive urgent aid. These people are suppressed, voiceless and powerless and need people with an ounce of humanity to speak up for them.

Celebrity endorsement just isn't the win it used to be. They've sadly shown themselves to be terrible judges. They would do better to keep quiet and try to raise awareness of their cause in other ways, without using their public image. I actually think they do harm by adding their names, especially when their names appear week in, week out supporting this that or the other.

I think they just come across as holier than thou and rightly or wrongly it puts people backs up.

Just get on and support the causes you want to and let us support the ones we want to. Sometimes, they will be the same!

I’ve just read the letter

Agree with PP - it’s hugely manipulative

I hate that they use the fight mumsnetters have been fighting for over a decade - keeping men out of women’s spaces - to say that we should care about Gazan women.

Ive also noticed many celebrities in favour of letting men into women’s spaces if felt expecting the MN community to do as they command. Fuck that noise. Being a mother beholders me to nothing but being a mother to my children. Nobody has to care about any cause they don’t want to. And to manipulate a movement based on “We know mumsnet users would be devastated with what’s going on” is a tactic I won’t be falling for.

Recognising that Gaza is governed by a terrorist organisation that’s causing its own problems isn’t supporting genocide.

Why do you people always jump to such dramatic statements

Good point, I’m sure that when Netenyahu hears that a load of middle class mummies posting about family members stealing baby names are ticket off with him, he will stop immediately.

They don’t take long to show themselves for who they are

Why on earth should Mumsnet get involved in something that it has no influence over? I can't imagine either side changing their view because a parenting forum asks to them.

Why on earth would Israel allow aid agencies in to help pregnant women - they want to kill the babies - they are saving time by stopping making it harder for them to be born.

And only some of them are ticked off with him, others are egging him on.

It’s ALWAYS appropriate to call out anti-semitism (intended or unintended). We should, every time, without fretting about if it’s the right time.
No more excuses.

Unfortunately OP what you are seeing is predominantly posters from the Feminism and Women's Rights board angry that this site is going to be shown up for exactly what it is when because of this campaign: not (ironically) a place concerned with the health and safety of vulnerable mothers and babies in horrific situations, but a site myopically obsessed with trans people.

The vitriol that is being expressed on this thread is that they hate that this campaign will expose them like this.

Nope. I never go on that board. I hate what Israel is doing in Gaza.
I just think targeting Justine was a profoundly weird way to go about this. They should be writing to the PM

It never seems to be the right time to call out genocide though, does it? I have no political skin in this game. I'll happily support moderate thinkers of any persuasion. I just find the world a very depressing place right now.

Sorry to break the news but we’ve been talking about and getting heat for the trans issue for over a decade now. Some of us have been doxxed for it. We don’t care if people don’t like it. We stopped caring years ago.

And we can choose to care about whatever we like. Women don’t have to be perpetual philanthropists for every cause they’re pompously told they should care about because “you’re a woman!”. It’s fine not to give a shit

The Israel Gaza war is CONSTANTLY on the news, on MN, in forums and openly discussed. For me I feel like I hear about nothing else. There are marches every Saturday in most major cities, and have beeen for years.

But it’s funny how it can rarely be “called out” without spouting some very dodgy language.

Assigning people who aren’t pro-Palestine as vermin is extremely troubling. Do you understand the reason why?