Praise for Acorn for swiftly acting against Manchester branch which refused membership to a Jew saying “no time for Zionists sorry”, but CAA will monitor the outcome of the investigation
Acorn, the renters’ union, has swiftly and unreservedly apologised after its Manchester branch posted a response to a prospective Jewish member on Instagram saying “no time for Zionists sorry” and “We are a pro Palestine organisation”.
The Instagram account then proceeded to block the prospective member on the social media platform. It was clear from the prospective member’s account that he is Jewish, as he uses his Hebrew name and describes himself as a “full-time” Jew”, and “new immigrant in the diaspora”.
In a statement, Acorn said: “On Sunday morning, two direct messages were sent from Acorn Manchester’s Instagram account by an as yet unidentified individual. Acorn UK’s national board met the same day and unequivocally condemn the antisemitic messages sent from the Manchester Instagram account. In no way do they represent the views of our organisation which seeks to unite all low and moderate income communities.
“Acorn UK apologises to all our Jewish members and the wider Jewish community for the upset and offense caused. An investigation has been launched and this will be prioritised to ensure it is concluded in a timely manner. All members with access to the Instagram account have been suspended whilst this investigation takes place.
“Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, it is clear there has been a lapse in our social media access practices. The account in question was accessed with a single shared password that was distributed internally, which has prevented oversight of communications made on behalf of the branch. This has been reviewed and amended with immediate effect to ensure that incidents like this do not happen again. Access to the account has been taken under the ownership of the National Organisation, and we will continue to review the security and accountability of our communication channels.
“The outcome of the investigation will be communicated to those affected and we will not be commenting further until this has been concluded.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism will be monitoring the outcome of the investigation and expects that the culprit and any accomplices will be expelled from the union for this racist act.
