ACORN confirms to CAA that its national board has swiftly expelled member who turned away Jewish man, saying “no time for Zionists sorry”, in example of best practice in dealing with antisemitism
ACORN, the renters’ union, has confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that it expelled a member 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”.
ACORN had already apologised swiftly and unreservedly, mounting an immediate investigation.
Following the conclusion of the investigation ACORN convened its national board this evening.
In a statement sent to Campaign Against Antisemitism, Acorn said: “On Sunday morning, two direct messages were sent from ACORN Manchester’s Instagram account by a then unidentified individual. Following an investigation, the individual responsible has now been identified and was expelled from the organisation by ACORN UK’s national board on Tuesday evening.”
The statement continued: “ACORN UK unequivocally condemns the antisemitic messages that were sent. We would also like to reiterate our apology to all our Jewish members and the wider Jewish community for the upset and offense caused. We will be keeping our social media access processes under continual review, having already taken steps to improve these in order to avoid an incident like this from happening again. We would like to thank everyone for their patience whilst the investigation was promptly carried out. The outcome has now been communicated to those affected.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This was an appalling act, but ACORN has made very clear that it was the act of an individual whose antisemitism is not tolerated by their union. ACORN acted swiftly to apologise, investigate and take robust action, expelling the member responsible. This is an example of best practice in dealing with antisemitism. We commend ACORN on turning this incident of anti-Jewish discrimination into a case study in best practice. We also applaud the victim and their friends for bringing this matter to light.”
