Antisemite Jeremy Corbyn insultingly appropriates memory of Cable Street as he shares stage with suspended Labour member accused of bullying Jewish MP
The antisemitic former Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn shared a stage at yesterday’s rally, which marked the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, with a suspended Labour member accused of bullying Luciana Berger, the former MP for Liverpool Wavertree.
Hazuan Hashim stood next to Mr Corbyn during his speech, seemingly recording it on video throughout. Mr Hashim, along with three other members of the executive of the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) in Wavertree, was reportedly suspended from the Party last year when the group criticised their local MP for expressing regret that her predecessor, Ms Berger, felt that she had to leave the Party.
Paula Barker, the Labour MP for Wavertree, wrote in the Jewish Telegraph that “Luciana leaving the Labour Party was a shock to many and I find it deeply regrettable that she felt she could no longer stay.” Ms Berger was hounded out of the Labour Party in early 2019 after years of antisemitism and threats of deselection.
However, four members of the executive committee of Ms Barker’s Constituency Labour Party (including its chair and secretary) issued a statement in the branch’s Member’s Bulletin accusing Ms Barker of presenting an “inaccurate and factionally-motivated position on antisemitism” that only “reflected the influence of a partial view that claims to speak for all Jewish people.” They further insisted that “our political disagreement with [Ms Berger] was cynically attributed to bullying, harassment and antisemitism on our part” and that “the suggestion that the Constituency Labour Party Executive is in any way a party to bullying and antisemitism is a false and slanderous accusation.”
Expressing outrage at the appearance of both Mr Corbyn and Mr Hashim at the rally, a Liverpool Labour activist said: “It makes my blood boil seeing Jeremy Corbyn give a speech at an event, that is meant to show solidarity with British Jews, alongside someone who has actively tried to harm relations with the local Jewish community in Liverpool. Hazuan Hashim should be nowhere near this event, and neither should Corbyn.”
Another speaker at the rally was Poplar and Limehouse MP Apsana Begum, who has previously been investigated for alleged antisemitism after accusing Tony Blair of spreading “Zionist propaganda”, claiming the leaders of Saudi Arabia were “inspired by Zionist masters” and sharing material by a political activist accused of antisemitism and 9/11 conspiracy theories. Members from Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, also spoke.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is the height of chutzpah for the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn to appropriate the site and memory of a famous battle against racists who held the same prejudices against Jews as he does. That he shared the platform with someone suspended from the Labour Party for allegedly harbouring similar views is par for course for the former Labour leader. On this occasion, it appears to be Mr Corbyn who has shown that he does not understand English irony.”
Mr Corbyn has often been mocked for his denials of anti-Jewish racism despite his long record of appearing alongside extremely dubious figures, with the former Labour leader sometimes being dubbed the ‘unluckiest anti-racist’ for so often finding himself in the company of these people while insisting on his own blamelessness.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Mr Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.
The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
