Andrew Percy, leader of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism, faults both major parties for “disgusting rise in antisemitic tropes”
Andrew Percy, the MP who leads the All Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism, has criticised both major parties for tolerating a “disgusting rise in antisemitism tropes”.
Speaking last week during the Holocaust Memorial Day debate in the House of Commons, Mr Percy warned the Conservatives, of which he is a member, against engaging in conspiracies involving the wealthy Jewish activist financier, George Soros, explaining that “the Nazis treated Jews as vermin but also alleged that they had a plan for world domination. Sadly, the Soros conspiracy theories we see, which are prevalent on the far-right of politics, are simply an updated version of that disgusting ideology. Using George Soros’s Jewish heritage and puppet-master imagery is antisemitic.”
During the general election, the Conservatives suspended one parliamentary candidate and investigated at least three others over allegations of antisemitism.
Turning to Labour, Mr Percy noted, “sadly, that on the Labour benches – some 30 of the Party’s candidates at the recent election were accused of antisemitism – there is more work to be done to counter anti-Jewish racism.”
He continued: “As I have said previously, it brings shame on this country’s whole body politic that, sadly, this disgusting ideology has been at the heart of British politics and mainstreamed in recent years,” adding: “l am sad in one way, but proud in another, that when I knocked on the doors of working-class communities in my area at the election, people referenced the current rise in antisemitism as a concern.
“We do not have a big Jewish community. I think that I am one of three Jewish constituents. We may be heading for a minyan [ten Jewish men], but there are certainly not many of us. It was sad but also reassuring to hear people in my area reference the need to do more on this at the recent election. I am very proud of the people in my area for standing as resolutely as they have.”
On 28th May 2019, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.
In the first release of its Antisemitism in Political Parties research, Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that Labour Party candidates for Parliament in the 2019 general election accounted for 82 percent of all incidents of antisemitic discourse by parliamentary candidates.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right, and showed that 42% of British Jews have considered leaving the UK, of which 85% cited antisemitism in politics, and close to two thirds of British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.
