, ,

CAA applauds Nottingham Trent University for expelling student who stuck Palestine sticker on mouth of sleeping Jew

Nottingham Trent University has expelled a first-year student for photoshopping a Palestine sticker over the mouth of an Orthodox Jew sleeping on the London Underground.

The student had a photograph taken of himself in a mocking pose with the sleeping Jewish passenger on public transport and reportedly posted it on the dating site Tinder, before it was shared more widely on Twitter.

The University had suspended the student, who had not yet begun his studies, as a disciplinary panel decided on appropriate action.

Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We applaud Nottingham Trent University for swiftly suspending and now expelling this student for this grossly offensive act. This is what zero tolerance of antisemitism looks like, and other universities should learn from Trent’s example.”

, ,

Former Master of the Rolls says his bags are metaphorically packed

Lord Dyson, the former Master of the Rolls and Supreme Court judge, has disclosed that his bags are metaphorically packed as he says we are living in dangerous times in Britain today.

Insisting that he has a strong sense of his Jewishness and describing himself as “a fully committed Jew” and a Zionist, the former second most senior judge in England and Wales observes in an interview with the JC that he felt awkward early in his career about revealing his Jewishness to non-Jewish colleagues, which he ascribes to a Jewish “sense of insecurity”.

Lord Dyson elaborated: “I really wanted to say this publicly because when I mention it to non-Jewish friends they can’t believe it. They ask how can someone like [me], who is seen as an establishment figure, well embedded in English society, seen the Queen, all this sort of stuff, how can you have these feelings of insecurity…Yet I’ve found so many successful [Jewish] people in professions of all kinds say the same thing”, namely that they feel “fundamentally” insecure in the UK.

, ,

Labour’s “ultimate insult” to Jewish community as JVL councillor suspended after “Jew Process” remark is now being pushed to replace Louise Ellman

A Labour councillor who was briefly suspended for dubbing the Party’s disciplinary process as “Jew process” is being pushed to stand in Dame Louise Ellman’s Liverpool Riverside seat.

Dame Louise resigned from the Labour Party over its antisemitism scandal and local activists are now reportedly promoting Jo Bird, who was suspended from the Labour Party for derogatory comments about Jews, to replace her.

Cllr Bird is a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation. She has described herself as “Jew-ish”, relating of her upbringing: “We were raised with socialism not God, solidarity not superiority, trade union stickers not mezuzahs, Woodcraft Folk not Hebrew school, Christmas presents not Chanukah gilt, local not Jewish festivals, internationalism not Zionism, and no circumcision.”

Cllr Bird previously discussed allegations of racism saying: “Seriously, one of the things that does worry me is the privileging of racism against Jews, over and above — as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism.”

One member of the local party branded her candidacy as “the ultimate insult”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism agrees that this attempt to replace Dame Louise Ellman, a Jewish MP hounded out of the Labour Party, with a candidate perviously suspended for pejorative comment about Jews, adds insult to injury, and showcases yet again the institutional antisemitism of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Keir Starmer tells BBC’s Marr that he’s “100% behind Jeremy Corbyn” despite Labour leader’s antisemitism

Sir Keir Starmer, the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, has insisted that he is “100% behind Jeremy Corbyn…I am working with Jeremy Corbyn to win the next general election.”

Sir Keir made the comments on BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show on 20th October.

When questioned on Dame Louise Ellman’s resignation from the Labour Party over antisemitism, Sir Keir conceded: “I think it’s a really low moment. A really low moment. And what I want to do is to redouble our efforts to make sure that Louise and others feel that the Labour Party is a party that they can return to. We’ve already done a lot of work on this. We need to do more. But the end destination for me is a Labour Party where those that have left because of this issue feel that they can return. That will be the judgment for me that will be the test of whether we’ve succeeded.”

When Mr Marr pointed out that Dame Louise laid the blame with Mr Corbyn and accused him of being a danger not just to the Labour Party but to the entire British Jewish community, Sir Keir rejected Dame Louise’s conclusions: “I don’t accept that. I don’t accept that. I do accept that as a Labour Party we have to root out antisemitism and we have to demonstrate to people like Louise that this is a Party that she can return to.”

On Mr Corbyn’s role in Labour’s antisemitism crisis, Sir Keir stated that “I personally don’t find that this personalising takes us very far. We have got an issue with antisemitism in the Party. We’ve got a problem that there is antisemitism. We’ve got a bigger problem that some people don’t acknowledge it. We’re working on that. We’ve got to do that collectively. The test will be whether those that have concerns as Louise did feel that they can return to the Labour Party. When they do, I will consider that we’ve succeeded.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is shameful that Sir Keir Starmer remains loyal to Jeremy Corbyn and will be campaigning to make him Prime Minister, despite an overwhelming majority of British Jews believing that Mr Corbyn is an antisemite and has cultivated antisemitism in the Labour Party. Labour has become institutionally antisemitic and is being investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, but that is apparently not enough to make Sir Keir think again about his priorities. Louise Ellman rightly recognised that, come a general election, Labour MPs will have to decide whether they support installing an antisemite in Downing Street or not. Sir Keir has made his decision, and he should be ashamed.

“Sir Keir is not alone. Throughout the years of Mr Corbyn’s leadership, all senior members of the Labour Party, including John McDonnell and even such figures as Tom Watson and the highly critical Lord Falconer, have tried to make the argument that this is nothing to do with the Labour leadership, but rather its new members or its inadequate ‘processes’. Their collective comments are in themselves a contributing factor to the institutionalising of antisemitism in the Party, which they worsen rather than alleviate.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Just seven percent of Jews would consider voting for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour

A new poll suggests that as little as seven percent of the Jewish community would consider supporting the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in the next general election.

This was an even lower figure than the thirteen percent support that the Party registered in a previous poll ahead of the 2017 general election.

The new poll, carried out by Survation for the JC, showed that 42 percent of Jews would consider voting for the Labour Party under new leadership.

Ian Austin MP, an honorary patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism who quit the Labour Party over antisemitism, said: “This poll shows the shameful extent to which the Jewish community –  which traditionally showed strong support for Labour – has been alienated by the racism which has poisoned the party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Six times as many Jewish people would vote Labour with a different leader – so even if moderate MPs won’t get rid of him because it is the right thing to do, you’d have thought they would at least do it for electoral reasons.”

Survation questioned 766 self-identified Jewish residents aged over eighteen between 19th September and 14th October.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

CAA calls for adoption of International Definition of Antisemitism by universities as EHRC says two thirds of students do not report campus racism

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published a report showing that two-thirds of students who said that they had experienced racial harassment during the first half of the 2018/19 academic year did not report it to their university.

The reasons for the underreporting included a lack of confidence that the university would address the matter and fears of the personal consequences on their education, career and wellbeing of making a report, as well as ignorance of how to make reports.

The EHRC’s report quoted an undergraduate at an English university being told by a fellow student that “they were baking Jews like cupcakes in Auschwitz” and that they would like to put the student in an oven, while antisemitic slurs toward students and staff were noted at Scottish and Welsh universities as well.

One of the most widely reported antisemitic issues, according to the report, was harassment experienced by students in and around protest events on campus, including physical intimidation.

According to the report, “racial harassment can cause humiliation, isolation, loss of confidence and serious harm to mental health and wellbeing. Students who experienced racial harassment said they were left feeling angry, upset, depressed, anxious and vulnerable; eight percent said they had felt suicidal.”

The research indicated that one in twenty students said that they had left their studies due to racial harassment and three in twenty staff said that racial harassment had caused them to leave their jobs.

The report further stated that many universities significantly underestimate the prevalence of racial harassment and overestimate victims’ willingness to come forward, the adequacy of their own processes and their record of handling reports. “Nearly all universities we surveyed who had received complaints felt that they had dealt with them fairly. However, our call for evidence found a much higher level of dissatisfaction with investigative processes than university responses would suggest.”

The report provides numerous recommendations, but Campaign Against Antisemitism also calls on universities to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, without which the handling of antisemitic abuse by campus authorities will inevitably be haphazard, inconsistent and inadequate. It will also indicate to Jewish students, staff and the wider community – as well as antisemites – that universities take antisemitism on campus seriously.

, ,

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick makes good on pledge to write to all local councils urging adoption of International Definition of Antisemitism

Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has reportedly written to all local authorities in the country urging adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

In doing so, Mr Jenrick makes good on his pledge last month to do so, when he described antisemitism as a “ scourge” and “a stain on our society”, declaring that “there is no place for antisemitic abuse”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism welcomes Mr Jenrick’s ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism in local politics and elsewhere.

In 2016, the British Government became the first in the world to adopt the International Definition, following many meetings with Campaign Against Antisemitism.

, ,

CAA praises neighbour for coming to aid of Jewish man threatened and harassed in Canvey Island

An Orthodox Jewish man was threatened and harassed by four teenagers on the street in Canvey Island, a town in Essex.

The man was paying his cleaner outside her home before he was chased by the teenagers threatening to beat him up and steal his bicycle, and mocking him for being Jewish.

The cleaner called a friend from nearby who found that the teens had already chased the man some distance and forced them to clear off.

The heroic neighbour recounted that the teenagers “were getting up in his face, shouting at him…mocking him for being Jewish. He tried to get away by riding off but they followed him here…Anybody would have helped in my situation if they had seen it, it’s disgusting anyone would do such a thing. Nobody deserves to be picked on – no matter what religion they believe in. I made sure he was okay after, but he was definitely shaken up. Something needs to be done – these kids are getting away with too much.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism praises the neighbour for standing up to the thuggish antisemitism and echoes his demand for justice and deterrence.

, ,

Ex-chair of Scottish Labour says he’s not voting for the Party until it deals with antisemitism

In the wake of the resignation of Dame Louise Ellman MP from the Labour Party, the former leader of Scottish Labour has announced that he “won’t be voting Labour again until the antisemitism problem is sorted.”

Jamie Glackin tweeted the statement and insisted that “if that gets me purged then I can live with that,” a likely reference to the expulsion of some other Labour members who disclosed that they had voted for other parties in recent elections.

Meanwhile, Blair McDougall, a former candidate and director of strategy for Scottish Labour, has also described Dame Louise’s resignation as “an appalling indictment of what Labour has become. If several members of Parliament from any other ethnic minority had been forced out, most Party members would be up in arms. Because it’s Jews most will explain it away,” adding: “I look forward to every Labour member replying to her resignation statement with celebratory gifs f***ing off back to whatever racist Stalinist sect they crawled out of.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Jewish woman punched in stomach in Stamford Hill

A twenty-year-old Jewish woman was viciously punched in the stomach in an unprovoked attack by another woman.

The incident took place at the junction of Amhurst Park and Bethune Road in Stamford Hill at 15:15 on 17th October, and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD4909 17/10/19

, ,

Chris Williamson shamefully allowed to lecture at University of Nottingham but robustly denounced by Jewish students

The disgraced Labour MP, Chris Williamson, has been denounced as an antisemite by a student at the University of Nottingham as he gave a lecture.

Mr Williamson was lecturing students at an event at the Centre for British Politics as part of a series on “British Politics in Crisis”.

Jewish students at the University had called for the invitation to be withdrawn, citing Mr Williamson’s “history of Jew baiting”, but the University defended the invitation in a decision condemned by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

During the lecture, one student accused Mr Williamson of being “a member of a sewer of racist groups on Facebook including Palestine Live” and “troll[ing] the Jewish community endlessly on Twitter” and, asked rhetorically whether the MP is “the most unlucky anti-racism campaigner or are you just an outright liar?”

The student was applauded as Mr Williamson described the question as “abusive” and declared: “I will take no lectures from people who attack my credentials as an anti-racism campaigner…so don’t come here and accuse me of being an antisemite or a racist. It’s an absolute slur.”

Mr Williamson also again defended Jackie Walker, who has been expelled from the Labour Party over her comments about Jews.

Mr Williamson was suspended from the Labour Party after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism and is currently on his third suspension from the Party (the second suspension was overturned by the High Court due to meddling in the disciplinary process).

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

“Hitler wanted my kind alive”: outrage at antisemitic messages at Leicester University white t-shirt party

The University of Leicester Students’ Union is investigating a white t-shirt party in which students wrote pro-Nazi and antisemitic messages on their t-shirts, including “Hitler wanted my kind alive”. At another recent social, a student wore a high visibility vest with the phrase “I’m a Nazi” printed on it.

A white t-shirt party involves students donning plain shirts and emblazoning messages on them, and students too commonly take the opportunity to write offensive or racist comments. This latest incident follows prior incidents at Lancaster, Plymouth, Newcastle and Coventry.

Responding to the incident, an officer at the University’s Jewish Society has written: “The University has allowed a hostile environment for Jewish students to flourish, and so long as things like this continue to fly under the radar of the majority of students, nothing will improve.”

The Students’ Union, which claims that the social event was “unauthorised”, has apologised for the incident and has promised to “ensure we tackle any antisemitism and make it wholly clear that white t-shirt socials are not allowable by the Union.”

It is understood that the students involved have now identified themselves to University authorities and that the Students’ Union and the University will be undertaking investigations and disciplinary action. The University society that hosted the social has reportedly also pledged to run inclusivity training.

We commend the Students’ Union and University for their pledges in response to this incident. Campaign Against Antisemitism is taking a close interest in the outcomes of the investigations and hopes to see the University uphold zero tolerance to antisemitism.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

, ,

Secretary of Labour branch in Redditch resigns after sharing antisemitic posts on social media

Alan Mason, the Redditch Constituency Labour Party Secretary, resigned on 14th October after revelations that he had posted antisemitic material online.

Mr Mason had shared comments on Facebook suggesting that Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth was funded by an “Israel lobby”; the Rothschilds funded the Nazis; Hillary Clinton’s “Zio Mafia strillionaire [sic] friends in London and Tel Aviv are sucking America and 99% of Americans dry”; and Jewish real estate developer Larry Silverstein profited from 9/11.

Another post he shared referenced the “Nazification of Israel”. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is antisemitic.

A complaint had reportedly been made to the Labour Party about Mr Mason on 25th June, but nothing was done and he was appointed secretary of the local branch on 28th June.

A Labour councillor confirmed that Mr Mason has resigned as Constituency Labour Party secretary and as a member of the Labour Party with “immediate effect”.

, ,

Labour Party fears bankruptcy over EHRC investigation launched following representations by CAA

Senior Labour figures have reportedly expressed concern that an adverse finding by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in its investigation into antisemitism in Labour could result in the bankruptcy of the Party.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

There is talk in Labour that an unfavourable conclusion by the EHRC could lead to litigation and payouts to victims, which could cripple the Party’s already struggling finances.

Members of the Labour Party’s ruling body, the powerful National Executive Committee (NEC), have even made inquiries as to whether they might become financially liable if the Party’s finances went into the red. Party chiefs reportedly refused to provide sufficient clarity to allay the concerns.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

CAA commends church for cancelling Chris Williamson event

Downham Market Methodist Church cancelled an event reportedly set to feature disgraced MP Chris Williamson discussing “the challenges facing Labour”.

The event at the Norfolk church, which was an external booking, had caused upset in the local Jewish community and was cancelled amid concerns it “could be detrimental” to the church and community.

Mr Williamson was suspended from the Labour Party after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism and is currently on his third suspension (the second suspension was overturned by the High Court).

The challenges facing Labour include, above all, its institutional antisemitism, which its personnel and disciplinary procedures are unwilling and unable to rectify.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Labour NEC’s youth representative blasts Dame Louise Ellman MP for quitting Labour over antisemitism

Lara McNeill, a member of Labour’s powerful National Executive Committee (NEC), has criticised Dame Louise Ellman MP for quitting the Labour Party over antisemitism after 55 years of membership.

Ms McNeill criticised Dame Louise for “choos[ing] to sit on the fence” and claimed that it was “demonstratively false” that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had not “spent decades…confronting antisemitism and Holocaust deniers”.

She went on to suggest that concerns over the implications of a Corbyn government for Britain’s Jews “simply whip[s] up panic amongst many”. While conceding that one should not “ignore antisemitism”, Ms. McNeill insisted that one should also not “ignore this Conservative government actively inciting racism and don’t ignore Labour’s – and Corbyn’s – record showing what a Labour government would actually mean for equality and anti-discrimination.”

A Momentum activist, Ms McNeill represents Young Labour on the NEC, and her original candidacy was backed by Momentum, several unions and Labour frontbencher Angela Rayner, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education. Other factions, including the Jewish Labour Movement, Labour Students and LGBT Labour reportedly supported her opponent.

Ms Neill’s tweets were in response to Dame Louise’s resignation letter, which said that “Jeremy Corbyn is not fit to be Prime Minister” because he “spent three decades on the backbenches consorting with, and never confronting antisemites, Holocaust deniers and terrorists”, and that he has “attracted the support of too many antisemites”. She said that she made her “agonising” decision because “The Labour Party is no longer a safe place for Jews and Jeremy Corbyn must bear responsibility for this.” She warned: “We cannot allow him to do to the country what he has done to the Labour Party.”

Dame Louise has faced years of abuse from Mr Corbyn’s faction of the Labour Party, and from Mr Corbyn himself. Campaign Against Antisemitism noted in our initial correspondence with the Equality and Human Rights Commission that Mr Corbyn had publicly backed his brother’s assertion that Dame Louise was engaging in a politically motivated attack by complaining of antisemitism. Last week Dame Louise, who is Jewish, had been due to face a deselection debate by her local Labour Party during Yom Kippur, one of the most solemn days of the Jewish calendar.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Dame Louise Ellman MP quits Corbyn’s Labour, saying “We cannot allow him to do to the country what he has done to the Labour Party”

Louise Ellman MP has quit the Labour Party after 55 years of membership because she says that “Jeremy Corbyn is not fit to be Prime Minister” because he “spent three decades on the backbenches consorting with, and never confronting antisemites, Holocaust deniers and terrorists”, saying he has “attracted the support of too many antisemites”.

She said that she made her “agonising” decision because “The Labour Party is no longer a safe place for Jews and Jeremy Corbyn must bear responsibility for this.” She warned: “We cannot allow him to do to the country what he has done to the Labour Party.”

Dame Louise has faced years of abuse from Mr Corbyn’s faction of the Labour Party, and from Mr Corbyn himself. Campaign Against Antisemitism noted in our initial correspondence with the Equality and Human Rights Commission that Mr Corbyn had publicly backed his brother’s assertion that Dame Louise was engaging in a politically motivated attack by complaining of antisemitism. Last week Dame Louise, who is Jewish, had been due to face a deselection debate by her local Labour Party during Yom Kippur, one of the most solemn days of the Jewish calendar.

Dame Louise now joins twelve MPs and three peers who have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism in recent months, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members. She has confirmed that she will not join another political party and hopes that one day under different leadership she will feel able to rejoin Labour.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Many of us have marvelled that Dame Louise has remained in the Labour Party for so long, even as it came under investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission at our behest. However, an imminent general election that raises the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister has forced her to make the only moral choice possible, one which her colleagues still refuse to face.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

BBC Arabic describes Halle shooting as attack on kebab shop and does not mention attempted synagogue massacre

A report on the Halle synagogue attack on the BBC Arabic website fails to mention antisemitism or Jews, stating simply that “some German news outlets say it happened near a synagogue but this cannot be confirmed.”

This was despite the fact that the motivations of the attacker and the target — a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar — were entirely clear and indeed could in fact easily be confirmed from the livestream video that the attacker himself posted online.

The article reports that two people were killed in a gunfire incident and that the assailant fired in the direction of a kebab shop, noting that he “also threw a bomb on a cemetery”, rather than explaining that the cemetery was in the synagogue compound, which was the gunman’s primary target.

The perpetrator has since confirmed that he was motivated by antisemitism and indeed had published an antisemitic manifesto prior to the attack. The incident comes at a time of growing antisemitism in Germany.

The original BBC English article on the attack contained similar misrepresentations, but it was subsequently updated, whereas the Arabic version has not been.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is disgusted that the BBC could run such a misleading story on a sensitive topic, but this is also not wholly surprising in view of the history of strained relations between the Corporation and the Jewish community.

It is also particularly alarming that the BBC has promoted this sort of coverage on its Arabic language outlet, because it fits a trend in BBC reportage. For example, a BBC news article a couple of years ago stated: “The Holocaust is a sensitive topic for many Muslims because Jewish survivors settled in British-mandate Palestine, on land which later became the State of Israel,” an outrageous and offensive assertion that seemed to capture the Corporation’s approach to its coverage of Jew-hatred and Middle East politics.

With this latest transgression, the BBC has further compounded suspicions that it views honest reporting on antisemitism as potentially offensive to Muslims and Arabic speakers.

Once again, we find ourselves calling on the institutionally antisemitic BBC to apologise for an offence committed against Jews.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is submitting a formal complaint to the BBC, which we will escalate to Ofcom if the BBC does not agree to apologise.

, ,

Member of Scottish Parliament laments the casual Holocaust denial he encountered in hospital

A member of the Scottish Parliament has related how quickly conversation with his ward mates in hospital turned to the Holocaust – and Holocaust denial.

Alex Cole-Hamilton, the MSP for Edinburgh Western, has written about his stay in a hospital in West Lothian for hand surgery over the summer, recounting that the man next to him in the ward “muttered something about Germany and gas chambers”. 

Mr Cole-Hamilton said that he did not hear the man properly and was about to take issue with the comment when the patient in the bed opposite chimed in: “No mate, there never were any gas ovens, it was all a hoax, I can give you a link to a YouTube video which explains it all.”

“Despite being pretty high on painkillers,” Mr Cole-Hamilton writes, “I challenged him, explaining his statement wasn’t just wrong but it was offensive. He responded by saying that he was as much entitled to his opinion as I was, to which I replied that my ‘opinion’ was empirically verifiable as historical fact.

“The whole exchange left me pretty shaken and the atmosphere on the ward was strained for the duration of my stay.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton writes that he had of course heard of Holocaust denial, “but I have never encountered it in the dismal flesh before. It prompted me to think more about it and last week’s horrific Yom Kippur shootings in a synagogue in Halle, Germany hammered home to me the brutal and murderous end that unchecked antisemitism can lead to.”

, ,

Teacher sacked for ‘jokingly’ threatening pupils to “ship them off to the gas chambers” if they didn’t finish their homework

Newberries Primary School in Radlett has dismissed a teacher after she reportedly told her pupils: “You better finish off your work quick, or I’ll ship you all off to the gas chambers.”

The comment was made to a class of 28 ten-year-olds, eleven of whom are Jewish.

The teacher was then challenged by one of the pupils over her comment, following which she said she was joking and apologised, before asking the children not to tell anyone.

News of the remark spread quickly on school chat groups, however, and parents complained to the head teacher, with some apparently threatening to withdraw their children if the teacher was not sacked.

The board of governors held an emergency meeting and the teacher was dismissed the following day, as she was an agency worker and therefore had no permanent employment contract with the school.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Newberries Primary School for its swift and unequivocal response to this incident. We also encourage anyone to disclose the teacher’s name in order that a complaint can be made to relevant regulatory bodies.

, ,

“Dirty Jews it’s all your fault”: man arrested for abuse of Jews outside synagogue on eve of Sukkot festival

A man was arrested for threatening Jewish adults and children outside a synagogue, yelling “dirty Jews, it’s all your fault, you are rubbish” and waving his fists at them in a violent manner.

The incident took place at a synagogue in Stamford Hill on 13th October, the eve of the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles), and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

The man was reportedly a repeat offender. The offender was arrested by police and the case has been designated a hate crime with CAD3589 13/10/19.

Also in Stamford Hill, a Jewish man was the subject of a hit-and-run on Tatton Crescent. The suspect was driving a grey Smart car with registration number LS10 PNL.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD8648 09/10/19.

, ,

“Sanctimonious hypocrite” Corbyn told to “sort your own house out first” before calling out racism in football

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of being a “sanctimonious hypocrite” after he called on UEFA to “do far more to tackle this kind of abuse”. Mr Corbyn made the comments following England’s match against Bulgaria on 14th October, which was interrupted twice as a far-right contingent of Bulgarian fans made Nazi salutes and chanted horrific racist abuse at minority English players.

Ian Austin MP, who quit the Labour Party over antisemitism and is an honorary patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, called out Mr Corbyn for daring to demand action by others on racism while presiding over antisemitism in his own Party. Mr Austin said that “someone who has seen the Labour Party poisoned by racism” under Mr Corbyn was in “no place to say this”, adding that Mr Corbyn should “sort your own house out first, you sanctimonious hypocrite.”

In a similar display of hypocrisy last week, Mr Corbyn was pictured with fellow Labour Party frontbencher, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Emily Thornberry, at a Show Racism the Red Card (SRRC) panel at Arsenal. SRRC describes itself as an anti-racism educational charity and appears to focus on discrimination and hate towards Black and Asian communities in the UK. It does not appear to offer resources on antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism supports all anti-racism efforts, but regrets that SRRC chose to fete an antisemitic leader of an institutionally antisemitic party that is under investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

17-year-old Jewish girl threatened and almost punched by antisemite

A Jewish girl on a route 253 bus was accosted by a man shouting “you Jews, you have it all good”. The man attempted to punch her but just missed her face due to the motion of the bus.

The man continued to insult Jewish people and reportedly nothing was done to stop him on the bus.

The incident occurred as the bus came to Lea Bridge roundabout near Stamford Hill at around 15:00 on 2nd October, and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

The man was described as a skinny and tall male in his twenties with short hair, wearing sunglasses and a hooded green sweatshirt.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD7063 12/1019

, ,

Ken Loach calls Panorama programme on Labour antisemitism “disgusting”

The controversial filmmaker Ken Loach has described the BBC Panorama programme on antisemitism in the Labour Party as “probably the most disgusting programme I’ve ever seen on the BBC.”

The episode of the BBC’s flagship investigative documentary series was titled “Is Labour Anti-Semitic?” and was televised in July. Over the course of the programme, former Labour Party employees spoke out publicly to reveal Jeremy Corbyn’s personal meddling in disciplinary cases relating to antisemitism. The programme explained how senior Labour Party staffers, some of whom Campaign Against Antisemitism has known for years, used to run Labour’s disciplinary process independently, but soon after Mr Corbyn’s election as Party leader found themselves contending with his most senior aides, who were brazen in their efforts to subvert due process.

The programme was peppered with unconvincing denials from Labour’s press team, including claims that the staffers had political axes to grind and lacked credibility — assertions that apparently may now be challenged in court in a libel action brought by some of the staffers against the Party.

In his interview with The Guardian, Mr Loach said the programme was “disgusting because it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism…and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn.”

Mr Loach was also reportedly behind a motion passed by Bath Labour Party branding the Panorama programme a “dishonest hatchet job with potentially undemocratic consequences” and asserting that it “disgraced the name of Panorama and exposed the bias endemic within the BBC.” John Ware, the programme’s reporter, is apparently considering legal action against Mr Loach for his comments.

Mr Loach’s voice has been among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign.

In 2017, Mr Loach caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” is a manifestation of antisemitism.

Although Mr Loach later sought to clarify his remarks, he has continued to make inflammatory and provocative statements about Labour’s antisemitism scandal. While speaking at a meeting of the Kingswood Constituency Labour Party, Mr Loach advocated the removal from the Party of those Labour MPs, some of whom are Jewish, who have taken a principled stand against antisemitism. Shortly after that incident, the Labour Party announced that it would no longer use Mr Loach as a producer of their election broadcasts.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

John McDonnell says Labour is “on top of” the issue of antisemitism in the Party

The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell, has conceded that he is not happy with the way antisemitism in the Labour Party has been handled, but asserted that “I think we are on top of that now”.

Mr McDonnell made the comments in an interview with former Labour spin-doctor Alastair Campbell in GQ magazine, admitting that the Party should have been “firmer, more ruthless and faster” in dealing with antisemitism, but that they are “learning lessons all the time”.

He agreed with Mr Campbell that the Labour antisemitism scandal has done a lot of damage to the Party, but quickly shifted the blame to the media, contrasting the way Labour antisemitism has been covered versus claims of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party, a point with which Mr Campbell concurred. “I’m just saying look at the operation of the media with regards to that,” Mr McDonnell elaborated. “We are an anti-racist party and we have always been a leading party in that respect, but it does demonstrate the role of the media itself. We’ve got to cut through that all the time.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Neo-Nazi teenager who praised Hitler as “a brave man” planned to throw homemade bombs at Durham synagogues

A jury at Manchester Crown Court has heard that a neo-Nazi teenager from Durham hoped to follow in Adolf Hitler’s footsteps and listed numerous targets “worth attacking” with Molotov cocktails, including synagogues.

The sixteen-year-old had reportedly also begun drafting a manifesto titled “A Manual for practical and sensible guerrilla warfare against the kike system in the Durham City area, Sieg Heil”. Other items seized from his home included a copy of Mein Kampf and material on explosives and firearms.

The prosecution claimed that the defendant had become “an adherent of neo-Nazism – the most extreme of right-wing ideology”, noting that he had written in his diary on the occasion of Hitler’s birthday that the Nazi leader was “a brave man to say the least. Although maybe having written proof that I admire their number one enemy isn’t such a wise idea. I will however say that I one day hope to follow in his footsteps.”

The trial is anticipated to last two weeks.

, ,

Co-founder of Extinction Rebellion reportedly shared social media posts dismissing Labour antisemitism and defending Ken Livingstone

Gail Bradbrook, a former biophysicist and co-founder of the climate protest group, Extinction Rebellion, reportedly shared social media posts dismissing Labour antisemitism as a “smear” and defended offensive comments by Ken Livingstone.

According to The Sun Dr Bradbrook shared a post in 2016 that described claims that certain comments made by Mr Livingstone were antisemitic as “ridiculous” and “scurrilous” and that “you will hopefully then agree that what is happening is part of a massive project to manipulate public opinion against, and to destroy the popular progressive movement supporting, Jeremy Corbyn.” The post went on to say that “Corbyn represents a threat to the stranglehold the Netanyahu right-wing Israeli extremists have over any mainstream media coverage of the oppressive Israeli occupation of the little left-over scraps of Palestine.”

Another post reportedly said that Mr Corbyn’s critics “smear him with sexism, misogyny and antisemitism by finding sexist or antisemitic comments by a handful of his millions of supporters”.

The Sun, which broke the story, quotes Dr Bradbrook as saying: “I’m not interested in getting involved in a discussion that is clearly an attempt to create division. Antisemitism is a huge problem across the whole of society and I’m longing for a time when all of us are safe.”

Previously it was also reported that a Facebook page administered by Dr Bradbrook entertained numerous conspiracy theories, linked to a blog which quoted from the infamous antisemitic tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and contained a post expressing solidarity with disgraced Labour MP Chris Williamson a day after he was suspended for claiming Labour had been “too apologetic” over antisemitism. 

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

CAA pans Labour’s disciplinary procedures as High Court decides that Chris Williamson’s suspension breached Party rules, but he remains suspended

The High Court has today ruled that the second suspension of disgraced MP Chris Williamson in June 2019 was a breach of the Labour Party’s disciplinary procedures, but that the disciplinary case in respect of his third suspension should be allowed to run its course.

The Labour Party originally suspended Mr Williamson in February 2019 for telling a meeting of Momentum activists in Sheffield that the Party was being “demonised as a racist, bigoted party” partly because it had “given too much ground [and] been too apologetic.” On the way to being told of his suspension he was seen receiving a warm hug from Party Chairman Ian Lavery.

In June, Mr Williamson was readmitted to the Party with a formal warning, but following a public outcry he was suspended again (the second suspension). In August, Mr Williamson took legal action against the Party in the High Court.

The court found that there was “no proper reason” for the second suspension and that “it is not…difficult to infer that the true reason for the decision…was that [NEC] members…were influenced by the ferocity of the outcry following the June decision.” The NEC is the National Executive Committee, the Labour Party’s governing body.

While the case was proceeding, the Labour Party readmitted and quickly re-suspended Mr Williamson again over separate allegations, a move that some critics attributed to the Party’s concern that it would lose this case, which it now has.

Regarding the third suspension, the judge decided that there was “nothing in the new allegations…or the decision to suspend [for the third time] that entitles me to take the view upon the papers that the Labour Party is acting either unfairly or other than in good faith”, adding: “I therefore refuse relief in respect of Mr Williamson’s recent re-suspension. The new disciplinary case must run its course.”

Consequently, although the second suspension has been quashed, the third suspension remains in effect.

Mr Williamson has devoted much of his time as an MP to baiting Jews by dismissing allegations of antisemitism as “proxy wars and bulls***” whilst supporting Labour activists like Marc Wadsworth and Jackie Walker who were expelled from the Party over their comments.

As it happens, this judgment accords with Campaign Against Antisemitism’s view in June that the Labour Party’s decision to readmit and then re-suspend Mr Williamson showed that its pretence of “due process” in its disciplinary decisions is a sham. Clearly the Party was eager to readmit him, only resuspended him due to the outcry and demonstrated in the process that its procedures are not independent but are easily influenced and determined by external factors.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This ruling shows that Labour’s disciplinary process is a sham. Instead of expelling Mr Williamson over his consistent record of Jew-baiting, the Labour Party only suspended him – twice — to appease public opinion, and then a third time in anticipation of an adverse judgment. Labour’s procedures are open to influence and determination by external factors. Clearly the Labour Party has no real intention to tackle its antisemitism crisis and that is why we were right to make a complaint and formal representations to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, resulting in the ongoing full statutory investigation.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Rory Stewart ignores Ken Livingstone’s record on antisemitism and says he was London’s best Mayor

Rory Stewart, the Conservative MP turned independent, told ITV’s Peston that he believed that Ken Livingstone was London’s best mayor.

Mr Stewart recently announced a bid for the mayoralty and appeared on the programme to promote his candidacy.

Asked who he thought was the capital’s best mayor, Mr Stewart replied: “To be honest the best mayor we had in London was from 2000 to 2004 — an independent mayor of London. He was the guy who got stuff done, he’s the guy who sorted out the Olympics, sorted out the Oyster Cards, sorted out the congestion charge.”

Asked by Robert Peston if that meant Mr Stewart is a “Ken Livingstone fan,” he replied: “when he was an independent, and what he proved is you want an independent mayor. You don’t want the party baggage.”

Mr Stewart failed to note Mr Livingstone’s exceptionally poor record on antisemitism and relations with the Jewish community, which predated his terms as mayor and has endured since. Among many other entries, that record includes welcoming, during his first term as mayor, a radical, antisemitic cleric to City Hall, and during his second term comparing a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard, a comment that got him briefly suspended as mayor before the suspension was overturned. More recently, Mr Livingstone contended that Adolf Hitler “was supporting Zionism”, an assertion that prompted 107 MPs to sign a statement describing his words as “insidious racism” and eventually led to his resignation from the Labour Party.

Indeed Mr Livingstone is infamous in the Jewish community for inspiring the so-called ‘Livingstone Formulation’, by which Jews who cite evidence of antisemitism are accused of lying, conspiring or having deceitful motives in doing so.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We are seeing a disturbing trend of sanitising the purveyors of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and antisemitism for some greater political goal. Whether it’s contemplating making the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister because of concerns over Brexit or praising Ken Livingstone despite his horrendous relations with the Jewish community because he happened to be a political independent for a few years. These people should be ostracised, not indulged or flattered.”

In reply, Mr Stewart told Campaign Against Antisemitism: “I am strongly against Ken Livingstone’s antisemitism. I oppose him. But I believe in a politics which also recognises achievements from all sides — in his case in Olympic development and transport. I will continue to be as fair as I can about my opponents — even when I disagree.”

The problem of course is that Mr Stewart did not express any view about antisemitism when praising Mr Livingstone as his favourite mayor. We asked him to do so in future, whilst others took to Twitter mocking Mr Stewart’s retort. Mr Stewart responded that he would make sure to point out Mr Livingstone’s record in future.

, ,

Nick Robinson says BBC questioned if he should speak at Holocaust dinner

The BBC’s Nick Robinson has revealed that a decade ago a boss at the corporation asked, in respect of a Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) dinner to which Mr Robinson had been invited to speak, whether it was “wise” for him to accept. Mr Robinson said: “I replied that I hadn’t got my BBC guidelines in front of me but my hunch was on balance we are opposed to the Holocaust.”

The broadcaster made the remarkable disclosure in a speech at the HET dinner this week, where he also claimed that “MPs are being driven out of their political homes for being Jewish.”

Mr Robinson, whose grandfather was a Jewish doctor in Nazi Germany, also slammed the disgraced Labour MP Chris Williamson, relating that “Chris Williamson told me on the Today programme he’s never seen antisemitism in the Labour Party. Well, I’ve seen it Chris, the people in the Labour Party fighting it have seen it Chris, and we will never stop pointing it out.”

Mr Williamson was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.

, ,

Kent Police launch investigation after headstones smashed at Chatham Jewish cemetery in run-up to Yom Kippur

Police in Chatham, Kent, have launched an investigation after headstones were smashed at a Jewish cemetery in the run-up to Yom Kippur. Numerous headstones were knocked to the ground and smashed between Saturday and Monday night.

Police are reviewing security camera footage. Anybody with information should contact the police on 101.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This cowardly act of vandalism must not go unpunished. We are grateful to Kent Police for their swift response.”

, ,

Church apologises for hosting Miko Peled as convicted Holocaust-denier Alison Chabloz seen in front row

St Anne’s Church in Soho has apologised for letting the American-Israeli activist Miko Peled give a lecture in its hall titled “Journey of an Israeli in Palestine”, regretting that the event “may not have accurately reflected our values or those of our community.”

Mr Peled is an American-Israeli activist who has said that people should be free to ask “Holocaust, yes or no” because “there should be no limits on the discussion,” and has compared Israel to the Nazis, in breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

At the event, which was apparently booked by an organisation called “Keep Talking”, Mr Peled made jokes about antisemitism in the Labour Party which were greeted with laughter and applause from an audience filled with individuals with troubling records.

Among those reportedly in attendance were Alison Chabloz, a Holocaust denier convicted for offences under the Communication Act 2003 following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

According to researcher David Collier, other attendees included the disgraced conspiracy theorist Rev. Dr Stephen Sizer, who claimed that an Israeli conspiracy was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Elleanne Green, a prolific poster of conspiracy theories and friend of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who founded the virulently antisemitic “Palestine Live” Facebook group.

The church has donated the room hire fee to a Jewish charity, as part of its apology.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This event illustrates how meaningless is the distinction between far-right and far-left when it comes to antisemitism. Right-wing Holocaust deniers and extremist campaigners on the political Left are united in their disdain for Jews and should be treated with like contempt by wider society. While we welcome St Anne’s apology, we urge churches and other institutions to conduct greater due diligence before hosting figures with such troubling records in future.”

, ,

Student who stuck Palestine sticker on mouth of sleeping Jew swiftly suspended by Nottingham Trent University pending disciplinary action

Nottingham Trent University has suspended a first-year student for photoshopping a Palestine sticker over the mouth of an Orthodox Jew sleeping on the London Underground.

The student had a photograph taken of himself in a mocking pose with the sleeping Jewish passenger on public transport and reportedly posted it on the dating site Tinder, before it was shared more widely on Twitter.

When confronted about the incident, the twenty-year-old student conceded that it was a “terrible picture” and “absolutely insensitive” but insisted he is “in no way antisemitic”.

The university says that a disciplinary panel will now decide on appropriate action.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds Nottingham Trent University for taking swift action against the student for this antisemitic and humiliating assault on a Jewish tube passenger, and trusts that the decision of the disciplinary panel over future action will be such that it will also provide a deterrence to others.

, ,

Ofcom determining sanction for Islam Channel over “antisemitic” broadcast accusing “tyrannical” Jews of plotting to distort Koran

Ofcom has determined that the Islam Channel broadcasted “very harmful and highly offensive antisemitic content” in its programme, The Rightly Guided Khalifas.

According to its website, the Islam Channel broadcasts from London and describes itself as providing “alt news, current affairs and entertainment programming from an Islamic perspective,” and it broadcasts to over 136 countries worldwide.

The Rightly Guided Khalifas, a religious education series on the history of the Koran and the measures used to preserve its original wording, claimed that Israel printed hundreds of thousands of deliberately distorted copies of the Koran in 1961 for distribution in Africa and Asia, an assertion based on government propaganda from the period.

The Arabic narration also quoted a “telegraph” from the last century accusing Israel of being “formed on the basis of tyranny and aggression…[and it] continues to live in this tyrannical frame of mind…[and] seeks the destruction of our belief and religion” by distorting the Koran. “In this way, it continues to practice what their forefathers [i.e. the Jews] had done before.”

The English translation on-screen also accused Israel of “poisonous acts”, while the English subtitles added that “the occupying state of Israel (the jews)…is still living in this world with the same evil mind…by doing so the new jews tried to do the same thing their ancestors did when they displaced words from (their) right places [sic].”

The Islam Channel said that The Rightly Guided Khalifas series was produced by an overseas third party rather than in-house, and that it did not endorse its content, despite having broadcast it, noting also that the English translations were produced in the Middle East and claiming that terms such as “Israel”, “Israelis” and “Jews” are used interchangeably there, while insisting it did not endorse this conflation.

Ofcom had regard to the International Definition of Antisemitism, noting in particular the following examples of antisemitism:

  • accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews;
  • holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel; and
  • making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

Ofcom determined that the material constituted hate speech on the bases that that it conflated Israel and the Jewish people (for both Arabic and English language viewers); held contemporary Jews collectively responsible for allegations (based on a single interpretation) stretching from the establishment of Islam to the 1960s; and ascribed a perpetually negative characteristic to Jewish people (namely corrupting holy books and seeking the destruction of Islam).

Ofcom decided that the broadcast “had the potential to promote, encourage and incite such intolerance among viewers” and that it “represents serious breaches of the [Ofcom Broadcasting] Code”. Ofcom is now considering a statutory sanction.

The Islam Channel, which is reportedly funded by Saudi Arabia, has been found on multiple occasions in the past to have broadcast programmes featuring political bias and advocacy of marital rape and violence, and has been accused of promoting a radical cleric.

, ,

Man shouts “I am going to f***ing get you!” and swings fists in antisemitic assault in Hendon

A Jewish man walking in the vicinity of Middlesex University was followed by a suspect screaming “Jews should f*** off” and “they let the Jews in in 1533 [sic]: they never should have been let in.” He also repeatedly threatened: “I am going to f***ing get you!”.

Shomrim North West London, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, reported that the suspect also tried to hit the man and was seen pulling an elderly lady’s shopping trolley with one hand as he swung the other with a closed fist.

The incident took place at 12:20 today on The Burroughs in Hendon, North London, and the suspect was described as 5’10 in height with tanned skin, black hair, a full black beard and no spectacles, wearing a zipped-up dark blue bomber jacket with dark blue trousers.

If you have any information, please contact the police on 101 or Shomrim North West London on 0300 999 1234, quoting reference number: CAD3147 07/10/2019.

, ,

“Let’s get a hold of them…I have a gun”, say youths as they assault Jews in Stamford Hill

Police and Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, are investigating verbal and physical assault against multiple Jews in the Stamford Hill area.

The incidents, which took place around Ilan Square during the Jewish Sabbath on 5th October, involved several youths, reportedly aged between 10-15 years old, on bicycles, harassing passersby on the pathway near the swings, shouting “let’s get a hold of them; Jews control everything” and “I have a gun”, while physically assaulting the Jewish passersby with their bicycles.

One witness added that the youths yelled: “Stop! Where are you from? Where are you from?” in an effort to cause an altercation.

Responding to the incident, the Mayor of Hackney tweeted: “Glad this is being investigated, disgusted to hear this has happened.”

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD5294/5317 06/10/19.

, ,

CAA condemns University of Nottingham for inviting suspended MP Chris Williamson to speak

The University of Nottingham has defended a decision to invite Chris Williamson MP to speak on its campus. 

Mr Williamson was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.

The disgraced MP is scheduled to speak on 11th October as part of a series on “British Politics in Crisis” at the Centre for British Politics.

Jewish students at the university have reportedly called for the invitation to be withdrawn, citing Mr Williamson’s “history of Jew baiting.”

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is a damning reflection on the University of Nottingham that it chooses to invite a politician suspended from the Labour Party over his attempts to minimise the Party’s antisemitism crisis and who has a record of praising antisemites to give a lecture. If the university wishes to teach its students why British politics is in crisis, it might start by exploring why leading institutions are so ready to legitimise Labour antisemitism by inviting one of its chief defenders to speak.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Labour MP Emma Dent Coad likes Facebook comment claiming Israel “disgraces all of us Jews worldwide”, then apologises

Emma Dent Coad, who was elected as a Labour MP in 2017 for Kensington, ‘liked’ a comment on Facebook by another user that read: “I’ve always been a Bevanite — my ultimate political hero…and as a Jew, the current Israeli apartheid regime disgraces all of us Jews worldwide.”

The comment was posted in response to a post by another user that criticised “Blairite” MPs and “members of the Netanyahu fan club”.

Following media attention, Ms Dent Coad apologised and ‘unliked’ the comment.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Labour’s Rosh Hashanah video features Jeremy Corbyn in conversation with Jew who said Kaddish for Hamas terrorists

Jeremy Corbyn’s Rosh Hashanah message, traditionally directed to the Jewish community, features the Labour leader in conversation with a Jewish activist who was one of several young Jews who recited the traditional Jewish memorial prayer, known as Kaddish, for those killed on the Gaza border in Spring 2018 protests.

Despite Hamas’ confirmation that some 50 of the 62 fatalities were their own operatives, the activists read out all of the names of those killed. Consequently, the ceremony, which took place in May 2018 in Parliament Square, caused significant controversy and elicited opprobrium from the mainstream Jewish community.

The video, which appropriates the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah and the custom of eating apples and honey to signify a sweet new year ahead in order to promote Labour’s environmental policies, was also widely panned for poor taste.

Jon Lansman, the prominent pro-Corbyn Momentum activist who is himself Jewish, is also seen in the video.

Mr Corbyn is notorious for, among other controversies, describing Hamas terrorists as “friends”, but the decision to feature this activist so prominently in his Rosh Hashanah message shows that only Jews on the fringes of communal life are prepared to associate with the Labour leader, and conversely it also shows that the only Jews with whom Mr Corbyn is apparently prepared to associate are precisely those who hold opinions far outside of the Jewish mainstream and in accordance with his own extreme views.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Conservative MP Crispin Blunt suggests British Jews “demand special status” and reportedly says grants for Jewish security are a waste of money

The Conservative MP Crispin Blunt made a reference to “the demand for special status” on the part of British Jews in an interview on the sidelines of the Conservative Party Conference this week.

Mr Blunt made the comment following a fringe event at the Party Conference in his capacity as patron of the Conservative Humanists group. At the event, which was held in conjunction with Humanists UK, the chair of Conservative Humanists protested previous comments by the Chief Rabbi, who had apparently suggested that some humanists were becoming intolerant of religion.

Asked for his reaction to the chair’s comments, Mr Blunt suggested: “I think what he was saying was regarding the demand for special status…what’s required is for everyone to have tolerance of other people’s position and not to impose unfair views.”

The notion, however casually expressed, that Jews demand or receive special status in British society is baseless and offensive. Any dispensations that Jews do receive, for example in the workplace, are also shared by other faith groups and protected classes.

Mr Blunt also reportedly supported calls for “eliminating subsidies” to the Community Security Trust (CST) in order to “save taxpayers’ money”. The CST is one of the Jewish community’s defence organisations and administers government grants for the security and protection of communal institutions, including synagogues and schools. Mr Blunt’s scepticism toward these grants reflects, at best, a poor grasp of the realities of antisemitism in Britain today.

The MP also did not oppose calls to end circumcision or religious slaughter, both of which are critical to Jewish practice in Britain.

Mr Blunt has made troubling comments in the past as well, for example in 1999 he stated that “a Holocaust of equal proportions has happened to the people of Palestine who have been evicted from their homes and suffered disruption to their lives,” which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism for drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis. Mr Blunt later apologised for the remark.

, ,

EHRC summons 25 former and current Labour staffers to give evidence in antisemitism inquiry in “daunting” letters

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has written to 25 former and current employees of the Labour Party requiring them to provide evidence as part of its inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party.

The inquiry, which is a full statutory investigation, was launched by the EHRC on 28th May following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

The letters reportedly advise that “the Commission is gathering evidence to investigate this matter in accordance with the terms of reference and has identified you as a person we require evidence from. Please do not ignore this letter or the Notice. We draw your attention to the consequences of failing to comply with the Notice which…may include committing a criminal offence.” The letter requires a response within fourteen days.

The EHRC has the authority to require any individual or organisation to disclose relevant information, and the notices have reportedly been described as “daunting” by some recipients.

Over 70 Labour whistleblowers have given evidence to the EHRC in relation to the antisemitism investigation.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

University and College Union which rejected antisemitism definition apologises for excluding Jews from its extensive list of Nazi victims

The University and College Union (UCU) sent an e-mail to secretaries of local branches encouraging them to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January and providing a near-exhaustive list of minority groups persecuted by the Nazis — but failing to include the Jews.

The e-mail described persecution of “trade unions, including social democrats and Communists…; Roma and Sinti people; asocials, which included beggars, alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes and pacifists; Black people; disabled people — those with physical as well as mental illness; freemasons; gay and lesbian people; Jehovah’s witnesses; [and] non-Jewish Poles and Slavic POWs.”

Extraordinarily, the e-mail did not mention Jewish victims of the Nazis, who were the principal victims of the Holocaust. This was even despite the specific reference to non-Jewish Poles.

UCU indirectly apologised for the offensive omission in an e-mail from an “equality support official” for what were described as “drafting errors” and “human error”. The official stated that “UCU apologises for the offence this caused and reassures all members that it continues to fight against all forms of antisemitism, hatred and bigotry in society.” In the updated e-mail, a paragraph was added about the genocide of Jews in the Holocaust.

Ordinarily, such an omission might not have been noteworthy, but UCU has a poor record when it comes to fighting antisemitism, including refusing to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, repeatedly endorsing the antisemitism-riddled Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Jewish State and fighting a legal battle against a Jewish academic who unsuccessfully sued UCU for breach of the Equality Act 2010.

It is hardly a stretch to imagine that there is a relationship between UCU’s cavalier approach to antisemitism today and its insensitivity toward commemoration of historic antisemitism. If the Union were to show greater awareness of the antisemitism of the past, perhaps its attitude toward Jews today will also find the correction it so desperately needs.

, ,

Prime Minister condemns “antisemitic Marxists” at Labour Party Conference last week

In his Conservative Party Conference speech, Prime Minister Boris Johnson lambasted “the fratricidal antisemitic Marxists who were in Brighton [at the Labour Party Conference] last week.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reported multiple instances of antisemitism or concern over anti-Jewish abuse at the Labour Party Conference, and has warned that the Labour Party is now institutionally antisemitic.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Jewish Voice for Labour member Stephen Marks, who defended Jackie Walker, is re-elected to Labour’s disciplinary body

Stephen Marks, a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour, has been re-elected to Labour’s National Constitutional Committee, the Party’s disciplinary body.

Mr Marks signed a 2017 petition in support of Jackie Walker, a former vice-chair of Momentum and one of those exemplifying the institutionalisation of antisemitism in the Labour Party. Mr Walker was repeatedly suspended by Labour and finally expelled earlier this year. She has persistently claimed that complaints of antisemitism are part of a plot to destabilise the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and has rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Last year Mr Marks also reportedly shared a petition in support of David Watson, who was suspended from Labour in 2016 for allegedly sharing claims on social media comparing the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad with the Nazis and accusing Israel of genocide. Mr Marks is reported to have written in respect of Mr Watson: “It is cases like this which ‘bring the party into disrepute’. Those responsible are the ones who should be suspended!”

Earlier this month Mr Watson reportedly called for the abolition of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which launched a full statutory investigation into Labour antisemitism on 28th May following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant. 

https://twitter.com/LabLinda75/status/1177596322553180161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1177596322553180161&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thejc.com%2Fnews%2Fuk-news%2Fantisemitism-denier-re-elected-to-labour-s-top-disciplinary-panel-1.489397

According to the Deputy Leader of Oxford City Council, Mr Marks claimed at a recent meeting that “Labour’s antisemitism problem was a fabrication of Israeli propagandists and arms dealers terrified of a Corbyn government”.

Every day further evidence emerges of Labour’s inability to address its antisemitism crisis as the Party has become institutionally antisemitic under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Labour’s antisemitism crisis cannot be solved by those who created it.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Hitler-loving neo-Nazi who said it was his “dream” to create a bloodbath arrested at Luton airport and sentenced to four years in prison

Jacek Tchorzewski, an 18-year-old neo-Nazi Polish national staying in Buckinghamshire, has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Mr Tchorzewski was arrested at Luton Airport in February on suspicion of terrorism offences as he tried to board a flight to Poland, with police recovering an “enormous amount” of digital documents, including manuals on making explosives and weapons. In one voice recording, Mr Tchorzewski said it was his “dream” to “plan some terrorism” and carry out an attack, and he wrote in a notebook found while he was remanded: “Let’s fill our hearts with terror and London’s streets with blood.”

Other documents included extreme right-wing material which praised Hitler, neo-Nazism and Satanism and also featured antisemitic sentiments and even called for genocide. He was also said to be connected to convicted terrorist Oskar Dunn-Koczorowski, who was jailed in June.

Mr Tchorzewski pleaded guilty on 21st June at the Old Bailey to ten counts of possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He was sentenced on 20th September at the Old Bailey.

Campaign Against Antisemitism wishes to thank the police and security services for their vigilance.

, ,

Jewish Labour MP Dame Louise Ellman to face no confidence motion on Yom Kippur

Dame Louise Ellman, the veteran Jewish Labour MP and chair of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), is expected to face a no confidence motion in the St Michael’s ward Labour branch of her Liverpool Riverside constituency on the evening of Yom Kippur, during the Kol Nidrei service.

Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and is marked by most Jews with fasting and synagogue attendance. Communal organisations are shut and work or public engagements are generally discouraged.

The motion apparently follows coverage of her remarks at the LFI reception at Labour Party Conference in which she expressed sympathy with those Jews who have considered leaving the country over antisemitism, saying that she “understands why Jews would seriously consider leaving Britain if Corbyn became PM”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer has shown that 40% of British Jews have considered leaving the country due to antisemitism.

The motion reportedly says: “We have no confidence that our MP Louise Ellman will carry out the wishes of our Constituency Labour Party and our Riverside constituency or that she will follow Labour Party policy,” adding that “this branch therefore call[s] on our Riverside MP, Louise Ellman, to resign.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Jewish Voice for Labour co-chair to speak at “Stand up to racism” church event on Yom Kippur

Jenny Manson, the co-chair of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), is scheduled for a speaking engagement on Kol Nidrei, the night of Yom Kippur.

The event, titled “Resisting the rise of the racists and fascists”, will feature Ms Manson on a panel with Weyman Bennett, a member of the Socialist Workers Party’s central committee. The panel is part of a larger “West London stand up to racism” event at St Mary’s Church Hall in South Ealing on 8th October. It is anticipated that there will be debate on far-right extremism and antisemitism.

Although Ms Manson has previously admitted that JVL was founded in order “to tackle allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party”, she has reportedly been “hurt” by suggestions that question her Jewishness and the organisation has also stressed its Jewish credentials (including in its name). Some have suggested that this stance is somewhat undermined by undermined by Ms Manson’s decision to participate in a speaking engagement at a church on Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and is marked by most Jews with fasting and synagogue attendance. Communal organisations are shut and work or public engagements are generally discouraged.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

John Mann warns against risk of understating problem of antisemitism

The Government’s new antisemitism adviser has warned that between overstatement and understatement of antisemitism, “the biggest danger is that we will understate the problem.”

Speaking after his first public engagement in his new job, John Mann MP, who has resigned from the Labour Party and will become a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, explained that he accepted his new advisory role to prevent “good people, young people” from deciding to emigrate from the UK because of rising antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer has shown that 40% of British Jews have considered leaving the country due to antisemitism.

If action were not taken against antisemitism, he warned, “the reality will be that good people will leave. Not necessarily quickly — but good people will not see their future on the continent of Europe or on the UK because they are Jewish, and they wish for their identity to be proudly held at all times. We are not going to accept – and government is not going to accept — that impingement on civil liberties in this country.”

Observing the rise of antisemitism on university campuses, Mr Mann noted too the “pernicious, silent, isolating disdain” shown towards Jewish students “from hostile elements in their universities,” adding that he would be pushing for the adoption and application of the International Definition of Antisemitism by “our major institutions, football clubs, universities — this is achievable.”

Mr Mann also declared that “there will be consequences for the antisemites — whether they like it or not.” He insisted that “this is a battle for our country, this is a battle of our country and of our people. If we define our values – the things that make us British, then this is the number one battle. That we stand up against discrimination. That we do not allow the Jewish community to be attacked in the way it has been. And that when it is, we make sure that the perpetrators face the most robust consequences.”

It is understood that Mr Mann’s advisory role will last for five years.

,

CAA appalled as CPS takes no action against man who displayed Nazi flag on side of house

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided not to take action against a man who displayed a large Nazi swastika flag on the side of a property near the A474 flyover in Neath, Wales.

South Wales Police arrested the 55-year-old man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after a passerby took a picture of the flag and posted it on social media. However, the CPS reportedly decided that no further action should be taken against the man.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “During the last four years, CAA has had to resort successfully to private legal action due to the Crown Prosecution Service’s repeated failure to defend British Jews.

“It is appalling that the CPS has once again refused to send the message that public expressions of hatred towards the Jewish community will not be tolerated”

, ,

Looking back on five years of Campaign Against Antisemitism — and looking forward

With the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, approaching, it is a season for reflection. We at Campaign Against Antisemitism are also now marking our five years of existence and how far we have come.

We say ‘marking’ because our anniversary is not a moment of celebration: we would prefer that our work were not necessary. Neither, however, is it entirely an occasion for lamentation, as we take pride in the community of dedicated volunteers that we have created (well over one thousand strong), the individuals whom we have helped or witnessed showing social, political or legal courage, and the accomplishments we have achieved.

These accomplishments include successfully lobbying the British Government to become the first in the world to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism (the IHRA Definition), which was followed by many more institutions in the UK and abroad.

They also include Campaign Against Antisemitism’s formal referral and detailed legal representations to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which led to the EHRC’s full statutory investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party, which was launched on 28th May 2019 and in which CAA is the complainant. The Labour Party has thereby joined the British National Party as the only political parties to be the subjects of such an investigation.

We have also been at the forefront of highlighting antisemitism within the Labour Party and post-Holocaust antisemitism on the political left. We were the first to speak out about Jeremy Corbyn’s past, clearly name him as an antisemite and describe the Labour Party under his leadership as institutionally antisemitic.

Meanwhile, following a gruelling effort over several years by Campaign Against Antisemitism and our allies within and without the Jewish community, Hizballah was completely proscribed in the UK. Hizballah supporters are no longer able to intimidate British Jews with relative impunity as they have done for years. This has formed part of our campaign against Islamist antisemitism.

We have also taken the fight against antisemitism on the far-right to the next level, with landmark legal action against Alison Chabloz over her songs mocking Holocaust survivors and claiming that the Holocaust was a Jewish fraud, resulting in Holocaust denial being deemed by the courts for the first time to be “grossly offensive” and therefore illegal when used as a means by which to hound Jews. This week she was sent to prison for breaching the conditions of her sentence.

Our three-year legal battle with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to force it to prosecute neo-Nazi leader Jeremy Bedford-Turner led to his sentence to a year in prison for incitement to racial hatred over his speech at a rally against the “Jewification” of Golders Green, which the CPS insisted was not a crime until we proved it was in court.

Along with others we successfully lobbied for the neo-Nazi group National Action to be designated a terrorist organisation, and have instigated dozens of criminal investigations and robustly challenged police forces at the highest levels until they corrected investigatory failings into far-right antisemites.

In addition, our libel action forced antisemitic author and saxophonist, Gilad Atzmon, into a humiliating capitulation; we submitted legal representations to the Charity Commission about an antisemitic charity, resulting in its dissolution after we threatened to take the Commission to judicial review in the High Court; and our research contributed to the Judicial College agreeing to issue guidance to all judiciary in England and Wales confirming that the use by antisemites of the term ‘Zionist’ can often be treated as a substitute for the word ‘Jew’.

Comprehensive research conducted by CAA into antisemitic crime and prejudice, as well as antisemitism in political parties, has been widely-used by journalists and policymakers and reveals the degree of antisemitism in wider society, the persistent failure of the authorities to prosecute antisemites, and the depth of concern in the Jewish community.

Our pioneering educational programmes and training for regulatory bodies, testimony to parliamentary committees and work with Government ministers, appearances in national, local and communal media, steady stream of reliable news stories, powerful rallies and demonstrations and active social media work — including our #TogetherAgainstAntisemitism campaign which saw hundreds of thousands of Jews and non-Jews worldwide show solidarity against the world’s oldest hatred — have raised awareness of antisemitism in the UK and beyond.

And our guidance to students on campus, collaboration with other Jewish community charities and action by our volunteer monitoring teams have resulted in antisemitic events being banned and antisemites being brought to justice.

As we look back on the last five years, we are confident that our work is contributing not only to the security of the Jewish community, but also to the betterment of British society, whose values of tolerance, decency and equal treatment under the law are worth fighting for.

Looking ahead, we remain gravely concerned about the turmoil in which our nation finds itself: it is precisely at these times of political instability and economic uncertainty that forces hostile to Jews and mainstream values thrive.

On this Jewish new year, on behalf of everyone at Campaign Against Antisemitism, we wish all of our supporters, Jewish and non-Jewish, a happy, healthy, safe and successful year ahead. It is thanks to your support and solidarity that we can have hope for the future.

, ,

Campaign Against Antisemitism denounces SNP over reports it is open to backing Jeremy Corbyn as PM

It is being reported that the Scottish National Party (SNP) “has come round to the idea that Jeremy Corbyn may shortly have to become temporary caretaker prime minister.”

As the second largest opposition party in Parliament, the SNP yields considerable influence in determining who, if anyone, may succeed the sitting Prime Minister in the event of his resignation or a successful vote of no confidence.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has always been clear that Mr Corbyn’s record over the course of his political career and as leader of the Labour Party renders him entirely unfit to hold public office, and we, along with 85% of the Jewish community, have reached the conclusion that he is an antisemite. Under his leadership, the Labour Party has become institutionally antisemitic and is now under investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, at the behest of Campaign Against Antisemitism. A Corbyn-led Government, however temporary, poses an existential threat to British Jewry.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, released the following statement: “With Jews already fearing for their future in Britain, every decent person should be horrified by reports that the SNP is preparing to install a racist as Prime Minister. Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite under whose leadership the Labour Party has become institutionally antisemitic. There is no situation of national crisis that can only be resolved by an anti-Jewish bigot. SNP MPs have spent considerable time this week complaining about divisive language but when it comes down to it they are abject hypocrites if they are content to betray British Jews and install an antisemitic extremist as Prime Minister in order to meet their political objectives.”

, ,

Also in September: a selection of other antisemitic incidents that we did not cover

In West Sussex, the graffiti message “F*** Jews” was discovered scrawled on a bus shelter in Handcross, before it was painted over by contractors. Local councillor Norman Webster insisted that “there must be zero-tolerance of antisemitism in our community.”

In Stamford Hill on 9th September, two Jewish women were confronted by a male wearing dark clothing who spat at them. The incident took place near Leweston Place. Anyone with further information should contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish neighbourhood watch patrol, on 020 7118 7756, citing CAD 6035.

In Gateshead in Tyne and Wear on 12th September, as twenty Jews left a wedding, a male on a bicycle shouted racist remarks and expletives referencing Jews on Bewick Road.

In Stamford Hill on 25th September three teenagers approached a Jewish man on Fairholt Road and threw off his hat and skullcap, laughed and made off. Anyone with further information should contact the police on 101, or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 020 7118 7756, citing CAD 1181.

In Lewes in East Sussex on 26th September graffiti was painted on a fence reading: “F*** the Jews, Soros’ whores, traitors”, a reference to the wealthy Jewish financier and political activist, George Soros.

These are just a sample of the antisemitic incidents that have taken place in the UK over the past month and that have not received extensive coverage. In some Jewish communities, threats and attacks such as these have become routine. Together, along with the myriad other incidents that are publicised and those that are not reported at all, as well as the innumerable instances of antisemitism online, they give an indication of what Jews in the UK today have to face.

, ,

Labour’s Dame Louise Ellman says she “understands” why Jews “would seriously consider” leaving UK if Corbyn becomes PM

The veteran Labour MP Dame Louise Ellman, who is Jewish, delivered a powerful attack on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over his record on antisemitism at a Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) reception the sidelines of the Labour Party Conference. LFI had opted not to host a stand at the Conference for fear of abuse to those manning the stand.

In her speech, Dame Louise condemned Mr Corbyn as someone “who would…label a propagator of the blood libel a ‘very honoured citizen’ and would peddle and endorse vile, trope-laden conspiracy theories,” and remarked, in a thinly-disguised reference to Mr Corbyn, that “too many claim to abhor racism ‘in all its forms’, while ignoring the racism against Jews which stalks party meetings, social media and the highest institutions of the party.”

She went on to ask: “what does it say about Jeremy Corbyn that he looks at a grossly antisemitic mural and apparently cannot see how grotesque and offensive it is; that he was active in an antisemitic Facebook group whose members discussed reading Mein Kampf, used the terms ‘ZioNazi’ and ‘JewNazi’ and discussed whether the BBC was controlled by Zionists, but, again, never seemed to see any of this; and that he was willing to take the pay of Press TV, the mouthpiece of a regime which denies the Holocaust and threatens to annihilate Israel — and even now refuses to apologise for having done so.

“What does it tell us about Jeremy Corbyn that he can describe the words of Hamas terrorists as ‘fascinating and electrifying’? Men who blew up families as they sat enjoying a meal in a pizza restaurant. Men who murdered Israeli teenagers as they excitedly waited to enter a club on a night out with friends. Men who butchered Holocaust survivors as they shared a Passover Seder.

“And what are we left to think when Jeremy Corbyn finds the time to lay wreaths at the graves of those who masterminded the torture and murder of Israeli athletes at Munich, but repeatedly refuses invitations to visit Yad Vashem — the museum and monument to the greatest crime in human history?”

Dame Louise expressed astonishment at the idea that the Labour Party could “find itself the object of an investigation by one of Labour’s proudest creations, the Equality and Human Rights Commission.” She was referencing the full statutory investigation launched by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on 28th May, following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

Dame Louise also said, “I never believed we would see the day when many British Jews would so fear our leader, that they would seriously consider leaving the country if he entered Downing Street,” before insisting that “I not only understand those fears. I share those fears.”

“Yesterday,” she added, “on the conference floor, we saw a standing ovation given to a delegate who denied there was any antisemitism in the Labour Party. Not only that but a motion supporting boycotts was passed for the first time in Labour history. Let us be clear about what this means, the only country the Labour party calls to boycott is the world’s only Jewish state.”

“This,” Dame Louise lamented, “is not the party I joined.”

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

West Ham bans fan for life over antisemitic chants and reports them to police

West Ham United FC, the East London football club, has reportedly banned a supporter for life after video footage emerged apparently showing fans singing antisemitic chants in a game early in the football season.

The video appeared on social media and the club took action within days, noting in a statement that “we are disgusted by the contents of a video circulating on social media on Monday evening, filmed near the start of the 2018-19 season. We have taken immediate action to identify the offender and have subsequently handed our evidence to the Metropolitan Police. Additionally, the individual concerned will be banned for life from the London Stadium.”

Under section 3 of the Football (Offences) Act 1991 “It is an offence to engage or take part in chanting of an indecent or racialist nature at a designated football match”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends West Ham for its swift and decisive action and reminds all clubs of the need to remain vigilant toward displays of antisemitism at matches.

, ,

CAA seeks Attorney General’s review after judge refuses to jail Shehroz Iqbal on third antisemitism conviction

A judge has refused to jail Shehroz Iqbal, who was convicted of posting antisemitic posters and has two known past antisemitism convictions.

Mr Iqbal pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 20th September to displaying written material that is “threatening, abusive or insulting, intending thereby to stir up racial hatred”, contrary to section 19 of the Public Order Act, after sticking antisemitic posters on a Chabad-Lubavitch centre in East London.

Mr Iqbal, dressed in camouflage and wearing a hood, appended the posters to the building and an underpass on 17th March 2017. A member of the public witnessed the crime but police arrived too late. The police explained that they forensically examined the posters and Mr Iqbal was arrested the following March.

He was given a twelve-month sentence, suspended for two years, along with 30 days’ rehabilitation and 60 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £100 for breaching a previous sentence.

However, Campaign Against Antisemitism notes that Mr Iqbal already received a suspended sentence in 2016 for making antisemitic death threats and again in 2018 when he pleaded guilty to sending a false message over a public electronic communication network to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety, under section 127(2)(a) of the Communications Act 2003 after sending a threatening message to Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish neighbourhood watch patrol.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We commend the police for their diligence and dedication in pursuing this case, but this sentence is far too lenient considering that this is Mr Iqbal’s third known antisemitic offence and his breach of a previous sentence. Deterrence is a vital weapon in the fight against antisemitic hate crime. We have asked the Attorney General’s Office to review this unsuitable sentence. The courts must do far more to deter antisemitic hate crime.”

, ,

Suspended Labour MP Chris Williamson says expelled Labour member Jackie Walker should be in Parliament

At a fringe event on the sidelines of the Labour Party Conference, the suspended MP, Chris Williamson, suggested that Jackie Walker should be in the House of Commons as an MP.

A reporter at an event hosted by Labour Against the Witchhunt, a group that was set up to protest the expulsion of Labour members for alleged antisemitism and that opposes “the false antisemitism smear”, quoted Mr Williamson as saying: “Jackie Walker should not only be in the Labour Party, she should be on the green benches in the House of Commons.”

Ms Walker, a former vice-chair of Momentum and one of those exemplifying the institutionalisation of antisemitism in the Labour Party, was repeatedly suspended by Labour and finally expelled earlier this year. She has persistently claimed that complaints of antisemitism are part of a plot to destabilise the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and has rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Mr Williamson was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Former Labour leader of Brighton City Council reveals he was hounded to resign after threatening to ban Labour from Brighton

A former Labour leader of Brighton City Council revealed how following the last Labour Party Conference in the city two years go he “wrote a letter saying Labour would not be welcome back in Brighton if it failed to sort out its issues with antisemitism”, only to find that “the backlash against my message was swift and took me by surprise.”

In a remarkable article in The Spectator, Warren Morgan, who was Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council from 2015 to 2018 and resigned from the Party in February, recounted how at that previous Conference he had “sat in a studio listening to people who had faced abuse because they were Jewish. I heard statements recorded at a fringe event suggesting it was fine to question whether the Holocaust had ever happened.” He then felt he had to take action.

However, he went on to document what happened next: “For all my good intentions in speaking up for Jewish people who were afraid, months of e-mails, motions and unpleasant messages followed. Apologies and retractions were demanded. There were calls for me to step down. Many of these messages came from the local party, where now-suspended or expelled members labelled Jews ‘Zios’, depicted councillors — including me and one whose husband is Jewish — as dancing rabbis and called for people to march on the local synagogue in response to the suspension by Labour of a council candidate for tweeting about the ‘Israeli bloodline’.

“Finally, a motion calling for me to resign passed by some forty votes to two. It had been moved by the person later suspended after calling for a march on a local synagogue.”

Mr Warren observed that now, “despite the promises of action two years ago, and the small number of suspensions and expulsions, those pushing the same anti-Israel messages which so quickly morph into antisemitism have not gone away.

“Some of those disciplined have been quietly readmitted, or their suspensions taken no further. Those like me who have spoken out on antisemitism, however, have been pushed to the point of resignation, or deselected while the Party has simply stood by.”

Mr Warren courageously declared that “you don’t get to pick and choose the racism you stand up against”.

We commend Mr Warren for his efforts to resist the rising tide of antisemitism in the Labour Party. He has taken a courageous stance, but the institutionally antisemitic Labour Party has made him pay a heavy price.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Pro-Corbyn filmmaker Ken Loach claims “everyone knows Chris [Williamson] is not an antisemite”

The controversial filmmaker and longtime Labour supporter, Ken Loach, has complained to the Morning Star that “Tory supporters are more likely to hold antisemitic views than Labour supporters, but there is no mass demand for investigations into their Party.”

In his interview published on 24th September, Mr Loach conceded that “where there is evidence of antisemitism [in Labour] that has been properly scrutinised, that has been looked at in a proper, open hearing, if someone is found guilty, then appropriate sanctions should be taken,” but insisted that “this campaign [of antisemitism allegations in Labour] has not been about that.”

Mr Loach went on to contrast “individuals like Margaret Hodge…[who] indulge in revolting foul-mouthed abuse of the leader” with “an MP like Chris Williamson, where the evidence was heard and it was considered that [he] should remain in the party….And then it was overturned because of political pressure!…Everybody knows Chris is not an antisemite.”

Mr Williamson was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.

Mr Loach’s voice has been among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign.

In 2017, Mr Loach caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” is a manifestation of antisemitism.

Although Mr Loach later sought to clarify his remarks, he has continued to make inflammatory and provocative statements about Labour’s antisemitism scandal. While speaking at a meeting of the Kingswood Constituency Labour Party, Mr Loach advocated the removal from the Party of those Labour MPs, some of whom are Jewish, who have taken a principled stand against antisemitism. Shortly after that incident, the Labour Party announced that it would no longer use Mr Loach as a producer of their election broadcasts.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Tom Watson planned to attack Jeremy Corbyn’s record on antisemitism in axed Conference speech

The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson, has disclosed that he was intending to attack Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s record on antisemitism in his Labour Party Conference speech, before it was cancelled due to events in Westminster.

Alluding to Mr Corbyn’s empty statements on the antisemitism crisis engulfing the Party, Mr Watson said: “In my speech I was going to say that it is not just about being anti-racist, even if you mean it. It’s no good just condemning something — it’s about actually doing something about it.”

Mr Watson went on to condemn the “sickening intimidation” of Jewish delegates at the Conference and the antisemitic banner positioned outside (which police eventually removed), and lamented that Labour had “a very long way to go” before it could restore “anything near trust with the Jewish community.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker tells BBC’s Politics Live that Corbyn has a problem with Jews and Commons will never put him in power

Erupting on BBC’s Politics Live programme, the Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker passionately insisted that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would not be appointed as Prime Minister by the MPs in the House of Commons forming a coalition headed by him.

“The House of Commons will never put Jeremy Corbyn into Number 10, that will never happen. Ever,” he asserted, going on to clarify: “It will never happen. Because we have brands as political parties. And you know why we’ll never put him there: because he has a fundamental problem with parts of our community who happen to be Jewish. And we will not put him in Number 10. It will never ever happen in this country. And Labour won’t let it happen either. And you know it. Ever.”

Sir Charles’ blunt remarks are a refreshing reminder of how seriously antisemitism is taken outside of the Labour Party.

Equally noteworthy was the revealing reaction from the Labour MP on the in-studio panel, Lisa Nandy, who did not dispute Sir Charles’ assessment of Mr Corbyn and his antisemitism, meekly mentioning only that it will be up to the people to determine Mr Corbyn’s political fate.

Ms Nandy also made an ambiguous remark about “tribal loyalties”, which, given her previous condemnations of Labour antisemitism, we hope was directed at political parties rather than, disgracefully, at the Jewish community. Nevertheless we would urge MPs to be careful in the language that they select so that misunderstandings do not arise.

Sir Charles finished by saying of Mr Corbyn that “he is not [a] fit or proper person to be in Number 10 with the views that he holds.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Rachel Riley cites Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Corbyn petition on Peston

The TV personality and activist, Rachel Riley, appeared on ITV’s Peston on Thursday and observed that over 55,000 people have signed Campaign Against Antisemitism’s petition denouncing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

Ms Riley was discussing her campaign to encourage users of social media not to engage with trolls, noting that when she began speaking out about antisemitism she became “subject to racist abuse”. Challenged by host Robert Peston when she labelled Mr Corbyn an “antisemite”, Ms Riley cited the petition, as well as a 2018 poll that showed that over 85% of British Jews regard the Labour leader as antisemitic.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

, ,

Libel claims to be brought against Labour by former staffers over Party’s response to BBC Panorama investigation

Five of the whistleblowers who appeared on the BBC’s Panorama investigation into the handling of antisemitism complaints by the Labour Party are intending to bring libel cases against the Party, it is understood.

The claims relate to an episode of Panorama, the BBC’s flagship investigative documentary programme, titled “Is Labour Anti-Semitic?”, which was televised in July. Over the course of the programme, former Labour Party employees spoke out publicly to reveal Jeremy Corbyn’s personal meddling in disciplinary cases relating to antisemitism. The programme explained how senior Labour Party staffers, some of whom Campaign Against Antisemitism has known for years, used to run Labour’s disciplinary process independently, but soon after Mr Corbyn’s election as Party leader found themselves contending with his most senior aides, who were brazen in their efforts to subvert due process.

The programme was peppered with unconvincing denials from Labour’s press team, including claims that the staffers had political axes to grind and lacked credibility — assertions that apparently may now be challenged in court.

The libel cases are being brought by Mark Lewis, a highly esteemed media lawyer who is also an honorary patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Meanwhile, it has also emerged that the annual report prepared by Labour’s National Constitutional Committee that usually contains the names of individuals being investigated, their constituency party, the rule alleged to have been breached and the result of the investigation, has now been anonymised, making it harder to identify antisemitism cases and track their progress. The Party blames data protection rules for the change.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

UCL defends hosting Jackie Walker book launch about the “price paid” for speaking out about Jews

Jackie Walker is scheduled to appear on a panel at University College London (UCL) marking the launch of a volume of essays titled The Responsibility of Intellectuals – reflections by Noam Chomsky and others after 50 years.

The event is being organised by the Institute of Advanced Studies, which in the billing anticipates that Ms Walker and others will “describe the personal price they have paid for speaking out”. Ms Walker has a chapter in the book titled “I Don’t Want No Peace — a Black, Jewish activist’s take on the responsibility of intellectuals”.

Ms Walker is a former vice-chair of Momentum who was repeatedly suspended by Labour and finally expelled earlier this year. She has persistently claimed that complaints of antisemitism are part of a plot to destabilise the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and has rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The book’s release and the event marks fifty years since the publication of The Responsibility of Intellectuals by the controversial American professor, Noam Chomsky. 

UCL has defended the invitation to Ms Walker, despite her record, citing “freedom of expression”.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is appalling that someone who has blamed the Jews for the slave trade and even been expelled from the Labour Party is nonetheless given a platform by one of Britain’s leading universities to talk about the ‘personal price she has paid’ for her unrepentant racism. One cannot help but imagine that if Ms Walker had spoken about any other minority in similar terms, UCL would not tolerate her appearance on a panel.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism will be reviewing what is said at the event against the charitable objects of UCL, which is a charity.

, ,

Two antisemitism cartoons too risky for The Guardian raffled off as prizes at Labour fringe event

An attendee at the Labour Representation Committee event on Monday featuring Jackie Walker and Chris Williamson MP reports that the raffle prize was a signed copy of two Steve Bell cartoons that The Guardian refused to publish apparently because they were feared to be potentially antisemitic.

The Labour Representation Committee is a pro-Corbyn pressure group which has a long history of belittling claims of antisemitism and publishing extremely disturbing articles. The president of the organisation is the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell.

Ms Walker, a former vice-chair of Momentum and one of those exemplifying the institutionalisation of antisemitism in the Labour Party, was repeatedly suspended by Labour and finally expelled earlier this year. She has persistently claimed that complaints of antisemitism are part of a plot to destabilise the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and has rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Mr Williamson, was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.

The attendee also reported that Laura Alvarez, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s wife, was also in attendance at the event.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Israel is a “racist endeavour”: just another day at the Labour Party Conference

Prof. Moshe Machover, the Labour activist and Holocaust revisionist who was expelled from the Party before being readmitted, was seen distributing pamphlets at Labour Party Conference comparing Israel to the Nazis, claiming that it is a “well established fact” that “Israel is a racist state”, describing the Jewish State a “racist endeavour” and calling for the “de-Zionisation of Israel”.

The statements are a clear breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, which lists as examples of antisemitism the claim that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour and the drawing of comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

Prof. Machover has a history, like Ken Livingstone (with whom he publicly sympathises), of seeking to distort the history of the Jews under Adolf Hitler in order to characterise Zionists as cooperative partners of Nazism and imply that the Nazis were well disposed towards Zionists at the time.

Elsewhere at Labour Party Conference, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was confronted by two Labour members questioning why he had attended a Jewish Labour Movement event, castigating him for fraternising with “Zionists” and “Israeli Zionists” who only sought to destabilise Labour and undermine Mr Corbyn. They suggested that he should have attended the Jewish Voice for Labour event instead, at which point Mr Khan reportedly ended the conversation amid accusations that he was being aggressive and rude.

Meanwhile, it emerged that in 2002 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had put his name to a far-left document called the “Cairo Declaration” that accused Israel of implementing apartheid and carrying out a genocide, called for a boycott of the Jewish State and appeared to back violence.

This followed the revelation that Mr Corbyn spoke at a 2009 march in Birmingham where Israel was likened to the Nazis, a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism. Banners depicted the Star of David as a swastika and showed messages saying “History repeats itself – stop the genocide”, while Gaza was likened to a concentration camp and Israel was accused of being “thirsty for blood” and “child killers”, an allusion to the centuries-old blood libel against the Jews.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Labour Party Conference erupts into standing ovation as JVL member claims she has never witnessed antisemitism in the Party

Despite all the evidence of antisemitism in the Labour Party, including during its Party Conference, Labour members gave a rapturous standing ovation to a speaker who told the assembled plenary that she has never witnessed antisemitism in the Party, denied it is a problem and insisted that Jeremy Corbyn is the “most anti-racist leader this Party has ever had”.

The speaker was Vanessa Stilwell, a member of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish organisation. Ms Stilwell is the wife of Glyn Secker, who is the Secretary of JVL. Mr Secker has said that Jewish organisations are “in the gutter” and “part of the problem”, and proposed a motion against measures to expel antisemites despite his record, which included a five-day period of suspension from the Party over antisemitism allegations.

The reaction of the audience reveals the depth of Labour’s antisemitism crisis and illustrates why the Party has utterly failed to tackle Jew-hatred. It is yet more evidence of the institutional antisemitism of the Labour Party.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Leaflets claiming Labour antisemitism is “fake” distributed at Party Conference by member suspended for saying Holocaust was exaggerated

Leaflets have been distributed at the Labour Party Conference asserting that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party have been “falsely” attacked as antisemitic, that the Labour antisemitism crisis is “fake” and that the statutory investigation opened by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) concerns “fake antisemitism”.

The EHRC investigation was launched on 28th May following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

The leaflets bear the branding of Labour Against Zionist Islamophobic Racism (LAZIR) and depict a laser shattering the logo of the Jewish Labour Movement.

LAZIR is chaired by Pete Gregson, a Labour member from Scotland who was expelled from Momentum and from the GMB trade union and suspended from the Party after suggesting that the Holocaust was exaggerated and for abusive behaviour towards a female Jewish Labour member. It does not appear, however, that Mr Gregson has been expelled from Labour. Mr Gregson founded LAZIR during his suspension. It is unclear why Mr Gregson has been permitted to attend the Party Conference.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

CAA commends Waterstones for cancelling book launch featuring Ken Loach and conspiracy theorist David Miller

Waterstones in Brighton has cancelled a Monday evening event on the fringes of Labour Party Conference to mark the launch of Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief.

The event was to feature the author of the book, Prof. David Miller of the University of Bristol. Prof Miller is a conspiracy theorist who has been the subject of complaints by students and Jewish communal bodies. In the past, Prof. Miller has belittled antisemitism in the Labour Party as “mostly false”, condemned Ken Livingstone’s treatment by the Party as a “disgrace” and dismissed concerns about the safety of Jewish students on campus.

The controversial filmmaker, Ken Loach, was also expected to feature at the book launch. Mr Loach caused outrage in 2017 when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial.

The event was part of a schedule also featuring Jackie Walker and Chris Williamson MP. Ms Walker is a former vice-chair of Momentum who was repeatedly suspended by Labour and finally expelled earlier this year and who has persistently claimed that complaints of antisemitism are part of a plot to destabilise the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and has rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism. Mr Williamson was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Antisemitism has become increasingly normalised in public life to the point where large numbers of British Jews are now seriously considering whether they have a future in this country. We commend Waterstones for playing its part in reversing this trend by cancelling this event and refusing to legitimise the views of individuals who have contributed to it.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Holocaust denier Alison Chabloz handcuffed in court and jailed for breach of suspended sentence following action by CAA

Moments ago, notorious antisemite and Holocaust denier Alison Chabloz was jailed for eight weeks, of which she will serve at least four. She was also ordered to pay court costs of £175 within 10 weeks.

District Judge Jonathan Taaffe found Ms Chabloz guilty of breaching the conditions of her suspended sentence after blog posts that she published since June 2018 were found to constitute a breach of a social media ban. Ms Chabloz was handcuffed in court to begin her sentence as her parents, who were in attendance, looked on. The trial in Chesterfield today follows contact between Campaign Against Antisemitism’s lawyers and the National Probation Service.

Last year, Ms Chabloz was convicted on three charges of sending grossly offensive communications via a public communications network. That case began as a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was then taken over and continued by the Crown Prosecution Service. The charges related to three self-penned songs in which she denounced a supposed Jewish conspiracy to dominate the world and attacked the Holocaust as a fraud perpetrated by Jews for financial gain.

The conviction set a new precedent in British law, effectively delivering a landmark precedent verdict on incitement on social media and on whether the law considers Holocaust denial to be “grossly offensive” and therefore illegal when used as a means by which to hound Jews.

Ms Chabloz was sentenced to a twenty-week prison sentence suspended for two years, 180 hours of unpaid community service, an indefinite order against contacting two leaders of Campaign Against Antisemitism, as well as an order banning her from social media for twelve months. She was also ordered to pay a £115 victim surcharge, and costs of £600. Earlier this year, the conviction and sentence were upheld at Southwark Crown Court, where Judge Christopher Hehir, sitting with lay magistrate Ms M Rego, said of Ms Chabloz, “She is a Holocaust denier…she is manifestly antisemitic and obsessed with the wrongdoing of Jews,” adding that, on the subject of the Holocaust, “she has lost all sense of perspective.”

Ms Chabloz has also been banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal, for forty years until 2059.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We are delighted that justice has taken its proper course. Today’s trial follows contact between Campaign Against Antisemitism’s lawyers and the National Probation Service, and we are grateful for their cooperation. We hope that this sentence will send a message that antisemitism is unacceptable and that the courts will not hesitate to use the powers at their disposal to bring offenders to justice.”

,

Neo-Nazi with bomb-making manual jailed for four years on terror offences

A neo-Nazi who possessed a bomb-making manual, in addition to instructions on how to make firearms, has been jailed for four years on terror offences.

Jacek Tchorzewski was stopped by police at Luton Airport where violent documents were found on his mobile phone alongside images of extreme right-wing material and symbols.

He was connected with the neo-Nazi organisation, Sonnenkrieg Division, and described himself in a document as one of “the most radical Nazis.”  

He had several books relating to neo-Nazism and the occult which included, according to Prosecutor Naomi Parsons, a Satanist text demonstrating a “marked fixation with blood, the sexualisation of violence, a paedophilic projection of adult sexuality onto children, and with achieving National Socialist political goals through political violence and acts of terrorism.”

Mr Tchorzewski was an associate of Oskar Dunn-Koczorowski, a fellow neo-Nazi who encouraged an attack on Prince Harry and was jailed in June.

Mr Tchorzewski pled guilty to ten counts of possession of a document or record containing information of use to a terrorist, contrary to section 58 (1) (b) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Last Friday, at the Old Bailey, Mr Tchorzewski was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. 

Image credit: Bedfordshire police

, ,

Labour has no antisemitism problem according to two-thirds of Party members in new poll

A poll of the Labour grassroots has revealed that 66 percent of members believe that the Party does not have a problem with antisemitism, with only 23 percent acknowledging that it does. Ten percent said that they do not know.

As to the causes of Labour’s antisemitism crisis, 37 percent blame opponents of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and seventeen percent fault the media. 29 percent point the finger at a small minority of members with antisemitic views and only thirteen percent implicate the Labour Party leadership.

In addition, the poll found that 56 percent of Labour members would oppose post-Brexit trade deals with Israel. Only 31 percent supported a trade deal with the Jewish State.

The poll was carried out by Mainstream, a new organisation founded by Ian Austin, the MP for Dudley North who resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism. Mr Austin is an honorary patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Mainstream describes itself as “a new campaign – led by a group of people from different political backgrounds – designed to encourage a return to respectable and responsible politics, and to banish extremism from British politics once and for all.” It is understood that other figures associated with the new organisation include Rachel Riley, the TV presenter and activist; the Rt Hon. the Lord Pickles, the Conervative peer and the Government’s Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust issues; and Sir Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat MP.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “These poll results underscore just how severe Labour’s antisemitic crisis has become, with the overwhelming majority of its members blind to the facts that the Party is institutionally antisemitic and that Jeremy Corbyn has played a pivotal role in cultivating an environment for antisemitism to thrive. Labour’s antisemitism crisis cannot be solved by those who created it.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Emergency motion against Labour’s proposed changes to disciplinary rules on antisemitism was put forward by member previously suspended over antisemitism allegations

It has emerged that the figure behind an emergency motion at the Labour Party Conference against controversial new disciplinary rules on antisemitism previously said that Jewish organisations are “in the gutter” and “part of the problem” and was himself suspended from the Party.

Glyn Secker, the Secretary of the antisemitism-denial group and sham organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour, was previously suspended from the West Dulwich and Norwood Labour Party, but his suspension was lifted and he was able to attend the Party Conference and propose a motion as a member of the Lambeth and Southwark Unite Community union branch.

Under the proposed rules that Mr Secker opposes, panels of Labour’s National Executive Committee would have the power to expel members in disciplinary cases, particularly over antisemitism, whereas currently only the Party’s National Constitutional Committee can do so.

It is extraordinary that a Labour member previously suspended over antisemitism allegations has been able to propose a motion relating to antisemitism despite his record. This is yet another reminder of Labour’s institutional antisemitism and the total failure of its leadership to tackle the problem.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Antisemitic banner outside Labour Party Conference eventually removed by police

An antisemitic poster outside Labour Party Conference was allowed to remain by police before officers changed their mind and removed it.

The poster — which was not officially connected to the Labour Party — depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu piloting a fighter jet labelled “the lobby” and yelling “antisemite! antisemite! antisemite!” at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing at a podium labelled “Palestinian rights”. The fighter jet is shown having fired a missile labelled “defamation” at Mr Corbyn. The implication of the poster is that the Israeli Government or the ‘Israel lobby’ — portrayed in a militaristic fashion — has weaponised antisemitism and is behind defamatory accusations of antisemitism against the Labour leader, and that Israel wields significant power over British political affairs.

The poster’s caption referenced the International Definition of Antisemitism, also known as IHRA, reading: “IHRA: Tell the NEC how you feel.” The NEC is Labour’s National Executive Committee, and the message of the poster is in opposition to the reluctant adoption of the International Definition by the Labour Party.

It has also been suggested that the image in the poster was drawn by Carlos Latuff, an artist who placed second in Iran’s Holocaust Denial Cartoon Contest.

At first, police declined to remove the poster despite complaints, but after the Labour Party itself condemned the “antisemitic banner” and requested its removal, the police took it down. Even Mr Corbyn audaciously tweeted: “I’m disgusted that this banner was displayed near our #Lab19 conference centre. We asked the police to remove it and I’m glad they did. This kind of antisemitic poison has no place whatsoever in our society.”

The poster was made and put up by Peter Gregson, a Labour member from Scotland who was expelled from Momentum and from the GMB trade union and suspended from the Party after suggesting that the Holocaust was exaggerated and for abusive behaviour towards a female Jewish Labour member. It does not appear, however, that Mr Gregson has been expelled from Labour. Mr Gregson founded Labour Against Zionist Islamophobic Racism during his suspension. It is unclear why Mr Gregson has been permitted to attend the Party Conference.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is not surprising that a poster claiming that Labour’s antisemitism crisis is an Israeli plot should appear outside Labour Party Conference, but it is disappointing that it took so long for it to be removed, despite complaints from passersby. The reaction of the Labour Party is telling: it pays lip service to tackling antisemitism without asking why it attracts the purveyors of images such as these in the first place. Tweets from Jeremy Corbyn are not enough to reverse the institutional antisemitism that he has cultivated in his Party.”

More troubling still is that images such as these are standard fare on social media platforms and are used particularly by anonymous users. While they might be removed from the streets, on social media they are allowed to endure with no sanction.”

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

JVL’s Mike Cushman says Labour antisemitism is a “lie” from Mossad and British security services

Mike Cushman, a member of antisemitism denial groups Jewish Voice for Labour and Labour Against The Witchhunt, has claimed that he has never observed antisemitism in the Labour Party and that the evidence on which antisemitism allegations are based emanates either from the Israeli Mossad or British security services, which he insists oppose the election of a Labour government.

The claims were made at a 19th September screening in Brixton of the film, Witchhunt, which disputes the degree of antisemitism in the Labour Party, hosted by expelled Labour member and former Vice-Chair of the pro-Corbyn group Momentum, Jackie Walker.

In his remarks, Mr Cushman said: “I’m not saying that antisemitism doesn’t exist in the Labour Party, but I’ve never seen it — I’ve never experienced it. I’ve seen anti-black racism; I’ve seen islamophobia; I’ve seen misogyny; I’ve seen homophobia; I’ve seen many awful things, but personally I’ve never observed antisemitism.”

He went on to explain that “when the allegations of people like Louise Ellman [a Jewish Labour MP] and Luciana Berger [a Jewish MP who resigned from the Labour Party] are examined properly, they fall apart as a tissue of lies. I cannot emphasise enough just how much lying and falsehood is going on in making these allegations.”

Complaining that criticism of Israel and talking about Zionism are interpreted as antisemitism, and that even telling an MP “they’re just no bloody use as an MP” is also interpreted as antisemitism, Mr Cushman concluded that the twin motivations behind those exposing antisemitism in the Labour Party are “to stop us talking about Palestine” and “to stop us getting a socialist Labour government elected.”

Turning to the evidence for the antisemitism allegations, he explained that “you do not find this stuff by human trawling of the internet — you need high grade artificial intelligence services to get this. Now, I have always assumed that this was being done from Tel Aviv by Mossad and other security services. I am not saying they are not doing it, but I’ve seen some suggestion — and I think they’re very compelling suggestions — that a lot of this is actually coming from the British Security Services.”

Mr Cushman’s wilful blindness to antisemitism in the Labour Party and his conspiratorial ramblings are sadly what we have come to expect from a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, which is a sham organisation which, by the admission of its chair, was founded in order “to tackle allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party”, and of Labour Against The Witchhunt, which is a group that was set up to protest the expulsion of Labour members for alleged antisemitism and that opposes “the false antisemitism smear”.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Labour invited congresswoman Ilhan Omar as well as BDS chief Omar Barghouti to address Party Conference

The Labour Party reportedly invited Ilhan Omar, a Democratic Party congresswoman from the United States who has repeatedly courted controversy over antisemitic tweets and statements for which she has not fully apologised, to speak at their Party Conference.

Ms Omar has tweeted that Israel “hypnotises” the world and suggested that American lawmakers’ support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins”, a reference to the $100 bill, which is adorned with the picture of Benjamin Franklin, and an allusion to supposed Jewish financial clout. She has also spoken of people “push[ing] for allegiance to a foreign country,” a statement redolent of dual loyalty charges made against Jews.

Ms Omar reportedly declined the invitation to attend the Party Conference.

Also invited was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another controversial US congresswoman, who back in February spoke to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on the telephone, for which she subsequently apologised after being made aware of his and Labour’s antisemitism. Ms Ocasio-Cortez also declined the invitation, citing commitments in the United States. The Labour Party noted that Congress is currently in session, which may make travel difficult for legislators.

Another controversial speaker, Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, who rejects Israel as a Jewish State, was invited to speak, but reportedly has been unable to obtain an entry visa to the UK.

Reacting to these invitations, a spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “These invitations appear to be yet another example of the Labour Party baiting the Jewish community. Each year, the Party seems determined to use its conference to underscore that Labour is institutionally antisemitic.”

Meanwhile, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, Richard Burgon, who has stated that “Zionism is the enemy of peace” and then lied about having done so, is slated to appear on a panel with lawyer Salma Karmi-Ayyoub, who has criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, described the debate around the International Definition as “toxic”, and has called Israel a “racist regime.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Ilford Momentum disinvites guest of honour conspiracy theorist Rev. Stephen Sizer, claiming they did not know his views

Disgraced conspiracy theorist Rev. Dr Stephen Sizer, who claimed that an Israeli conspiracy was behind 9/11, was due to speak at a “Charity Dinner for Gaza” on 3rd October organised by Ilford Momentum, before the hosts withdrew the invitation following an outcry.

Upon being made aware of Rev. Dr Sizer’s views and record, the organisation announced that “we weren’t aware of Stephen Sizer’s past comments. After having been made aware of them this morning we rescinded his invitation and cancelled the charity fundraiser within minutes…We deeply regret not checking the history of the speaker prior to promoting the event online,” adding that “we strongly oppose the harmful conspiracies spread by Stephen Sizer and antisemitism in all its forms. We sincerely apologise for any offence caused.”

The original invitation to the dinner presented praise for Rev. Dr Sizer by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn: “I do admire the excellent work that he does and personally.” This is not the first time Mr Corbyn has been associated with Rev. Dr Sizer. In February 2015, the reverend was ordered by the Church of England to stop using social media after posting the conspiracy myth that Israel planned 9/11. While the Church said the material that Rev. Dr Sizer posted was “clearly antisemitic”, the Daily Mail revealed that Mr Corbyn wrote to the Church defending Rev. Dr Sizer, saying that he was being victimised because he “dared to speak out against Zionism.”

Momentum is an influential grassroots organisation that supports Mr Corbyn and his wing of the Labour Party. Numerous controversial individuals have been associated with it, including Jackie Walker, a former Vice Chair who rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism before eventually being expelled from the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism notes that Momentum has played an important role in the institutionalisation of antisemitism in the Labour Party. We struggle to believe that they did not know the views of their guest of honour, which are readily apparent from a simple internet search.

, ,

Debate on Labour’s controversial new disciplinary rules on antisemitism timed for Jewish sabbath when observant Jews cannot participate

The Labour Party has timed a debate on proposed new disciplinary procedures for antisemitism complaints at its annual conference for the Jewish sabbath, Shabbat, when religiously observant Jews will be unable to participate.

The Party has also failed to consult the Jewish community or even its own Jewish affiliate over the proposals.

Under the proposed rules, panels of Labour’s National Executive Committee would have the power to expel members in disciplinary cases, particularly over antisemitism, whereas currently only the Party’s National Constitutional Committee can do so.

Although Labour claims that this will speed up the expulsion process, what it in fact does is to put the decision in the hands of allies of the Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, under whose leadership Labour has become institutionally antisemitic. Rather than helping to alleviate the Party’s antisemitism crisis, there is every reason to expect that the new rules would exacerbate the problem yet further.

A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Scheduling an important debate on disciplining antisemitism in the Labour Party on a day when many Jews will be excluded from participation can only be the product of gross ignorance of Jewish practice or a wilful intention to mute opposition to a counterproductive proposal. The new rules will do nothing to regain the trust of the Jewish community in an institutionally antisemitic party.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

UPDATE: The vote on the new rules was carried.

, ,

Labour Friends of Israel to skip own party conference over antisemitism fears

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), the parliamentary faction that promotes Israel within the Labour Party, has announced that unlike in previous years it would not be hosting a stand at the party conference next week because of fears of antisemitic abuse.

In a statement, LFI cited “the failure of Jeremy Corbyn to do anything” to curb “the ongoing abuse of Jewish party members”, and explained that “our staff have faced incidents of antisemitism in previous years and, given that the situation appears to have further deteriorated, we do not feel it is responsible as an employer to put them in this environment.”

This follows last year’s Party conference, when Luciana Berger, then a Labour MP, had to be escorted by the police for her safety.

Not only has Labour utterly failed to tackle antisemitism within the Party, but even those members and parliamentarians who are Jewish or associated in some way with Judaism or Israel do not feel assured of their own safety at the Party’s flagship event, the implication being that Labour has quite literally become an unsafe space for Jews.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Chuka Umunna blasts Corbyn on antisemitism and failing to support the ban on Hizballah

In a barnstorming speech at the Liberal Democrats’ party conference, Chuka Umunna, an MP who left Labour for reasons including antisemitism and recently joined the Liberal Democrats, shared his thoughts on Jeremy Corbyn.

“The Labour Party likes to think of itself as a champion of liberal values at home and abroad,” Mr Umunna said, before lamenting that Labour is in fact no longer “the party of [Clement] Atlee and [Ernest] Bevin: this is Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.”

Mr Umunna warned Labour that “you cannot be a champion of liberalism if you are currently subject to a formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for institutional racism against Jewish people.” He was referencing the full statutory investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which was launched on 28th May following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

Mr Umunna went on to criticise Mr Corbyn for “lauding authoritarian regimes in Venezuela and Iran [and] failing to support the proscription of Hizballah as a terrorist organisation.” Hizballah was banned in the UK earlier this year following years of campaigning by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo Swinson, used the occasion of her party’s conference to rule out once more the possibility of backing a government led by Mr Corbyn after a general election, including not only a formal coalition but even a more informal arrangement, such a confidence-and-supply agreement. She accused Mr Corbyn of having “failed to tackle antisemitism in his own party”, adding that he is “totally, totally failing” to eliminate antisemitism from Labour.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Labour conference fringe events to feature individuals suspended or expelled from Party over antisemitism

Next week’s Labour Party Conference Fringe in Brighton includes events hosted by groups that claim that the Party’s antisemitism crisis is a smear and featuring speakers who have been suspended or expelled from the Party over antisemitism.

On 24th September at 19:00, Labour Against the Witchhunt, a group that was set up to protest the expulsion of Labour members for alleged antisemitism and that opposes “the false antisemitism smear”, is hosting a public meeting with Ken Livingstone and Asa Winstanley.

Mr Livingstone was suspended from the Labour Party over antisemitism and eventually resigned from the Party in 2018 during a two-year investigative process that was never concluded. He went on to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as “lies and smears” manufactured by an “elite” wishing to protect their “tax-dodging in the Cayman Islands”. Mr Winstanley, meanwhile, has called the Jewish Labour Movement an “Israeli Embassy proxy” and was reportedly suspended from Labour in March, pending an investigation.

The Labour Representation Committee, a pro-Corbyn pressure group which has a long history of belittling claims of antisemitism and publishing extremely disturbing articles, is reportedly hosting an event with Chris Williamson MP and Jackie Walker. The president of the organisation is the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell.

Mr Williamson, was suspended from Labour and then readmitted, only to be resuspended following a public outcry after claiming that Labour has been “too apologetic” over antisemitism.

Ms Walker, a former vice-chair of Momentum and one of those exemplifying the institutionalisation of antisemitism in the Labour Party, was repeatedly suspended by Labour and finally expelled earlier this year. She has persistently claimed that complaints of antisemitism are part of a plot to destabilise the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and has rejected the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Jewish Voice for Labour, a sham organisation which, by the admission of its chair, was founded in order “to tackle allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party”, is also hosting an event on Israel featuring highly controversial speakers.

That the Labour Party continues to attract these figures and their following shows that its failure to address antisemitism is registered not only by those fighting antisemitism but also by those instigating and defending it.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Teenager charged over Nazi salute with Hitler moustache outside Scottish synagogue

A sixteen-year-old pupil at a top school who allegedly drew a Hitler moustache above his lip and performed a Nazi salute outside a synagogue near Glasgow has been charged by police.

There is reportedly a video of the incident, which began circulating on social media on 13th September, and within days the boy has been identified and charged,

The boy allegedly made the antisemitic gesture outside Giffnock Shul, the largest synagogue in Scotland, which also hosts numerous communal organisations.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “A sixteen-year-old boy has been charged and is the subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal and the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration in connection with the incident.”

It is a sad reflection of the state of education that a schoolboy could find amusement in mimicking Adolf Hitler, but the local police should be applauded for reacting so swiftly, signalling that such behaviour will not be tolerated.

, ,

Witnesses sought after driver shouts “Heil Hitler” and targets Jewish man with Nazi salute in London

In an unprovoked incident, a man driving a grey van yelled “Heil Hitler” and targeted a Jewish man with a Nazi salute on his way to synagogue on Sunday.

The incident took place at 9.55 on Bethune Road in Stamford Hill, and was reported to police by Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish neighbourhood watch patrol.

Anybody with information should call the police on 101, quoting reference CAD1288/16/09/2019 Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123.

, ,

Speakers with histories of antisemitic statements address Polish far-right “freedom picnic” in Manchester

A far-right “freedom picnic” held for Poles in Bury, Manchester on 15th September featured Stanisław Michalkiewicz, who once said that Poles are “being outmanoeuvred by Judeans who are trying to force our government to pay extortion money disguised as compensation [for the Holocaust]”.

Mr Michalkiewicz is a host on Radio Maryja, a Polish station described by a major American anti-hate organisation as having “a long history of broadcasting antisemitism to its followers.” He is also reportedly in legal trouble in Poland after allegedly calling a thirteen-year-old sexual abuse survivor a “whore”.

Another speaker, Sławomir Mentzen, was apparently behind the Party’s slogan, “We don’t want Jews, gays, abortion, taxes and the EU”, while Sebastian Ross, who also spoke, has reportedly suggested that Jews are using “guilt” to exploit antisemitism and generate funds for monitoring it.

The freedom picnic was apparently organised by the far-right Polish Konfederacja party, which has followers in the UK.

, ,

Presiding Officer of Scottish Parliament says Labour “unwilling” to deal with antisemitism

The presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood has claimed that the Labour Party is “unwilling” to deal with antisemitism.

Ken Macintosh, who used to be the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party MSP for Eastwood before being returned on the regional list in 2016, suspended his membership of the Party upon his election as presiding officer in 2016, as is customary.

In a meeting with local Jewish community leaders, Mr Macintosh described the rise in antisemitism as “perplexing, disturbing, and extremely worrying”, revealing that “it’s upsetting that my former party seems unable or unwilling to face up to or deal with antisemitism.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Communities Secretary says antisemitism is a “stain on our society” and announces funding to tackle anti-Jewish hate online

Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, gave a powerful speech over the weekend expressing his concern over the rise of antisemitism in the UK, describing “the scourge of antisemitism” as “a stain on our society” and announcing £100,000 to “tackle the spread of antisemitic material on social media.”

Mr Jenrick declared that “there is no place for antisemitic abuse” and regretted that others, including local councils and universities, have not followed the UK Government in adopting the International Definition of Antisemitism. Noting that “we have seen [antisemitism] take hold in and corrupt our institutions,” he indicated that he was taking action to encourage the wider adoption of the definition.

Condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which targets the Jewish State alone, Mr Jenrick observed that some figures “in prominent positions in public life cannot distinguish between legitimate criticism of the policies of a democratically-elected government and blatant antisemitism.”

Mr Jenrick also blasted the trend of “replacing the word ‘Jew’ for ‘Zionist’ when pedalling vile and offensive views” and expressed concern regarding “the disgraceful experiences that Jewish students have lived through at certain universities,” including two hundred students voting against the establishment of a new Jewish Society at one university.

Turning to Hizballah, Mr Jenrick added that earlier this year the Government proscribed the “antisemitic Hizballah terror group in full”, noting that “the untenable distinction between a military and a political wing was dropped,” which was the result of years of campaigning by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others. “It gives me great comfort,” he said, “that the Hizballah flag, emblazoned with an automatic rifle, will no longer be flown with impunity on the streets of London or the UK.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism welcomes Mr Jenrick’s commitment to combating antisemitism, including in local politics, on university campuses and online, and the Government’s continued solidarity with the Jewish community in the face of Labour’s antisemitism crisis.

, ,

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson says it’s “impossible” for her to work with Corbyn “in any sort of arrangement” due to antisemitism

The leader of the Liberal Democrats has assured her party’s newest MP that it would be “impossible” for her to work with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, “in any sort of arrangement.”

Jo Swinson reportedly made the pledge to Luciana Berger, saying she “would not enter any coalition with Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister” or support any government led by him in any way, in part due to Mr Corbyn’s failure to address antisemitism in his party.

Ms Berger left the Labour Party earlier this year over antisemitism, and citing her refusal to be complicit in a Labour election victory that might put Mr Corbyn in Downing Street. She has now joined the Liberal Democrats.

The assurance from Ms Swinson echoes her earlier pledge during her party leadership campaign not to prop up a Corbyn-led government, in part due to his handling of antisemitism within the Labour Party. Delivering her promise to Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel, Ms Swinson explained that, in addition to their disagreement on political questions, “Corbyn[’s]…inability, at best, to act on antisemitism within his party would make it impossible for me to work with him on a personal level in any sort of arrangement.”

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Jewish families in Stamford Hill awake to find woman with mental health problems and history of targeting Jews’ homes smashing their windows

A woman with a history of mental health problems and targeting Jewish homes threw bricks at the windows of two houses occupied by Jewish families yesterday morning.

The incident, which occurred on Cadoxton Avenue in Stamford Hill, caused significant damage to the houses.

The woman, who has reportedly just been released from hospital, has a history of targeting Jewish homes, having previously fixed red bands to the gates of houses with a Mezuzah, a decorative case containing a Jewish prayer which is traditionally fixed to the doorpost of a Jewish home, in order to mark where Jews live.

Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, quickly arrived to restrain her and she was sectioned by police and moved to a place of safety. Officers attending the scene declined to record the incident as a hate crime.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Stamford Hill Shomrim on its swift response. We recognise the need to treat people with mental health problems sensitively, but we are concerned that too little has been done to prevent this individual from repeatedly targeting Jewish people. We are endeavouring to find out more about plans to prevent her from vandalising Jews’ homes again in the future.

, ,

Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon attended rally with activists suspended over comments about Jews and Israel

The Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, Richard Burgon MP, reportedly participated in a “Standing with Corbyn” rally in Brighton on Monday along with numerous activists who have been suspended by the Party over their comments about Jews and Israel.

In addition to Mr Burgon, who has stated that “Zionism is the enemy of peace” and then lied about having done so, other prominent activists to appear at the rally included Lara McNeil, who represents Young Labour on Labour’s National Executive Committee, and Liam Young, an activist running for the London Assembly.

According to political website Guido Fawkes, participants in the rally included:

  • Daniel Harris, who was reportedly suspended from Labour after posting a video of councillors who had stood up to antisemitism adorned with Jewish prayer shawls and skullcaps;
  • Alex Braithwaite, who was suspended from the Party over a series of tweets which included conspiracy theories about Israel and the Rothschild family, as well as dismissing Labour antisemitism as a smear;
  • Anne Mitchell, who was reportedly suspended from the Party over allegedly antisemitic posts; and
  • Mel Melvin, who left the Labour Party (which has not disclosed whether she was expelled or suspended) over tweets claiming that Israel faked a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad against his own people.

In case any further evidence were needed that the Labour Party’s disciplinary process is entirely unfit for purpose, even those who are removed from the Party over antisemitism are apparently still able to participate in its activities. Even more appallingly, senior figures in the Party are evidently happy to associate with them. Clearly, Labour’s leadership cannot be trusted to address the antisemitism crisis, which cannot be solved by those who created it.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

‘Too few’ police to intervene as black supremacist preachers accuse Jews of “taking over the world” and threaten to “grab babies” and “smash their heads”

A group of a dozen “preachers” reportedly targeted Jews leaving synagogue on during the Jewish Sabbath last weekend, haranguing them with a string of antisemitic epithets. As the community ended its prayers and families walked back home they were told that “Jews control the world”, “Jews control money”, “Jews will destroy the world” and “Jews have long noses”.

A video posted online by the group, which appears to be an offshoot of the black supremacist hate organisation calling itself the Israelite Church of G-d in Jesus Christ, shows the group of men claiming that Jews are the “children of fools” and of “base men” whose circumcisions involve “sucking off little boys”. The preachers predicted that they would load the Jews, whom they described as descendants of the biblical figure Amalek, onto ships with “no destination” where they would be forced to “eat your own faeces”.

Berating Jews as the “money muscle” behind wars, the preachers said that they awaited the time when they could “grab these damn Amalekite [Jewish] babies and smash their heads into stone”, explaining that they would “smash their heads, brains all over the place.”

When a black woman passing by remonstrated with them as they claimed that the past kings of England were in fact all black, the preachers berated her for wearing trousers, declaring that they would only want her to dress that way prior to sex. They then turned their ire on anybody who was not heterosexual, describing them as “garbage”.

The comments were made outside Sainsbury’s in Stamford Hill on Saturday 7th September between 13:00 and 16:00 to hundreds of Jews and other passersby, amplified through a loudspeaker reportedly heard up to half a mile away.

Non-Jewish passersby called the police, but when two officers arrived the preachers stopped making antisemitic remarks. The officers declined to make arrests as only two officers were available. When the officers left, the antisemitic denunciations began again.

Following an outcry from Stamford Hill Shomrim, a neighbourhood watch patrol run by Jewish volunteers, the Mayor of the Borough of Hackney has offered assurances that investigations are underway.

If you witnessed this incident, please contact the police on 101, citing reference number CAD3094 of 8th September 2019, and contact Campaign Against Antisemitism by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling 0330 822 0321 and choosing option 2.

, ,

Ian Austin MP launches blistering attack on “extremist” Corbyn for “working with and defending antisemites”, joined by Ivan Lewis MP

Ian Austin MP, who resigned from Labour in protest at antisemitism within the Party earlier this year, delivered a passionate indictment of the Labour leadership in a speech in Parliament yesterday, branding Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party’s leadership “extremists”.

Standing amongst Labour MPs on the opposition benches, Mr Austin said: “I left the Labour party to shine a spotlight on the disgrace it’s become under his [Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s] leadership…I regard myself as proper, decent traditional Labour, not like the extremists who have taken over this Party and are dragging it into the mud…These are people [Mr Corbyn and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell] who spent their entire time in politics working with [and] defending all sorts of extremists, and in some cases terrorists and antisemites…They always back the wrong side, whether it’s the IRA, Hamas and Hizballah, whom they describe as ‘friends’.”

As Labour MPs heckled him and told him to stop sitting with them, Mr Austin continued: “No previous Labour leadership would have allowed a Party with a proud history of fighting racial prejudice to have been poisoned by racism, which is what’s happened under these people — racism against Jewish people, to the extent that members have been arrested on suspicion of racial hatred, that the Party itself has become the first in history to be investigated under equalities laws by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. These people, and the people around them, are a million miles away from the traditional, mainstream, decent politics of the Labour Party. They have poisoned what was once a great party with extremism. They cannot be trusted with the institutions that underpin our democracy. They are completely unfit to lead the Labour Party, let alone our country.”

Mr Austin was joined by another former Labour MP, Ivan Lewis, who also resigned the Labour Party whip over antisemitism. Mr Lewis added his condemnation of Mr Corbyn, saying: “He does not have the leadership skills required at a time of so many challenges facing our country, and his leadership has led to the party of anti-racism and equality becoming the party of institutionalised antisemitism, so much so that a majority of Jews in this country feel that they would not be safe in the event of his becoming Prime Minister.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Mr Austin, who is an honorary patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, and Mr Lewis, for their righteous condemnation of the Labour leadership, which now presides over an institutionally antisemitic party. The Labour Party cannot be a force for good whilst it is in the hands of Mr Corbyn and those around him.

On 28th May, the EHRC launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

In recent months, twelve MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

University of Bristol fails Jewish students again, refusing to act against lecturer who claimed “ultra Zionist funders” bankroll hatred of Muslims

The University of Bristol has rebuffed Jewish students’ concerns over a lecture course titled “Harms of the Powerful”, in which a conspiracy theorist sociology professor suggested that the “Zionist movement” is one of the “five pillars” of hatred of Muslims (redolent of the five pillars of Islam) and is bankrolled by “ultra Zionist funders”.

One slide shown to students depicted a complex web of Jewish and Zionist organisations along with prominent Jewish community figures. Prof. Miller’s comments led Jewish students to feel “uncomfortable and intimidated”, according to one complaint. The idea that Jews secretly exert extraordinary power over society and hold dual loyalties are longstanding antisemitic canards.

In the past, Prof. Miller has belittled antisemitism in the Labour Party as “mostly false”, condemned Ken Livingstone’s treatment by the Party as a “disgrace” and dismissed concerns about the safety of Jewish students on campus.

Prof. Miller has also set up platforms which promote conspiracy theories. He founded a website called PowerBase, which categorises Campaign Against Antisemitism as in fact being part of the “Israel lobby”. Powerbase is linked to another of Prof. Miller’s websites, Spinwatch, which is funded by various Islamist-linked organisations.

Another brainchild of Prof. Miller’s, a website called NeoCon Europe, has also previously published work by Kevin MacDonald, a supporter and public defender of notorious Holocaust denier David Irving. Mr MacDonald has said that “there are clear apologetic tendencies — tendencies to view the Jewish ‘in group’ in a favourable manner and to pathologise antisemitism as irrational and completely unrelated to the actual behaviour of Jews.” NeoCon Europe eventually pulled the article, which included MacDonald’s suggestion that Jewish characteristics included “Access to prestigious and mainstream media sources, partly as a result of Jewish influence on the media.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The University of Bristol is failing its students. Universities should be educating students, not inciting them to view Jewish communal groups, leaders and philanthropists as somehow part of a pillar of Muslim-hatred. The false accusation that Jews harm Muslims and Christians has been used to demonise Jews and inflame antisemitic violence for centuries. It is beyond the pale that Prof. Miller has been permitted to indoctrinate students to view much of the Jewish community as a threatening web of dangerous forces. He must be removed from academic staff.”

This is also not the first time the University of Bristol has refused to take action in troubling cases. Two years ago, the university declined to discipline Dr Rebecca Gould over appalling comments about the Holocaust.

, ,

John Mann quits as Labour MP after 18 years, accusing Corbyn of giving “green light to the antisemites”

Veteran Labour MP John Mann has announced that he is quitting as a Labour MP in disgust over antisemitism in the Party. He will not stand for reelection to the House of Commons at the next election after 18 years on the Labour benches as the MP for Bassetlaw. Instead, he will take up a full-time post as an adviser on antisemitism to the Government.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mr Mann was scathing about the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, saying: “The party will not survive the erosion of its principles and its soul by this racist infiltration. Corbyn has given the green light to the antisemites and having done so has sat there and done nothing to turn that round.” On that basis, he said that Mr Corbyn is not “appropriate to be Prime Minister”.

He added: “Every time I go into a meeting with a group of Jewish people, I wince when they raise the issue of the Labour Party and Corbyn. It is impossible to overstate the anger that I have about that…He has not just hijacked my political party; he has hijacked its soul and its ethics. I will never forgive him for that.”

Mr Mann once claimed that Campaign Against Antisemitism “sensationalised” antisemitism when we first began to sound the alarm that British Jews were questioning their future in the UK, but as he has become increasingly exposed to the problem, he has come to accept that we were right, telling the Sunday Times: “The mass growth of antisemitism is driving many Jewish people to question whether they have a future in this country. There are people I have known for most of my life who are leaving the country because they don’t think this is a safe haven for them. People don’t talk about it but there is a feeling that people didn’t flee fast enough before and they don’t want to take any risks. This is the country that more than any other stood up to the Nazis, so the idea that it isn’t a safe haven for Jewish people contradicts everything from the war effort.”

In his new role based at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Mr Mann says that he will “hold internet companies, universities and others better to account and every single political party bar none”. He explained: “My one aim in this role is to turn around that situation so that Jewish teenagers know that their future is safe in this country if they wish it to be, and that there will be no impingement in any way on them and their freedoms — be it the universities they chose, the job they chose to go into, where they live, what they wear or how they live, which is a big bold objective.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Mr Mann for his longstanding support for the Jewish community and outspoken stance against antisemitism in the Labour Party. It shames the Labour Party that one of its longstanding MPs is now leaving the House of Commons, in addition to the eleven MPs and three peers who have resigned from the Party over antisemitism in recent months, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Neo-Nazi imprisoned for two-and-a-half years over threatening sticker campaign and possession of swastika-emblazoned underwear

A neo-Nazi who displayed racist stickers on lampposts, signs and noticeboards in 2017 and 2018 has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

Nathan Worrell, aged 46, was found guilty at Grimsby Crown Court of eight offences under the Public Order Act 1986, including possessing, publishing or distributing material to stir up racial hatred and stirring up racial hatred, after police discovered neo-Nazi memorabilia at his home, including flags and fridge magnets, as well as a wardrobe of boxer shorts and other clothing adorned with swastikas. A number of the stickers he posted up around Grimsby voiced support for Combat 18, a violent antisemitic neo-Nazi organisation. Mr Worrell’s fingerprints were found on two neo-Nazi stickers, sticker designs were found on his computer, and his internet search history included “white supremacy fliers to download”.

Jenny Hopkins, Head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division at the Crown Prosecution Service, charged that he “is a committed neo-Nazi” and that “From the time he gets up to the time he goes to bed, he surrounds himself with images of Hitler, the SS and the Third Reich.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Martin, the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, concluded that he “has not learnt or changed his behaviour” and that he was “inciting hatred, potentially threatening public safety and security as well as the stability of the local community”.

Mr Worrell was previously imprisoned in 2008 for racially aggravated harassment and possessing terrorist material after persistently threatening an interracial couple and collecting bomb manuals and chemicals.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the authorities for acting to protect the public from Mr Worrell and the court for its firm sentence.

, ,

Man walks free after conviction for throwing glass bottles at Jews and shouting about Hitler in Stamford Hill

A man named only as Mr Lorinczi has walked free after his conviction for throwing glass bottles at two Jewish people and shouting antisemitic abuse.

On the evening of Friday 30th August at about 23:00, he threw the glass bottles at two Jewish individuals and shouted comments about Hitler. The incident took place outside the petrol station on Craven Park Road in Stamford Hill. Police officers happened to be passing by and arrested the attacker.

Mr Lorinczi pleaded guilty to racially/religiously aggravated common assault and on 4th September but was allowed to walk free after his sentence of six months in prison was suspended for eighteen months. He was also given a three-month alcohol treatment requirement and 30 days’ rehabilitation activity requirements, and was ordered to pay £100 for criminal damage and £200 compensation to the victims.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the police and magistrates for their swift action, however we regret that this violent act, which could have caused serious injury, did not result in an immediate custodial sentence.

, ,

Labour member who described concerns over Labour antisemitism as “bourgeois lies and propaganda” expelled from Party

An activist has been expelled from the Labour Party for sending antisemitic messages on social media using the Twitter handle “@CorbynBoy” and minimising the antisemitism crisis engulfing the Party.

Ian Humphries, until recently a member of the East Devon Constituency Labour Party, sent messages accusing the Labour MP Jess Phillips of having taken £1 million from the “Israeli lobby”. He also asked another MP, Luciana Berger, who left the Labour Party over antisemitism, “do you agree in killing all the PALISTINIONS [sic]?” adding, “It’s a simple answer — yes or no? If you don’t reply I will take this as a yes…you agree with Palistine [sic] genocide by the Israeli government.”

Mr Humphries is also alleged to have written that the “BBC is run by the Conservative Party and the Israel lobby” and that “Tories just keep giving away money to the rich, as just to keep Murdoch and the Rothschilds happy [sic].”

Ms Phillips reported that in his messages Mr Humphries said that allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party were “bourgeois lies and propaganda”. She said that his messages constituted “very clear antisemitism”.

Last year Ms Humphries signed a letter in the Dorset Eye calling on the Labour Party not to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism.

On 28th May, 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 recent months, eleven MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

,

Neo-Nazi Combat 18 sticker displayed in Southend

Southend residents have expressed concern over the appearance of a sticker supporting Combat 18, a violent antisemitic neo-Nazi organisation.

The sticker depicts the Nazi eagle atop a swastika and was displayed on a railing by the seafront.

Combat 18 was founded in the UK in 1992 and has links to groups in Canada and the United States. The number 18 in its name refers to Adolf Hitler’s initials, which are the first and eighth letters of the alphabet.

, ,

Witnesses sought after Jewish children punched and kicked in park in Stamford Hill

Five children aged five to eleven, recognisably Jewish from their clothing, were told by other children and teenagers that “Jewish children are not allowed on the slides” or other playground equipment before being punched and kicked and chased out of the park.

The attack took place on 26th August in the Lordship Road park in Stamford Hill, by the reservoirs and Berkeley Homes development.

The family of the victims reported the incident to Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3929 04/09/19.

, ,

Sara Conway, Labour candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, says she did not mean to say antisemitism is being “weaponised”

The Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for Finchley and Golders Green has said she did not mean to claim that antisemitism has been “whipped up” and “weaponised by certain media commentators”. Instead, she claims that she just meant that the “far-right” has “weaponised” antisemitism.

Sara Conway, who is currently a Labour councillor in Barnet representing Burnt Oak, had said that she was “not trying to dismiss or push back on anything at all but I think there has been an element…of the press and right-wing commentators that has drummed this up to such a level that it then becomes, if you look on Twitter, an endless back and forth that doesn’t work”.

Ms Conway noted that the Equality and Human Rights Commission has launched a full statutory investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party, which was opened following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.

However Ms Conway has now sought to clarify her language, tweeting: “I used the wrong word by saying weaponised. I was referring to far-right commentators particularly on Twitter who use this issue as a political football to create polarisation and division. Antisemitism is a very real problem and I was in no way referring those of us fighting it.”

Claiming that antisemitism allegations in the Labour Party have been “weaponised” or are a “political football” diminishes the seriousness of the problem instead of elevating it to an issue that should concern everyone. Instead of fulsomely acknowledging that her party is infested with Jew-hatred and has failed to deal with it over the course of years, she has sought to cast this as a partisan matter.

In recent months, eleven MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.

Over 55,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”

, ,

Man jailed for shouting “one, two, three Hitler” and “go have a sausage sandwich” at Jewish family

David Aherne from Tottenham has been jailed for shouting “one, two, three, Heil Hitler” and “go have a sausage sandwich” at a Jewish family on 10th July.

While on the 149 bus in the vicinity of Stamford Hill, Mr Aherne shouted the antisemitic comments at a Jewish couple and their three children. When the victims tried to prevent Mr Aherne from alighting until the police arrived, he threatened to pull down his trousers in front of the family. Police officers arrested Mr Aherne along with a female suspect, who was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim to have shouted “Heil Hitler” and threatened to kill the family.

Mr Aherne appeared at at Wood Green Crown Court on 13th August 2019 where he pleaded guilty to causing racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress and causing religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986. He has been sentenced to 12 weeks in prison.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, reacted to the sentence: “At a time of rising antisemitism, Jews who are recognisable from their clothing, are being increasingly targeted by antisemites. With this verdict and sentence, the courts have sent an important message: Jew-hatred has no place in Britain’s free and open society.”

, ,

Line-up for “People’s Assembly” rally in Parliament Square features speakers with disturbing history as councillor withdraws citing “antisemitic people”

A rally organised by “People’s Assembly” scheduled for this afternoon in Parliament Square in London features speakers who have made antisemitic comments in the past, downplayed the institutional antisemitism of the current Labour Party or claimed that concerns over antisemitism are merely a smear campaign against Jeremy Corbyn. In particular:

  • Richard Burgon MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor, asserted that “Zionism is the enemy of peace”, and then lied about having done so;
  • Lindsey German, a founder of the Stop the War Coalition, described concerns over antisemitism in the Labour Party as a “witch-hunt”;
  • Mark Serwotka, the General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, suggested that Israel may have “created” the antisemitism crisis engulfing the Labour Party;
  • Aaron Bastani, the co-founder of Novara Media, was condemned for tweeting that the dozens of UK rabbis who publicly criticised the Labour Party in a cross-denominational letter should have their records examined, claiming that former Chief Rabbi Lord Sachs was a “right wing ultra-nationalist”;
  • Eddie Dempsey, an activist at the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), referred to accusations against Mr Corbyn as “smears”; and
  • Tariq Ali, a veteran activist, described allegations of antisemitism made against Mr Corbyn and the Labour Party as a “vile and grotesque” and “disgusting” campaign, claiming that the Israeli Government had “encouraged” antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Jack Deakin, a Labour and Co-operative councillor from North Warwickshire, who has declined to join the rally — even though he agrees with its political message — out of concern that “antisemitic tropes will be used or antisemitic people will be attending, when you look at the list of speakers.” He also accused other Labour MPs, including Dan Carden, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, and Laura Pidcock of “ignoring antisemitism”.

Our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit will be in attendance.

We are seeking to recruit a General Counsel a Creative Communications and Events Officer a Communications and Research Manager an Education and Outreach Intern to join our London office

Join the fight

Subscribe
Volunteer
Donate

Campaign Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. Everything that we do is done by people who volunteer their time, using donations contributed by members of the public. Join the fight against antisemitism by subscribing to our updates, volunteering, or donating.