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Success for CAA at High Court as Ken Livingstone surrenders challenge to EHRC report, leaving its findings unimpeachable in self-inflicted humiliation

The disgraced former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and former Labour councillor Pamela Bromley, have now withdrawn their legal proceedings against the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) at the High Court.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley were both named in the EHRC’s report into antisemitism in the Labour Party. The report came about following the EHRC’s years-long investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant, having made the original referral to the EHRC.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley brought a claim for judicial review against the EHRC in order to overturn the EHRC’s landmark 2020 report which concluded that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership had engaged in unlawful antisemitic harassment of its Jewish members. These proceedings were a final attempt by the far-left supposedly to undermine the report, and much was pinned on this case, with those supporting the claimants having said that this judicial review could lead to the report’s worst allegations being entirely discredited. 

Had they been successful, they would have set back the fight against antisemitism and antisemitism-denial by years. To prevent such an eventuality, Campaign Against Antisemitism sought to intervene in the case, and defeated Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s opposition, with the High Court granting our application to do so earlier this year.

At the time, Mrs Justice Lang ruled: “In my judgment, the Court is likely to be assisted by CAA’s intervention…It made the complaint to [EHRC], and requested that an investigation took place. It provided substantial evidence, conceptual framework analysis and legal submissions to support the investigation. It has been particularly concerned with antisemitism denial as a form of harassment. As a Jewish community charity, it is rooted in the Jewish community and it has built up a longstanding expertise on the nature of modern antisemitism. Because of its expertise, it is likely to be able to contribute information, analysis and context more effectively than the other parties [the EHRC and the Labour Party].”

The EHRC supported Campaign Against Antisemitism’s application to intervene, while the Labour Party neither supported nor opposed it, remaining neutral.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley have now withdrawn the claim, surrendering and withdrawing the judicial review proceedings without testing the EHRC’s report at all, thereby giving up the chance to have their much-vaunted day in court, for which they had crowdfunded large sums of money from their trusting supporters.

The EHRC’s report cannot now be subject to further review, and its critical findings about the Labour Party and the nature of antisemitism – including about the so-called ‘Livingstone Formulation’, whereby allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as attempts to silence criticism of Israel or as motivated by some other ulterior motive – are no longer at any risk of being overturned.

The EHRC report is now unimpeachable and every finding in it stands, final and binding, including those about Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s conduct. The Labour Party, through their conduct as its agents, was found to have created an intimidating or hostile environment for Party members and prospective members, particularly those who were Jewish. Their statements were unwanted conduct related to Jewish ethnicity, which had the effect of harassing Labour Party members. In other words, their conduct amounted to harassment of Jewish members of the Labour Party on the basis of their Jewishness.

The EHRC found that, in addition to use of antisemitic tropes, antisemitism-denial – that is, dismissing complaints as ‘smears’ and ‘fake’ – can be a form of antisemitic conduct that amounts to unlawful harassment, and that it was in the cases of both of these individuals. The EHRC described these examples of antisemitic conduct as the tip of the iceberg of the issues that it identified in the Labour antisemitism investigation. That finding is now unimpeachable.

In a bizarre display of Humpty Dumpty’s Theory of Meaning, Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley have sought to portray as a brilliant victory their withdrawal of the case, which cost their supporters so much yet achieved not one of their objectives in court. Nobody will be persuaded by this laughable attempt at rationalising their capitulation. Meanwhile, their claim that these proceedings cost Campaign Against Antisemitism some astronomical figure is comically lacking in foundation, thanks to the generosity of our legal team.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This is a significant victory for the Jewish community, as it means that the EHRC’s groundbreaking report into antisemitism in the Labour Party stands. Ken Livingstone has been at the heart of Labour’s antisemitism scandal for years, so it is apt that he is also at the centre of this final failure of the antisemitism-denying far-left to overturn the EHRC’s findings.

“Recognising that Campaign Against Antisemitism originally referred the Labour Party to the EHRC and is an expert body in combating antisemitism, the High Court granted us intervener status in the case. We were keen to defend in court the EHRC’s findings of antisemitism in the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Our only disappointment at the dropping of this specious claim is that we will not have the opportunity to demolish the claims made by apologists for Mr Corbyn and his acolytes.

“This is a humiliating end for Mr Livingstone and his co-complainant, and one that their supporters, whose funds were squandered, will surely question. They are now reduced to crowing that they cost the EHRC hundreds of thousands in taxpayers’ money and delighting in their amusingly false assumption that they cost us vast charitable funds. Having seen off Mr Livingstone, we will continue our work to advocate for zero tolerance of antisemitism in all political parties, without fear or favour.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism was represented by Derek Spitz and Adam Wagner, of counsel, instructed by Asserson solicitors Shimon Goldwater and Joshua Battat. We are extremely grateful to our highly-capable legal team, which has been working on this matter with us since we first referred the Labour Party to the EHRC five years ago.

Shimon Goldwater, partner at Asserson, said: “Mr Livingstone has acted sensibly for the first time in these proceedings and abandoned his judicial review application. The EHRC’s findings are now final and not subject to further challenge, which is materially due to the strong stand taken in this case by Campaign Against Antisemitism.”

A spokesperson for the EHRC said: “We firmly stand by our robust and fair investigation, the findings of which were accepted in full by the Labour Party. We welcome the decision to withdraw this judicial review claim, with disappointment at the valuable time and resources that we have had to expend on defending it.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Foreign secretary tells Mahmoud Abbas to stop spouting “disgusting antisemitic tropes”

James Cleverly, the UK Foreign Secretary, has said that Mahmoud Abbas must stop spreading antisemitic tropes. 

The comments came during an address to the World Summit on Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel, ahead of Mr Cleverly’s meeting with officials from the Palestinian Authority, which Mr Abbas heads.

Referring to Mr Abbas’ recent speech, which contained a tirade of antisemitic tropes, Mr Cleverly said: “When I meet with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, I will make it clear that rather than spreading disgusting antisemitic tropes and outrageous distortions of history, they should be clear in their denouncement of violence.”

He continued: “The PA [Palestinian Authority] should be clear that there is no acceptance for brutality and terrorism. It should be clear that there is no excuse to target Israelis, particularly Israeli civilians, because that is the only way that peace is possible.”

Mr Cleverly also said during his speech that Israel’s “right to self-defence belongs exclusively to Israel’s security forces who operate within the line of international law”.

Referring to Iran’s involvement in attacks on the Jewish state, Mr Cleverly said: “Iran refuses to take responsibility for their complicity in these attacks, but we in the UK are under no illusion about Iran’s maligned role.”

Mr Abbas’ speech was given on 24th August to the Revolutionary Council of Fatah. In the speech, Mr Abbas claimed that Jews were not “Semites” and were actually descendants of the Khazars. The Khazar myth is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that claims that Jews are descended from a Central Asian people and have no connection to the Land of Israel. He did, however, make the distinction that, in his view, Sephardi Jews are Semites “because they originated in the Arabian Peninsula”.

Mr Abbas also said in his speech: “They say that Hitler killed the Jews for being Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews.”

He added, “It was clearly explained that [the Europeans] fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion. Several authors wrote about this. Even Karl Marx said this was not true. He said that the enmity was not directed at Judaism as a religion, but to Judaism for its social role.” 

Referring to Hitler, Mr Abbas continued: “He said he fought the Jews because they were dealing with usury and money. In his view, they were engaged in sabotage, and this is why he hated them. We just want to make this point clear. This was not about semitism and antisemitism.”

Following Mr Abbas’ speech, Paris revoked his Medal of the City of Paris. The medal was awarded to Mr Abbas in 2015 in “recognition of his actions towards finding peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Labour Party reaches settlement with antisemitism whistleblowers

The Labour Party has reportedly reached a settlement with nine whistleblowers who had brought legal proceedings against the Party after their names appeared in a leaked report about antisemitism.

The nine individuals sued the Party after their names were included in a leaked 850-page report produced in the waning days of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, titled ‘The work of the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014 – 2019’.

The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit antisemitism allegations in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which the new leadership of the Party declined to do, but it was leaked.

That leak is at the centre of another, ongoing lawsuit. It is understood that this settlement does not affect that case.

Campaign Against Antisemitism called at the time for the report to be sent to the EHRC as part of the evidence of antisemitism-denial and diminishment within the Party.

It is understood that the nine whistleblowers and the Labour Party have reached a settlement out of court, with a notice of discontinuance having been filed with the High Court.

The whistleblowers claimed that the Party had breached their rights to data privacy and exposed them to attacks online.

In a separate case, 21 claimants are suing Labour over alleged breaches of their data privacy rights and defamation.

There are estimates that the various cases could cost the Labour Party several million pounds.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “We are pleased to be able to move forward in a positive manner. The Labour party is committed to continuing its work on combating antisemitism.”

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Rory Stewart defends claim it was “disgusting” that antisemite Jeremy Corbyn had Labour whip withdrawn, before apologising

Rory Stewart, the former Conservative MP and candidate for the Party’s leadership, has defended his view that it was “disgusting” that Sir Keir Starmer withdrew the Labour whip from Jeremy Corbyn, before apologising today.

In an interview last week with the controversial far-left activist-journalist Ash Sarker on the far-left Novara Media blog, Mr Stewart said: “I think it’s disgusting he was thrown out of the Labour Party. I mean, it’s mad. Jeremy Corbyn, whatever you think of him, is a major figure who represents a very significant part of Labour history and heritage. He was the leader of the party.”

Mr Corbyn had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour Party and was suspended from the Labour Party but was subsequently readmitted to the latter, which means that he is a Labour member but sits as an independent MP.

Mr Stewart, who previously served as International Development Secretary, was asked about his comments by the JC, in view of Mr Corbyn’s record on antisemitism, and said: “I’m making a narrow point but I may have been over influenced by my own experience. There was horrifying antisemitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, I had friends who witnessed it directly and they expressed to me how disgusting it was. I absolutely believe it and it was a very good reason why people turned against Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. However, I am concerned about the trend of MPs being expelled from political parties. Parties with serving MPs in Parliament should have broad coalitions.”

However, in an opinion editorial in the Jewish News today, Mr Stewart clarified: “My point was not to exonerate Corbyn but to oppose the principle of leaders  barring fellow members from standing as candidates as happened here. In a first past the post system like the US or the UK this operates – as I discovered personally – as a de facto expulsion from Parliament.”

He added: “None of this is to excuse the horrifying antisemitism that existed and was not addressed in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. I heard about it directly from many friends who I trust. Corbyn has a great deal to answer for. I also feel very uncomfortable trying to maintain a constitutional point over an issue which was so deeply hurtful and offensive and disturbing to so many. And I realise Corbyn is not the constitutional hill I would have wanted to choose to die on.

“Seeing the passionate responses to my original comments, I wanted to express many many apologies for stepping into this so insensitively. I don’t believe Starmer was right to expel Corbyn from Parliament, but Starmer has done the right thing in demonstrating that antisemitism will not be tolerated in his party.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Mahmoud Abbas claims Holocaust was not about antisemitism 

Mahmoud Abbas, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, made a slew of antisemitic comments in a recent speech. 

In the speech, which was delivered on 24th August to the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, Mr Abbas claimed that Jews were not “Semites” and were actually descendants of the Khazars. The Khazar myth is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that claims that Jews are descended from a Central Asian people and have no connection to the Land of Israel. He did, however, make the distinction that, in his view, Sephardi Jews are Semites “because they originated in the Arabian Peninsula”.

Mr Abbas also said in his speech: “They say that Hitler killed the Jews for being Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews.”

He added, “It was clearly explained that [the Europeans] fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion. Several authors wrote about this. Even Karl Marx said this was not true. He said that the enmity was not directed at Judaism as a religion, but to Judaism for its social role.” 

Referring to Hitler, Mr Abbas continued: “He said he fought the Jews because they were dealing with usury and money. In his view, they were engaged in sabotage, and this is why he hated them. We just want to make this point clear. This was not about semitism and antisemitism.”

Following Mr Abbas’ speech, Paris revoked his Medal of the City of Paris. The medal was awarded to Mr Abbas in 2015 in “recognition of his actions towards finding peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis”.

In an open letter to Mr Abbas, Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, said: “I condemn your comments in the strongest possible terms; no cause can justify revisionism and negationism. As you know, the Holocaust is part of the history of Paris…In our city, during World War Two, tens of thousands of children, women and men of the Jewish faith were rounded up, deported and then exterminated in death camps.”

Steffen Seibert, the German Ambassador to Israel, said: “The recent statement of President Abbas on Jews and the Holocaust is an insult to the memory of millions of murdered men, women and children.” He added, “The Palestinians deserve to hear the historical truth from their leader, not such distortions.”Decades ago, Mr Abbas argued in his faux doctoral dissertation in the Soviet Union that the Zionist movement and its leaders were “fundamental partners” of the Nazis and shared equal responsibility for the Holocaust.

Earlier this year, Mr Abbas caused controversy after he accused Israel of “lying like Goebbels”. 

Last year, the German Chancellor condemned remarks by Mr Abbas in Berlin that Israel had committed “50 Holocausts”. Chancellor Olaf Schultz later said that the comment disgusted him, and Mr Abbas partially walked the comment back.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

Image credit: MEMRI

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Patriotic Alternative speakers honour Sir Oswald Mosley at far-right gathering in Lancashire

Members of the far-right met for an event in Samlesbury, Lancashire on Saturday which hosted Patriotic Alternative speakers and honoured fascist Sir Oswald Mosley.

The event was organised by Heritage and Destiny, which meets annually. According to the group’s website, Heritage and Destiny “reflects a cross-section of 21st century racial nationalist opinion”. 

According to Heritage and Destiny, a total of eighty people attended the event and was chaired by Keith Axon, a former National Front and British National Party (BNP) organiser.

Several individuals were due to be commemorated at the event, including: Sir Oswald, who founded the British Union of Fascists; Ian Stuart Donaldson, a musician for the band, “White Power”; Derek Beackon, a former councillor for the British National Party; and Andrew Brons, a former Chairman of the National Front who was also a British National Party Member of European Parliament. 

Speaking at the event were Mark Collett and Laura Towler, who are respectively the Leader and Deputy Leader of the far-right group, Patriotic Alternative. Patriotic Alternative is a UK-based group headed by Mr Collett, the former leader of the youth wing of the BNP. Mr Collett is reported to have dabbled in Holocaust-denial, is regularly heard as a guest on the radio show of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and has described the Holocaust as “an instrument of white guilt”.

Patriotic Alternative is known for its efforts to recruit youth to its white nationalist ideology. Previously, the far-right group published an online “alternative” homeschool curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through live-streaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

Other speakers at the event included Isabel Peralta, Ken Schmidt, Benny Bullman, Ian Stuart, John Kersey, Stephen Frost, Mark Cotterill and Peter Rushton.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

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Conservative MP hires former Labour councillor with history of inflammatory comments about Jews 

A Conservative MP has hired a former Labour Party councillor who has a history of making inflammatory comments about Jews. 

Paul Bristow, the Conservative MP for Peterborough, hired Ansar Ali, who used to be a councillor for Peterborough City Council, according to the JC.

Mr Ali was suspended from the Labour Party in 2021 whilst under investigation after he posted that he was “boycotting the biased BBC” because the broadcaster “didn’t want to upset the Zionist Israeli government lobby”. Mr Ali was reinstated to the Party after it concluded its investigation. 

The Labour Party is alleged not to have investigated other social media posts that he published, such as one in 2017 linking to an article asking, “How many British MPs are working for Israel?” which he described as “interesting and thought-provoking”, and another from 2016 referencing “Nazi-Zionist collaboration”.

Mr Bristow has acknowledged that whilst he was aware that Mr Ali had been suspended by Labour due to accusations of antisemitism, he had not “closely checked” what prompted the investigation. Nevertheless, according to Mr Bristow, Mr Ali “regrets deeply this social media activity and now sees clearly why it is antisemitic”. 

Mr Bristow added: “In an environment where material such as this (and worse) is being shared openly, he should have known much better.

 “I know some will disagree with my decision to give Ansar a chance to make amends. People may be disappointed. I understand this. But I am convinced that Ansar will stand with me in the fight against hatred and antisemitism. He will use his experience and mistakes as lessons for others.

“Ultimately the proof will be in actions, not words, and I look forward to this being demonstrated. By having his support, I will make a bigger difference than asking him to walk away.”

Mr Bristow also recommended that local politicians in the area undertake antisemitism training: “I think all councillors in Peterborough need to go through antisemitism training as a matter of course. We have a deserved reputational issue.  We owe it to Peterborough to address it.”

Mr Bristow also confirmed that Mr Ali will remain working for the Conservative Party in his role as a translator and caseworker for Mr Bristow’s constituency office. 

Mr Ali said: “In the past I have commented and shared social media posts that I now fully understand would have caused hurt and distress to members of the Jewish faith. This was wrong, and I deeply regret any hurt I have caused to the Jewish community and others.

“I have always considered myself someone who works to bring diverse communities in Peterborough and beyond together. These specific examples of social media activity fell well short of this aspiration.

“I shall work to ensure all community leaders strive to eliminate antisemitism and all forms of racial hatred and division wherever it is expressed. I aspire for a just and peaceful world where humanity comes first. Justice for All. Love for all, hate for none.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

Image credit: Twitter via the JC

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Labour spends over £500,000 in lawsuit over controversial leaked antisemitism report

The Labour Party has spent over £500,000 in legal costs as part of its case against former staffers who are accused of leaking an internal antisemitism report. 

The costs, reported to be at least £503,260, are understood to relate to a recent hearing in which the Party tried to gain access to Laura Murray’s e-mails. Ms Murray is a disgraced former aide to Jeremy Corbyn who was appointed to lead the Labour Party’s disciplinary process during his tenure as leader of the Party.

The hearing is part of a wider counterclaim against the Party’s former staffers who were criticised in a controversial internal report into the handling of antisemitism cases by the Party. The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit allegations of antisemitism in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as part of its landmark investigation into Labour antisemitism in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant.

In the counterclaim, four other former staffers are named: Karie Murphy, a trade unionist and Mr Corbyn’s chief of staff, whose nomination for a peerage was blocked; Harry Hayball, a staffer in Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit and former Head of Digital Communications at the pro-Corbyn Momentum pressure group, who was reportedly labelled as the author in the report’s metadata; Seamus Milne, the far-left journalist who served as Mr Corbyn’s Executive Director of Strategy and Communications; and George Robertson, who worked in Labour’s communications team.

Last year, it was reported that Labour could face up to £5 million in claims and counterclaims relating to the leaked report. 

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The party has conducted a wide-ranging and appropriately thorough investigation following the leak and is confident of the case it has presented to the court. That remains the case.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Green Party announces expelled Labour Party councillor as prospective parliamentary candidate

The Green Party has announced that Jo Bird, a controversial expelled Labour Party councillor, has been selected as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Party.  

A post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, for the Wirral Green Party read: “We’re pleased to announce our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Birkenhead, Cllr Jo Bird. #JoBird4Birkenhead #GetGreensElected”. 

Cllr Bird then retweeted the post and wrote, “Birkenhead deserves better,” before continuing to list various policy issues. 

Cllr Bird, who re-joined the Labour Party in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn was running for the Party’s leadership, has a long history of controversy relating to Jews, including renaming ‘due process’ in the Labour Party as “Jew process”, for which she was suspended; supporting the expelled Labour activist and friend of Mr Corbyn, Marc Wadsworth, who was thrown out of the Party after a confrontation with Jewish then-MP Ruth Smeeth; and worrying about the “privileging of racism against Jews, over and above — as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism.”

Elected to Wirral Council in August 2018, Cllr Bird has been a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and she has described Labour’s institutional antisemitism as based on mere “accusations, witch-huntery and allegations without evidence”.

Cllr Bird appears to have been expelled from Labour for her association with the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt.

Cllr Bird then joined the Green Party last year, after Campaign Against Antisemitism warned of the danger of controversial activists who have left the Labour Party joining the Greens instead.

Earlier this year, the Jewish Greens appointed Cllr Bird as a senior officer. 

Our polling of British Jews found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%).

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Government promises to end public funding to mosques that host hate-preachers 

The Government has pledged to halt public funding of mosques that host hate-preachers. 

An investigation by the JC revealed that four mosques that have hosted inflammatory speakers in Britain have received substantial public grants in recent years. 

The investigation found that Finsbury Park Mosque in North London received almost £300,000 from Islington Council between 2017 and 2022. 

Earlier this year, the mosque’s General Secretary, Mohammed Kozbar, reportedly wrote on Facebook that he was “honoured” to meet the antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad. 

In 2015, Mr Kozbar allegedly visited the grave of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and described him as “the master of the martyrs of resistance, the mujahid [holy warrior] sheikh, the teacher.” Mr Yassin is known as one of the founders of Hamas, an antisemitic genocidal terrorist group.

Mr Kozbar has also reportedly met senior Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar.

In 2021, the UK banned Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist group following calls by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others.

Mr Kozbar also hosted Egyptian cleric Omar Abdelkafi. Despite Mr Abdelkafi’s record of quoting from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and a Facebook post that included a prayer to “liberate the al-Aqsa mosque from the filth of the Jews,” Mr Kozbar reportedly described him as “our beloved preacher”.

In 2011, Mr Kozbar was reportedly caught on video speaking at an anti-Israel rally, where he allegedly said that he looked forward “to the end of Israel, inshallah.”

He has also reportedly given public support to the disgraced Bristol University academic David Miller and to Shaima Dallali, who was removed from her position as President of the National Union of Students amidst allegations of antisemitism.

Days after the investigation was published, Jeremy Corbyn, the former Leader of the Labour Party, wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter: “Finsbury Park Mosque offers a place of peace, hope and solidarity to so many people in our community. We will not be divided by those in our media who seek to sow hatred and fear. It is love for our neighbours, whatever their faith, that unites us all.”

According to the investigation, Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre in Birmingham was reported in August to have received a grant of £2.2million from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). 

The funding is understood to come from a Government Youth Investment Fund and is for the mosque to build a centre for young people. The centre would host courses provided by the mosque on topics such as “how to empower marginalised communities” and “critical thinking”.

The decision to award the mosque money was reportedly made by the Social Investment Business (SIB). SIB is a foundation that is contracted by DCMS to help with decisions in social investment. 

A spokesperson for SIB said that the distribution of the grant has been “paused”. A “pre-construction” grant of £600,000 however, has already been paid to the mosque. 

In terms of SIB’s vetting processes, the spokesperson said: “Prior to any decision to award beneficiaries funding, due diligence checks are conducted.” 

The spokesperson added: “This includes information publicly available via the Charity Commission and Companies House, as well as extensive assessments of project bids and documentation.” 

In 2021, Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem, the mosque’s Head Imam and Head of Education, reportedly said in a recorded talk that female adulterers should be killed and that “there must be a hole dug in the earth and she [the adulterer] must be covered up to half her body.” 

In 2019, Shaykh abu Usamah at-Thahabi, who is known to be a regular speaker at Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre, appeared in a video that was posted to the mosque’s YouTube channel in which he said that he was stopped from entering Israel as he was considered a “threat to public safety”. He later reportedly remarked in the same video that he was not a threat and that his visit was to see holy sites in Jerusalem before comparing Israel to a “concentration camp”. 

In another video, Mr Thahabi allegedly said that “the Jews made a lot of trouble for the Arabs in Medina, a lot of trouble.”

He has also reportedly expressed homophobic beliefs publicly which included saying, “you make sure you kill the one who is doing it and the one who it is being done to,” after suggesting that Shariah law permitted killing LGBTQ+ people. 

It is also understood that the mosque hosted a speaker who claimed that Jews are “people of envy” who “killed the prophets and the messengers”. 

Another video appeared to show a leading imam of the mosque saying that women who are adulterous should be stoned to death. 

A spokesperson for Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre claimed that the video “lacked context” and was “taken from a wide-ranging theological discourse that included the recounting of events in Arabia over 1,400 years ago…he did not suggest that these practices have a place in UK society.”

The investigation also found that Lewisham Islamic Centre in South London received nearly £540,000 between 2015 and 2022 in “local authority grants”. 

In 2016, the mosque’s Head Imam, Shakeel Begg, was determined by a High Court judge to have “promoted violence in support of Islam” during his unsuccessful libel claim against the BBC.

It is also understood that Mr Begg told young Muslims to “go to Palestine and fight the Zionists.”

Lewisham Council has reportedly said that it has no record of the grants made between 2015 and 2022.

Michael Adebolajo, who murdered British soldier Lee Rigby, used to be a member of the Lewisham congregation and attended a speech by Mr Begg at the mosque in 2021. During the speech, Mr Begg reportedly showed support for the use of rockets against Israel. Mr Adebolajo described the speech as “inspiring”. 

Mr Begg said that he was “appalled” by the murder of Mr Rigby. 

In the centre’s 2022 Annual Report, there is an endorsement by Ellie Reeves, the Labour MP for Lewisham West, which says that the centre does “absolutely brilliant work for the Lewisham community”. In the same report, Damian Egan, the Labour Mayor of Lewisham, described it as “a source of guidance, community and friendship”. 

Another mosque was revealed to have received over £850,000 between 2017 and 2022. Jamia Islamia Ghousia in Luton is believed to have received the funding locally from its town council. 

In 2021, Jamia Islamia Ghousia allegedly backed a rally where the speaker, Attiq Malik, reportedly claimed that Israel was committing “genocide” and said that this was underreported in the media due to “global censorship by Zionists”.

It is understood that the mosque’s Chief Imam attended the rally. 

At the same rally, another speaker reportedly said that “Israel is a disease that needs to be cut out,” before leading a chant that said: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism. 

According to the Definition, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” is an example of antisemitism.

It is understood that following the investigation, Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, and Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary are pushing for better “due diligence” checks to be conducted by the Government and local governing bodies.

Rachel Hopkins, the Labour MP for Luton South, attended the rally and said to local media afterwards: “I was proud to speak at today’s Luton demo against the abuses in Israel and Palestine. There’s no justification for such violent, traumatic attacks.” 

Campaign Against Antisemitism works to raise awareness of antisemitism among all faith and minority communities.

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Finnish government to criminalise Holocaust-denial

The Finnish government has announced its intention to criminalise Holocaust-denial.

The move comes as part of a wider commitment by the Government to “promote equality and gender equality in practice”.

In a statement, the Government said: “Acts motivated by hate against Jews, Muslims, Christians and other religious groups will be prevented and Holocaust-denial will be criminalised. The possibility of criminalising the use of at least Nazi and communist symbols to promote ideology will be investigated.”

Finland’s Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, said: “There is no room for racism in Finland. Political decision-makers must set an example in building a safe and equal society, and we need all of society to take part.”

In July, Vilhelm Junnila, a far-right Finnish minister resigned just days after taking office amid a number of controversies over his past comments. Mr Junnila was reported to have joked about being assigned the number 88 by the Finnish Election Commission as his candidate number in the 2019 Parliamentary election. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is used by neo-Nazis as a code for “Heil Hitler”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Oxfordshire “pure-blood female” enters Miss Hitler beauty competition

A woman from Oxford has been revealed as a contestant for a ‘Miss Hitler’ beauty pageant. 

Sarah Mountford, 42, is alleged by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to be a participant in the inflammatory pageant, under the alias ‘Miss Aryan Angel’. Originally from Brighton, Ms Mountford is now understood to be living in Oxford with her three children. 

The competition is hosted by VKontakte, a Russian social media platform. Contestants are encouraged to use pseudonyms when they enter the pageant, in which users can vote for their favourite competitor. 

Ms Mountford has reportedly described herself in a statement on her competitor’s page as, “straight, white, pure-blood female with a longing to return to traditional ways. In accordance with nature. Blood and soil. Ancestors and honour. Our people matter.” 

Photos of Ms Mountford alongside swastikas and other Nazi symbols were also found on her page. 

When Ms Mountford was contacted about her involvement in the competition, she reportedly said: “It was just a bit of fun, really, a spur of the moment thing. I didn’t set out to upset anyone. It’s not like I’ll get a crown – it’s more of a poll. I’ll try to get it taken down. My views aren’t extreme, you hear the same at every bus stop.”

She also said: “He [Adolf Hitler] has been dead a long time. I didn’t think of the impact his name still has.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is not the first time that we have encountered so-called ‘Miss Hitler’ pageants. There is nothing beautiful in the grotesque idealisation of Adolf Hitler, who oversaw the murder of millions of Jews and a world war that brought about immense suffering. The far-right continues to find new ways to attract and engage new and existing adherents, and will readily appeal to people’s baser instincts, in this case their vanity. Participants in these far-right activities should be warned: they cannot hide behind pseudonyms, and they will be found and shamed.”

In 2020, Alice Cutter, a woman who entered a “Miss Hitler” beauty pageant in order to attract new members to the British neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action, was found guilty of membership in the proscribed organisation and sentenced to three years in prison.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

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Rep. Alma Hernandez on how she and her first-grade teacher brought Holocaust education to Arizona, despite attempts to slow it down

Alma Hernandez, a Jewish Mexican-American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 20th district, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she passionately addressed how she brought Holocaust education to Arizona.  

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

In 2021, a bill that Rep. Hernandez introduced requiring Holocaust education in Arizona public schools was passed by the State Legislature. This made Arizona the sixteenth state in the United States to make Holocaust education mandatory.

“The process was very long. It took about three years to get it done,” she said. “Not because it wasn’t a good policy, and not because I was doing anything wrong. It was really politics, that’s what it came down to. We had people on both sides using this bill to play politics.”

She revealed that certain politicians intentionally held up the process in order to ensure that Rep. Hernandez would cast her vote on specific policies, even if they did not align with her own views. However, Rep. Hernandez refused.

“I said, ‘Look, we can get it done this year. This is what the ask is of me,’ and I had many [Holocaust] survivors tell me, ‘We will wait as long as we need to wait so that you do what you need to do and what is right,’ so at the end of the day, I didn’t have to compromise my values and I didn’t have to do something I was going to feel morally wrong for doing,” she said.

While the bill was eventually passed, the length of time that it took, unfortunately, had severe consequences.

“We were able to get it done, but it took three years. It was a long process…at the forefront of all of this were the survivors. We had three survivors that passed away, unfortunately, during the three years who were very involved but didn’t get to see it happen.

“That was very difficult because I really wish that they could have all been here to be able to witness a historic moment, but because of politics, we couldn’t get it done.” 

Despite this, Rep. Hernandez’s sense of achievement over such a monumental accomplishment was clear, stating: “I’m just really grateful we finally got it done. I’m really proud of it.”

Many of the survivors were close with the Arizona representative even prior to her election, with one in particular — Theresa Dulgov — who was not only a “friend and a mentor” to Rep. Hernandez, but was also her first-grade teacher.

She said: “She used to teach about the Holocaust when we were younger. She was my brother’s and sister’s reading teacher as well, and I just never forgot her story, and as I got older, we kept in touch. I found her on Facebook.

“She had such a big impact on my life because I met her when I was so young and we just kept in touch over the years. We reconnected through the Holocaust survivor’s network here in Tucson and she was able to come testify on behalf of my bill, and that was really moving for me; having her support and knowing that she’s someone who I personally have known literally my entire life now, and has supported me throughout the years…just seeing her, how happy she was to finally see this done, was really rewarding.”

Speaking on how the implementation of Holocaust education in Arizona has been going, Rep. Hernandez said: “I know that the schools have been implementing different curriculums. They’re allowed to select the curriculum that works best for them through the Department of Education…It’s going to start with the children and educating the future generation, because they are the ones who are hopefully going to be breaking the cycle of hate and bigotry in our communities.”

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Californian neo-Nazi group revealed to contain multiple military members

Several US military members have been exposed as alleged members of a neo-Nazi ‘active club’.

Clockwork Crew, formerly Crew 562 (a reference to the area code for Long Beach, California), was founded in 2021 by Californian neo-Nazis. It is an ‘active club’, which is a growing phenomenon where white supremacists and nationalists train in combat sports and promote fascist ideals.

Mohammed Wadaa, a lance corporal with the 3rd battalion, 5th regiment of the 1st United States Marine Corps division, is alleged to be a co-founder of the Clockwork Crew. His alleged posts on the social media platform Telegram show his room in the Camp Pendleton Base to be covered in pro-Hitler posters.

The other alleged co-founder, Nicholas Daniel Large, is believed to have met Mr. Wadaa through the ‘Church of Aryaninity’, a white supremacist and neo-Nazi cult group. Mr. Large appears to manage the propaganda of the Club; it is claimed that he has been known to plaster local areas with hateful stickers, along with allegedly making death threats against Scott Weiner, a California State Senator.

He also reportedly developed the Clockwork Club logo, which is composed of multiple neo-Nazi symbols, including the black Celtic Cross, a symbol of white supremacy, and the Tyr Rune (red arrow) which was used in Nazi divisions to symbolise the goal of an ‘all-white religion’.

Mr Wadaa and Mr Large are claimed to have recruited up to twenty people from other far-right hate groups on the West Coast, such as White Lives Matter, The Golden State Skinheads and the Goyim Defence League (GDL). The GDL has been described as an antisemitic hate group whose membership reportedly contains several neo-Nazis and is understood to be led by Jon Minadeo II. The group is divided into regional branches and regularly distributes antisemitic flyers across the United States.

However, the growing concern for law enforcement is the number of members of the Clockwork Club who are part of the US military, including Mr Wadaa and Gunnar Naughton, a former Sergeant in Marine Corps’ 1st Reconnaissance battalion before he was caught stealing over 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Ezra Liel, another Clockwork Club member, enlisted in the Army National Guard in 2021 and reportedly has posted pictures of himself online with neo-Nazi chest tattoos.

One expert described Clockwork Club members’ potential to “shout people down outside of synagogues and in communities they perceive as predominantly Jewish”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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Kansas cities adopt International Definition of Antisemitism 

Several cities in Johnson County, Kansas, have adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism. 

Roeland Park City Council is the latest city council in Johnson County to adopt the Definition. It joins Prairie Village City Council and Leawood City Council, which adopted the Definition earlier this year. 

In April, Johnson County Council also adopted the Definition. 

Mike Kelly, the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners for Johnson County, said: “Antisemitism has no place in Johnson County, and it is contrary to the values of a democratic society…we hope that more of our residents will be able to identify this increasingly prevalent issue when it occurs and take steps to combat it.”

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

Image credit: Google 

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Arizona licence plate revoked after antisemitic slur found

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has revoked a licence plate for incorporating an antisemitic slur.

The licence plate spelled the word “kike”, with the “i” replaced with the number “one”. The word, still recognisable, is an offensive slur directed at Jews.

The custom licence plate was approved by ADOT but, after being alerted to the concern about its antisemitic meaning, officials responded with a statement saying that “the customisation request involved the commonly used diminutive of the given name Enrique. Given the understandable concern raised by a constituent, ADOT will revoke the plate.”

This event follows an earlier review of custom licence plates by ADOT in September 2022, which lists as a criterion for rejection licence plates that have “connotations that are profane or obscene” or a plate that “expresses contempt for or ridicule or superiority of a class of persons”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

Image credit: StopAntisemitism

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Conservative Party presented with fourteen antisemitism complaints last year

It has been revealed that the Conservative Party received fourteen complaints of antisemitism in 2022.

The revelation comes a year after an independent report conducted by Prof. Swaran Singh.

A newly published report has been tasked with reviewing “the implementation by the Conservative Party of the Singh Investigation recommendations”.

The review revealed that 55 complaints were made in relation to protected characteristics; of the complaints that cited religion and belief, 43% cited Judaism. 

The review noted that, whilst the Conservatives had provided a new “transparency and reporting policy”, the Party did not “include a breakdown of the outcomes of investigated complaints citing protected characteristics”. 

Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Party in relation to a disturbing pattern of incidents in the Bury North and South Conservative Association. The Conservative Party is yet to respond to us. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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French party to be dissolved following suggestions that Jews should not be French citizens

Gerald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minister, has asked his Ministry to dissolve Civitas, an ultra-Catholic, far-right political party, following inflammatory remarks about Jews. 

During a seminar last month, Pierre Hillard, one of the party’s members, spoke about the rights of religious minorities in France prior to the French Revolution in 1789, when Jews could not become French citizens as they were considered “heretics”. 

Mr Hillard then said: “Maybe we should go back to how things were before 1789.”

In response to the comments, Mr Darmanin tweeted: “Antisemitism has no place in our country…I have asked my services to instruct the dissolution of Civitas.” 

Civitas was originally formed as an organisation in 1999 until it achieved political party status in 2016. According to its website, Civitas “revolves around three fundamental pillars of prayer, training and action”. 

According to a report published by the French Jewish Community Security Service, antisemitic incidents in France have skyrocketed. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism in France and throughout Europe.

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Patriotic Alternative splinter group applies to become political party

It has been revealed that Homeland, a splinter group of former Patriotic Alternative (PA) members, has applied to become a political party. 

According to The Ferret, the Home Office contacted the Electoral Commission to alert it that the group was attempting to register with the Commission “by stealth”. 

It is understood that the Home Office has said that if it obtains any “relevant intel” about Homeland and its methods of application in the future, the ministry will contact the Electoral Commission.

Kenny Smith, Homeland’s leader, is alleged to have said in a secret meeting in April that members of the group who are not “on the radar” of the authorities were applying for party status under a different name on behalf of Homeland.

Homeland reportedly made its application under the name, “Homeland Party”; it is understood that the application remains under review. 

Homeland is said to comprise every former Scottish member of PA, as well as a number of former members from across the UK. The group’s leader, Mr Smith, the former organiser for PA’s Scottish branch, has allegedly claimed that over half of PA’s membership has now defected to Homeland. 

PA is a UK-based group headed by the former leader of the youth wing of the BNP, Mark Collett. Mr Collett is reported to have dabbled in Holocaust denial, is regularly heard as a guest on the radio show of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and has described the Holocaust as “an instrument of white guilt”.

PA is known for its efforts to recruit youth to its white nationalist ideology. Previously, the far-right group published an online “alternative” homeschool curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through live-streaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

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Labour MP faces backlash over Corbyn invitation as two councillors come under fire over antisemitism claims

A Labour Party MP is facing a backlash after inviting Jeremy Corbyn to speak at an event.

Kate Osamor, the MP for Edmonton, has been criticised following a post on her Facebook page about her “political summer school”.

The post read: “Really pleased to be joined by Jeremy Corbyn at my Political Summer School. Without exception the students remain inspired and excited by Jeremy and the politics of hope that he represents.” 

It is understood that a number of Ms Osamor’s constituents have written to the MP to express their concerns. One constituent said: “There are still pockets in the party who are problematic. Kate should be helping fight back against these people, rather than pandering to someone like Corbyn who can’t bring himself to fully accept the recommendations of the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] report.”

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Meanwhile, two Labour councillors have come under fire following accusations of denying or engaging in antisemitism. 

Cllr Raymond Moon, of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, has been suspended from the Labour group on the Council after he sponsored the screening of Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie at the Tunbridge Wells Forum.

The antisemitism-denial propaganda film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Of his suspension, Cllr Moon said: “I was extremely upset and it’s my own party members that have instigated it. It was a blow, not having been a councillor very long. I try to represent people and this was nothing to do with the party as far as I saw it, it was just giving a personal view.”

Another councillor was suspended from the Labour Party for allegedly sharing antisemitic content online.

Even after his suspension, Cllr David Morton, who sits on the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, liked a tweet questioning the number of Jews who died during the Holocaust, although he claimed that he had misunderstood it and has since blocked the account that had originally tweeted it.

Cllr Morton said of his suspension: “I’m absolutely stunned by this. I do not hold any antisemitic views and I’m certainly not racist. I was shocked because of the allegations of antisemitism and racism. I am probably the last person to be accused of that. My father-in-law was Jewish and I was involved in the report on Kindertransport.”

Labour reportedly opened an investigation, and in the meantime, Cllr Morton resigned from the Party, citing a disagreement within the Council regarding the Clean Air Neighbourhood project as the reason for his departure.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Photo of Vivek Ramaswamy defaced with Nazi references

A photo of Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, was defaced with Nazi references at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

It has been reported that photos of candidates were displayed at the conference where attendees could write their thoughts onto sticky notes and attach them to the portraits. 

According to a video published by CNN, there was one note on Mr Ramaswamy’s photo that displayed a Star of David accompanied by the text, “soon”; and another that said, “1488”. 

1488 is often used as a coded reference to the neo-Nazi fourteen-word oath, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,” a slogan initially devised by David Lane, a member of the white supremacist terrorist group “The Order”, which was responsible for the murder of Jewish radio host Alan Berg. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is intended as a code for “Heil Hitler.”

Of the notes, Mr Ramaswamy said: “I can’t speak to that particular instance. I’ll tell you my experience in this country. Have I experienced racism? Yes, I have. But I reject the myth that hardship is the same thing as victimhood.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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Warsaw adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Warsaw has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

It is understood that Warsaw is the first Polish city to adopt the Definition.

In 2021, Poland announced that it recognised the Definition.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.

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Democrats lobby Egyptian Government to release cleric who advocated for murder of “any Zionist” 

Democratic members of the United States Senate are pressuring the Egyptian Government for the release of Salah Soltan, a Muslim cleric who has a history of making inflammatory statements about Jews.

An amendment to the 2024 State Department appropriations bill, which proposes that Mr Soltan’s release must be considered as a condition for providing foreign aid to Egypt, has been approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The amendment was proposed by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. 

Mr Soltan’s children, who have publicly campaigned for his release for years, are understood to have contributed ten of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party. According to campaign finance records, his daughter, Hanaa Soltan, gave $47,000 to President Joe Biden’s campaign and his son, Mohamed Soltan, gave at least $10,000 to the campaign. 

The Committee’s chairman, Sen. Robert Menendez, also reportedly received $5,800 last year from Mr Soltan’s son.

In an interview that was broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV in 2010, Mr Soltan reportedly said: “I want our brothers, and the whole world, to know what’s going on these days, during Passover. Read Dr. Naghuib Al-Kilani’s book, ‘Blood for the Matzos of Zion[sic]’. Every year, at this time, the Zionists kidnap several non-Muslims – Christians and others…They do this every year.”

The blood libel dates back to 1290 and was the pretext for the confiscation of all Jewish property and the complete expulsion of Jews from England. 

Mr Soltan is also understood to have made controversial statements in an interview with Al Jazeera in 2011. In one, he said: “As someone who has studied Islamic law, specialising in Islamic jurisprudence, I am calling to kill the [Israeli] ambassador, not just expel him. Our sons were killed in our country, on our land, and our sons are being killed in Gaza by an occupying enemy. Brothers and sisters, the genuine rulings of Islamic law can no longer be silenced.”

He added: “Once I said: Any Zionist – tourist or other – who enters Egypt must be killed. We will not kill tourists from any [other] country. We stress that this fatwa is directed only toward those Zionists, who destroyed our country, killed our people, and shed our blood on our land.”

In a sermon that was broadcast by Al-Aqsa TV in 2012, Mr Soltan is seen saying: “I travel all over the world, and I met supporters of Al-Aqsa, of the prisoners, of Jerusalem, and of Palestine – people who thirst for the blood of the Jews, and who are eager for the promised war against the sons of Zion, until Palestine is liberated in its entirety.”

Mr Soltan was arrested by the Egyptian authorities in 2013 during President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2015, the British Government published a report which found that the Muslim Brotherhood is linked to Hamas and conducted terrorist attacks against “both British and Jewish interests”, and “selectively used violence and sometimes terror in pursuit of their institutional goals.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

Image credit: MEMRI

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Panama adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Panama has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The official adoption was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Panama City, and attended by Janaina Tewaney, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Itai Bardov, the Israeli Ambassador to Panama; Dr Fernando Lottenberg, the Commissioner of the Organisation of American States for monitoring and combating antisemitism; as well as a number of Jewish communal leaders. 

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.

Panama joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

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Inquiry announced into Nazi concentration camps on Channel Island

It has been announced that the British Government will launch an investigation into the Nazi camps on Alderney.  

Alderney, one of the Channel Islands, is the only place on British soil where Nazi concentration camps were established. 

Two concentration camps were set up on the island, called Lager Sylt and Lager Helgoland; as well as two labour camps, called Lager Borkum and Lager Helgoland. 

The number of prisoners who died in the camps is unclear, with some estimates reaching into the thousands. Some researchers have suggested that the number of Jews who could be found in mass graves on the island could be up to 1,000.

Of the review, Lord Pickles, the British Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues, said: “The difference between the estimates is so large, I thought it sensible for everyone to put the facts on the table, for it all to be transparent and for the deliberations to be in the open. It seemed pointless people shouting across at each other. It would be better to have a proper discussion and to bring together a panel of international experts.”

Last year, the Government announced that it would make all records related to the Holocaust open to the public for the first time.

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Dame Melinda Simmons, British Ambassador to Ukraine, on antisemitism: “Call it out”

Dame Melinda Simmons, who has served as the British Ambassador to Ukraine since 2019, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “denazification” comments, and gave advice to those looking to fight antisemitism.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

“Call it out,” she said when asked how people can tackle Jew-hatred. “That’s the one thing they can do, is to call it out. And when they ask what that means, what I say is, if you think there is a march going on, join the march. If you see something on social media, and you’re an active part of social media, you say on your social media that it’s not okay, or you’re not comfortable with it. If you see something really bad, you report it.”

Commenting on the perceived difference between antisemitic abuse in real life and online, Dame Melinda said: “If you saw someone being beaten up in the street, you would probably want to report that to the police.”

If you see the same sort of bullying going on online, you probably should be doing the same, and I’m interested that people see a distinction there because I don’t. Most of our life is lived online, in terms of that interaction now.”

Dame Melinda also spoke about how many Ukrainian Jews view President Putin’s remarks of “denazification”, one of Russia’s prominent justifications for its invasion of Ukraine.

President Putin has claimed throughout the invasion that he needed to “denazify” Ukraine, a stance that was reinforced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and apparently also adopted by China.  

Asked last year why Russia needed to “denazify” Ukraine, given that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish, Mr Lavrov answered: “Zelenskyy a Jew? Even Hitler had Jewish origins, the main antisemites are Jews themselves.”

Speaking on how Ukrainians have viewed this claim, Dame Melinda said: “Denazification has not been an objective for Russia. It is a narrative. In general, it’s not received with any kind of credibility here.

“Among Jews, it’s the same, and I can’t speak for all Jews in Ukraine. I have not met all Jews in Ukraine, and it’s a very disparate range of communities, but I will say that among those that I have met in Kyiv, there is the same skepticism, but there is also a thread of fear about it. 

“That has a lot to do with the fact that Ukraine is the epicenter of the Holocaust. This is a country that lost nearly all of its Jews in the Holocaust. I’ve been here four years. Every town I go to, every town has a killing field. Every forest has a shooting site.”

Dame Melinda, a British Jew with Ukrainian roots who was born and raised in London’s East End, found her experiences in Ukraine eye-opening.

She said: “It’s unbelievable for someone from Western Europe to be walking around finding so much consistent evidence of killing of Jews, and that is something that runs deep even though the country has not come to terms with the same conscious, coming-to-terms with what has happened, as many Western European countries have.

“Ukraine hasn’t done that, most of Eastern Europe, frankly, hasn’t really done that yet. So for Jews who are here, who have that memory, there is always a twinge of fear about what that means.”

Considering what could happen were Russia to invade areas of Ukraine with large Jewish populations, she stated: “If [Russia] were able to come to urban centres and able to occupy, it would very quickly translate itself into the sort of antisemitism that we have seen inside Russia.”

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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CAA commends Labour’s commitment to proscribe IRGC

The Shadow Home Secretary has announced that a Labour Government would apply a full ban to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an antisemitic Islamist terrorist group.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously written to all MPs calling on them to back the Government’s reported proposal, as yet unimplemented, to proscribe the IRGC under the Terrorism Act 2000. We have provided Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, and all MPs, with a dossier on the IRGC, detailing its horrendous record of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people.

Now, Yvette Cooper has confirmed that a Labour Government would amend existing terror legislation to “ban hostile state-sponsored organisations who are undermining our national security” as she warned that the UK faces “continued challenges from Islamist and far right extremists, radicalised online, in prison or in the community.”

She argued that, “Instead of trying and failing to use counter terror legislation to proscribe groups like Wagner or IRGC, we’ll introduce a bespoke proscribing mechanism to address state sponsored threats.” She also noted “the persecution of Iranian journalists by the IRGC – including fifteen threats to kidnap or kill on British soil.”

Her speech at the Royal United Services Institute think tank yesterday came after the Government applied an enhanced sanctions regime on Iran but failed to ban the IRGC.

Ms Cooper also observed that “we can’t tackle online radicalisation without stronger action from social media companies,” in an apparent reference to the Government’s Online Safety Bill.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend Yvette Cooper for committing a Labour Government to do what this Government has declined to do so far, namely proscribe the antisemitic Islamist IRGC. However, the ban cannot wait for a general election, and we continue to urge the Government to proscribe the state-sponsored terror group now.”

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Antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad welcomed by leading British Muslim groups

Numerous leading British Muslim organisations have welcomed an antisemitic former Malaysian Prime Minister on his visit to the UK.

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad is a proud antisemite: in 2012 he insisted that he is “glad to be labelled as antisemitic…How can I be otherwise, when the Jews who so often talk of the horrors they suffered during the Holocaust show the same Nazi cruelty and hard-heartedness towards not just their enemies but even towards their allies should any try to stop the senseless killing of their Palestinian enemies.”

His record bears out this antisemitism:

  • In 2019, he declared in a speech to the UN General Assembly that the “Because of the creation of Israel, there is now enmity towards the Muslims and Islam.” He also reportedly claimed: “If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that.” 
  • In 2018, he said in a BBC Hard Talk interview that “If you are going to be truthful, the problem in the Middle East began with the creation of Israel. That is the truth. But I cannot say that.”
  • In 2012, he claimed in a speech to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that “The Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.”
  • He also described sympathy with Jewish victims of the Holocaust as “wasted and misplaced.”
  • In 2003, he argued at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit in Kuala Lumpur that “1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews…There must be a way. And we can only find a way if we stop to think, to assess our weaknesses and our strength, to plan, to strategize and then to counterattack. We are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million.”
  • In 1994, during his premiership, he oversaw a ban on the film Schindler’s List by Malaysia censors, reportedly saying in response to claims that the film was banned due to antisemitism: “I am not antisemitic but I am anti-Zionist expansionism and the conquest of Arab territories by the Zionists.”
  • In his 1970 book The Makay Dilemma, he said that “The Jews are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively” and that “they are hook-nosed. Many people called the Malays fat-nosed. We didn’t object, we didn’t go to war for that.”

Speaking to the Oxford Union in 2019, he was pressed on his views on Jews and said: “We talk about freedom of speech, but yet you cannot say anything against Israel, against the Jews, why is that so? If we are free to say what we like, we can say something that is regarded as antisemitic by the Jews, that is their right, to hold such an opinion of me. It is my right to tell them, also, that they have been doing a lot of wrong things.”

In 2019, at the Cambridge Union, Dr Mohamad said when asked about his past comments about Jews: “I have some Jewish friends, very good friends. They are not like the other Jews. That’s why they are my friends.” On his views on the Holocaust, he said: “The Israelis should know from the sufferings they went through in the war not to treat others like that.” He denied previously stating that only four million died in the Holocaust, although he had made that comment on the record. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism. On antisemitism, he said: “Of course if you say anything against the Jews, you are labelled antisemitic. No other race in the world labels people like that, why is it forbidden to criticise the Jews when other people criticise us?” He added that: “The Jews do a lot of wrong things, which force us to pass comment.”

Notwithstanding his record, Dr Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving Prime Minister who was in office for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 and then again between 2018 and 2020, was greeted as an honoured guest on his UK visit last month. He delivered an “exclusive private briefing” at the Asia House think tank and attended an event with British Muslim community and business leaders.

The schedule was organised by the UK-based Islam Channel, which was fined £20,000 by Ofcom in 2020 for broadcasting a programme that included “antisemitic hate speech”. The channel said: “We were all inspired by the insightful conversations and impactful moments shared by one of the world’s esteemed leaders.” Its founder, Mohamed Ali Harrath, who interviewed Dr Mohamad, told him: “We can’t see you passing by London without seizing the opportunity to speak to you and benefit from your wisdom.”

Dr Mohamad also reportedly held a meeting to discuss “governance, development, civilisation, leadership” with a group that included Mohammed Kozbar, who is the Chairman of the Finsbury Park Mosque and a former Vice President of the Muslim Association of Britain, which courted controversy last year when it mourned the death of the antisemitic Islamist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Mr Kozbar reportedly wrote on Facebook that he was “honoured” to meet the Malaysian leader. He added: “What an inspirational figure, a fruitful and constructive dialogue about Muslims in the West, I really benefited from his wisdom and experience.”

The former Prime Minister also held a “lunchtime lecture” at the Dar Ul-Isra Mosque in Cardiff, hosted by the Muslim Council of Wales, which said that it was “honoured” by his visit and his “inspiring” lecture.

At the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK at Cardiff University, he was presented with a Welsh translation of the Quran etched onto slate.

A Cardiff University spokesperson told the JC: “A roundtable event attended by the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad was held at Cardiff University in June. The event was jointly organised by the Muslim Council of Wales, Perdana Foundation, and the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK and attended by a range of civil society Muslim leaders from across Cardiff. It’s important to stress that the event was focused on a variety of subjects including development and leadership. At no point were such comments made nor were they a focus of any discussion. For the avoidance of doubt, the hosting of the former Prime Minister is not in any way an endorsement of the antisemitic comments attributed to the former Prime Minister and we condemn such comments in the strongest possible terms.”

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“Last Corbynista in power” quits Labour

The controversial elected Mayor of North of Tyne, who has been described as the “last Corbynista in power”, has resigned from the Labour Party after complaining that the Party barred him from standing for a new regional role.

Jamie Discroll, a former Chair of Momentum in Newcastle, has quit Labour, observing in his resignation letter that the Party “barred me from running,” a reference to the race for the first North-East Mayor.

Mr Discroll, who has reportedly described the “Corbynista tag” as an attempt to “define us by London Westminster politics,” did not make it into the final three shortlisted for the Party’s candidacy.

Although he previously claimed that “no explanation had been given” about the Party’s decision not to include him in its candidate shortlist, it was reported that the exclusion stemmed from his appearance at an “In Conversation” event with the outspoken film director Ken Loach at a Newcastle theatre in March.

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

In the past, Sir Keir Starmer has promised to sanction Labour members who share platforms with expelled members, but has generally not fulfilled this pledge.

The decision to bar Mr Driscoll was greeted with a backlash, including by the far-left Unite union, which warned of “serious consequences” of the decision, and, reportedly, by thousands of supporters. In addition, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also criticised the decision to bar Mr Driscoll.

Asked in an interview, Mr Driscoll said that he has not read the full report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into antisemitism in the Labour Party. Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant in the investigation that led to the report.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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“One need not be Jewish to condemn antisemitism”: Rep. Ritchie Torres backs International Definition of Antisemitism in new podcast interview

Rep. Ritchie Torres, the United States representative for New York’s 15th congressional district, acting for the Bronx, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke candidly of his dedication to fighting antisemitism and acting as an ally to Jewish people, which includes his commitment to the International Definition of Antisemitism.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Rep. Torres told our podcast host: “One need not be Jewish to condemn antisemitism, any more than one need be Black to condemn anti-Black racism. I operate under the belief that we all have a moral obligation to fight extremism.”

Rep. Torres, who at 25 became the youngest elected official in New York City, said that he was reminded of a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He said: “‘History will record that the greatest tragedy was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people,’ and at a time of rising antisemitism, we are all confronted with the simple moral choice; either we remain appallingly silent, or we speak out. Either we remain part of the problem, or we become part of the solution, and I feel deeply that I have a moral obligation to speak out and become part of the solution.”

However, the Congressman revealed that his activism on behalf of the Jewish people has led to his share of detractors, though he remains undeterred. 

“I do have critics who claim that I speak out too often about antisemitism, but the problem is not that I speak out too often but that society does not speak out often enough,” he said.

Recent FBI Hate Crime Statistics revealed that antisemitic incidents comprised 51.4% of religion-related incidents in the United States, despite the Jewish population making up less than 3% of the population. 

“There has certainly been a tidal wave of antisemitism that has swept American society, British society, and elsewhere in the world…There is a long and ugly history of scapegoating Jews,” he said. “We see that scapegoating rear its ugly head, sometimes against the Jewish community, sometimes against the State of Israel, and we have to speak out against it.”

The representative for the Bronx turned his attention to antisemitism in his home city of New York. According to police data, New York City saw 263 antisemitic attacks in 2022, which translates as one every 33 hours on average.

He said of the attacks: “New York City is supposed to be a cosmopolitan city, where everyone is welcome, where more than 200 languages are spoken, and I consider the prevalence of antisemitic to be a stain of the soul of our city, to be a moral indictment.

“All of us have a human right to live freely without fear of intimation and harassment and violence.”

Rep. Torres commented on how the media’s portrayal of Israel can influence antisemitic incidents, an issue on which he has been outspoken. Recently, in addition to Campaign Against Antisemitism and other Jewish groups, he called out a BBC journalist who said that Israel is “happy to kill children.” Following the complaints, an apology was issued by the Corporation.

Rep. Torres said: “I find that anti-Zionism in the real world often rises to the level of antisemitism, and one clear-cut example is the BBC anchor who casually said that Israel is happy to kill children, which to me is a modern manifestation of the medieval blood libel, and we know that the blood libel has a long history of provoking antisemitic violence.

“Casual antisemitism permeates our culture so deeply it appears under the guise of objective journalism. I have found that Israel is often a blank slate on which antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes are projected.” 

The International Definition of Antisemitism has been another topic on which Rep. Torres has vocalised his support. Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism worked hard over many meetings with officials. Since then, numerous national, state and local governments have adopted the Definition.

“I not only accept, but I embrace, the Definition as the most complex definition of a complex phenomenon that is antisemitism, and it ought to command universal acceptance. I find that the attempt to discredit the Definition is based more on a caricature than a fair characterisation of the Definition,” he said. “Questioning the right of the Jewish state to exist, questioning the legitimacy of the Jewish state, holding the Jewish state to double standards, that’s not mere criticism, it’s extremism. That’s the nuance that the Definition is attempting to capture.

“If the majority of leading Jewish organisations are telling me that the most comprehensive definition of antisemitism is [the Definition], then I’m going to be deferential. I’m not going to presume I know what’s best. I happen to believe that on my own, but who cares what I believe? I care more about ‘What does the leadership of the Jewish believe?’ And that warrants deference and respect from allies like myself.”

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Russian Justice Ministry designates exiled Chief Rabbi of Russia as “foreign agent”

The Russian Government has declared one of the country’s Chief Rabbis as a “foreign agent” after he criticised Russia’s war on Ukraine and spoke of his fears of rising antisemitism.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, who is in self-imposed exile from Russia, was designated in a statement by the Russian Justice Ministry as a “foreign agent” for allegedly disseminating “false information about the decisions taken by public authorities” and for opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Rabbi Goldschmidt said that “This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a religious leader has been declared a foreign agent and described by the Russian Government as a hostile threat.” He added, ominously, that “It is very likely that this will mean the start of a new antisemitic campaign against the Jewish community in Russia,” while insisting that he was proud to be on “the right side of history.”

The designation is tantamount to being labelled a spy or a traitor. It has been applied to journalists, human rights organisations, public figures and politicians since the war began.

Rabbi Goldschmidt left Moscow in March 2022 and resigned from his position, which he held for 30 years, a few months later, after allegedly resisting pressure on religious leaders to support and “sanctify” the war. He now lives in Israel.

He has previously spoken out about his concerns about the potential for a wave of antisemitism in Russia, and is part of a large migration of Jews from Russia, with over 40,000 immigrating to Israel alone since the war began.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Far-right Finnish minister quits days after taking office amid flurry of controversies

A far-right Finnish minister has resigned just days after taking office amid a number of controversies over his past and recent comments.

Vilhelm Junnila, Finland’s Minister for Economic Affairs from the far-right Finns Party, resigned on 28th June, just over a week since taking office, even after apologising over one scandal and surviving a no-confidence vote, two days before quitting, by a margin of 95 to 86.

The trigger for his resignation, apparently, was comments that he made in Parliament in 2019 when he was a freshman MP, in which he said, in reference to Africa, that “It would be justified for Finland to shoulder its responsibility by promoting climate abortions. Climate abortion would be a small step for a person, but a giant leap for humanity.”

He was also revealed by the country’s public broadcaster, Yle, to have never taken any political science classes at university, contradicting his claims about his education, and the channel also found no proof that he had launched and subsequently sold a technology company in Poland.

However, the politician has also been engulfed in controversies relating to antisemitism. He apologised after reportedly joking  about being assigned the number 88 by the Finnish Election Commission as his candidate number in the 2019 Parliamentary election. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is used by neo-Nazis as a code for “Heil Hitler”. Mr Junnila posted on Facebook: “Over the years, I have joked in a way that, looking back, seems foolish and immature. I have acted incorrectly, and I apologise for my actions.”

He also apologised for making a speech at a 2019 rally called “Flower 188”, arranged by the Coalition of Nationalists, a far-right organisation whose members included the militant Nordic Resistance Movement. “I would no longer participate in such an event if it was organised,” he wrote, expressing his aversion to the now-banned Nordic Resistance Movement, which he described as “aggressive and deliberately seeking conflict.”

Further controversies also came to light, however, including a social media message from Mr Junnila to his parliamentary assistant which included a picture of a snowman, taken from the internet, which resembled a Ku Klux Klan member holding a noose. It was accompanied by the caption: “I made a snowman according to your instructions.”

A 2013 birthday video message featuring Adolf Hitler was also uncovered, as was a 2014 picture of a gate with a swastika with a message from Mr Junnila saying how much he liked the design.

His election campaign reportedly featured the phrase “get gassed”, a slogan also previously used by the German AfD Party.

Mr Junnila said that he was resigning to spare Finland’s reputation, “despite the trust of the party and my parliamentary group.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Preacher who praised Hitler granted entry to UK for lecture tour

A hate preacher who has a history of making inflammatory statements about Jews was recently granted entry to the UK to give a series of speeches. 

It has been reported that Enayet Ullah Abbasi, an Islamist extremist from Bangladesh, was welcomed by Enam Haque, a Labour Party councillor for Northamptonshire West, who described him as a “highly respected and prominent Islamic scholar.”

Mr Haque later said: “I was completely unaware of Enayet Ullah Abbasi’s abhorrent views, and I condemn them in the strongest possible terms.” 

Despite having a history of publicly expressing antisemitic views, the Home Office had granted Mr Abbasi entry to the UK for his lecture tour. 

In a video that was discovered and translated by The JC, Mr Abbasi allegedly said in a speech: “Hitler did a good job on behalf of humanity.” In the same clip, he also allegedly claims that Jews were “deserving” of being murdered in the Holocaust.

In another video, Mr Abbasi appears to reference the “Khaybar chant”: “Beware Jews, Palestine is the land of Muslims. Palestine is not your kingdom. I tell you Jews, get out of the holy land of Palestine and if you don’t, remember the story of the invasion of Khaybar…Remember the story of the battle of Khaybar in history. Khaybar went down and how were the Jews killed?” 

The “Khaybar” chant is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE. The chant has been heard in numerous anti-Israel rallies in Britain and abroad.

It is understood that Mr Abbasi had a number of his speeches cancelled after venues discovered that he had praised the 9/11 hijackers. 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Enayet Ullah Abbasi is an extremist whose repugnant rhetoric is nothing short of incitement. Not only does he praise Hitler in his speeches, but he invites his audiences to affirm his antisemitic views. That he was welcomed by a fawning local Labour councillor is shocking. Given Mr Abbasi’s public history, not only must the Home Office explain how he was granted entry into the country, but it must also reassure the public that this recent visit will be his last.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2021 showed that almost eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.

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Long Beach, NY adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

The City of Long Beach, NY has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The City Council voted unanimously on 20th June to adopt the Definition, as Acting City Manager Ron Walsh observed that “In New York State, Southampton, Rockville Centre, Yorktown, Greensburg, Huntington, Great Neck Suffolk County, Nassau County, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Glen Cove and Lindenhurst have all adopted a working definition for antisemitism. Antisemitism and hatred of all kinds, unfortunately, is a real thing.”

Long Beach, situated on Long Island, has a significant Jewish population. City Council President John Bendo lamented that “In this day and age, it’s a little unfathomable to me that we have to vote on something like this,” adding: “In this day and age, antisemitism is still something we’re wrestling with. It says something about us as a society that it’s still an issue.”

Rabbi Jack Zanerhaft of Temple Emanu-El hailed the Council’s relationship with the Jewish community, saying: “We’re grateful for that relationship and we’re grateful for this Council’s response. So much of this is focused on the Jewish community, but I wanted to remind all of us it’s not a Jewish problem. It’s not only a Jewish problem, but also a human problem. It’s both at the same time.”

Rabbi Isaac Attia, the Director of Long Beach Jewish Experience, read a letter to the Council that he and other rabbis from the city wrote in support of the decision: “Antisemitism remains a persistent and deeply concerning issue not only locally, but also globally. The Long Beach City Council sends a powerful message of solidarity, reaffirming its dedication to combating hate and discrimination.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates Long Beach’s solidarity with the Jewish community at this worrying time for Jews in the United States.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism worked hard over many meetings with officials. Since then, numerous national, state and local governments have adopted the Definition, and Long Beach joins this growing list of bodies to endorse and use the Definition.

Image credit: City of Long Beach

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Finnish politician apologises for Hitler joke 

Finland’s Minister for Economic Affairs has apologised for making a Hitler-related joke. 

Vilhelm Junnila, member of the far-right Finns Party, reportedly joked about being assigned the number 88 by the Finnish Election Commission as his candidate number in the 2019 parliamentary election. The number 88 refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and is used by neo-Nazis as a code for “Heil Hitler”.

Mr Junnila posted on Facebook: “Over the years, I have joked in a way that, looking back, seems foolish and immature. I have acted incorrectly, and I apologise for my actions.”

Mr Junnila also apologised for making a speech at a 2019 rally called “Flower 188”, arranged by the Coalition of Nationalists, a far-right organisation whose members included the militant Nordic Resistance Movement. 

“I would no longer participate in such an event if it was organised,” he wrote, expressing his aversion to the now-banned Nordic Resistance Movement, which he described as “aggressive and deliberately seeking conflict.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Former Pembrokeshire mayor responds to allegations of anti-religious prejudice

A former Pembrokeshire mayor has denied allegations of anti-religious prejudice following a backlash against a blog post from 2008. 

Andrew Lye, the former Mayor of Neyland Town Council, was accused of antisemitism and Islamophobia following the circulation of an extract from his blog, “Uncut”. 

According to reports, Cllr Lye claimed that the purpose of his blog was part of a campaign in opposition to female genital mutilation; it appears, however, that the blog also comments on male circumcision. 

An extract from the blog reads: “I was born with it and cannot understand why any religion should require its removal (I can understand if there is a medical need) because if God didn’t mean us to have one, he’d have created us without one.”

Fellow councillor Brian Rothero is understood to have called the blog “antisemitic and anti-Muslim” before proposing a vote of no confidence against Cllr Lye. Following the successful vote, Cllr Lye stepped down from his mayoral position.

Cllr Lye apologised for the offence caused by his blog, adding: “I am against all forms of abuse, whether it’s against girls or boys. I am not homophobic, racist, Islamophobic or antisemitic. I just believe in equality for all and that is why I am in politics.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Laura Alvarez found in Facebook group full of antisemitic conspiracy theories and complaints about CAA

Laura Alvarez has been discovered to be a member of a Facebook group that is reportedly full of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

According to the JC, Ms Alvarez, the wife of the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, is a member of the Organise Corbyn Inspired Socialist Alliance group, which was created in February after Sir Keir Starmer announced that he was barring Mr Corbyn from standing as a candidate for the Labour Party.

Mr Corbyn had the Labour whip removed, which means that he has been indefinitely suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party. He remains a member of the Labour Party, however.

One member of the group posted an edited image of Sir Keir in front of an Israeli flag alongside a fake quotation that read: “We stand up for Israel, we stand up for Israeli people, we stand up for Israeli interests and we will always put them first.” An administrator of the group wrote: “This just goes to prove that [Sir Keir] has been well bought and paid for, by a foreign government!”

The administrator also shared an interview in the group in which Sir Keir insisted that Israel “is not an apartheid state.” In response, a member of the group wrote: “Israelis have recreated the genocide inflicted upon them by the Nazis [while] the whole world turns a blind eye.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Another user complained about Campaign Against Antisemitism, describing us as “unhinged Zionists” and claiming that the group was “almost certainly a venture funded from Tel Aviv.” We and other groups were also accused of being “proxy Israeli agencies” who “exaggerated” antisemitism within the Labour Party to “assassinate” Corbyn.

Yet another wrote: “[Sir Keir] has been bought and paid for by the Zionists in the party.”

A further post claimed that Jews do not suffer racism, only “prejudice”, an received hundreds of likes. The group member wrote: “Why are Jewish people regarded as a race?…To stifle criticism of the actions of Israel.” Another member said in reply: “[Jewish people] are not Semites, they are Israeli Zionists who are from Eastern Europe.”

The Organise Corbyn Inspired Socialist Alliance group is attempting to select a candidate to run in Sir Keir’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency against the Labour leader and to raise half a million pounds to back the challenger’s campaign.

It is alleged that Ms Alvarez commented on a photograph of Sir Keir that was posted in the group, writing “disgusting creature”.

According to Sky News, Ms Alvarez has been a member of the group “since day one” and has sent the group’s administrators her “good wishes”.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The posts in this group are utterly repugnant. These comments constitute a repository of antisemitic tropes and antisemitism-denial, the likes of which were at the core of Labour’s scandal of racism against Jews. No prominent individual should have anything to do with a group like this, let alone be a member.

“It goes without saying that the claims made against us in the group are ludicrous, and are borne of the same conspiracist mentality that infected Labour in the Corbyn years. Far-left antisemites have been forced to return to the sewer whence they came. Peeping down there is never pretty.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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UN finally issues mild condemnation of antisemitism

77 years since it was established, the United Nations has finally passed a resolution that includes a condemnatory reference to antisemitism.

The joint UK-United Arab Emirates resolution –  Security Council resolution 2686 on Tolerance and International Peace and Security – expressed “deep concern” at discrimination, including antisemitism.

The four-page resolution made a solitary reference to antisemitism in one paragraph, which read: “Expressing deep concern at instances of discrimination, intolerance and extremism, manifesting in the form of hate speech or violence based on race, sex, ethnicity or religion or belief, such as but not limited to persons belonging to religious communities, in particular cases motivated by Islamophobia, antisemitism or Christianophobia, and other forms of intolerance which may occur in the lead up to, during, and in the aftermath of armed conflict, and in that regard, recognising the efforts of the United Nations system to address hate speech at the national and global level.”

The resolution was passed by the fifteen-member Security Council on 14th June.

The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador James Kariuki said: “Freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom not to have a religion, is a fundamental human right. And yet religious minorities have time and time again been specifically targeted.”

A spokesperson for the UAE said: “Among a number of other firsts, resolution 2686 is the first UN Security Council resolution to directly refer to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Christianophobia, and also the first resolution to acknowledge that hate speech, racism, and extremism have the potential to stoke tensions, fuel grievances, and descend into conflict. The resolution acknowledges these phenomena as threat-multipliers and really is an unprecedented step forward for the Council.”

While the inclusion of a condemnation of antisemitism in a UN resolution for the first time in over three-quarters of a century is momentous, the resolution cannot reasonably be said to represent a recognition of the scale of the rise in anti-Jewish racism in recent years, let alone decades, nor of the UN’s role and that of many of its members in enabling it.

The resolution comes after the UN delayed a conference on combating antisemitism amid concerns from groups around the world, including Campaign Against Antisemitism, that the UN might fail to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism and thereby undermine the fight against the world’s oldest hatred.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Nazi eagle bronze in Uruguay not to be melted down into dove after all

A bronze eagle discovered on a sunken Nazi-era battleship in Uruguay is not to be melted down, despite initial plans by the Government to remould it into a dove.

The bronze, which once adorned the Admiral Graf Spee, a Nazi-era battleship that was scuttled in 1939 to stop it falling into enemy hands, was raised in 2006.

President Lacalle Pou recently announced that the 2m high eagle, which clutches a swastika, would be remoulded into a dove. However he has now announced a reversal, saying: “In the few hours that have passed [since the announcement], an overwhelming majority of people has come forward who don’t share the decision. When you aim for peace, the first thing you need to do is create unity and this [idea] clearly didn’t.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Germany commits $1.4 billion to Holocaust survivors in 2024

Germany has committed to giving $1.4 billion in reparations to Holocaust survivors globally in 2024.

The compensation will reportedly include $888.9 million to assist with the home care and support services for survivors.

Greg Schneider, the Executive Vice President of the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said that “Every year these negotiations become more and more critical as this last generation of Holocaust survivors age and their needs increase.”

The Claims Conference also negotiated continuing the funding of Holocaust education, which was extended for two more years and increased each year by $3.3 million, from approximately $41.6 million for 2026 to $45 million for 2027.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Boston official placed on leave over alleged antisemitic comments 

A Boston official has been placed on leave after reportedly making antisemitic comments.

True-See Allah, Director of Community Engagement at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, is claimed to have said in a 2016 interview that his “mentor”, Minister Don Muhammad, would not be friends with “a Jewish guy that’s got short arms and deep pockets.”

In the same interview, Mr Allah also praised the antisemitic hate preacher, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrahkan, referring to him as an “illustrious leader” and “the embodiment of righteous conduct.”

Mr Farrakhan has referred to Judaism as a “gutter religion”, seemed to imply that Jews are “evil” and “satanic” and encourage paedophilia and “sexual perversion”, blamed Jews for slavery and racist Jim Crow laws in the United States, described Adolf Hitler as a “great man” and said that Jews financed their own destruction in the Holocaust, claimed that Jews have a “stranglehold” on the US Congress using their “tentacles”, and accused Israelis and Zionists of being behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City. 

Mr Allah also has multiple social media praising Mr Farrahkan, such as a 2020 Facebook photo together, captioned “Tune into NOI.org to hear the Undisputed Champion for all of humanity The Honourable Min. Louis Farrakhan.”

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said: “Mr. Allah has been placed on administrative leave while the review [of this material] takes place.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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Huntington City Council adopts International Definition Antisemitism 

Huntington City Council has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The West Virginia city’s Mayor, Steve Williams, said: “Antisemitism is on the rise. I thought these days were behind us, and it’s necessary for us to speak up and say where we stand.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates Huntington City’s solidarity with the Jewish community.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.

Huntington City Council joins a growing list of international organisations and national, provincial and local governments around the world to use the Definition.

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United Nations is right to postpone conference on antisemitism if it does not intend to adopt International Definition of Antisemitism

A United Nations conference on antisemitism scheduled for next week has been postponed.

The conference, due to take place on 20th and 21st June in Spain, was organised to unveil the United Nations Action Plan on Monitoring Antisemitism and Enhancing a System-wide Response.

However, in a letter dated 9th June and sent to conference participants, Miguel Moratinos, High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilisations, who is leading the UN’s work on antisemitism, said: “After very careful consideration and aiming to ensure the action plan is inclusive and benefits from the inputs of all stakeholders, I would like to allow more time for further work and finalisation of the plan during summer 2023.”

The meeting is postponed until September, with no date set.

The postponement came amid concerns on the part of the Israeli mission to the UN and Jewish organisations relating to the content of the draft plan.

In particular, the draft plan, three years in the making, reportedly gives equal space and weight to the International Definition of Antisemitism, Jerusalem Declaration and the Nexus Document. This is despite the fact that, whereas the Definition has the support of Jewish communities around the world and the state of Israel and has been adopted by numerous national governments, multinational organisations and provincial and local governments and public bodies around the world, the Jerusalem Declaration is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition, and the Nexus Document is a fringe alternative definition which also exists solely and explicitly to undermine the Definition and create space for certain far-left expressions of antisemitism.

For this reason, Campaign Against Antisemitism and swaths of Jewish organisations wrote to the UN urging the adoption of the Definition alone.

The draft plan references the Definition and the two fringe alternatives, and urges UN member states to formulate an acceptable definition, despite the fact that the Definition was drafted over many years and has already been adopted by numerous member states on various continents, and enjoys the support of Jewish communities across the world.

It is understood that Mr Moratinos did not consult with the Israeli mission to the UN or the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and did not even invite the Israeli ambassador to the UN to the conference.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “When it comes down to it, the UN plan really has only one primary purpose: to stand with the Jewish people by adopting the International Definition of Antisemitism, alone, in full and without caveat. If the UN is unable to do that, there is no point in yet another conference and report that will serve only to muddy the waters and undermine the fight against the world’s oldest hatred. The UN’s reputation in the Jewish world depends on what it does next.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Spanish politician Amparo Rubiales quits after calling rival politician a “Jewish Nazi”

Amparo Rubiales has announced her intention to step down after calling a rival politician a “Jewish Nazi.”

The former Chair of the Andalusia branch of the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party made the comment about centre-right Popular Party politician Bendodo Benasayag. 

AfterMr Bensaygag said that “Spain is not strong enough to withstand another five years under [Prime Minister] Pedro Sánchez”, Ms Rubiales tweeted: “This is really the discourse of a Nazi Jew.”

Following criticism, Ms Rubiales is reported to have tweeted: “I have nothing against Jews and everything against Nazis.”

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain condemned Ms Rubiales’ comment, stating: “This is antisemitism…it is intolerable and despicable to use the origin, tendencies, belonging or religion of an adversary to make a political criticism.

“We also reiterate that the use of terms that have to do with Nazism to compare people or situations of the present time, supposes the trivialisation of one of the most criminal regimes in History.”

The Andalusia branch of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party described its former Chair’s comment as “unacceptable” and “objectionable”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Kosovo adopts International Definition of Antisemitism 

Kosovo has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism. 

Ines Demiri, Kosovo’s Charge d’Affairs to Israel, announced the decision on Twitter, making Kosovo one of the few Muslim-majority countries to adopt the definition.

The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo unanimously voted to adopt the Definition.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates Kosovo’s solidarity with the Jewish community at a time of rising antisemitism in Europe.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Kosovo joins a growing list of national governments around the world to use the Definition.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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In deeply troubling move, Jewish Greens appoint expelled Labour councillor Jo Bird as senior official

The Jewish faction of the Green Party has appointed a controversial expelled Labour Party councillor as a senior official.

Jo Bird, who re-joined the Labour Party in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn was running for the Party’s leadership, has a long history of controversy relating to Jews, including renaming ‘due process’ in the Labour Party as “Jew process”, for which she was suspended; supporting the expelled Labour activist and friend of Mr Corbyn, Marc Wadsworth, who was thrown out of the Party after a confrontation with Jewish then-MP Ruth Smeeth; and worrying about the “privileging of racism against Jews, over and above — as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism.”

Elected to Wirral Council in August 2018, Cllr Bird has been a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and she has described Labour’s institutional antisemitism as based on mere “accusations, witch-huntery and allegations without evidence”.

Cllr Bird appears to have been expelled from Labour for her association with the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt.

Cllr Bird then joined the Green Party last year, after Campaign Against Antisemitism long warned of the danger of controversial activists who have left the Labour Party joining the Greens instead.

She has now been appointed as co-Secretary of Jewish Greens, which describes itself as the “first port of call within the Party for educational purposes and Jews and Judaism.” It also promotes antisemitism training for Green Party members.

Cllr Bird is described on the Jewish Greens’ website as “a councillor on the Wirral, coming from a long tradition of Jewish eco-socialists, passionate about equality, justice and fighting all forms of racism. Her grandfathers fought fascism in Europe as soldiers in the British army.”

Zack Polanski, the Deputy Leader of the Green Party and Treasurer of Jewish Greens, reportedly defended the appointment, telling Jewish News: “As the first Jewish Deputy Leader in British politics, I’m really proud of the work of Jewish Greens in the Green Party, working together to tackle antisemitism in society. Jewish Greens have our own internal democratic process to choose our executive and are doing important work.”

Last year, Ken Livingstone tried to join the Green Party but was prevented from doing so.

Our polling of British Jews found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%).

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Australia moves to ban Nazi symbols

Australia has committed to ban the print, sale and exhibition of Nazi symbols.

Offenders who, for example, display Nazi flags or print swastikas on clothes will face up to twelve months in prison.

The decision was reportedly made following a rise in far-right activity in the country.

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus stated: “We’ve seen, very sadly, a rise in people displaying these vile symbols, which are symbols that have no place in Australia.”

However, this ban is not set to include the Nazi salute, the responsibility of dealing for which is set to be “left for the state [governments].”

A few years ago, Victoria became the first Australian state to ban the display of Nazi symbols.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Vienna municipality plans to tilt statue of antisemitic mayor by 3.5 degrees 

The Vienna municipality has resolved to tilt the statue of former antisemitic mayor by 3.5 degrees in an effort to take a stance against antisemitism.

The statue of Karl Lueger, located in the heart of the Austrian capital on Ringstrasse Boulevard, was formerly protected by the Vienna municipality after protesters called for its removal in 2020.

Mr Lueger served as mayor of Vienna for thirteen years until his death in 1910 at the age of 65. He was known for antisemitic rhetoric that is claimed to have inspired the young Hitler, who lived in the Austrian capital and spoke in Mein Kampf of his “undisguised admiration” for the Viennese mayor.

For example, in one speech delivered to members of the Christian-Social Workers’ Association in Vienna in July 1899, Mr Leuger invoked the kind of antisemitic rhetoric that would later be employed by the Nazis, saying: “The influence on the masses is in the hands of the Jews…the largest part of the press is in their hands; the vast majority of capital and especially big business is in the hands of the Jews.” He added: “above all, this is about the liberation of the Christian people from the domination of Judaism.”

Although Mr Lueger’s name was previously erased from the street next to the University of Vienna, his bronze statue, which he commissioned himself, still stands in Dr Karl Lueger Platz, the square situated next to the capital’s arts and crafts museum.

The idea to tilt the 4.5m high statue was proposed in 2010 by Klemens Wihlidal, an art student. The intention is reportedly to give the observer a nagging sense of disorientation, since the angle of inclination is believed to be the point at which the human eye begins to notice that something is wrong.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Backlash after “last Corbynista in power” barred from standing for new regional role purportedly over event with Ken Loach

The leadership of the Labour Party is facing a backlash after it barred a local mayor, dubbed the “last Corbynista in power”, from standing for a new regional role.

Jamie Discroll, the elected Mayor of North of Tyne and a former Chair of Momentum in Newcastle, has been prevented by the Labour Party from standing as its candidate in the race for the first North-East Mayor. Mr Discroll, who has reportedly described the “Corbynista tag” as an attempt to “define us by London Westminster politics,” did not make it into the final three shortlisted for the Party’s candidacy.

Although he tweeted that “no explanation had been given,” it has since been reported that the exclusion stems from his appearance at an “In Conversation” event with the outspoken film director Ken Loach at a Newcastle theatre in March.

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

In the past, Sir Keir Starmer has promised to sanction Labour members who share platforms with expelled members, but has generally not fulfilled this pledge.

The decision has been greeted with a backlash, including by the far-left Unite union, which warned of “serious consequences” of the decision, and, reportedly, by thousands of supporters.

In addition, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram have also criticised the decision to bar Mr Driscoll, writing to Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC): “Whilst we appreciate the NEC’s important role in upholding standards within the Party, and rooting out any form of antisemitism, racism and discrimination, it also has a responsibility to ensure decisions are democratic, transparent and fair,” adding: “To exclude a sitting mayor from a selection process with no right of appeal appears to us to be none of those things.” They said that Mr Driscoll should be entitled to an appeal process and “deserves to be treated with more respect than he has so far been shown.”

While the prospect of Sir Keir finally keeping his pledge to sanction Labour figures who share platforms with expelled members is welcome, there is concern that there may be a political motivation as well to the decision to bar Driscoll, namely that it undermines a growing Northern power base of senior Labour figures, particularly those who occupy mayoral positions, who may wish to challenge the Party’s more London-centric leadership.

Asked in an interview, Mr Driscoll said that he has not read the full report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into antisemitism in the Labour Party. Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant in the investigation that led to the report.

Mr Loach, meanwhile, claimed that “the whole antisemitism issue has been substantially revealed as a campaign that is not based on fact. It’s based on political determination to do a number of things, to remove people from the left, to protect the state of Israel, which many people, many Jewish people in the Labour Party, oppose, oppose this campaign.”

Claiming that allegations of antisemitism are used to protect Israel is an example of the Livingstone Formulation. The “Livingstone Formulation”, named by sociologist David Hirsch after the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is used to describe how allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the EHRC found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.

Mr Loach’s voice was among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign. He claimed that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was subjected to a “torrent of abuse” that was “off the scale” and that regardless of what he did, the “campaign” of antisemitism accusations was “going to run and run”. He described the BBC’s Panorama investigation into Labour antisemitism as “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.”

He 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.

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.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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German Culture Minister heckled at Jewish music competition over previous endorsement of inflammatory art exhibit

Germany’s Culture Minister was met with heckles and boos at a Jewish music competition over her previous support of an art exhibit which displayed inflammatory images.

The crowd at the Jewrovision youth music competition, organised by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, expressed dismay at the presence of Claudia Roth, reportedly shouting: “You are not welcome here.”

The 2022 Documenta art exhibition in Kassel presented several inflammatory images, including one of an Orthodox Jew with blood-shot eyes, large sharp teeth, and an ‘SS’ hat on their head.

The controversy led the director of the art festival to resign.

Ms Roth, of the Green Party, reportedly has a history of fueling outrage amongst Germany’s Jewish community. For example, Ms Roth’s department funded Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, the artistic director of Berlin’s House of World Cultures, who has allegedly made numerous inflammatory statements regarding Israel and Jews.

Ms Roth’s spokesperson said: “She accepts such criticism and takes it seriously.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism in Germany, which have increased considerably.

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‘Unluckiest anti-racist’ Jeremy Corbyn condemns alleged neo-Nazi after selfie together

The antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, found himself photographed with a man reported to be a neo-Nazi over the weekend.

Hans Jørgen Lysglimt Johansen, a man said to have made several antisemitic remarks, captioned their photograph together: “Jeremy Corbyn, a good man speaking the truth.”

Mr Corbyn has since spoken out about the photo, tweeting: “I am approached for selfies on a daily basis from strangers. I had no idea who know who this individual was. Naturally, I condemn his abhorrent politics in the strongest possible terms.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The world’s unluckiest anti-racist has once again found himself in the company of people who have low opinions of Jews. While Jeremy Corbyn is right to have distanced himself from Hans Jørgen Lysglimt Johansen, he might pause to consider why an alleged neo-Nazi would be so delighted to meet the former Labour leader.

“Within the past few days, Roger Waters, who likens himself to Mr Corbyn, received the backing of former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, so it is only apt that Mr Corbyn has now received his own far-right endorsement as well.

“Even the far-right can see these people for what they are. Apparently the only people who can’t are themselves.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

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Antisemitism on Twitter flares up over Israeli Eurovision finalist 

Antisemitic content has reportedly increased dramatically after the Israeli Eurovision contestant finished in third place. 

Cyberwell, an NGO that uses artificial intelligence to track online antisemitism, released a report analysing Eurovision-related antisemitism, revealing that over ninety percent of anti-Jewish rhetoric was found on Twitter.

Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, founder and Executive Director of Cyberwell, said that its monitory technology “noticed a specific uptick in antisemitic narratives criticising the Eurovision as being rigged by the Jews or specifically picking on Noa Kirel.”

Ms Kirel, Israel’s contestant, also faced online backlash due to comments made regarding  Poland’s role in the Holocaust. Ms Kirel told Israeli media: “Receiving twelve points from Poland after what our people and my family have been through in the Holocaust, it’s a true victory.”

Pawel Jablonski, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister, denounced the comment and denied the implication of Poles’ complicity in the Holocaust, an accusation that was made a criminal offence in Poland in 2018.

While Poles fought the Nazis and many helped to save Jews, much of the population either actively collaborated with the genocide of the Jewish people or stood by as it took place predominantly on Polish soil during the Nazi occupation.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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In latest provocation, UCU compares Israel to Nazi Germany in new boycott motion

The controversial University and College Union (UCU) has passed a motion to boycott Israel using language that compares the Jewish state to Nazi Germany.

Delegates at the University and College Union’s (UCU) four-day congress in Glasgow confirmed their full support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement in a right to boycott motion.

In a motion titled “Israel oppression and the right to boycott”, delegates at UCU’s congress in Glasgow confirmed their full support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

The motion read: “Congress believes that civil society boycotts have an honourable tradition from anti-slavery campaigns through boycotts of Nazi trade to isolation of Apartheid South Africa.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Polling conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism for our Antisemitism Barometer has shown that almost one in eight British Jews feel intimidated by the tactics used to boycott Israel.

Previously, UCU has listed the International Definition of Antisemitism as a “potential threat”, and has a history of provoking the Jewish community.

A spokesperson for UCU reportedly said: “UCU is proud to stand with the Palestinian people and our congress reaffirmed support for BDS as a peaceful campaigning tactic supported by Palestinian civil society.  Any attempts by the Government to prevent UK citizens, post-16 education staff, students or public bodies taking part are an attack on civil liberties. The University and College Union is a proudly inclusive union with a long history of fighting antisemitism and is a welcoming place for Jewish members.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “UCU’s reputation in the Jewish community is in the gutter. By making the grotesque comparison between the Nazis and the Jewish state, UCU is shamefully telling Jews, once again, that they are not welcome. Such comparisons are a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, which UCU, for evident reasons, has long opposed.

“This is yet another example of how antisemitic discourse pervades BDS activism, and why our polling shows that an overwhelming majority of British Jews find the movement’s tactics to be intimidating. In the fight against racism, UCU very much remains part of the problem.”

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

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Biden administration’s national strategy on antisemitism embraces and undermines International Definition of Antisemitism in attempt to appease fringe critics

The Biden administration has released its highly-anticipated national strategy to counter antisemitism.

The plan, called the “US National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism” and published on the eve of the Jewish festival of Shavuot and Memorial Day weekend, is the United States’ first-ever such plan.

In his foreword to the plan, President Joe Biden correctly writes: “Together, we must acknowledge and confront the reality that antisemitism is rising, both at home and abroad.”

The plan has much to commend it, including calls on politicians, cultural institutions, employers, sports clubs, youth groups, influencers, diversity and inclusion practitioners and others to raise awareness of antisemitism, and, where applicable, implement training and maximise inclusion of Jewish people. It also calls for more education about Jewish American heritage and about the diversity of the Jewish community – including Jewish people with Middle Eastern and African lineage – and urges creators to avoid stereotypical depictions of Jewish people and content that promotes misinformation about Judaism and Jewish culture.

The plan also calls for more to be done to secure Jewish communities, particularly given that Jewish people represent 2.4 percent of the US population but antisemitism drives 63 percent of reported religiously-motivated hate crime. Recommendations include easing access to grants for non-profit organisations and under-resourced schools and synagogues that meet certain criteria, greater data-gathering on antisemitic hate crime, and more transparency and information-sharing by social media companies relating to antisemitism on their platforms. The plan also “calls on Congresstorequire [social media] platforms to provide credible, vetted researchers with access to their data and algorithmic recommendation systems, on the condition that researchers publicly publish research on hate online, including antisemitism, as well as its contribution to harassment and violence in the real world.”

However, the plan also falls short, focusing more on Holocaust education than on contemporary manifestations of antisemitism and shying away from recognising the role that hatred of the Jewish state plays in antisemitic discourse today, especially on the far-left and among Islamists.

Furthermore, the plan takes far too narrow a view of where antisemitism comes from today. In his foreword, the President writes: “Antisemitism threatens not only the Jewish community, but all Americans. People who peddle these antisemitic conspiracy theories and fuel racial, ethnic, and religious hatred against Jews also target other communities—including Black and brown Americans; Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders; LGBTQI+ individuals; Muslim Americans; women and girls; and so many others. Our intelligence agencies have determined that domestic terrorism rooted in white supremacy—including antisemitism—is the greatest terrorist threat to our Homeland today.” This is a deliberate non-sequitur that conveniently downplays the fact that, while the far-right is a very serious threat to the Jewish community—as evidenced by the trial of Robert Bowers now underway—antisemitism is also coming from elsewhere, including, sadly, pockets within other minority groups.

The plan calls on the media to “use its reach to raise awareness of antisemitism” without contending with the fact that media bias itself can fuel antisemitism.

The plan’s chief shortcoming, however, is its ambiguous attitude toward the International Definition of Antisemitism. Given that the plan has no legal force and makes no new law nor amends any existing law — and a legal disclaimer makes this point very explicitly — its only power is declaratory. Therefore its chief objective was surely to show that the administration could recognise what antisemitism is and what it looks like. Indeed the first of the four “pillars” of the strategy laid out in the plan is to “Increase Awareness and Understanding of Antisemitism”. If one cannot identify antisemitism, then the other recommendations are futile.

This is why Campaign Against Antisemitism, like so many Jewish organisations, wrote to the White House urging the administration to adopt the Definition in full and without caveat.

Accordingly, the ambiguity in the plan surrounding the International Definition of Antisemitism, also known as the IHRA Definition, is all the more concerning. The plan says: “There are several definitions of antisemitism, which serve as valuable tools to raise awareness and increase understanding of antisemitism. The most prominent is the non-legally binding ‘working definition’ of antisemitism adopted in 2016 by the 31-member states of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which the United States has embraced. In addition, the Administration welcomes and appreciates the Nexus Document and notes other such efforts.”

The United States’ “embrace” of the Definition is a very positive step, and precisely what this plan should have been about. However, the “welcome” and “appreciation” accorded to the Nexus Document, a fringe alternative definition which exists solely and explicitly to undermine the globally-backed International Definition of Antisemitism and create space for certain far-left expressions of antisemitism, is a deliberate fudge that undermines the entire plan.

Given that the plan, on the one hand, reports the staggering statistic that “over 50 percent of Jewish students feel they pay a social cost if they support the existence of Israel as a Jewish state,” what are we to make of the fact that, on the other hand, the plan “welcomes” and “appreciates” an alternative definition of antisemitism that tries to excuse or justify the imposition of just such a social cost?

The plan urges greater education “about the history of antisemitism in the United States as well as contemporary manifestations of antisemitism,” yet the plan itself is confused about what those manifestations are. What hope, then, does the wider public have?

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German professor who claimed Jewish people “learned evil” from the Nazis acquitted

A microbiology professor in Germany was acquitted after being charged with inciting hatred in relation to comments that he made equating Israel to Nazi Germany.

Sucharit Bhakdi, 74, is a former head of the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and is a member of the fringe political party ‘die Basis’.

In a campaign video, he stated: “The people who fled from this land where the arch evil was, and have found their land, have turned their own land into something even worse than [Nazi] Germany was. That is the bad thing about the Jews – they learn well.

“There are no people who learn better than they do. But they have learned evil now – and put it into practice. That’s why Israel is now living hell.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism in Germany, which have increased considerably.

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Sacramento Mayor shuts down antisemitic rant at city council meeting 

The Mayor of Sacramento shut down an antisemitic rant by a member of the public during a City Council meeting. 

Mayor Darrell Steinberg interrupted the speaker’s rant, stating: “OK, see you later, pal. We don’t want to hear any more from you. We don’t want to hear any more of your s***.”

Mr Steinberg, who describes himself as a “proud Jew”, stood by his response, explaining that although “those aren’t usually the words I use in public, they were appropriate.”

According to the FBI, over 60 percent of hate crimes against a religious minority are motivated by antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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“The Jewish community in Scotland have an ally in me as First Minister,” says Humza Yousaf

The Scottish First Minister has assured the Jewish community that he is an ally.

Humza Yousaf, who took over from former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon in March, met with members of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council. He also toured Giffnock Newton Mearns synagogue.

In a statement, Mr Yousaf said: “We spoke about a number of issues, first and foremost the importance of tackling antisemitism wherever and whenever it appears. In the fight against antisemitism, the Jewish community in Scotland should be in no doubt that they have an ally in me as First Minister. I reaffirmed my absolute commitment that the Scottish Government will continue to engage with the Jewish community on our collective aim of stamping out antisemitism, prejudice, and hate crime, which have no place in Scotland. We spoke about a number of issues, first and foremost the importance of tackling antisemitism wherever and whenever it appears.”

The meeting comes after recent revelations that Mr Yousaf attended a high-level 2008 meeting with Mohammad Sawalha, also known as Abu Obada, a senior figure in the antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation, Hamas. Mr Sawalha, who had been described as having “masterminded much of Hamas’ political and military strategy” was meeting with a SNP cabinet minister and government officials at the Scottish Parliament. At the time, Mr Yousaf was 22 and working as a parliamentary assistant for Bashir Ahmad MSP.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Latin American Parliament adopts International Definition of Antisemitism 

The Latin American Parliament has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Two articles of declaration were released by the organisation, which brings together delegates from 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The first article states the Parliament’s adoption of the Definition. The second urges its members to “adopt the indicated definition as an active way of combating hate speech and as a tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, as well as to act specifically against Antisemitism.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates the Latin American Parliament’s solidarity with the Jewish community.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. The Latin American Parliament joins a growing list of international organisations and national, provincial and local governments around the world to use the Definition.

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Odessa, Missouri mayor apologises to Jewish community over remarks 

The Mayor of Odessa has apologised for comments that he made about the Jewish community during a Board of Aldermen meeting. 

Stephen Wright stated that his remarks “were not in keeping with the beliefs and values of the City of Odessa…It was not my intent to degrade or marginalise anyone, or any group of people, nor to further any negative stereotype.” 

The video recording of the meeting has since been deleted by the City of Odessa Missouri Government due to being “content that violated the City’s social media policy.” It is understood that the remark involved a “religiously insensitive” phrase.

Some residents are accepting the apology while others are calling for a formal rebuke or even harsher sanction.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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CAA writes to Secretary-General, joining call by Jewish groups worldwide for UN to adopt International Definition of Antisemitism

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to the United Nations’ Secretary-General, backing calls this week by Jewish organisations worldwide for the UN to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Definition has now been adopted by numerous national governments, multiple US states and Canadian provinces, and cities, municipalities and other public bodies and institutions around the world.

Moreover, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has in the past acknowledged the importance of the Definition, and has previously rightly stated that “antisemitism is not a problem for the Jewish community alone” but rather threatens “all people’s human rights” and that “where there is antisemitism, there are likely to be other discriminatory ideologies and forms of bias.”

A 2019 report by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief astutely observed that antisemitism is the “canary in the coalmine of global hatred” and “toxic to democracy”, and acknowledged the helpfulness of the Definition in identifying and tackling anti-Jewish hatred.

The UN, as is well known, is not immune to the scourge of antisemitism, and indeed is regrettably viewed by many Jews around the world as hostile to our community and insensitive to its needs and aspirations. UN resolutions and activities are often inimical to the welfare of Jewish people, UN officials are routinely revealed to espouse antisemitic views, as we and other organisations have documented over the years, and there are UN-funded organisations that teach hatred and violence towards Jews.

The call from Jewish organisations comes after numerous controversial activist groups called on the UN not to adopt the Definition, despite its support in Jewish communities across the world and its importance in the fight against antisemitism.

Fighting antisemitism may not be popular because Jews are one of the world’s smaller minorities, but if the UN is not able to help protect the world’s more vulnerable communities, then what purpose does it serve?

It therefore behoves the UN to adopt the Definition at its forum on antisemitism in Cordoba next month.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.

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Jewish people “learned evil” from the Nazis: Professor faces criminal charges after allegedly equating Israel to Nazi Germany

A microbiology professor in Germany is facing criminal charges after allegedly equating Israel to the Nazis. 

Sucharit Bhakdi, 74, is a member of the fringe political party ‘Die Basis’ and will appear in court this month in connection with his controversial statements.

In a campaign video, he stated: “The people who fled from this land where the arch evil was, and have found their land, have turned their own land into something even worse than [Nazi] Germany was. That is the bad thing about the Jews – they learn well.

“There are no people who learn better than they do. But they have learned evil now – and put it into practice. That’s why Israel is now living hell.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

From 1991 to 2021, Prof. Sucharit was head of the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism in Germany, which have increased considerably.

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Tunisian President repeatedly deflects concerns over antisemitism after synagogue shooting by criticising Israel

The President of Tunisia has twice sought to deflect concerns over antisemitism in his country following a deadly shooting outside a synagogue earlier this month, by criticising Israel.

President Kais Saied mocked those “who talk about antisemitism when we are in the 21st century,” following a cabinet meeting last Friday. He then reportedly proceeded to accuse those concerned about antisemitism of seeking “to sow division to benefit from this discourse.”

Then, over the weekend, Mr Saied recounted how “Tunisian Jews fleeing the Nazi forces…found refuge,” adding: “They speak of antisemitism, while the Jews were protected here.” Tunisian Jews were persecuted and enslaved by the Nazis during their brief occupation, but were liberated upon capture of the territory by the Allies. Previously, in 1941, Tunisian Arabs murdered several Jews during the pogrom known as the Gabès riots, in what was the worst outbreak of violence against Jews in North Africa during World War II.

Mr Saied continued his speech by asserting that the West raises concerns over antisemitism in Tunisia while ignoring Israeli policy toward Arabs. In what a local outlet described as a “defiant tone”, he alleged: “These parties do not hesitate to make false accusations of antisemitism, while they turn a deaf ear when it comes to dealing with the fate of Palestinians who die every day.” He added: “The Palestinian people will manage against all odds to triumph and recover their stolen land.”

The concerns over antisemitism in Tunisia are surfacing after a fatal shooting at the El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba as hundreds of worshipers celebrated the Jewish holiday of Lag B’ Omer left two Jews and three police officers dead.

Members of the Jewish community are disappointed and outraged that the President has refused to address the shooter’s motivations and the impact on the country’s small Jewish community and the many Jewish pilgrims who visit the synagogue every year. It is understood that no member of the Government has visited the community since the attack.

In 2021, President Saied is alleged to have accused Jews of being responsible “for the instability in the country,” a claim he later denied having made.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Suspension of Labour councillor called into question yet again

The Labour Party’s claim to have suspended a councillor is once again being called into question, nine months after similar concerns were raised, after further evidence has arisen appearing to show that the local Labour group continues to include him in its activities.

Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, who served, until his reported suspension, as the leader of the Labour Group on Pendle Council in Lancashire, was reportedly suspended last year by the Party over remarks that he made in a speech in April in which he called for the flag of the Palestinian Authority to be flown from the town hall.

He reportedly said: “The fact is that what’s going on in Ukraine, Palestine, and other areas I’ve mentioned, reminds me, I barely passed my GCSE history at school, but many people in this room will remember what justification Hitler had for what he did to the Jews in the Second World War.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Cllr Iqbal reportedly told the JC at the time: “I disagree that this is antisemitic. I have friends who are Jews and Israeli friends who are Jewish and from other faiths.” He apparently added that several Jewish people had contacted him to express their support.

Campaign Against Antisemitism was informed that Cllr Iqbal continued to enjoy membership of the Labour Group at the Council, despite his apparent suspension. We had, for example, seen a press release sent via e-mail by Cllr Iqbal on behalf of the Labour Group, and a sign-in sheet in which he continued to be listed as a Labour councillor.

It appears that now, nine months later, little has changed, as photographs produced by the JC appear to show Cllr Iqbal campaigning during the recent local elections. 

Andrew Stephenson, the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Pendle, questioned how legitimate Cllr Iqbal’s suspension was.

“Since his supposed ‘suspension’ from the Labour Party, Cllr Iqbal has continued to sit with the Labour group in Pendle Council and Lancashire County Council,” he said. “He was seen repeatedly out campaigning for Labour in the run up to the local elections and then attended the count to celebrate alongside other Labour councillors.”

He added: “It is therefore unclear what his ‘suspension’ actually means. In the light of the Pendle Labour Party turning a blind eye to antisemitism Sir Keir Starmer should launch an investigation into the local Labour party and make Cllr Iqbal’s suspension permanent.”

Anne-Marie Wrigley, Vice-Chair of Pendle Labour Party, rebuffed Mr Stephenson, whom she called a “desperate man”, and reaffirmed that Cllr Iqbal’s suspension was still in effect. 

She said: “After thirteen years as MP for Pendle Andrew Stephenson is now resorting to personal attacks against Labour Party members because he has seen the tide has turned. This is a desperate man worried more about his ministerial career than anything else.

“Cllr Iqbal is suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation which we hope will be concluded soon. He cannot act on behalf of the Labour Party.”

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Conservative MP embroiled in controversy over use of “cultural Marxism” phrase

A Conservative MP has become embroiled in controversy over her use of the phrase “cultural Marxism”.

Speaking on young people’s futures at this year’s National Conservatism conference, Miriam Cates MP told the audience: “That hope is sadly diminishing in so many of our young people today, because liberal individualism has proven to be completely powerless to resist the cultural Marxism that is systematically destroying our children’s souls.

“When culture, schools and universities openly teach that our country is racist, our heroes are villains, humanity is killing the Earth, you are what you desire, diversity is theology, boundaries are tyranny and self-restraint is oppression, is it any wonder that mental health conditions, self-harm and suicide, and epidemic levels of anxiety and confusion characterise the emerging generation?”

The phrase “cultural Marxism” is popular in far-right circles to allude to the perceived collapse of societal values as masterminded by Jews. It has also spread, with innocuous intent, to the mainstream political right, but still risks being understood by the far-right as a dog whistle even when this is not intended, as is the case with Ms Cates.

In 2020, the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism (APPG) warned a group of Conservative MPs and peers against the use of the controversial phrase “cultural Marxism”, noting that the term could “inadvertently” act as a “dog-whistle for the far-right”, where the phrase is increasingly popular.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Terms such as ‘cultural Marxism’ can function as an antisemitic dog whistle, even if they are not always intended as such. The phrase is often used as a coded means of pinning the perceived degradation of society on Jews, implying that they are masterminding a widespread collapse of values and ethics for their own gain, thereby employing the antisemitic trope of wielding power and influence and drawing upon the far-right believe that Jews are moral degenerates.

“While there is no indication that Miriam Cates meant the phrase in this way, politicians should generally endeavour to find better terms to promote their politics.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Newly-elected Conservative councillor suspended pending antisemitism investigation

A newly-elected councillor, who was barred from running for Labour after the Party was alerted to his history of inflammatory activity on social media but who was endorsed instead by the Conservatives as their candidate, has now been suspended pending an investigation.

Shakeel Munir Hussain had hoped to run as a Labour candidate in Stockton-on-Tees in the local election as he has on previous occasions, but after being blocked by the Party, he then ran instead for the Conservatives in the Ropner ward.

Mr Hussain’s posts, shares and likes on Facebook allegedly include Rothschild conspiracy theories, comparisons of Israel to the Nazis, suggestions that Israel is in league with ISIS, and claims that “the world knows all too well that their governments are controlled by Zionist money” and that the Jews control American politics, all of which are antisemitic tropes.

Mr Hussain ran for the Labour Party in 2019 and 2021, before a member of the public drew the Party’s attention to his social media history. Most of that activity predates those elections and apparently was not picked up by the Party or was ignored. The Conservative Party then committed the same error.

After being alerted, the Conservatives appeared to try to distance themselves from Mr Hussain, with the Party revealing days before the election that he “would not be allowed to join the Conservative group on the council, if elected, until any investigations had been completed.”

Mr Hussain was elected, although the Conservative Party’s position, for a time, remained unclear, with the Stockton Conservative Group leader reportedly saying: “Ropner is a really, really great win. The two councillors who won have worked their socks off. They know the issues, the residents are fed up with Labour, they complain about the same issues time after time.”

However, it has now been reported that an internal party investigation into Mr Hussain’s posts has been launched, during which time he will remain suspended.

Elsewhere, in North Lincolnshire, Conservative candidate Ashley Sykes, who was standing for the Ashby Lakeside ward, was suspended by the Party after allegedly sharing jokes about the Holocaust online. A spokepserson for the Conservatives said that the Party had “acted swiftly” to suspend Mr Sykes after becoming aware of the historic posts. Mr Sykes did not win his contest.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Newfoundland and Labrador adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Newfoundland and Labrador has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Seven of Canada’s provinces have now adopted the Definition, in addition to the Federal Government. 

Cabinet Minister Gerry Byrne released a statement on behalf of the province’s Government stating: “We remain unwavering in our commitment to always challenge antisemitism, wherever and whenever it occurs.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates Newfoundland and Labrador’s solidarity with the Jewish community.

Recently, Saskatchewan, Brunswick and Manitoba have also adopted the Definition.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Newfoundland and Labrador joins a growing list of national, provincial and local governments around the world to use the Definition.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Canada, which have dramatically increased according to a recent audit.

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European Parliament calls for suspension of educational support to Palestinian Authority due to antisemitism in textbooks

The European Parliament has passed a resolution demanding the suspension of aid to the Palestinian Authority for educational purposes until antisemitic rhetoric is removed from its textbooks.

The vote took place on 10th May, with 421 votes in favour of calling on the European Commission to apply a suspension, out of the 577 votes cast by participating Parliamentarians. 

According to Impact-se, an NGO which monitors educational resources used by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the PA distributes study cards accusing Jews of being “in control of global events through financial power,” and sets assignments instructing children to describe Israeli soldiers as “Satan’s aides”.

A similar resolution was passed by the European Parliament in May 2021, resulting in aid to the Palestinian Authority being frozen for thirteen months. However, aid recommenced in January 2022, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated “all the difficulties are gone.”

In 2020, Norway cut its funding to the PA over similar concerns, and the UK has done so as well, reportedly for other reasons.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Far-right group Patriotic Alternative splits

The far-right group Patriotic Alternative (PA) has reportedly split, with a newer, splinter group forming in Scotland. 

The newer organisation, “Homeland”, is said to comprise every former Scottish member of PA, as well as a number of former members from across the UK. The group’s leader, Kenny Smith, the former organiser for PA’s Scottish branch, has allegedly claimed that over half of PA’s membership has now defected to Homeland. 

It is understood that an investigation carried out by the advocacy group, Hope Not Hate and The Herald on Sunday, has identified several members of Homeland, including a cameraman who had previously worked at Scottish National Party conferences.

PA is a UK-based group headed by the former leader of the youth wing of the BNP, Mark Collett. Mr Collett is reported to have dabbled in Holocaust denial, is regularly heard as a guest on the radio show of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and has described the Holocaust as “an instrument of white guilt”.

The group is known for its efforts to recruit youth to its white nationalist ideology. Previously, the far-right group published an online “alternative” homeschool curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through livestreaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

Earlier this year, the group was suspended from Twitter only one month after being reinstated on the platform.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

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Councillor rejected by Labour but adopted by Conservatives is suspended and now elected

A candidate in last week’s local elections who was barred from running for Labour after the Party was alerted to his history of inflammatory activity on social media but who was endorsed instead by the Conservatives as their candidate has been elected, even as the Party appears, ambiguously, to be trying to distance itself from him.

Shakeel Munir Hussain had hoped to run as a Labour candidate in Stockton-on-Tees in the local election as he has on previous occasions, but after being blocked by the Party, he then ran instead for the Conservatives in the Ropner ward.

Mr Hussain’s posts, shares and likes on Facebook allegedly include Rothschild conspiracy theories, comparisons of Israel to the Nazis, suggestions that Israel is in league with ISIS, and claims that “the world knows all too well that their governments are controlled by Zionist money” and that the Jews control American politics, all of which are antisemitic tropes.

Mr Hussain ran for the Labour Party in 2019 and 2021, before a member of the public drew the Party’s attention to his social media history. Most of that activity predates those elections and apparently was not picked up by the Party or was ignored. The Conservative Party then committed the same error.

After being alerted, the Conservatives appeared to try to distance themselves from Mr Hussain, with the Party revealing days before the election that he “would not be allowed to join the Conservative group on the council, if elected, until any investigations had been completed.”

Mr Hussain has now been elected, and the Conservative Party’s position is unclear, with the Stockton Conservative Group leader reportedly saying: “Ropner is a really, really great win. The two councillors who won have worked their socks off. They know the issues, the residents are fed up with Labour, they complain about the same issues time after time.”

Elsewhere, in North Lincolnshire, Conservative candidate Ashley Sykes, who was standing for the Ashby Lakeside ward, was suspended by the Party after allegedly sharing jokes about the Holocaust online. A spokepserson for the Conservatives said that the Party had “acted swiftly” to suspend Mr Sykes after becoming aware of the historic posts. Mr Sykes did not win his contest.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Greece bans far-right party linked to neo-Nazi group from participating in general election

Greece’s Supreme Court has banned a far-right party linked to a neo-Nazi group from participating in the May general election. 

Nine out of ten Supreme Court judges backed the prohibition on the Hellenes Party, asserting that its “racist and intolerant ideas” were dangerous for democracy. 

Hellenes was formed in 2020, shortly after which its founder, Ilias Kasidiaris, was imprisoned for his senior role in Golden Dawn, a neo-Nazi group and political party that the court referred to as a criminal organisation. 

Party leader Ilias Kasidiaris, who bears a swastika tattoo and is reported to deny the Holocaust, continues to communicate to his followers from prison via social-media. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Magistrate and Labour Party councillor issued formal warning by Judicial Conduct Investigations Office over posts containing “antisemitic content”

A magistrate and Labour Party councillor has been issued a formal warning by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) over Facebook posts containing “antisemitic content”.

The warning relates to posts said to have been made between 2015 and 2019 that are believed to be behind Ansar Hussain’s suspension from the Party in May of last year.

Mr Hussain, who was elected in Milton Keynes in 2021 and previously served as Wolverton’s mayor, was alleged to have shared conspiracy theories about the Jewish state on social media, including some that appeared to compare Israeli policies to those of the Nazis. 

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism. 

Contacted by the JC, Cllr Hussain reportedly said at the time that he “disagreed with antisemitism” and, regarding the posts, that “I don’t remember these posts.” 

The JCIO said of its warning to Mr Hussain: “Following a judicial disciplinary investigation, a conduct panel of the South East Region Conduct Advisory Committee found that Mr Hussain had, on four occasions between 2015 and 2019, shared and responded to social media posts which contained antisemitic content.

“The panel decided that Mr Hussain’s actions, two of which took place before he became a magistrate, were prejudiced, and fell below the high standards of conduct expected of a judicial office-holder.

“In deciding to issue Mr Hussain with a formal warning, Mr Justice Keehan and the Lord Chancellor took into consideration that he reported the matter to his bench chair straightaway, accepted responsibility for his conduct and that it was highly improper, apologised, closed his public social media accounts, and voluntarily undertook diversity and inclusivity training.”

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Andrew Bridgen MP expelled from Conservative Party after comparing COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust 

The Conservative Party has expelled Andrew Bridgen MP after he appeared to compare COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust.

The move arrives after the Party removed the whip from Mr Bridgen in January following a tweet in which he posted an article about the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead American agency handling the US response to the pandemic. The article analysed reports made to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System which apparently indicate side-effects of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

In his tweet captioning the article, he wrote: “As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.”

During and since the pandemic, anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes, including baseless and grotesque allusions to the Holocaust.

A Party spokesperson said: “Mr Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party on 12 April following the recommendation of a disciplinary panel. He has 28 days from this date to appeal.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he “completely condemns those types of comments in the strongest possible terms”, adding: “Obviously, it is utterly unacceptable to make linkages and use language like that, and I’m determined that the scourge of antisemitism is eradicated. It has absolutely no place in our society. And I know that the previous few years have been challenging for the Jewish community, and I never want them to experience anything like that ever again.”

Mr Bridgen said of his removal from the Party: “My expulsion from the Conservative Party under false pretences only confirms the culture of corruption, collusion and cover-ups which plagues our political system. I have been a vocal critic of the vaccine rollout and the party have been sure to make an example of me. I am grateful for my newfound freedom and will continue to fight for justice for all those harmed, injured and bereaved due to governmental incompetence. I will continue to serve my constituents as I was elected to do and intend to stand again at the next election.”

In 2014, Mr Bridgen attracted controversy when he suggested that “the political system of the world’s superpower and our great ally the United States is very susceptible to well-funded powerful lobbying groups and the power of the Jewish lobby in America.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Liberal Democrats suspend council candidate following alleged Facebook posts calling antisemitism “a fraud”

The Liberal Democrats have suspended a candidate standing for Rochdale Council after it was reported that he made and shared several incendiary Facebook posts about antisemitism.

Guido Fawkes reported that several questionable posts and shared posts had surfaced from the Facebook account of hopeful council candidate Fezan Khalid, with screenshots appearing to corroborate the report.

In one screenshot, Mr Khalid appeared to state that “anti-semitism [sic] is a complete fraud”, apparently going on to claim that Ashkenazi Jews “created Zionism/Communism and then Israel…they are not semitic Jews but white European causation [sic] Jews.”

Another screenshot seemingly shows that Mr Khalid shared a post from a different account that said of Home Secretary Suella Braverman: [She] is a Buddhist, Morher [sic] is Indian Christian Father is Hindu. Husband is Jewish mix that up and you get a cocktail of hatred…”

Mr Khalid is reported to now be suspended by the Liberal Democrats whilst an internal investigation takes place.

A spokesperson for the Party said: “Based on further evidence that has been reviewed under the Party’s Independent Complaints Process, Fezan Khalid has been suspended from the party, pending outcome of the complaint.”

Cllr Andy Kelly, leader of Rochdale Council’s Liberal Democrats group, said: “Rochdale Liberal Democrats welcome this decision and cannot make further public comment as not to influence the ongoing investigation. In the meantime the local party have been asked to enforce this suspension as best as is reasonably practical, and will be doing so effective immediately.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Labour must expel Diane Abbott after she claims Jewish people cannot suffer “racism”

The Labour Party has suspended Diane Abbott after she claimed that Jewish people cannot suffer “racism”.

Ms Abbott, who has a history of minimising antisemitism in the Labour Party, made the claim in a letter to The Observer newspaper.

The letter, published today, was in response to an article by Tomiwa Owolade in last week’s newspaper which commented on a new report on ethnic inequality that revealed that “Irish, Jewish and Traveller people are among the most abused. In fact, the two groups most likely to say they have experienced racist abuse, according to the survey, are Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities and Jewish people. More than 60% of Gypsy and Traveller people reported that they had experienced some form of racist assault. More than 55% of Jewish people report the same.”

In her letter, Ms Abbott wrote: “Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from ‘racism’. They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.”

Following an outcry, Ms Abbott issued a retraction, writing: “I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and dissociate myself from them. The errors arose in an initial draft being sent. But there is no excuse, and I wish to apologise for any anguish caused. Racism takes many forms, and it is completely undeniable that Jewish people have suffered its monstrous effects, as have Irish people, Travellers and many others. Once again, I would like to apologise publicly for the remarks and any distress caused as a result of them.”

In the meantime, Labour has withdrawn the whip from Ms Abbott, pending an investigation.

​​A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The Labour Party completely condemns these comments, which are deeply offensive and wrong. The Chief Whip has suspended the Labour whip from Diane Abbott pending an investigation.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Diane Abbott’s claim that Jewish people cannot suffer ‘racism’ is outrageous in itself, but made all the more extraordinary given all that has unfolded in the Labour Party over the past few years. She and her allies on the far-left of the Party could never accept how bad antisemitism had become because they do not even acknowledge that it is a form of racism. We already made complaints against her, which the Party has never investigated. Her suspension now is past time, and must be the first step towards her expulsion from the Party.”

On the day of the publication of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) report, Campaign Against Antisemitism submitted a major complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by the independent disciplinary process that the EHRC demanded and Sir Keir Starmer promised.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Labour drops prospective local election candidate after being alerted to his history of inflammatory social media comments, but Conservatives take him on

The Conservatives have endorsed a candidate in the local elections who was barred from running for Labour after the Party was alerted to his history of inflammatory activity on social media.

Shakeel Munir Hussain had hoped to run as a Labour candidate in Stockton-on-Tees in the coming local election as he has on previous occasions, but after being blocked by the Party, he is now running instead for the Conservatives in the Ropner ward.

Mr Hussain’s posts, shares and likes on Facebook allegedly include Rothschild conspiracy theories, comparisons of Israel to the Nazis, suggestions that Israel is in league with ISIS, and claims that “the world knows all too well that their governments are controlled by Zionist money” and that the Jews control American politics, all of which are antisemitic tropes.

Mr Hussain ran for the Labour Party in 2019 and 2021, before a member of the public drew the Party’s attention to his social media history. Most of that activity predates those elections and apparently was not picked up by the Party or was ignored. The Conservative Party has now committed the same error.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Antisemitism claims still represent nearly half of all Labour disciplinary cases

Nearly half of all disciplinary cases heard by the Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) pertain to antisemitism, according to new figures.

While these latest statistics are a reduction on the 65 percent figure published last November, they still represent an enormous proportion of cases.

Last year, Labour claimed that the backlog of cases from the period of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has been cleared. However, the Party has yet to address the complaints submitted by Campaign Against Antisemitism against over a dozen sitting MPs.

Among the cases that have recently come to light are the suspension of Cllr Ismail Bax in Preston, who allegedly reposted comments on Twitter about the murder of seven Jews outside a synagogue in Jerusalem; and the suspension of Vivien Burke, the Vice Chair of Romford Labour, after tweets were revealed in which she allegedly described claims of antisemitism as a “witch hunt”, said that Sir Keir Starmer and the former Labour MP Joan Ryan are “paid puppet[s]” for Israel, and reportedly implied that a “Jewish lobby” is trying to “gag” people criticising Israel.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Baroness Warsi to speak at conference with controversial UN official

Baroness Warsi is due to speak at a conference alongside a United Nations (UN) official who has made controversial remarks about Jews. 

It is understood that Baroness Warsi, a controversial member of the House of Lords and the Conservative Party, will be speaking at a conference organised by The Balfour Project.

The keynote speaker for the conference is Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, who described Roger Waters as a “true icon of our time” despite the public backlash against the musician following a series of comparisons between Israelis and Nazis. 

Ms Albanese also previously posted an open letter online which reads: “America and Europe, one of them subjugated by the Jewish lobby, and the other by the sense of guilt about the Holocaust, remain on the sidelines and continue to condemn the oppressed — the Palestinians…”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel” is an example of antisemitism.

Lady Warsi has her own concerning record. In 2017, She reportedly made divisive comments claiming that Jews, Sikhs and black people do not do enough to speak out against the far-right and anti-Muslim hatred, and only months prior, she claimed that British Jews who volunteer for the Israeli Defence Force should be prosecuted as though they had been fighting for genocidal terrorist groups such as ISIS. In 2022, she was among a number of fawning British politicians to welcome Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London, despite Rep. Omar’s notoriety for her past appalling comments about Jews.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Francesca Albanese’s indefensible past comments about the ‘Jewish lobby’ should have been cause for her removal from office. Her refusal to do the decent thing and resign – and the failure to sack her – should be no excuse for British NGOs and politicians to lend her legitimacy. That they intend to do so speaks volumes about their commitment to the fight against racism.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Latvia adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Latvia has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

In a statement, the Government announced that “The Plan for the Reduction of Racism and Antisemitism 2023” was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 11th April 2023 and endorsed the application of the International Definition of Antisemitism  in Latvia. 

According to the statement, this also means that the Definition “is also being endorsed as a working tool at the government level.”

The national action plan includes measures for the enshrining of the prevention of antisemitism and racism in legislation and its pursuit in practice. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates the Latvian Government’s solidarity with the Jewish community at this worrying time for Jews in Europe.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Latvia joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

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Candidate for High Peak Council alleged to have posted inflammatory tweets

A candidate for a council in Derbyshire allegedly published a series of controversial tweets about Jews. 

The Twitter account is claimed by Gnasher Jew to belong to David Aris-Sutton, who is currently running as a candidate for High Peak Borough Council. Some of the alleged tweets include comparisons of Israelis to Nazis, the characterisation of Jews as “child bombing [sic]” and “land grabbing [sic]”, and claims that if Mr Aris-Sutton had a time machine, “Hitler would be safe”. 

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism (the Definition) “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel” is an example of antisemitism.

High Peak Borough Council has adopted the Definition. 

Mr Aris-Sutton was reportedly suspended from the Labour Party. He continues to sit as a councillor at New Mills Ton Council, sitting as an independent.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

Image credit: Google

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“Antisemitism is not racism-lite,” says Home Secretary, as she condemns “double standard” on hate towards Jews

The Home Secretary has revealed her concern that there exists a “double standard” when it comes to antisemitism, which must not be treated as “racism-lite”.

Suelle Braverman made the remarks in an interview last week with the JC.

“When it comes to antisemitism,” she said, “I have felt for a long time that there’s a double standard.” She added: “Racism that would be called out if it were directed against any other minority is explained away or ignored when it comes to Jews. We need to be really clear. Antisemitism is not racism-lite. It’s racism.”

She went on to elaborate that “whereas racism directed against other minority groups would trigger a very firm response from law enforcement, when similar behaviour is targeted towards the Jewish community, it tends to be accepted. A blind eye is turned, and so it becomes normalised. That is something we cannot tolerate.”

After being shown the level of security at Jewish institutions, which is funded by a Government grant managed by CST, she concluded: “you can’t but say that yes, collectively, as a law enforcement community, we can do better. And we must.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over five hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than five times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

At the CST annual dinner later the same day, she announced the establishment of a new Jewish Community Police, Crime and Security Task Force, which will be led by her and will include senior figures from the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, police and Jewish charities.

The Task Force is intended to meet three times a year to strengthen accountability and enhance efforts to combat antisemitic crime and violence against Jewish communities.

She also noted her support for the International Definition of Antisemitism and that she “is writing to all Home Office public bodies and police leaders to ask them if they’ve adopted it. And I’ll encourage them to do so if they haven’t.”

Regarding the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), for the proscription of which Campaign Against Antisemitism and other groups have called, she observed: “We’ve seen how the IRGC sponsors terrorism across the globe and has used its illicit money to suppress dissent in Iran itself.” She would not comment on whether the Government is intending to ban the group, a move that is being heavily resisted by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, according to reports, despite its role propagating antisemitism in the Middle East and around the world and the very real security threat that the organisation presents to the Jewish community and the UK as whole.

She reflected: “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on that. What I can say is that the Government and I are well aware of the threat that Iran and the IRGC pose and we will take robust and appropriate action to keep the British public safe.”

In the interview, she also noted that her husband is “a proud Jew and Zionist”, and she has often reflected on her connection to the Jewish community.

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Labour votes not to endorse Jeremy Corbyn’s candidacy because he loses votes rather than because of antisemitism, and still he remains a member of the Party

The Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has today voted not to endorse Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the next general election.

The motion, which passed by a vote of 22 to twelve, was brought by Party leader Sir Keir Starmer. It argued that, “in order to effect the NEC’s primary purpose to maximise the Labour Party’s prospects of winning the next general election, and to avoid any detrimental impact on the Labour Party’s standing with the electorate in the country as a whole; the Labour Party’s interests, and its political interests at the next general election, are not well served by Mr Corbyn running as a Labour Party candidate; And it is not in the best interests of the Labour Party for it to endorse Mr Corbyn as a Labour Party candidate at the next general election. Accordingly…Mr Corbyn will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election.”

Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP, having been indefinitely suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party, but he remains a member of the Labour Party itself, which briefly suspended him in 2020 before readmitting him.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We obviously welcome Labour’s decision not to endorse Jeremy Corbyn’s candidacy, given the central role that he has played in the Party’s antisemitism scandal. But the fact remains that, despite everything, he is still a member of the Labour Party. He has never been subjected to formal disciplinary proceedings or expelled. Even this decision to try to sever ties with him has been framed as being about him costing the Party votes. This is therefore not a stand against racism but a pragmatic approach to try to win elections.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism previously lodged a complaint against Mr Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) shameful findings of institutional racism in the Party. Given the serious detriment that this conduct caused, we have consistently been seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension from the Party and, if the complaint is upheld, his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Labour mayor shares platform with expelled Ken Loach, despite leadership pledge to sanction those who do so

A Labour mayor has controversially shared a platform with the expelled outspoken filmmaker Ken Loach.

Jamie Driscoll, the Mayor of North of Tyne, appeared alongside Mr Loach at an event in Newcastle.

Mr Driscoll was elected with the backing of Momentum, and remains one of the most prominent pro-Corbyn figures in the Labour Party, although he has reportedly described the “Corbynista tag” as an attempt to “define us by London Westminster politics”.

In the past, Sir Keir Starmer has promised to sanction Labour members who share platforms with expelled members, but has not fulfilled this pledge.

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

Mr Loach’s voice was among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign. He claimed that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was subjected to a “torrent of abuse” that was “off the scale” and that regardless of what he did, the “campaign” of antisemitism accusations was “going to run and run”. He described the BBC’s Panorama investigation into Labour antisemitism as “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.”

He 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.

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.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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High Court grants CAA permission to intervene in Ken Livingstone’s bid to overturn EHRC investigation into antisemitism in Labour Party

Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Labour councillor Pam Bromley have failed in their opposition to Campaign Against Antisemitism’s application to intervene in their judicial review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

In a written judgment, Mrs Justice Lang decided that Campaign Against Antisemitism should be allowed to intervene formally in the judicial review proceedings in which Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley are seeking to overturn the EHRC’s landmark 2020 report which concluded that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership had engaged in unlawful antisemitic harassment of its Jewish members.

Despite our role as originating complainant in the EHRC’s investigation into Labour, Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley had strongly opposed the High Court giving permission to us to intervene in the case, arguing that our intervention would “not provide any benefits”.

Rejecting Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s position, Mrs Justice Lang ruled: “In my judgment, the Court is likely to be assisted by CAA’s intervention…It made the complaint to [EHRC], and requested that an investigation took place. It provided substantial evidence, conceptual framework analysis and legal submissions to support the investigation. It has been particularly concerned with antisemitism denial as a form of harassment. As a Jewish community charity, it is rooted in the Jewish community and it has built up a longstanding expertise on the nature of modern antisemitism. Because of its expertise, it is likely to be able to contribute information, analysis and context more effectively than the other parties [the EHRC and the Labour Party].” 

The EHRC supported Campaign Against Antisemitism’s intervention, while the Labour Party neither supported nor opposed it, remaining neutral.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are pleased that the High Court has ruled that, as complainant in the EHRC’s investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party, and as an expert body, we are well-suited to assist the court in understanding the nature of antisemitism denial as a form of harassment and other important matters in this case.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism is represented by Derek Spitz and Adam Wagner, of counsel, instructed by Asserson solicitors.

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British diplomat met cleric who compared Jewish people to “apes and pigs”

It has been revealed that a British diplomat met with a cleric who compared Jewish people to “apes and pigs”.

The JC reported that UK Consul-General Diane Corner, Britain’s top diplomat in Jerusalem, met with Mahmoud al-Habbash, said to be the spiritual adviser to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas.

In a sermon, Mr al-Habbash can be seen stating that Jews are “cursed by Allah”, “humanoids”, and comparable to “apes and pigs”.

A Twitter post from the British Consulate in Jerusalem featured a photograph of Mr al-Habbash standing next to Ms Corner smiling.

Asked for comment by the JC on the meeting between Corner and al-Habbash, the Foreign Office reportedly declined.

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Luciana Berger and Mike Gapes rejoin Labour Party

It has been reported Mike Gapes has rejoined Labour, shortly after Luciana Berger announced her decision to rejoin the Party.

Ms Berger, a Jewish former Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, left the Party in 2019 over institutional antisemitism and feeling “unwelcome in [her] own party” during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Following an apology from Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, Ms Berger said last week that she was “pleased to be returning to [her] political home”.

This week, Ms Berger is joined by Mr Gapes, a former Labour MP for Ilford South, who also left the Party in 2019 alongside Ms Berger, Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker and Ann Coffey.

Dame Louise Ellman, who rejoined the Party in 2021, commented at the time, “there remains a great deal more to do to tackle antisemitism in the Party.” 

Earlier this year, Mr Corbyn doubled down on his insistence that the scale of antisemitism in the Party was “grossly exaggerated”.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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EHRC lifts Labour out of special measures, as antisemitism problems remain in Party despite progress

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced that it is lifting the Labour Party out of special measures, following the conclusion of the Action Plan agreed between the EHRC and the Party.

The Action Plan was imposed after the EHRC released its damning report in 2020, following an investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant.

The EHRC has described itself as “content with the actions taken” by Labour, in justifying its decision to end its monitoring of the Party.

In 2020, at the time of the publication of the report, Campaign Against Antisemitism filed disciplinary complaints against over a dozen sitting Labour MPs against whom no action had yet been taken.

Over two years later, still no action has been taken.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Despite our status as originating complainant in the EHRC’s investigation into Labour, the Party has not carried out disciplinary investigations in relation to more than a dozen complaints that we submitted over two years ago against sitting MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, who remains a member of the Party, and Angela Rayner. It is therefore hard for us to feel that a corner has been turned.

“While welcome progress has been made in the fight against antisemitism under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, justice is yet to be done in too many cases for anyone to conclude that the problem has been rectified. We will continue to press Labour on these complaints and its other failings, just as we do with all political parties. The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn plunged the Jewish community into a state of fear that could all too easily return unless antisemitism is firmly rooted out.”

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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“Islamists have encouraged hatred of Jews”: highly-anticipated report into Prevent strategy, revealing role of antisemitism in radical Islamism and Government failures 

A highly-anticipated report into the Government’s Prevent strategy, which is designed to detect and prevent radicalisation, has been published this week, with scathing findings about the state of the nation’s flagship anti-extremism programme.

The report, headed by William Shawcross, who was appointed as the Independent Reviewer of Prevent in January 2021 by the Government, has made several shocking revelations.

Principally, the report laments that the approach to tackling Islamism has become ever narrower, while the approach to the far-right has become broader. This has various manifestations, including different thresholds for what constitutes Islamist extremism and far-right extremism, and an excessive focus on relatively minor threats from the far-right over more urgent and serious threats from Islamist groups. The Research Information and Communications Unit, a Home Office unit established in 2007 as part of the Prevent programme, comes in for heavy criticism in the report for focusing too much on the far-right at the expense of Islamism.

Mr Shawcross also suggested that fears of being accused of Islamophobia are likely to be hampering several aspects of Prevent and anti-radicalisation programming and training: “Practitioners who wish to focus on the principle terror threat to this country [Islamism] find themselves viewed with suspicion even by colleagues. This is an unacceptable state of affairs which I have seen in too many areas.” He further noted that officials can have “fears of being accused of being racist, anti-Muslim, or culturally-insensitive”, which results in “disproportionate” resources being expended on the far-right, rather than the more urgent Islamist threat. “The volume of resources devoted to each ideological threat,” the report observed, “is notably divergent from the UK’s current threat assessment.”

The Islamist groups of concern in the report include Hizballah and Hamas, both of which were outlawed by the Government following calls from Campaign Against Antisemitism and other groups. 

The report welcomed the proscription of Hizballah and Hamas, but argued that their support networks in Britain must also be confronted. “These companies and charities operate legally. This highlights the importance of arm’s length bodies such as the Charity Commission in helping formulate the most effective response,” the report noted. Mr Shawcross is a former Chair of the Charity Commission.

The report observed how involvement in a group like Hamas can even be a gateway to even greater radicalisation: “There are examples of British individuals who travelled to Hamas-controlled territory before going on to join other terrorist groups and perpetrate acts of terrorism.”

The report also identified terrorists who were referred to Prevent but were never escalated to Channel, the programme for the most urgent and serious cases, who nevertheless proceeded to commit serious crimes. Among this number was Malik Faisal Akram, who took hostages at a synagogue in Texas.

The report observed that some organisations that have received funding from the Government to tackle extremism have promoted antisemitism. It also observed that antisemitism is present in both Islamist and far-right ideologies held by individuals referred to Prevent and to Channel.

Mr Shawcross was “alarmed at the prevalence of extreme antisemitism” among those who were referred to Channel, and examined cases that included “individuals expressing the intent to kill, assault or harm Jewish people or a particular Jewish individual, threats to burn, desecrate or blow up a synagogue…claiming religious or political justification for the murder of Jewish people…and adherence to extreme antisemitic conspiracies.” There were also “examples of individuals who made an association of British Jews with the actions of the Israeli Government, and the justification of harm towards individuals expressed as ‘Zionists’ or ‘baby killers’.” The report also observed that, “Domestically, British authorities have disrupted early-stage terrorist plots targeting Jewish areas, including in Birmingham and Manchester.” 

In particular, the report noted, “The Islamist worldview is supremacist, Islamists have encouraged hatred of Jews.”

The report also made the disturbing finding that Rizwan Mustafa, the founding Chair of the West Midlands branch of the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP), shared content which reportedly called for the destruction of Israel and asked: “Where is the Caliph of the Muslims? Don’t you care that the Jews are defiling the place of the prophet’s nocturnal journey with their filth? The Jews are the most hostile people towards the believers’.” He also allegedly “shared conspiracy theories” about the origins of Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Mr Shawcross wrote: “I was disturbed to learn that this individual has worked with Government departments on counter terrorism and security policy. In 2020, he authored a paper for NAMP advising Counter Terrorism Policing drop the terms ‘Islamism’ and ‘jihadism’, which was later discussed at a meeting attended by senior policing figures.”

The report was launched in the House of Commons by the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, who said: “In too many aspects of British life, hatred directed at Jewish people has been tolerated, normalised, and accepted. Racism that would rightly be called out and enforced against were it directed at any other minority, is too often ignored when directed at Jews. The review makes clear that this double standard must change.” She pledged to implement all of Mr Shawcross’ recommendations.

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Croatia adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Croatia has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The announcement came in advance of Croatia’s assumption of the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2023-24.

In a statement, the Government said: “Ahead of the Croatian presidency of the IHRA, and contemporary challenges in opposing the distortion of the truth about the Holocaust and the suppression of antisemitism and anti-Roma racism, the Government has established a National Coordination Body of the IHRA Presidency and the Secretariat of the IHRA Presidency.

“During its session on Friday, the Croatian Government adopted the legally non-binding working definition of antisemitism, the definition of Holocaust denial and distortion, and the definition of anti-Romani racism and discrimination of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates the Croatian Government’s solidarity with the Jewish community at this worrying time for Jews in Europe.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Croatia joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

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CAA writes to Julie Morgan MS over invitation to Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration that omits reference to Jews

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to a member of the Welsh Parliament after she issued an invitation to a Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration that omitted any reference to Jewish victims of the Nazis.

In her invitation, Julie Morgan MS, a member of the Welsh Labour Party, referenced Gypsies, Roma and Travellers and emphasised that the event was about “Remembering All”, but made no reference at all to Jews.

While other minorities suffered brutal treatment at the hands of the Nazi regime, an estimated six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered by the Nazis, representing around a third of the entire global population. It was for the systematic and industrial slaughter of the Jews by the Nazis that the word “genocide” was coined and to which the term “Holocaust” principally refers.

There has been a long and absurd trend of dissociating the Jews from the Holocaust and its commemoration. The Welsh Labour Party must give no suggestion that it participates in or endorses this trend. This is particularly so given the recent scandals that have engulfed the national Labour Party with regard to its relationship with the Jewish community.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Ms Morgan calling for the invitation to be amended to include a reference to the primary victims of the Holocaust, and urged that memorialising the murder of Jews remains at the heart of what this important day signifies and teaches.

Ms Morgan is the Deputy Minister for Social Services, and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has been notified.

A spokesperson for Ms Morgan reportedly said: “This is a long-standing annual event being sponsored in Julie Morgan MS’s capacity as an individual Senedd Member. The event has always received cross-party support and ties in with the annual Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Senedd. This is an inclusive event, and as the invitation makes clear, the event aims to remember all victims of the Holocaust, including those who can often be forgotten about.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

UPDATE: Ms Morgan has apologised and re-issued the invitation.

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Conservatives right to remove whip from Andrew Bridgen MP after he compared COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust

The Conservatives have removed the whip from Andrew Bridgen MP after he appeared to compare COVID-19 vaccines to the Holocaust.

In a tweet published this morning, Mr Bridgen posted an article about the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead American agency handling the US response to the pandemic. The article analysed reports made to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System which apparently indicate side-effects of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

In his tweet captioning the article, he wrote: “As one consultant cardiologist said to me this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.”

During and since the pandemic, anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes, including baseless and grotesque allusions to the Holocaust.

The Conservatives have quickly removed the whip from Mr Bridgen, but the tweet is still live at time of writing. Simon Hart, the Chief Whip, said: “Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives. I am removing the Whip from Andrew Bridgen with immediate effect, pending a formal investigation.”

In 2014, Mr Bridgen attracted controversy when he suggested that “the political system of the world’s superpower and our great ally the United States is very susceptible to well-funded powerful lobbying groups and the power of the Jewish lobby in America.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Jewish community has sadly become used to ugly and frankly moronic comparisons between the worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Holocaust. Regardless of one’s sentiments about the appropriateness or efficacy of lockdowns and vaccines, there is no equation with the deliberate and industrial slaughter of six million innocent men, women and children simply because they were Jewish. For a senior backbench politician not to understand this elemental fact is a poor reflection on the Conservatives and British politics.

“Mr Bridgen must immediately apologise and demonstrate that he understands why his tweet is so appalling. The Party is right to withhold the whip, and it must now disclose what further steps it intends to take.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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CAA writes to all MPs calling on them to support Government’s proposal to proscribe antisemitic Islamist terrorist group IRGC

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to all MPs calling on them to back the Government’s reported proposal to proscribe the antisemitic Islamist terrorist group known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) under the Terrorism Act 2000.

We have provided the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and the Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat, and all MPs with a dossier on the IRGC, detailing its horrendous record of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long and appalling record of promoting antisemitic propaganda, including Holocaust-denial, and funding and orchestrating violence against Jews. This is in addition to being the world’s biggest state-sponsor of terrorism more generally, the effects of which are not only profound in the Middle East but felt on every continent in the world. According to our nation’s security chiefs, Iran directly threatens the UK.

But what is less known is that it is specifically the IRGC that is one of the principal instruments through which the Iranian regime carries out these endeavours.

Founded in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the IRGC is a paramilitary force that answers directly to the radical regime. Its purpose is to serve as a praetorian guard for the theocracy at home and to advance its interests abroad. That includes training, arming and supporting terrorist groups and encouraging strategic acts of terror against targets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic.

The IRGC has a paramount role in cultivating antisemitic sentiment, giving succour to antisemites and backing terrorism against Jews.

The IRGC is a vital organ pumping out antisemitic propaganda in Iran and through the Middle East, it emboldens those who wish harm to Jewish people in the name of extremist religion, and it is the indispensable patron of such antisemitic genocidal terrorist groups as Hizballah and Hamas, both of which are proscribed by the UK.

It is therefore right for Britain to recognise the antisemitism and broader malevolence at the core of the IRGC and move to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation as well.

Over the years, particularly recently, evidence has mounted of support for the IRGC in Britain, some of which has been directly documented by Campaign Against Antisemitism and is especially concerning when considered in the context of the high rate of domestic antisemitism.

The proscription of the IRGC-backed Islamist terrorist group Hizballah in 2019, which was followed by the outlawing of Hamas in 2021 — the culmination of years of campaigning by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others — can serve as a case study for a similar ban of the IRGC.

Just as the proscription of Hizballah and Hamas sent a powerful message to the Jewish community — and Islamists — that antisemitism and terrorism will not be tolerated in the UK, so would the proscription of the IRGC, particularly at a time of record-breaking antisemitism in Britain and around the world.

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Saskatchewan adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Saskatchewan has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Province’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Bronwyn Eyre, said: “During this spiritual holiday season, it’s important to come together in peace. Antisemitism is on the rise and must be condemned, along with all forms of intolerance and hatred.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates Saskatchewan’s solidarity with the Jewish community.

Recently, Brunswick and Manitoba also adopted the Definition.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Saskatchewan joins a growing list of national, provincial and local governments around the world to use the Definition.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Canada, which have dramatically increased according to a recent audit.

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Jeremy Corbyn’s “Jewish liaison officer” expelled from Labour Party following repeated claims antisemitism was being “weaponised against the left”

A Labour activist previously appointed as Jeremy Corbyn’s “Jewish liaison officer” has been expelled from the Party.

Heather Mendick’s insulting appointment to the role in 2019 to “build bridges” with British Jews drew the ire of the community, given her record. She had said that antisemitism claims have been “weaponised” and criticised calls for Labour to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism. She also joined disgraced MP Chris Williamson on his “Democracy Roadshow” and expressed “solidarity” for Jenny Manson, a member of the sham Jewish Voice For Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group. She even signed a letter in The Guardian claiming that Mr Corbyn is a “formidable” opponent of antisemitism after Luciana Berger resigned from Labour over “institutional antisemitism”.

Ms Mendick was a member of Momentum, the pro-Corbyn campaign group, and worked as a research consultant and Secretary of Hackney South Labour Party.

In a video announcing her expulsion, Ms Mendick said, “I feel relieved. The Labour Party is a cesspit.”

Elsewhere in London, Cllr Joy Wallace has reportedly been expelled from the Party. Cllr Wallace, who sits on Haringey Council, won election earlier this year and was suspended by the Party. She had allegedly accused a rabbi of being “paid handsomely” for criticising Mr Corbyn on Radio 4, among other inflammatory remarks.

Also expelled was Stephen Marks, a former member of Labour’s powerful National Constitutional Committee. He received an administrative suspension from the Party in July 2021, and has reportedly now been expelled.

Meanwhile, the Labour MP Nadia Whittome has been accused of associating with a controversial group.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi finally expelled from Labour Party

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi has reportedly been expelled from the Labour Party.

Writing on Twitter, the controversial Labour activist said: “Confidential email to me says my ‘membership of the Party stands terminated’. An NEC panel concluded I had ‘in its opinion, demonstrated the type of support for REIST (sic), LIEN and LAW prohibited by Chapter 2, Clause I.5.B.v of the Rules.’

“I dispute this interpretation and will appeal my expulsion. It disenfranchises 1000s of members who voted to put me on the NEC.”

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi appears to have been referring in her tweet to the far-left “Resist Movement”, “Labour in Exile Network” and antisemitism denial group “Labour Against the Witchhunt”, all of which are factions that have been proscribed by the Labour Party, meaning that membership of them is sufficient grounds for expulsion from the Party.

This follows Ms Wimborne-Idrissi’s suspension in September, which was decided after she attended a meeting last year of the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson’s Resist Movement, knowing that it is proscribed by the Party.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi is the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation. She was reportedly suspended from the Labour Party two years ago but her suspension was inexplicably lifted. She was also previously the Vice-Chair of Chingford and Woodford Green Constituency Labour Party before reportedly being removed last year.

She was recently elected to serve on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), which was one of several results in that election that called into doubt Labour’s progress in dealing with its antisemitism scandal and the culture that created it.

It was also announced that JVL had settled a libel case brought against it by the respected Panorama journalist John Ware in relation to comments made about him by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi. The settlement has reportedly raised the possibility that JVL may be in financial trouble.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi has been embroiled in controversy recently, particularly after it was reported that, in a Palestine Deep Dive podcast, she allegedly said: “There are cases where people have said, ‘we’ve got a Holocaust denier in our branch, what are you going to do about it?’ [to which the response was] ‘Oh, let’s have a look at his credentials. Oh, he’s a right-winger, no, no, he’s fine, he can carry on.’” Following calls on social media for her to provide evidence for her claim, it is not believed that any has been presented.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome the expulsion of Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, but question why it has taken the Party so long to act. As well as being a senior figure in the antisemitism-denial organisation styling itself Jewish Voice for Labour, she has also laughed at allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party, and alleged that ‘pro-Israel advocates’ were working with ‘elites’ in the ‘interests of the capitalist financial system’. Rather than seeing Ms Wimborne-Idrissi expelled on a technicality after so long, we would much prefer that her conduct itself had been examined under Labour’s disciplinary process.”

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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“Little Jew needs skinning alive”: Conservative MP Johnny Mercer reports of online death threats

Conservative Party MP Johnny Mercer, representing Plymouth Moor View, posted screenshots to his Twitter account earlier today which appear to show death threats directed toward him.

In one screenshot, an online user seemingly wrote of Mr Mercer, who is not Jewish: “Little Jew needs skinning alive and rolled in salt (non kosher).”

The comment appears as though it was written as a reply to another, which wrote: “Opportunity to kill a few globalists.”

The term ‘globalist’ is a commonly-used antisemitic trope, frequently used among far-right groups, that is often intended as a thinly veiled reference to Jewish people.

Another screenshot shows a news article about Mr Mercer accompanied by the caption: “The next dead MP?”

Mr Mercer stated that “people should know the price of being an MP before criticising those colleagues who choose to step down,” before thanking CST for bringing the threats to his attention.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.

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Success for CAA as new draft Online Safety Bill retains key legal provision to fight against antisemitism on the web

Campaign Against Antisemitism has applauded the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary for listening to our concerns and retaining a legal provision that is critical to the fight against antisemitism on the web in the new draft of the much-anticipated Online Safety Bill.

We have had numerous calls and meetings with Michelle Donelan, some of which also included other Jewish communal partners.

We have particularly worked to ensure that the latest iteration of the ground-breaking legislation, for which we have long called, retains the criminal offence under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. We have more experience than most in utilising this provision, which protects victims of abusive communications, including those who target people because they are Jewish.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “During the development of this legislation, we have made representations both for provisions that we would like to see included and taken out. We are grateful that the Government has listened to our suggestions and that the draft Online Safety Bill includes tough measures to regulate social media platforms. We are also pleased that it adopts our request to retain the criminal offence under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. We have more experience than most in utilising this provision, which protects victims of abusive communications, including those who target people because they are Jewish. A previous draft of the bill eliminated this offence, which would have made it even harder to combat antisemitism online.

“Regulating the internet was always going to be an extremely difficult legislative task. We applaud the Secretary of State for DCMS for engaging widely with stakeholders and producing legislation that promises to hold online abusers and internet giants to account at last.”

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Labour Party faces “eye-watering” legal costs relating to allegations of antisemitism 

It has been reported that the Labour Party faces potential costs of up to £5 million in legal claims and counterclaims.

The legal claim against the Party was launched by nine former Labour staffers-turned-whistleblowers who were criticised in a controversial internal report into the handling of antisemitism cases by the Party. The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit allegations of antisemitism in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as part of its landmark investigation into Labour antisemitism, in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant. 

The Party has since launched a counterclaim against five of its former staffers, who it claims are responsible for the leak of the internal report. In the counterclaim, the Party named Karie Murphy, a trade unionist and Jeremy Corbyn’s chief of staff, whose nomination for a peerage was blocked; Laura Murray, a disgraced Corbyn aide who was appointed to lead the Labour Party’s disciplinary process; Harry Hayball, a staffer in Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit and former Head of Digital Communications at Momentum who was reportedly labelled as the author in the report’s metadata; Seamus Milne, the far-left journalist who served as Mr Corbyn’s Executive Director of Strategy and Communications; and George Robertson, who worked in Labour’s communications team.

After the data breach, Labour self-reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO’s investigation is ongoing.

As the Party faces a potential legal bill in the millions, it has also revealed that it has a £4.8 million deficit in its finances.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing legal case.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “These are eye-watering legal costs, but they are just a reflection of the real price of Labour’s history of antisemitism denial, which is to demean victims and gaslight whistleblowers who have revealed the depth of anti-Jewish racism in the Party. It is extraordinary how the ‘life-long anti-racist’ former leaders of Labour thought it appropriate to expend such vast sums challenging racism claims instead of the racism itself, and that the current Labour leadership are still so willing to expend treasure in refusing to settle with those who worked to bring Labour’s proven antisemitism to light. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour became morally bankrupt, and these figures show that financial bankruptcy is still a risk that Labour is willing to take to conceal that rot.” 

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Pete Willsman finally expelled from Labour Party

The veteran Labour Party activist, Pete Willsman, has finally been expelled from the Party in relation to antisemitism.

Mr Willsman was even a member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Council (NEC) until he was suspended from the Party in May 2019 after a recording emerged of a conversation between him and the author Tuvia Tenenbom.

In the conversation, which was reportedly recorded without Mr Willsman’s knowledge, Mr Willsman allegedly claimed that Labour’s antisemitism crisis was “all lies” and that critics of Jeremy Corbyn were using claims of antisemitism to “whip people up”.

Mr Willsman allegedly said: “It’s almost certain who is behind all this antisemitism against Jeremy…Almost certainly it was the Israeli embassy. Because they caught somebody in the Labour Party – it turns out they were an agent in the embassy. The thing is that the people that are in the Labour Party doing it are people who are linked…one of them works indirectly for the Israeli embassy.”

Claiming that the Israeli Embassy was behind allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party is a popular antisemitic trope.

Mr Willsman also previously said that he had never seen antisemitism in Labour, blaming Jewish “Trump fanatics” for inventing the problem. When 68 rabbis wrote a joint open letter to the Party alleging “severe and widespread” antisemitism, he challenged them to show evidence.

Already two years ago, Sir Keir Starmer admitted that the investigation into Mr Willsman was taking too long.

Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, defended Mr Willsman, telling the JC: “The expulsion of long-serving Labour Party NEC member Pete Willsman is the inevitable conclusion of a process which has seen hundreds of left wingers driven out on the basis of unfounded allegations of antisemitism. The current party leadership has been clear that it intends to eradicate all trace of the Corbyn era, waging a factional campaign that has nothing to do with protecting Jews from antisemitism.”

Also reportedly expelled from Labour was the former Unite delegate to Labour’s NEC, Martin Mayer, apparently in connection with his alleged support for the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against Witchhunt.

Meanwhile, Ruth George, a former Labour MP who now sits as a local councillor, was reportedly joined by Shadow Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds for a campaigning event, in spite of Ms George’s troubling record.

Recently, Ms George declined to put herself forward to become Labour’s candidate once more in High Peak.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Conservative councillor resigns after ties to fascist group emerge

A Conservative Party councillor has resigned after his ties to a far-right group have emerged. 

Andy Weatherhead, who represented Hythe West on Kent County Council, was revealed to be a senior officer for the New British Union (NBU), a self-described fascist organisation.

His resignation came shortly after he was suspended by the Conservatives.

The NBU, whose motto is “restoring faith in fascism”, uses the same symbol as its predecessor, the British Union of Fascists, a 1930s group led by Oswald Mosley that infamously clashed with Jews and anti-fascist campaigners at Cable Street in East London.

The news came following an investigation by anti-racist group Hope Not Hate, who claimed that Mr Weatherhead wrote a blog in which he railed against the government for “appeasing the British and International Jewish lobby, whilst allowing the British people to be feed [sic] lie after lie through the Jewish controlled Press and Media,” and attended a rally by the neo-Nazi organisation Golden Dawn.

According to the investigation, Mr Weatherhead was appointed as the NBU’s business officer in April 2013 until at least February 2014. He also held the position of Policy Officer in May 2013 under the name ‘Andy Blackhouse’.

Additionally, images of Mr Weatherhead, who also went under the name Andrew Beadle within the far-right group, of him wearing the NBU insignia on his jacket surfaced.

Other images included the former councillor pictured alongside three men who would go on to form the proscribed neo-Nazi group National Action, including Mark Jones, the former partner of Alice Cutter, known colloquially as “Miss Hitler” after entering a far-right beauty pageant. 

Mr Weatherhead reportedly ran under UKIP four times before eventually deciding to run for the Conservative Party.

Stephen James, Chairman of Folkestone and Hythe Conservative Association, said: “I welcome the news that Mr Andrew Weatherhead, has resigned from Kent County Council and Dymchurch Parish Council and must reiterate that the abhorrent images and associations described in the article have no place in our association or the Conservative Party.

“As a British Army veteran, I know more than most the consequences if we do not defend, champion and promote democracy and the rule of law.”

Mr Weatherhead addressed the reports saying that he believed the “optic [sic] of these pictures is poor and potentially upsetting for some,” adding: “For this I can and do sincerely apologise.”

He added that his involvement with NBU was “brief” and that he looks back on that time with “regret and personal disappointment”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit Hope Not Hate

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Jeremy Corbyn’s former spokesperson joins Green Party, as Labour reveals 65 percent of disciplinary cases relate to antisemitism

Jeremy Corbyn’s former spokesperson has joined the Green Party.

The move comes as speculation mounts that Mr Corbyn will be barred from running as a candidate for the Labour Party in the next general election.

Matt Zarb-Cousin said that a “factional war” against the left of the Party had been “executed from the top down.”

Mr Zarb-Cousin, who served as a spokesperson for Mr Corbyn when the latter was leader of the Labour Party, complained that left-wingers were “no longer welcome in the Labour Party” and, blaming Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for the change in climate, urged others to defect.

Mr Zarb-Cousin, who also helped to run Rebecca Long-Bailey’s abortive Labour leadership bid, also said that Labour’s apparent decision not to restore the whip to Mr Corbyn “sealed and confirmed” his decision to quit the Party.

Explaining his decision to move to the Greens, Mr Zarb-Cousin said: “Obviously I was attracted to the Greens’ policies on the climate crisis and proportional representation, which are the two most important things going forward for the country. Democratic socialists are no longer welcome in the Labour Party and there is a strong case for them to join the Greens and push for proportional representation,which will give our views and politics more influence.”

Mr Zarb-Cousin said of others moving to the Greens: “I’m hearing that left-wing members have left and other people are thinking about it. I think there will be more.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has repeatedly warned that the Green Party risks becoming a haven for far-left exiles from the Labour Party.

Meanwhile, the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum is reportedly warning its supporters that its future is in financial peril due to the flight of far-left members from the Labour Party.

These developments come as the Labour Party revealed that 65 percent of disciplinary cases heard by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) since May have related to antisemitism.

Labour has allegedly claimed that the backlog of cases from the period of Mr Corbyn’s leadership has been cleared. However, the Party has yet to address the complaints submitted by Campaign Against Antisemitism against over a dozen sitting MPs.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the EHRC to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

We are seeking to recruit a Programme Manager to join our London office

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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.