,

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.

,

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.

,

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.

, ,

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

, ,

“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.

, ,

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.

, ,

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.

, , ,

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.

, ,

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.

,

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.

, ,

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.

, ,

“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.

,

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.

, ,

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.

, ,

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.

, ,

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.

,

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.

,

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.

, ,

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.

, ,

“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.

, , , ,

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.”

,

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.

,

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.

,

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

,

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.

, ,

Vancouver adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

The City of Vancouver adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The adoption came following a six to one vote at the City’s council.

Cllr. Sarah Kirby-Yung, of A Better City (ABC) Vancouver, tabled the resolution to adopt. Prior to casting her vote, she said: “At its very root for me, when I distil it down, this is really about education. Education is the most powerful tool that we have against hate. It’s more powerful than any punitive actions could be.”

In July, the Premier of British Columbia expressed support for the Definition. Nicolas Slobinsky said: “To effectively combat one of the world’s oldest forms of hatred, we must first clearly identify it. In this light, we see the [International] Definition as an important non-legally binding educational tool to help us determine what is and what is not antisemitic, which allows us to work toward a society that is better for all British Columbians.”

So far this year, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick have adopted the Definition, joining Ontario which adopted it previously.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds Vancouver’s adopted, which demonstrate the city’s solidarity with the Jewish community at a time of growing antisemitism in Canada.

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.

, ,

Former Jeremy Corbyn spokesperson joins Green Party

A former spokesperson for the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has joined the Green Party.

Matt Zarb Cousin, who declared at the time of the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey from the Shadow Cabinet two years ago that he was “staying in the Party with Rebecca Long-Bailey”, has now revealed that he has joined the Greens.

In a tweet, he said: “I’ve joined the Green Party. The country will not get the change it needs from our broken political system. All in on the Greens and electoral reform.”

He observed in a further tweet, “Thanks to the Greens for all the welcoming tweets, including from the leader and deputy. Very kind,” and criticised Sir Keir Starmer in comments to the media.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long warned of the danger of controversial activists who have left the Labour Party joining the Greens instead.

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

Our Antisemitism Barometer survey of British Jews late last year 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 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.

, ,

Labour launches probe into antisemitism allegations before dissolving parliamentary selection committee

The Labour Party has launched an investigation following allegations of antisemitism that were reported to have taken place during the parliamentary selection contest for the Kensington seat.

It was revealed earlier this week that an e-mail circulated to Labour members accused the Muslim Councillor Mete Coban of being a “sellout” to “his people and his race” and being a “supporter of apartheid, racism and baby killers.”

The e-mail also said that the charity he runs “is funded by the United States embassy who are proven to have strong ties with Israel.”

The Party reportedly dissolved the selection committee and announced that it would be carrying out “a serious investigation into antisemitism” as well as over the need to “suspend members due to antisemitism.”

Earlier this year, Party leader Sir Keir Starmer received a standing ovation for saying “That’s why we had to rip antisemitism out by its roots” in his speech at a Party Conference, which proved a marked contrast to the Party’s conferences under Sir Keir’s predecessor.

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 Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) 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.

,

Los Angeles adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Los Angeles has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the Definition yesterday after it was introduced by City Council member Paul Koretz, who observed the rise in antisemitic hate crimes.

The resolution concluded with a request for “City departments, staff, elected and appointed officials, and contract agencies to familiarize themselves with the [International] Definition of Antisemitism, associated IHRA [Definition] reference materials, examples, and articles, and incorporate their use where appropriate.”

Los Angeles has a significant Jewish population.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrate Los Angeles’ solidarity with the Jewish community at a time of growing antisemitism in California and the United States more generally.

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.

,

UN Special Rapporteur on Racism disgracefully discourages adoption of International Definition of Antisemitism

The UN Special Rapporteur on Racism has urged countries to stop adopting the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Earlier this week, E. Tendayi Achiume told the General Assembly’s Third Committee that the push for nations to adopt the Definition should be suspended, saying: “I highlight the controversial status, divisive effects and negative human rights impacts of the [International] Definition [of] Antisemitism.”

Ms Achiume made the remarks in connection with a report that she had submitted to the Committee, which she said focused on the rising dangers of antisemitism, neo-Nazism and racism but which was also critical of the supposed instrumentalisation of tools designed to address those trends. She added: “Precisely because…antisemitism remains an urgent issue of human rights concern, I urge the UN system and UN member states to launch an open and inclusive process.”

Her position was condemned by the United States, Canada and Israel, while the UK, European Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Austria and Italy all reportedly spoke in support of the Definition and its utility in identifying and combatting antisemitism.

An American official accused Ms Achiume’s report of having “politicised the [International] Definition,” while a Canadian diplomat observed that the Definition is carefully crafted to enable a common fight against antisemitism and it is not meant to inhibit the ability to criticise the state of Israel, saying: “Too often the contemporary examples included in the Definition is employed as justification for hatred…online and off and in university campuses and across public discourse.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has shown how the International Definition of Antisemitism does not conflict with freedom of expression under UK law.

The sentiments appeared to conflict those of the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, who said a couple of years ago that antisemitism is the “canary in the coalmine of global hatred” and “toxic to democracy” as he delivered his ground-breaking report titled Combatting Antisemitism to Eliminate Discrimination and Intolerance Based on Religion or Belief.

Earlier this year, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres disappointed mainstream Jewish groups for merely “acknowledging” the International Definition of Antisemitism but failing to adopt it.

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

,

Manitoba and New Brunswick become latest Canadian provinces to adopt International Definition of Antisemitism

Manitoba and New Brunswick have become the latest Canadian provinces to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Premier of New Brunswick formalised a declaration endorsing the Definition last week. The text resolves that New Brunswick “endorses and adopts the working definition of antisemitism as adopted by the IHRA Plenary on 26th May, 2016.”

The two provinces join Ontario and Alberta among Canada’s regions that have adopted the Definition.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decisions, which demonstrate Manitoba’s and New Brunswick’s solidarity with the Jewish community at a time of growing antisemitism in Canada.

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.

Image credit: Jimmy Emerson, DVM

,

Leader of Canadian far-right party jailed for hate speech

Travis Patron, the founder and former leader of the now-defunct Canadian Nationalist Party, has been given a one-year prison sentence on a hate speech charge.

Last year’s arrest of Mr Patron, then 29, in his home province of Saskatchewan, follows a 2019 social network video called “Beware the Parasitic Tribe.” In the video, Mr Patron claimed that Jewish people “infiltrate the media”, are “swindlers” and “snakes” and that they “infect the body politic like a parasite.”

What “we need to do,” he said, “is remove these people once-and-for-all from our country.”

In a trial in Saskatchewan earlier in October, Mr Patron was convicted of wilfully promoting hate.

Justice Neil Robertson said, when explaining his decision to sentence Mr Paton to a jail term, that the offence caused “harm to the entire Canadian community” because the “attack on one member or group” was “an attack on all Canadians.”

Mr Patron, who represented himself, was silent during the sentencing and did not respond when the judge asked if he had remorse.

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

, ,

Alleged social media post by SNP inclusivity official breaches International Definition of Antisemitism

An SNP official recently elected as the Party’s disabled members’ convener is alleged to have published a social media post that breaches the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Andy Stuart is claimed to have written on Twitter and Facebook in 2016: “The irony is that Israeli forces are acting no better towards the Palestinians than the Nazi’s [sic] did to the Jews…” The post also shared a link to a Facebook group called “Palestine News”.

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

An SNP spokesman said: “Mr Stuart has deleted these posts from 2016, which were made shortly after the drafting of the [International Definition of Antisemitism]. He appreciates the poor choice of words at that time and why it could cause offence. The National Secretary will examine the circumstances to assess what further steps are required.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, which the SNP under Nicola Sturgeon has adopted, ‘Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis’ is an example of antisemitism. Promotion of such views is intolerable in a political party, and it is particularly heinous coming from a figure at the forefront of equality campaigns in the SNP. The SNP must urgently investigate, be seen to apply its Definition, and take action.”

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.

,

Labour blocks former MP Emma Dent Coad, Ruth George bows out, and Laura Pidcock reportedly quits

The Labour Party has blocked the former MP Emma Dent Coad from running as its candidate in Kensington.

The former Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, expressed his solidarity with Ms Dent Coad and his outrage at the Party’s decision to block her candidacy, calling it “disgraceful”.

Ms Dent Coad, who served as the Labour MP for Kensington from 2017 to 2019, previously ‘liked’ a comment on Facebook by another user that read: “I’ve always been a Bevanite — my ultimate political hero…and as a Jew, the current Israeli apartheid regime disgraces all of us Jews worldwide.” The comment was posted in response to a post by another user that criticised “Blairite” MPs and “members of the Netanyahu fan club”.Following media attention, Ms Dent Coad apologised and ‘unliked’ the comment.

Meanwhile, Paul Mason, another controversial figure, has reportedly applied to become Labour’s candidate in Sheffield Central.

Elsewhere, Ruth George, a former Labour MP with a troubling record who now sits as a local councillor, has declined to put herself forward to become Labour’s candidate once more in High Peak.

Laura Pidcock, the former Labour MP, has reportedly quit the Labour Party, having resigned from Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) earlier this year after a motion calling for the restoration of the whip to the antisemitic former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, failed to pass.

Ms Pidcock, a staunch ally of Mr Corbyn’s who sat on his front bench, previously voted against the NEC’s proscription of the antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt, and later challenged the practice of expelling Party members based on apparent involvement with the 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.

,

Canadian Premier used website with antisemitic tropes as a source in her newsletter

It has been revealed that the Premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, Danielle Smith, has on two occasions this past year included links in her online newsletter to a blog that has been accused of being a source of antisemitic tropes.

Writing in an April newsletter about the possibility of a digital currency being used by central banks, Ms Smith said that she was “not sure yet” if such a move would be good for Canada which was “why I am following this closely.”

She then linked to an article from the blog in question.

On another occasion, while discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she again linked to the site.

The website, which has been accused of featuring antisemitic posts, has posted content such as: “I define Rothschild Zionism in its present incarnation as the amalgamation of Wall Street (global Jewish banking mafia families) and the Israel Lobby, along with their affiliated organisations, agencies, think-tanks, spy networks, corporations, and agents.”

An unnamed individual associated with the blog told Canadian broadcaster CBC that labelling the blog as antisemitic was an attempt to shut down an “open discussion.”

Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, said the blog was a known provider of antisemitic tropes and “wild conspiracy theories.”

Mr Mostyn added that Ms Smith may not have been aware of all of the contents, but “anybody would say” this was something that she should be distanced from.

“This is not content that should have been shared, certainly by anybody who was also seeking higher office,” he said. “But now that she is premier, I think she owes it to Albertans to distance herself from this blog.”

A spokesperson from the Premier’s office has since said that Premier Smith condemned all expressions of antisemitism, adding that “this hatred has no place in society.”

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

, ,

Far-right politician ‘danced’ on Berlin Holocaust memorial

Holger Winterstein, a member of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) Party – known by its German acronym AfD – has been accused of ‘dancing’ on the country’s Holocaust memorial.

Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, tweeted a photograph of Mr Winterstein on the Memorial, labelling the action ‘shameful’.

Mr Prosor said: “Mr. Winterstein, everyone is watching you dance while you bring shame on yourself and your party. Enjoy your shameful minute of fame because your name will soon be forgotten.

“The sanctified souls commemorated at the memorial will never be forgotten.”

AfD described Mr Winterstein’s behaviour as “extremely disrespectful.”

In the image posted on social media, Mr Winterstein was seen standing with outstretched arms and with one foot slightly raised on one of the stone slabs that form the memorial in Berlin for the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis.

Mr Winterstein is a representative of the party in Thuringia. In 2018, the party’s leader in the state, Bjoern Hoecke, said the Memorial was a “monument of shame” and called for Germany to perform a “180-degree turn” over how it remembered its past. A party tribunal rejected a bid to have him expelled.

Last year, a survey conducted by polling firm Forsa on behalf of the Central Council of Jews in Germany showed that almost a third (30%) of Germans agreed that Jews exploit German guilty over the Holocaust to “derive an advantage”. The figure rose to 59% of supporters of the AfD.

More than one in five (21%) respondents agreed with the suggestion that Israeli policies mirrored those of Nazi Germany, a direct reference to the International Definition of Antisemitism. This rose to 32% among AfD supporters.

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

, , ,

Newham Council resigns itself to inaction after suspended Labour councillor Belgica Guaña apologises for horrific social media posts, but police investigation ongoing

Newham Council has resigned itself to inaction after a suspended Labour councillor has issued an “unreserved apology” after Campaign Against Antisemitism made a complaint about her past social media activity.

Cllr Belgica Guaña wrote to us saying “I would like to say that I totally agree that the package of articles from the Daily Stormer is horrific and I would never knowingly have posted it. The references to the Jewish people and the Holocaust are abhorrent and its Nazi ideology is something I totally reject. I am an international human rights activist and, as an indigenous Latin American, I would actually expect to be persecuted by the Nazis myself.”

With regard to comments that appeared to compare Israel to the Nazis, which would be a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, she wrote: “These statements recognised the reality of the Holocaust but I now believe they made a false equivalence as, although I consider the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians to be wrong, it is in no way equivalent to the Nazis extermination of the Jews and this comparison should never be made. I also now believe that my use of the term ‘genocide’ was totally inappropriate to apply to the case of Israel and Palestine. With these statements I was trying to support the case of the Palestinians and was insensitive to the trauma felt by the Jewish people because of the Holocaust.”

She added that “At the time of these posts I was strongly focussed on Latin America and I did not know so much about British and European politics and history. I knew about the Holocaust of course but I have since learned more about the horrific circumstances in which a large part of the Jewish population of Europe was tortured and killed.”

The letter ended with an apology: “I would like to end by offering my unreserved apology to the Jewish people for the hurt and offence caused by any of the articles I shared and the comments I made.”

In view of her apology, the Council’s Director of Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer told us: “Given her apology and that this matter occurred prior to her being a Councillor, I am minded to close the complaint. I will be encouraging the Councillor to attending equalities training which is part of the Learning and Development programme the Council had devised for all Councillors too.”

Cllr Guaña was suspended hours before the polls opened in the 2022 local elections after it was alleged that she posted a horrific article arguing that “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.”

Cllr Guaña was also alleged to have posted the article, titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity”, on Facebook in 2016, two years before she became a councillor in Newham in London.

The article says that “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them – a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day. The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter. 

“The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

The essay also argues that Jews use pornography to control western societies by way of the “Holocaust hoax”, and pushes the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, as well as claiming that teenage diarist Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis at Bergen-Belsen, was a “bisexual degenerate” whose popular diary is an “obvious fraud…laced with pornographic and sexually subversive messages”.

In May 2016, Cllr Guaña reportedly shared a post that said that “The Nazi holocaust [sic] was a crime against humanity, and the Israeli Genocide against Palestinians can not be ignored or denied,” and in December 2017, Cllr Guaña is said to have shared a video of the United Nations General Assembly, writing: “If you can have a minute of silence for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. So how much time should I ask for the more than 50 years of invasion and oppression of the Palestinian people?” Both posts are further breaches of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The posts were uncovered by Labour Against Antisemitism and reported by the JC. Campaign Against Antisemitism went on to report Cllr Guaña to the police, as well as to Newham Council.

Until recently, it appeared that Cllr Guaña was still listed as a member of the Labour Group on Newham Council. She is now, however, listed as an Independent.

The Labour group at Newham Council has repeatedly been the subject of controversy in relation to antisemitism allegations. In 2020, a leaked report reportedly detailed a complaint by the Council’s only Jewish member about a “culture of accepted antisemitism”, and then last year the Chair of Labour in Newham was reportedly to be investigated over alleged antisemitism, just days after his deputy was suspended over alleged antisemitic social media activity.

Newham Council has not adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

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

, ,

JVL’s Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi apologises to journalist John Ware in open court 

Following a libel case brought by journalist John Ware, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, the Media Officer and one of the founders of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, has apologised in open court.

The libel action concerned comments made by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi on Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show, in which she claimed that Mr Ware had a “terrible record of Islamophobia, far-right politics” and that the BBC had in the past had to “apologise” for his journalism and discipline him.

The claims were then repeated on the JVL website, and JVL’s Web Officer, Richard Kuper, was also a defendant. Mr Kuper is the founder of Pluto Press, which was previously the publishing arm of the International Socialists, now known as the Socialist Workers Party. Mr Ware denied the claims made by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi.

Mr Ware was the maker of the BBC Panorama documentary “Is Labour Antisemitic”. The programme, which was televised in July 2019, showed former Labour Party employees speaking out publicly to reveal Jeremy Corbyn’s personal meddling in disciplinary cases relating to antisemitism. The programme explained how senior Labour Party staffers, some of whom Campaign Against Antisemitism has known for years, used to run Labour’s disciplinary process independently, but soon after Mr Corbyn’s election as Party leader found themselves contending with his most senior aides, who were brazen in their efforts to subvert due process. During the programme, Labour’s press team made claims that the staffers featured had political axes to grind and lacked credibility, and the whistleblowers and Mr Ware commenced libel proceedings against the Labour Party.

At a preliminary hearing to determine the ordinary meaning of Ms Wimborne-Idrissi’s words, she argued that they were just “honest opinion.” However, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that reasonable listeners would have understood the comments as statements of fact, namely that Mr Ware had “engaged in Islamophobia and extreme, far-right politics, as a consequence of which the BBC has had to apologise for his conduct,” and that there were “reasonable grounds to suspect” that Mr Ware had “an extensive record of Islamophobia and of involvement in extreme, far-right politics.”

Mr Ware observed that he had never been disciplined on any matter by the BBC, had no “record of Islamophobia” and had never promoted “extreme far-right politics”. 

Following this ruling, Ms Wimborne-Idrissi had to prove that these assertions of fact were true, which is a higher threshold than showing that they were mere honest opinions.

JVL subsequently wrote a tweet saying that they have a “large bill to pay”. It was reported that the group faces “financial collapse” due to the proceedings.

In her apology to Mr Ware, Ms Wimborne-Idrissi said: “I accept the Court’s judgment that my comments about John Ware in a live radio programme on the Jeremy Vine show were defamatory. I should not have asserted that the BBC had taken action against Mr Ware in connection with allegations he has engaged in Islamophobia and extreme far-right and/or racist politics. Nor that this was in any way reflected in his journalistic work.

“I now accept these allegations to be untrue. JVL and I have apologised unreservedly to Mr Ware and explained that I spoke in the way that I did because I was so angry at the content of the “Is Labour Antisemitic programme” for which Mr Ware was the reporter.”

In his recent report, Martin Forde QC ludicrously suggested that JVL should have a role in antisemitism education in the Labour Party, of which JVL is still, outrageously, considered a legitimate faction.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was recently elected to Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee but was shortly thereafter suspended by the Party for the second time.

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.

, ,

Birkbeck professor appears to agree International Definition of Antisemitism “restricts” debate on Israel on panel at Conservative Party conference fringe event

A Birkbeck professor appeared to agree with the spurious claim that the International Definition of Antisemitism “restricts” debate on Israel.

Responding to a claim by an audience member that the Definition “does restrict what people can say about the Israel/Palestine conflict” and other assertions, Eric Kaufmann said: “I totally agree with you”.

Prof. Kaufmann made the comment while sitting on a panel organised by the Taxpayers Alliance and Institute of Economic Affairs in a fringe event at Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has shown that the claim that the International Definition of Antisemitism conflict with freedom of expression is wrong as a matter of law.

Birkbeck, University of London has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

, ,

Former Belfast councillor posts “Smirking Merchant” meme on platform favoured by far-right days after appearing in Patriotic Alternative interview

A former Belfast City Councillor has posted a well-known antisemitic meme on Gab, a platform favoured by the far-right, days after being interviewed by the leader of the far-right group Patriotic Alternative.

Gab is a social-media platform that was founded in 2016 with a claim to “champion free speech,” and has become a haven for supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory and other far-right groups and individuals banned from mainstream platforms.

Its founder, Andrew Torba, was accused of antisemitism after he reportedly posted a string of tweets containing inflammatory remarks about Jewish people, including one which said that Gab was building a “parallel Christian society” after being “fed up and done with the Judeo-Bolshevik one”. 

Patriotic Alternative 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”.

Jolene Bunting posted the “Smirking Merchant” meme to her Gab and Telegram accounts. The meme depicts a hook-nosed man with a nefarious grin wearing a head covering and holding banknotes and is thought by many to be a classically antisemitic representation of a Jewish person. 

Also included in the meme were offensive portrayals of Black people and Muslims alongside the caption: “We are NOT the problem…”

Ms Bunting, who was first elected to Belfast City Council in 2014, was suspended in 2018 following fourteen complaints. Some of the complaints are believed to have been in relation to Ms Bunting’s posting of a video from the far-right group Britain First as well as tweeting a “racist and offensive” cartoon.

, ,

“That’s why we had to rip antisemitism out by its roots”: Sir Keir Starmer gets standing ovation at very different Labour Conference, but concerns remain

Sir Keir Starmer received a standing ovation for saying “That’s why we had to rip antisemitism out by its roots” in his speech at this week’s Labour Party Conference, which proved a marked contrast to the Party’s conferences under Sir Keir’s predecessor.

Sir Keir was ambiguous as to whether he believed that the task of tackling Labour antisemitism, which he described in the past tense, had been completed or whether it was still in progress – an ambiguity that he has cultivated for some time. Indeed, at the Labour Friends of Israel reception at Conference, he said: “I knew when I became leader of this party we had a big task before us. We had to root out antisemitism, and we have made progress, but I’m not complacent. We will never, ever end this work. We have made progress, but there is more to do.”

Wes Streeting MP, who, like Sir Keir, remained in the Party as it became institutionally antisemitic, has asserted that Labour is now safe for Jewish people to support again: “My message to all of those Jewish Labour voters whose doors I knocked and who felt heartbroken by what happened to the Party would now be, ‘You’ve got your Party back.’”

Also at Conference, a proposed rule change that may have helped the antisemitic former leader of the Party, Jeremy Corbyn, stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election, failed to pass. Elsewhere, Mr Corbyn settled a defamation case that had been brought against him.

Meanwhile, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, the recently-elected member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee who was suspended last week, apparently had her Conference pass removed, while fellow Jewish Voice for Labour figure Jenny Manson was reported to have suggested that the controversial antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation may disaffiliate from Labour.

Concerns remain about the Labour Party, however. As the conference took place, it was reported that yet another Labour councillor is under investigation amid antisemitism allegations. Cllr Tariq Khan of Coventry City Council reportedly said that he does not remember sending the offending images, which the BBC claimed would be considered antisemitic and anti-trans, three years ago. Cllr Khan has not, however, been suspended. It comes as a fellow Labour councillor on the same council, Christine Thomas, was embroiled in controversy over alleged antisemitism just last month.

There was also a marked contrast at this year’s Labour Conference between how Rupa Huq MP immediately had the whip removed after she made comments about the Chancellor of the Exchequer widely viewed as racist – including by Sir Keir – while complaints by Campaign Against Antisemitism against numerous Labour MPs have been languishing for years without investigation. The appropriately rapid response to Ms Huq’s remarks demonstrated that Sir Keir and the Party do have the power to move quickly when they choose to do so – often, it must be said, and as in Ms Huq’s case, when there is media scrutiny.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This Labour Party conference was certainly a positive contrast to those held during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as leader, and reflects the progress that has been made in the fight against Labour antisemitism.

“However, Sir Keir Starmer’s persistent ambiguity about whether he feels that that fight is over or ongoing is troubling, particularly as it was announced during Conference that yet another Labour councillor is under investigation. The rapid response to Rupa Huq’s comments is also in marked contrast to Labour’s failure to take any action so far against the MPs against whom we have lodged complaints.

“Sir Keir has pledged repeatedly to tear out antisemitism by its roots, but there remains much more to be done.”

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 Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) 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.

,

Alberta adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Alberta has become the fourth Canadian province to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The adoption last Friday was effected through an order in council

Premier Jason Kenney said: “Remembering the Holocaust is a moral obligation – and antisemitism, like all forms of racism and prejudice, has no place in Alberta. In endorsing this internationally recognized definition, Alberta is doing its part to make sure we continue to learn from this painful history and promise never to repeat it.

Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said: “Alberta’s Government is endorsing this definition of antisemitism to let the Jewish community know we stand with them against discrimination and will not tolerate hate in our communities. I invite all Albertans to speak out against this hatred and help foster a more accepting province.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates Alberta’s solidarity with the Jewish community at a time of growing antisemitism in Canada.

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.

, , ,

Al Jazeera’s boring propaganda trilogy, ‘Labour Files’ is not real journalism

Following the airing over the past week of the ‘Labour Files’ programme on Al Jazeera, Campaign Against Antisemitism has released a statement assessing the so-called documentary.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Those who managed to watch all the way through Al Jazeera’s rather boring propaganda trilogy, ‘Labour Files’, were presented with a parallel universe of the Labour Party’s antisemitism crisis.

“With the astonishing and insulting premise that ‘Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party was condemned for antisemitism [but] the Labour Files reveal they were the victims of distortions and misrepresentation’, the so-called documentary purports to show that antisemitism in Labour was a sham without speaking to any of the victims or leaders of the Jewish community or antisemitism experts. A viewer would barely know from the programme that the EHRC, an independent body established by a Labour Government, found that Labour was so racist that it broke the law, following an investigation in which we were the complainant.

“Relying on testimony from members of an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, as well as figures with records of inflammatory views, the programme ludicrously tries to argue that there were significant fissures within the Jewish community on Mr Corbyn or the International Definition of Antisemitism. The programme also repeatedly insists that the facts plainly support claims that Labour antisemitism allegations were fraudulent, yet this is not borne out by the outcomes of any of the legal cases relating to the matter so far.

“Just as the Corbyn era ended with claims of a ‘hierarchy of racism’, so does Al Jazeera, with a repellent last-ditch assertion that there is a hierarchy of racism in Labour that privileges Jews, which is itself a form of antisemitism.

“The Labour Files has added next to nothing to the collective understanding of Labour’s antisemitism crisis. It is not real journalism, but rather the sort of propaganda that we have come to expect from a Qatari-owned media outlet with its own agenda and priorities.”

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.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

,

Wichita, Broward County and West Hollywood adopt International Definition of Antisemitism

The city of Wichita, Kansas, has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism. 

Mayor Brandon Whipple signed a proclamation on 15th September which orders local education and law enforcement to apply the Definition when addressing matters regarding antisemitism.

The Kansas legislature unanimously adopted the Definition in the HCR 5030 bill earlier this year.

The majority of the original Jewish population in Wichita arrived between 1860-1890 during the cattle boom, most of whom were from Germany or Austria. The current Jewish population in the Wichita is thought to be less than 1,000. The 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed that less than one percent of Kansas adults identified as Jewish. In 2017, the Jewish population of Kansas was reported to be 17,300.

The move to adopt the Definition comes after a series of antisemitic flyers were distributed throughout Wichita over the summer. The leaflets contain antisemitic conspiracy theories claiming that Jews are to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic and are involved in paedophilia, an age-old antisemitic trope.

Elsewhere, Broward County in Florida and West Hollywood in California have also adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

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. Wichita joins a growing list of local, state and national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

, ,

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi suspended from Labour again, but in circumstances that call Party’s disciplinary process once more into question

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi has apparently again been suspended from the Labour Party.

Writing on Twitter, the controversial Labour activist said: “I’ve received a Notice of Allegation and Administrative Suspension from @UKLabour. The charge – I “committed a Prohibited Act contrary to Chapter 2, Clause I.5.B of the Rule Book” by speaking at an event run by proscribed organisations in September last year.”

She added: “Admin[istrative] Suspension means I can’t attend AGM of the NEC [National Executive Committee], to which I have just been elected, at Liverpool conference next week. No link of course to my appearance in @AJIunit [Al Jazeera Investigations]’s #LabourFiles series exposing multiple abuses within Labour. First one out tonight. Not to be missed!”

“Solidarity with all the many, many left delegates to conference and other comrades who have been expelled or suspended in recent days and weeks. What a travesty of democracy! Don’t we have some Tories to fight?”

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was referring to a current controversial Al Jazeera documentary that fruitlessly seeks to challenge the well-established antisemitism scandal in the Labour Party.

Last night, after she revealed her suspension, Ms Wimborne-Idrissi appeared to admit that she did indeed attend a meeting last year of the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson’s Resist group, knowing that it was a faction proscribed by the Party.

The controversial pro-Corbyn Momentum faction has tweeted in support of her.

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.

Earlier this month, it was 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 over recent days, particularly after it was reported that, in a Palestine Deep Dive podcast last week, 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?’ ‘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, even as other social media users have made suggestions about whom she may have been referring to.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi’s suspension from the Labour Party, but we have been down this road before only to find ourselves back where we started after she was readmitted to the Party. Time will tell whether this removal is permanent.

“This latest suspension has come following her embarrassing election to the NEC, immediately after a controversy about her comments on a podcast, and also as she features in a newly-released controversial documentary by Al Jazeera. However, the reported basis of the suspension relates to her alleged association with a proscribed group a year ago. If so, why was she not suspended for that alleged association until now, and why has this latest suspension not referenced the recent comments and controversies that everyone presumes to be the real reason that the Party wants her out all of a sudden? This chronology hardly inspires confidence in Labour’s disciplinary process, which seems as chaotic and arbitrary as ever.

“From the start, we have always called for a fair and transparent disciplinary process that is not dictated by political expedience or media scrutiny. Ms Wimborne-Idrissi has no place in the Labour Party, as any such process would conclude, but it should not take all of this negative public attention on the Party to bring about that outcome.”

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.

, ,

Manchester Conservatives finally remove candidate from website five months after his endorsement by the Party was revoked following social media revelations

It has taken Manchester Conservatives some five months to remove from its website a local election candidate whose endorsement from the Party was revoked after social media revelations.

On 12th April, it was reported, Sham Raja Akhtar, a Conservative candidate for Sedgley ward in the 2022 local elections, had his endorsement by the Party revoked after numerous historic and inflammatory social media posts were uncovered, including one allegedly comparing Israeli footballers to “assassins”.

It was one instance of a wider pattern of scandals at the Bury North and South Conservative Association, about which Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to the Party.

It was also claimed that Mr Raja subsequently represented the Conservatives at a hustings as late as 23rd April, shortly before the election, an allegation that we also publicised and put to the Party.

Last week, local news revealed that Mr Raja was still listed as Deputy Chair of the Manchester Conservatives on its website, some five months after the scandal and after the Party supposedly cut ties with him.

Since that revelation, it appears that he has finally be removed from the website. Whether his association with the Party endures in the background remains to be seen.

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: Manchester Conservatives

, ,

Iranian President questions Holocaust, calling for it to be “investigated by researchers”

The President of Iran has appeared to question the veracity of the Holocaust and delegitimise the existence of the state of Israel.

In a CBS “60 minutes” interview, Ebrahim Raisi was asked by host Lesley Stahl whether he believed that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. He replied: “Historical events should be investigated by researchers and historians. There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched.”

Asked about Israel’s right to exist, Mr Raisi said: “You see, the people of Palestine are the reality. This is the right of the people of Palestine who were forced to leave their houses and motherland. The Americans are supporting this false regime there to take root and to be established there.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, denying the Holocaust and “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” are both examples of antisemitism.

Mr Raisi also condemned any Arab states that recognise Israel by establishing diplomatic relations, commenting: “If a state shakes hands with the Zionist regime, then they are also an accomplice to their crimes.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of antisemitism. Just last month, for example, the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed that “The western powers are a mafia. The reality of this power is a mafia. At the top of this mafia stand the prominent Zionist merchants, and the politicians obey them. The US is their showcase, and they’re spread out everywhere.”

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

, ,

Fringe Jewish group Na’amod apologises after expose showing it providing assistance to antisemitism-denier Pete Gregson

A fringe Jewish group has apologised after an expose was published showing that it had apparently provided assistance to antisemitism-denier, Pete Gregson.

Na’amod: British Jews Against Occupation, was found by the researcher David Collier to have provided assistance to Pete Gregson.

According to e-mails uncovered by Mr Collier, it appeared that Mr Gregson was organising a tour for the fringe and controversial Neturei Karta group’s Rabbi Dovid Weiss and the activist Azzam Tamimi, who has previously urged the people of Gaza to “explode in their faces” and engage in Jihad, in an apparent reference to violent terrorism against Israelis.

When details of the tour first emerged in late July, Campaign Against Antisemitism condemned it.

The e-mail exchange appeared to show Mr Gregson telling Na’amod that he was looking for venues in several cities, including those with large Muslim populations but that he also wanted to reach out to Jewish people. He asked Na’amod if it could suggest some venues.

According to Mr Collier, a reply e-mail to Mr Gregson allegedly from Na’amod said, “That all sounds really good” and attached a master list of venues that the group uses for its own events, apparently in order to assist Mr Gregson.

In 2019, Pete Gregson was suspended by the Labour Party and expelled from the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum and the GMB union for saying that Israel was a “racist endeavour” which “exaggerates” the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis for “political ends”. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust” is an example of antisemitism, as is “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).”

In the same year, Mr Gregson set up LAZIR to support Jeremy Corbyn, to campaign for the International Definition of Antisemitism to be dropped by Labour and for Labour’s Jewish affiliate to be thrown out of the Party.

In September 2019, police officers removed an antisemitic poster outside the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. The poster depicted the then-Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, piloting a fighter jet labelled “the lobby” and yelling “Antisemite! Antisemite! Antisemite!” at the then-Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing at a podium labelled “Palestinian rights”. The implication of the poster is that the Israeli Government or the “Israel lobby” — portrayed in a militaristic fashion — has weaponised antisemitism and is behind defamatory accusations of antisemitism against the Labour leader, and that Israel wields significant power over British political affairs. The poster was designed and put up by Mr Gregson.

Mr Gregson is believed to be a member of the Resist Movement, headed by the disgraced former Labour MP, Chris Williamson, and is believed to be the chair of the antisemitism-denial group Campaign Against Bogus Antisemitism.

After Mr Collier apparently first privately put the allegation to Na’amod, the group published a defiant statement on 23rd August, saying: “Na’amod has been accused of supplying a list of venues to Pete Gregson for his ‘Rabbi On The Road’ tour. Na’amod has never supported this individual in this or any other capacity. Targeting of Na’amod is consistent with far-right, pro-occupation groups and individuals who attempt to undermine those striving for the human rights of Palestinians under occupation. Na’amod will continue to take a stand against the moral crisis that is Israel’s occupation, and mobilise our community in support of freedom, equality and justice for all in Israel-Palestine. Join us.”

Amidst a Jewish communal outcry, the group then put out a more equivocal statement on 8th September, saying: “We recently put out a statement regarding accusations of assisting Pete Gregson. Our initial investigation uncovered no evidence of assistance, and we have been unable to locate any e-mail to suggest that we have supported him on his tour.

“We will continue to conduct an internal investigation and seek external support, to get a clear understanding of what has happened and whether our communication channels have been compromised. We want to reiterate that Na’amod rejects Gregson’s rhetoric. We will continue to mobilise our community in support of freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis.”

After an investigation, Na’amod determined that the allegation was, in fact, accurate.

In a statement a week later on 14th September, the controversial group said: “We have spent the last few days comprehensively investigating the origin of the unauthorised e-mail which was sent from the Na’amod account to Pete Gregson, and have concluded that the e-mail was sent by a member of our team, who is no longer in their position.

“As a movement, we try to be transparent when we get things wrong. This e=mail should never have been sent, and was not approved. We unequivocally reject and condemn Pete Gregson’s antisemitic views, and want nothing to do with him.“We are committed to being honest and open, and learning to be a better movement, in order to mobilise our community in support of freedom, justice and equality for all Jews, Israelis and Palestinians. We are hugely regretful and disappointed that this happened, and offer our sincere apologies.”

, ,

Labour councillors previously suspended for alleged inflammatory posts still representing the Party

Two Labour Party councillors who were suspended for allegedly making inflammatory social media posts about Jews are still representing the Party, according to online sources.

After Cllr Ibrahim Ali won his seat in Haringey in the local elections in May, it emerged that he was previously employed by the controversial CAGE activist group. In 2015, he reportedly defended the description of the terrorist known as Jihadi John as a “beautiful young man” while speaking to a Parliamentary committee. 

Cllr Ali was suspended by the Labour Party pending an investigation, but has now apparently returned from suspension after the Party reportedly cleared him of any wrongdoing.

During those same elections in May, Councillor Belgica Guaña was suspended hours before the polls opened after it was alleged that she posted a horrific article arguing that “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.”

Cllr Guaña was also alleged to have posted the article, titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity”, on Facebook in 2016, two years before she became a councillor in Newham in London.

The article says that “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them – a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day. The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter. 

“The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

The essay also argues that Jews use pornography to control western societies by way of the “Holocaust hoax”, and pushes the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, as well as claiming that teenage diarist Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis at Bergen-Belsen, was a “bisexual degenerate” whose popular diary is an “obvious fraud…laced with pornographic and sexually subversive messages”.

In May 2016, Cllr Guaña reportedly shared a post that said that “The Nazi holocaust [sic] was a crime against humanity, and the Israeli Genocide against Palestinians can not be ignored or denied,” and in December 2017, Cllr Guaña is said to have shared a video of the United Nations General Assembly, writing: “If you can have a minute of silence for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. So how much time should I ask for the more than 50 years of invasion and oppression of the Palestinian people?” Both posts are further breaches of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism went on to report Cllr Guaña to the police, as well as to New-ham Council.

It now appears, however, that Cllr Guaña is still listed as a member of the Labour Group on Newham Council.

The Labour group at Newham Council has repeatedly been the subject of controversy in relation to antisemitism allegations. In 2020, a leaked report reportedly detailed a complaint by the Council’s only Jewish member about a “culture of accepted antisemitism”, and then last year the Chair of Labour in Newham was reportedly to be investigated over alleged antisemitism, just days after his deputy was suspended over alleged antisemitic social media activity.

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

, ,

JVL settles and apologises in libel case brought by journalist John Ware

Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, have reportedly settled and apologised in a libel case that was brought against them by the journalist, John Ware.

The libel action concerned comments made by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi, one of the group’s founders and its Media Officer, on Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show, in which she claimed that Mr Ware had a “terrible record of Islamophobia, far-right politics” and that the BBC had in the past had to “apologise” for his journalism and discipline him.

The claims were then repeated on the JVL website, and JVL’s Web Officer, Richard Kuper, was also a defendant. Mr Kuper is the founder of Pluto Press, which was previously the publishing arm of the International Socialists, now known as the Socialist Workers Party. Mr Ware denied the claims made by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi.

Mr Ware was the maker of the BBC Panorama documentary “Is Labour Antisemitic”. The programme, which was televised in July 2019, showed former Labour Party employees speaking out publicly to reveal Jeremy Corbyn’s personal meddling in disciplinary cases relating to antisemitism. The programme explained how senior Labour Party staffers, some of whom Campaign Against Antisemitism has known for years, used to run Labour’s disciplinary process independently, but soon after Mr Corbyn’s election as Party leader found themselves contending with his most senior aides, who were brazen in their efforts to subvert due process. During the programme, Labour’s press team made claims that the staffers featured had political axes to grind and lacked credibility, and the whistleblowers and Mr Ware commenced libel proceedings against the Labour Party.

At a preliminary hearing to determine the ordinary meaning of Ms Wimborne-Idrissi’s words, she argued that they were just “honest opinion.” However, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that reasonable listeners would have understood the comments as statements of fact, namely that Mr Ware had “engaged in Islamophobia and extreme, far right politics, as a consequence of which the BBC has had to apologise for his conduct,” and that there were “reasonable grounds to suspect” that Mr Ware had “an extensive record of Islamophobia and of involvement in extreme, far-right politics.”

Mr Ware observed that he had never been disciplined on any matter by the BBC, had no “record of Islamophobia” and had never promoted “extreme far-right politics”. 

Following this ruling, Ms Wimborne-Idrissi had to prove that these assertions of fact were true, which is a higher threshold than showing that they were mere honest opinions.

Mr Ware told Jewish News that “I can confirm my case against Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, JVL and Richard Kuper has been settled and that there will be a full apology made to me in open court next month.”

JVL subsequently wrote a tweet saying that they have a “large bill to pay”. It was reported that the group faces “financial collapse” due to the proceedings.

In a statement, JVL said: “Mediation in the case brought by John Ware against Jewish Voice for Labour and two of its officers has now occurred and we can announce that terms of settlement have been agreed, including an apology from Naomi Wimborne Idrissi and JVL for defamatory statements made on the Jeremy Vine Show and included in a Facebook post which we reproduced on our website on 15 July 2019. Once a statement of apology has been read out in open court it will be put up on our website.”

While the scale of any financial settlement has not been disclosed, it is being reported that JVL is crowdfunding for £200,000, telling supporters: “We now need your help more than ever if JVL is to survive and continue doing the work which is so much valued within our movement.”

In his recent report, Martin Forde QC ludicrously suggested that JVL should have a role in antisemitism education in the Labour Party, of which JVL is still, outrageously, considered a legitimate faction.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was recently elected to Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee.

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.

, , , ,

“They need to see zero tolerance towards antisemitism”: Rabbi Menachem Margolin on what European countries must do to ensure Jewish life

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the Chairman and founder of the European Jewish Association (EJA), an organisation that promotes and defends Jewish interests in Europe, a large part of which involves raising awareness of, and tackling, antisemitism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about the EJA’s first-of-its-kind index which polled the best European countries for Jews to live in.

When asked if he was surprised that the report ranked Italy and Hungary as the top two countries for Jews to live in, while Poland, Belgium and France came out bottom, he said that he was not.

“What is important is not what the media says” he said. “We have to concentrate on what is important for Jewish life.”

Rabbi Margolin said that in the case of Hungary, he noticed “a renaissance of Jewish life” taking place, noting the country’s growth of synagogues as an indicator.

Rabbi Margolin said that he hoped that world leaders would take notice of the findings and that they would back up any promises to enhance Jewish life with actions. 

“The action,” he explained, “is providing the Jewish communities the conditions they need to grow. They need security, they need freedom of religion, they need support, they need to see zero tolerance towards antisemitism, they need to see the government is really committed to combating antisemitism, they would like to see governments treat Israel in a fair way; not with double standards.”

Throughout the interview, Rabbi Margolin touched upon a variety of other issues which included the rise of antisemitism in the United States and his advice for tackling antisemitism.

The podcast with Rabbi Margolin can be listened to here, or watched here.

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.

, ,

“This is not a case merely of a few bad apples”: Labour’s NEC election results underscore Party’s enduring cultural problem over antisemitism

Last night, the results of the election of members to the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) were announced.

While most of the results indicated that Labour is trying to move on from its scandal of institutional antisemitism, a number of successful candidates have worrying records that raise questions about the Party’s progress.

Foremost among them is Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, which is an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation. Ms Wimborne-Idrissi received the endorsement of well over one hundred of the 650 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) – which poll their members to decide whom to endorse – as well as sufficient votes to win a place on the NEC. She has previously been suspended from the Labour Party before inexplicably being reinstated.

Another is Yasmine Dar, the pro-Corbyn former Chair of Labour’s disputes panel who did not believe that the Party has a problem of institutional antisemitism even as her brother was suspended over antisemitism allegations.

There were other concerning figures as well, such as Young Labour Chair Jess Barnard, who has expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, amongst other worrying positions.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, we’ve made progress in tackling antisemitism. We are implementing our EHRC antisemitism action plan and are rolling out antisemitism awareness training across the party with the Jewish Labour Movement. Keir Starmer pledged to pull antisemitism up by its roots and that work continues.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The outcome of the election of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee shows that there still remains a significant section of the Party’s membership that is intent on returning – or even newly elevating – the extremists of yesteryear to power, including those who undermined the disciplinary process and made their names denying the Party’s antisemitism.

“This is not a case merely of a few bad apples that happened to get elected, but rather a problem with the cultural soil of the Party. These fruits are the flowering of the rotten roots that Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly pledged to tear out.

“It must be asked why these people remain members of the Party and therefore able to stand for office at all, and why a group like Jewish Voice for Labour has still not been proscribed, as other groups have been. Then there is the much harder question of why there are so many people in Labour who are electing them.

“Yes, progress has been made since Sir Keir became leader, but his recent claims to have solved the antisemitism crisis are belied by this result, which in any other major political party would be utterly scandalous.”

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.

,

US politicians across political spectrum criticised for inflammatory social media comments about Jews

It has been reported that a number of political figures in the United States have come under fire for making inflammatory comments about Jews.

In Arizona, three Republican candidates have been criticised for their endorsement of an Oklahoma-based candidate who has made a number of remarks about Jews.

The endorsements of the Arizona Republicans, Kari Lake, Mark Finchem, and Wendy Rogers appear on the website of the Oklahoma State Senate candidate, Jarrin Jackson, who has reportedly said that he is not “beholden to Jews”, that he “ain’t owned by the Jews”, that “all Jews will go to hell if they don’t believe the gospel of Jesus Christ”, and that “I love Jews because Christ told me to, not because they deserve it.”

Mr Jackson also appears to have been prompted by a documentary he watched to have said that Jews are an example that “evil exists”.

Ms Lake has since retracted her endorsement of Mr Jackson, but neither Mr Finchem nor Ms Rogers apparently responded to journalists’ requests for a comment.

It has been reported that Ms Rogers had at one point posted a meme of a dead rhino – possibly in reference to the liberal wing of her Party, known pejoratively as RINOs – with a Star of David on the animal.

In San Francisco, a candidate running for the city government has been forced to issue an apology after making fun of the name of a Jewish journalist and calling them a “Nazi”.

Leanna Louie, who was running for a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, wrote a post on Facebook in which she called a local journalist, Joe Eskenazi, “EskeNAZI”.

Comparing her experiences of being interviewed by a local radio station with her interactions with Mr Eskenazi, Ms Louie wrote that “It was so nice to talk to a journalist who actually had a dialogue with me. Unlike Joe EskenNAZI who called me and talked over me and didn’t even write any of my responses.”

After being criticised by other local officials, including Gordon Mar, the incumbent supervisor in the district where she is running, as well as the District Attorney, John Hamasaki, Ms Louie wrote an apology saying that the “formatting of his surname was in poor taste and I want to sincerely apologise to Joe Eskenazi, his family, and the Jewish community,” but maintained her criticisms of his journalistic approach.

The criticisms that Ms Louie has faced are not dissimilar to those faced by a progressive activist group that is a part of the Democratic Party, which has apparently mocked the names of two New York politicians, both of whom are Jewish.

Referring to the US House Candidate, Dan Goldman, and the State Assemblyman, Jeffrey Dinowitz, the group No IDC tweeted: “The jerk buying a House seat with inherited money is ‘Goldman’…the IDC adjacent Assembly member is ‘DINOwitz’. Who came up with these names, Dickens?”

The Bronx Democratic Congressman, Ritchie Torres, said that this comment was “dripping with antisemitism”.

Following the criticisms of Mr Torres and others, No IDC deleted the tweet and wrote one in apology, saying that “We’re sorry – no antisemitism was intended and we took this down when folks expressed concerns it could be taken the wrong way.” 

The group also said that their social media Account Manager has been suspended from their position.

Over in New Hampshire, the official Twitter page of the state’s Libertarian Party wrote a post that mocked the Holocaust: “6 million dollar minimum wage or you’re antisemitic,” the Party tweeted, a reference to the number of Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.

The tweet was, however, deleted following criticism from Twitter users and a number of Jewish organisations.

In Hamilton, New Jersey, a candidate for the town’s school board has abandoned the race after some of his comments on social media came to light.

Nicholas Ferrara, who was running on a “traditional education” platform, allegedly wrote a post on the social media platform Gab in January that he was “FOR execution of the marxist/communists jews [sic].”

Founded in 2016 in partial response to alleged censorship on mainstream social networks, Gab claims to “champion free speech and individual liberty”, but has become a haven for neo-Nazis, white nationalists, supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and individuals banned from mainstream platforms.

Gab came to global attention in 2018, when it was revealed that Robert Gregory Bowers, who is accused of murdering eleven Jews during a shooting in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, a suburb of Pittsburgh, was a Gab user and had posted what appear to be items of neo-Nazi propaganda and antisemitic comments on the site.

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

, ,

Jeremy Corbyn praises “energy and good messages” of inflammatory rapper and activist Lowkey

Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, has come under fire for praising the “energy and good messages” of the inflammatory rapper and activist, Lowkey.

Mr Corbyn tweeted his support for Lowkey, whose real name is Kareem Dennis, following a performance by Lowkey in Amsterdam. Lowkey wrote on Twitter: “A beautiful conclusion to 4 city tour of the Netherlands in Amsterdam last night. Thank you to all who came out!”

Mr Corbyn responded: “Well done Lowkey, what energy and good messages you carry!”

Lowkey’s songs include lyrics such as “nothing is more antisemitic than Zionism”. He is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A month-long investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst PSC supporters on social media. Lowkey has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as “antisemitic”, and spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism.

More recently, Lowkey has reportedly claimed that the “mainstream media” has “weaponised the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stave off” inquiries about far-right groups in Ukraine. He has also appeared on the disgraced former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012. Lowkey has appeared alongside the disgraced academic David Miller, and was recently embroiled in a controversy at the National Union of Students.

Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP as he is indefinitely suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party, but he remains a member of the Labour MP, from which he was briefly suspended before outrageously being readmitted.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The controversial rapper and activist Lowkey has previously described Israel as a ‘racist endeavour’ and Zionism as ‘antisemitic’, and has spoken of the ‘Zionist lobby’ in the context of global capitalism. He has also repeatedly associated with the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson and the conspiracist and disgraced academic David Miller, and was recently embroiled in a controversy at the National Union of Students.

“Whether despite or because of this inflammatory record, Lowkey has drawn praise from none other than Jeremy Corbyn for the ‘good messages you carry’. Yet still, the Labour Party is happy to have Mr Corbyn as a member. Why is the Party so stubbornly unable to see what all of the rest of us can?”

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.

, ,

Canadian anti-racist organisation loses federal funds after researcher’s “Jewish White Supremacists” tweets surface

The Canadian Minister for Housing and Diversity, Ahmed Hussen, has said that no more federal funds will be allocated to an anti-racist organisation after one of its researchers was reported to have posted a series of antisemitic tweets.

In 2021, the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC) received C$133,800 from the Department of Canadian Heritage (known as Canadian Heritage), whose stated aim is to promote and support “Canadian identity and values, cultural development, and heritage”.

However, that grant has come under scrutiny after the twitter activity of one senior consultant to CMAC, Laith Marouf, has come to light.

Mr Marouf is alleged to have written: “You know all those loud mouthed bags of human feces, aka the Jewish White Supremacists; when we liberate Palestine and they have to go back to where they come from, they will return to being low voiced bitches of thier [sic] Christian/Secular White Supremacist Masters”.

The phrase “Jewish White Supremacists” has featured in some of Mr Marouf’s other tweets as well, such as one that read: “Life is too short for shoes with laces, or for entertaining Jewish White Supremacists with anything but a bullet to the head.” He also seems to have called Israel the “Zionist Colony of Human Feces”.

Another time, when commenting on alleged Israeli military action in Syria, Mr Marouf allegedly said, “May death visit the home of every Zionist on this earth,” and he appears to have described Israelis as “filthy Zionist scum”. 

Mr Marouf is also alleged to have said that “Nothing is more harmful to any decolonisation movements in the world, especially Palestine, than Jewish White Boys/Girls.”

In May 2022, Mr Marouf took to Twitter to say that “The little castrated b***** who are rampaging through old Jerusalem and alAqsa Mosque today, will be packing their bags & going back to where once they were treated as bitches and never dared to fight back”, apparently referring how how the Jewish diaspora in Europe was treated historically.

In March of this year, Mr Marouf apparently described the Ukrainian President, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, who has a Jewish background, as “pretend-Jewish” and claimed that there was a “Zionist-Nazi alliance” at work in Ukraine that aims to move Ukrainian Jews to Israel following the Russian invasion of the country.

It is alleged that Canadian Heritage has been paying Mr Marouf C$470 per day for his contributions to CMAC.

The group Canadian Defenders for Human Rights (CD4HR), whose Director was found to have posted a virulently antisemitic meme and antisemitic text on Facebook and Twitter, defended Mr Marouf on Twitter, writing: “#zionists in #OccupiedPalestine kill the opposition with gun fire or missiles & in #Canada they kill the opposition by defamation or making them lose contracts/funding. These are ugly & evil sophisticated methods to bully & assassinate all opposition. #LaithMarouf is a victim.”

Mr Marouf’s lawyer, Stephen Ellis, wrote an e-mail saying that his client’s tweets should be quoted “verbatim” and made a distinction between what he called Mr Marouf’s “clear reference to ‘Jewish white supremacists’” and Jewish people in general. Mr Ellis also said that Mr Marouf does not have “any animus toward the Jewish faith as a collective group.”

In a statement, Mr Hussen said: “We condemn this unacceptable behaviour by an individual working in an organisation dedicated to fighting racism and discrimination. Our position is clear – antisemitism and any form of hate have no place in Canada.”

The former Justice Minister, Irwin Cotler, who was also appointed as Canada’s Special Envoy on Antisemitism, said that Mr Marouf’s tweets were “beyond the pale”.

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

,

Palestinian Authority President partially retracts “50 Holocausts” comment but faces investigation

The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has partially revised comments that he made in which he accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts”.

In a new statement released by the official Palestinian Authority news agency, Wafa, in which he walked back his earlier remarks, Mr Abbas, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, said that the Holocaust was “the most heinous crime in modern human history”.

However, this has apparently not prevented Mr Abbas from facing an investigation for possible incitement to hatred in relation to his comments. This is because it is a criminal offence to minimise the Holocaust in Germany.

This does not mean that Mr Abbas will face a full investigation, because he would be immune from prosecution because he was visiting Germany in an official capacity.

Speaking on stage alongside the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, while on a visit to Berlin, Mr Abbas refused to condemn the horrific attack by Arab terrorists at the Munich Olympics in 1972, when they murdered eleven Israeli athletes. The fiftieth anniversary of the attack is due to be commemorated this year.

Instead of condemning the terrorist atrocity, Mr Abbas accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts”. He said: “From 1947 to the present day, Israel has committed 50 massacres in Palestinian villages and cities, in Deir Yassin, Tantura, Kafr Qasim and many others, 50 massacres, 50 Holocausts.”

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

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was standing next to Mr Abbas when he made his remark, later condemned it on Twitter, writing: “For us Germans in particular, any relativisation of the singularity of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable. I am disgusted by the outrageous remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.”

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.

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

, ,

SNP MP meets with expelled Labour Party member

An MP for the Scottish National Party (SNP) is facing criticism for meeting with an activist previously embroiled in antisemitism allegations who was reportedly expelled by the Labour Party. 

Tommy Sheppard, who represents Edinburgh East, is reported to have met with Pete Gregson, who was expelled from the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum and from the GMB trade union and suspended from the Labour Party after suggesting that the Holocaust was exaggerated and for abusive behaviour towards a female Jewish Labour member.

Mr Sheppard apparently organised the meeting in order to dampen efforts to make the Scottish capital a twin city with Gaza.

This follows Mr Sheppard’s appearance at the controversial Gig for Gaza, an anti-Israel rally held in Edinburgh in June, which was organised by Mr Gregson.

During the event, Mr Sheppard made a speech calling for pressure on the British Government to “make sure that Israel does answer for its actions.” He also appeared alongside signs that claimed that “Zionism is Racism” and described the Labour Party’s Jewish affiliate and Friends of Israel faction as a “cancer”. The signs appear to be associated with the organisations Labour Against Zionism and Islamophobic Racism (LAZIR) and Campaign Against Bogus Antisemitism, both of which were founded by Mr Gregson.

In 2017, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards opened an investigation into an event hosted by Mr Sheppard, in which it is alleged that Jewish people were deliberately excluded.

In 2019, Mr Gregson was suspended by the Labour Party and expelled from the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum and the GMB union for saying that Israel was a “racist endeavour” which “exaggerates” the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis for “political ends”.

In the same year, Mr Gregson set up LAZIR to support Jeremy Corbyn, to campaign for the International Definition of Antisemitism to be dropped by Labour and for Labour’s Jewish affiliate to be thrown out of the Party. 

In September 2019, police officers removed an antisemitic poster outside the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. The poster depicted the then-Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, piloting a fighter jet labelled “the lobby” and yelling “Antisemite! Antisemite! Antisemite!” at the then-Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing at a podium labelled “Palestinian rights”. The implication of the poster is that the Israeli Government or the “Israel lobby” — portrayed in a militaristic fashion — has weaponised antisemitism and is behind defamatory accusations of antisemitism against the Labour leader, and that Israel wields significant power over British political affairs. The poster was designed and put up by Mr Gregson.

Mr Gregson is believed to be a member of the Resist Movement, headed by the disgraced former Labour MP, Chris Williamson, and is believed to be the chair of the antisemitism-denial group Campaign Against Bogus Antisemitism.

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.

, ,

Labour councillor claims tweets questioning Israel’s existence and referring to radio presenter as “that Jew” were “taken out of context”

A councillor for the Labour Party in Leeds who came under fire for making inflammatory comments about Jews on Twitter has claimed that his online output has been “taken out of context”.

In May, Leeds’s Labour group launched an investigation into two social media posts written by Councillor John Garvani in 2012. 

However, when local press asked to be updated on the progress of the case, the group’s spokesperson now claims Cllr Garvani was sanctioned for his comments by the Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) a year earlier but did not state how exactly the councillor was reprimanded.

In one post, Cllr Garvani had allegedly written “Why can’t we question the existence of Israel?” accompanied by a link to an article with that title on a political website.

In another post, written five months later, Mr Garvani referred to a guest on BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme as “that Jew”.

Cllr Garvani had been slated to chair a council meeting after he was elected, but the Leeds Labour Group prevented him from standing as a candidate for the role at the authority’s Annual General Meeting when his tweets came to light.

When he was asked if he had any regrets about what he had said, Cllr Garvani said: “I regret that they’ve been taken out of context. They’ve been dealt with by the Party and I was reminded of the Party’s social media code of conduct.”

Cllr Garvani claimed that the tweet about Israel was misunderstood because people seeing the post after the fact had not read the accompanying article. 

Regarding the tweet about the radio guest, Cllr Garvani maintained that he had only referred to them as “that Jew” because he could not remember their name and it was a case of using “rapid shorthand”: “If it had been an Islamic guest I’d have referred to them as ‘that Muslim’ and if it had been a Christian I’d have referred to them as ‘that Christian’.”

A Conservative Party councillor in Leeds, Dan Cohen, who is Jewish, said in May after the tweets first came to light that “I consider these tweets to be antisemitic and grossly insulting.”

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.

,

Italian politician suspended for Holocaust joke

An Italian politician has been suspended by his party after he made what appeared to be jokes about the Holocaust.

Councillor Giorgio Longobardi, who represents Naples for the Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) Party, joked that the rival Democratic Party wanted to show Holocaust films, including Schindler’s List, Anne Frank’s Diary, The Pianist, and Life is Beautiful, on television prior to the upcoming general election, which would be, he claimed, “interspersed with insights and testimonies from Holocaust survivors”.

Mr Longobardi later defended himself, releasing a statement which said that the councillor has “never made fun of the tragedy of the Holocaust” and his comments were “aimed only at highlighting the means that the left uses in the electoral campaign.”

A joint statement released by the Italy-Israel Federation and Naples’s Jewish community said that Mr Longobardi’s comments were “offensive to the memory of six million Jews” and accused the councillor of at one point “plaster[ing] his office” with posters praising Benito Mussolini, Italy’s former fascist dictator.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism incidents in Italy which have markedly increased according to a recent report.

,

Over one in eight Jews flee Russia since invasion of Ukraine, eliciting crackdown on Jewish Agency reminiscent of Soviet era

Over one in eight Jewish Russians have emigrated since the country invaded Ukraine, according to the Jewish Agency, which facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel.

The sizeable migration has elicited a crackdown by the Russian Government on the Jewish Agency reminiscent to some of antisemitic persecution of Jews by the Soviet Union and restrictions on Jewish immigration.

The Jewish Agency estimates that 20,500 Russian Jews of an estimated total of 165,000 have moved to Israel, with thousands more leaving for other countries.

Even the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, left the country two weeks after the invasion.

Anna Shternshis, Professor of Yiddish studies at Toronto University and a specialist in Russian-Jewish history who was herself born and raised in Russia, told the BBC: “I have been thinking quite a bit about why there is such a rush to go because we are not seeing a huge surge of antiseemitism. But then putting my historian hat on, I see that every time something happens in Russia, some upheaval, some change, Jews are always in danger.” Referencing over a century of recent Russian antisemitism, she said that “Not everyone acts on it, but every Jew in Russia today is thinking about this.”

One Russian Jew also recounted in dismay: “After 24th February, my family realised we were absolutely against this war but we did not know how we could protest. One of my children is the age of military service, so that is another reason we want to go. The authorities in Russia are unpredictable and they have a bad tendency; Jews become one of their propaganda targets, we are traditionally a good way to find internal enemies. My great-grandparents and grandparents suffered from those times.”

For those Russian Jews wishing to leave in anticipation of a possible rise in antisemitism, the shuttering of the Jewish Agency in Russia is alarming. The same individual said: “All of a sudden we see that on the news, and we wonder what is next? We feel very unsafe and we think could we lose our jobs, or go to jail. Things have become very scary.”

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

, ,

Labour councillor criticised for using term “Jewess” in local Party WhatsApp group

A Labour Party councillor has been criticised for using the term “Jewess” in a local Party WhatsApp group.

Coventry City Council’s Christine Thomas, who was elected to represent the Binley and Willenhall ward, used the term, which is widely understood to be a derogatory slur for a Jewish woman, in reference to a conversation she had with a fellow activist regarding the antisemitic former Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

A screenshot from the conversation appears to show Cllr Thomas write: “I had [a very] interesting encounter with a [Jewess] at [a] conference. She was furious. She said it was a lot of crap set to discredit [Jeremy Corbyn]. She even said so from the platform. Saying that the Jewish Labour group did not speak for her. We have Jewish members in [Coventry] South. I know them well. Never have they ever said ANYTHING about antisemitic behaviour.”

According to the Jewish News, fellow Labour members have reported Cllr Thomas’ message to the Party’s compliance unit for investigation. 

A fellow Party member said: “Cllr Thomas clearly seems to be supporting the view that the existence of widespread antisemitism in the party under the previous leader was just a smear.

“As for her use of the word ‘Jewess’, just why does she think it’s OK to use such an obviously offensive term?”

Cllr Thomas has since apologised for the message, stating: “The term used to describe a lady who follows the Jewish faith that I used is apparently regarded as a slur. I was not aware of that fact and I can assure you no such insult or slur is intended. Therefore if it has offended anybody I apologise for my ignorance in using an outdated term which is now frowned upon.”

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.

, , ,

Suspended Labour Councillor appears to continue to enjoy membership in Labour Group

A Labour Party councillor who was reportedly suspended by the Party appears to continue to enjoy membership of his Council’s Labour Group.

Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, who served, until his reported suspension, as the leader of the Labour Group on Pendle Council in Lancashire, was reportedly suspended earlier this 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.

However, Campaign Against Antisemitism has now been informed that Cllr Iqbal continues to enjoy membership of the Labour Group at the Council, despite his apparent suspension. We have, 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 continues to be listed as a Labour councillor.

Earlier this year, Conservatives in Bury also came under scrutiny after it emerged that a suspended candidate appeared to represent the Party at a hustings.

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.

,

New Mexico adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

The State of New Mexico has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order incorporating the Definition into state law.

The Board Chairman of the Israeli-American Coalition for Action said that the organisation “applauds Gov. Grisham for not only recognising [the] IHRA [Definition] but for implementing it in order to ensure equal protections from discrimination for Jewish victims. We are grateful to see that Jewish and Israeli-Americans are not left to contend with incidents of antisemitic hatred alone.”

Jewish life in New Mexico may date as far back as the 1590s, when crypto-Jews who had escaped Spain were among the early settlers in the region, but expanded from the mid-1840s after the United States gained control of the territory.

There are reportedly 12,625 Jewish people in New Mexico as of 2020, making up 0.6% of a total population of just under 2.1 million.

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. New Mexico joins a growing list of national and state governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

, ,

German Chancellor “disgusted” by Palestinian Authority President’s remarks diminishing the Holocaust in his visit to Berlin

The German Chancellor has condemned remarks by the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) made while on a visit to Berlin.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas, also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mazen, refused to condemn the horrific attack by Arab terrorists at the Munich Olympics in 1972, when they murdered eleven Israeli athletes. The fiftieth anniversary of the attack is due to be commemorated this year.

Instead of condemning the terrorist atrocity, Mr Abbas accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts”. He said: “From 1947 to the present day, Israel has committed 50 massacres in Palestinian villages and cities, in Deir Yassin, Tantura, Kafr Qasim and many others, 50 massacres, 50 Holocausts.”

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

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was standing next to Mr Abbas when he made his remark, later condemned it on Twitter, writing: “For us Germans in particular, any relativisation of the singularity of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable. I am disgusted by the outrageous remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.”

The Israeli Prime Minister also condemned the comments, writing on Twitter: “Mahmoud Abbas accusing Israel of having committed ‘50 Holocausts’ while standing on German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie. History will never forgive him.”

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.

The official Palestinian Authority news agency, Wafa, did not include the Holocaust comments in its report of the meeting between Mr Abbas and Mr Scholz, and the Palestinian Authority dismissed the condemnations and issued no apology.

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

,

Upper house of New South Wales’ Parliament unanimously backs ban on public display of Nazi flags and swastika memorabilia

The Crimes Amendment (Prohibition on display of Nazi symbols) Bill 2022 has unanimously passed the upper house of the New South Wales Parliament, meaning that the knowing public display of Nazi flags or memorabilia bearing swastikas in the state could land an offender with up to one year in jail or a possible fine of over AU$100,000.

The bill was introduced earlier this year, and it makes New South Wales the second state, after Victoria, to pass such legislation.

The law would allow use of the swastika when it is in the public interest, for example in academic, historical and educational contexts, as well as in religious settings, particularly for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

The Attorney General of New South Wales, Mark Speakman, said that the passage of the bill was a significant moment for Holocaust survivors and their families. He said: “The events that occurred under the Nazi regime represent one of the darkest periods of recorded human history. The atrocities committed during that period are almost unimaginable, and the intergenerational trauma they have caused continues to be felt by many people today.

“This new offence sends a clear message that the display of Nazi symbols, and the hatred and bigotry they represent will not, and should not, be tolerated. This new criminal offence will provide important, additional safeguards against hate speech and vilification in our state.”

Surinder Jain, the Vice-President of the Hindu Council of Australia, said: “For too long, the Hindu community has not felt comfortable to display our symbol of peace because it resembled a symbol of evil. This is no longer. We were so pleased to work with the Jewish community to make this a reality. Thank you to everyone involved in this important work for the benefit of our entire community.”

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

, ,

Jewish Voice for Labour’s Glyn Secker says “Jews who place Israel at the core of their being” are an “obscenity”

A senior Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) official has said that “Jews who place Israel at the core of their being” are an “obscenity”.

In footage published by the Jewish News, Glyn Secker, the Secretary of JVL, can appear to be heard making the remarks in his speech at a protest this week organised by Stop The War, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of Al Aqsa.

In his recent report, Martin Forde QC ludicrously suggested that JVL, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, should have a role in antisemitism education in the Labour Party, of which JVL is still, outrageously, considered a legitimate faction.

In the past, Mr Secker has said that Jewish organisations are “in the gutter” and “part of the problem”, among other inflammatory comments.

Young Labour Chair Jess Barnard also spoke at the protest.

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.

, ,

Rabbis who quit Len McCluskey’s Unite over stance on antisemitism join GMB

A group of rabbis who quit the Unite union during Len McCluskey’s tenure as General Secretary have this week joined the GMB union after it passed a motion condemning antisemitism.

In 2018, five Progressive rabbis terminated their membership of the Faith Workers’ Branch of Unite over Mr McCluskey’s stance on Labour antisemitism. In a letter to the union at the time, they wrote: “Len McCluskey’s most recent comments about the leadership of the Jewish community are not only unhelpful, but are disingenuous, for in so doing he attempts to rewrite the story of the last 6-months and plays down the genuine concerns of the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community, as expressed by our leadership.

“Moreover, his line: ‘before the political estrangement between them and the Labour Party becomes entrenched’, feels a little too much like a threat and does nothing to calm the anxieties we keep hearing from our congregants and across the Jewish community.”

They have now joined the GMB, which recently passed a resolution condemning antisemitism.

At the launch of a new branch for Jewish faith workers within the union earlier this week, GMB’s General Secretary, Gary Smith, pledged: “I give you this absolute commitment that when we encounter antisemitism within our ranks it will be dealt with head on. We don’t want a league table of racists. Antisemitism will be dealt with like any other form of racism.”

Some of the new rabbinical members have written in the JC about their decision.

, ,

French Government vows to change law to expel radical imam with history of inflammatory comments about Jews

The French Government has vowed to change the law in order to be able to expel a radical imam with a history of inflammatory comments about Jews.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that Hassan Iquioussen is an enemy of France who had “no place” in the country.

Mr Iquioussen, 59, is a Moroccan citizen who has lived in France all his life and has become a symbol of President Emmanuel Macron’s battle against Islamism, whom the President accuses of rejecting French laws and values. He did not take up French citizenship at a younger age and his attempts to do so since then have failed.

Morocco has reportedly delivered a laissez-passer to authorise his travel, which cleared the way for Mr Iquioussen’s expulsion “by force”, but the imam won an injunction halting his deportation at the Paris Administrative Court, which ruled that the expulsion was a “disproportionate infringement…of [Iquioussen’s] right to a private and family life.” Mr Iquioussen has five children and numerous grandchildren in France.

During last week’s court hearing, prosecutors highlighted statements allegedly made by Mr Iquioussen in 2003 and 2004 in which he described Jews as “miserly usurers” and claimed that Zionists had “connived with Hitler…to push Jews to leave Germany”. He also reportedly said: “The Zionists said…there has to be someone in Europe who does bad things to Jews so that they…will leave [for Israel].” They also noted a conference in 2012 at which Mr Iquioussen allegedly described terrorist attacks in the West as “pseudo-attacks whose objective is to frighten non-Muslims so that they are afraid of Islam and of Muslims,” and claimed that he has also publicly denied the 1915 Armenian genocide and pointed to allegedly misogynistic comments.

In a post on Facebook, Mr Iquioussen “strongly contested” the allegations that he had used “discriminatory or violent language.” His supporters argue that the comments cited in the case were dated and taken out of context, and pointed to other statements by the imam, such as: “We have never had, and have, nothing against Jews because Islam is a religion based on justice.”

Mr Darmanin has announced that the Government will appeal against the injunction at the State Council, France’s highest administrative court, and warned that if the appeal fails, he would change the law to allow for the deportation.

Confirming that intelligence agencies put Mr Iquioussen on a watchlist of allegedly dangerous radicals eighteen months ago, Mr Darmanin said: “This imam…uses antisemitic language. He denies equality between men and women. He denies genocides. He calls for terrorist attacks in France to be considered as conspiracies.” He added: “The enemies of the Republic have no place in the Republic.”

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.

,

Equality Officer of Fianna Fail’s youth wing skips visit to Jewish museum after antisemitism allegations emerge

The Equality Officer of the youth wing of a major Irish political party has skipped a visit to a Jewish museum after antisemitism allegations emerged against him.

Brian Crehan, who holds the equalities brief for Ogra Fianna Fail, did not attend a visit to the Irish Jewish Museum last month, it has emerged, after the museum was informed about an investigation into him launched following two separate complaints against him by some of his peers.

One complaint apparently relates to a photograph of Mr Crehan, when he was fourteen years old, allegedly dressed as Adolf Hitler. The Party has reportedly been aware of the image for some years since it first surfaced during internal elections.

Mr Crehan, who organised the visit to the museum, has described the complaints as “misconstrued and exaggerated.”

The museum did not prevent Mr Crehan from attending, but he chose not to visit of his own accord, saying in a statement: “The Jewish Museum…contacted our Party headquarters for further details on that complaint, [but] headquarters couldn’t clarify anything due to the complaint being an ongoing investigation. I decided not to attend as I felt it could upset the people in the Jewish Museum who were kind enough to host us. I did not want to put them into a difficult position.

“I find it frustrating that these complaints have been misconstrued and exaggerated, and have upset the membership of my organisation and the people in the Jewish Museum.”

A spokesperson for Fianna Fail said: “The protocols in place for dealing with complaints are clearly established and always adhered to in circumstances where a formal complaint is made.”

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

, , ,

Labour expels Brighton councillor Anne Pissaridou, but not over antisemitism

The Labour Party has reportedly expelled Cllr Anne Pissaridou, but not over antisemitism.

Cllr Pissaridou, along with one of her colleagues in the Labour Group on Brighton and Hove Council, was apparently expelled for belonging to a proscribed organisation.

Earlier this year, Cllr Pissaridou, representing North Portslade in Brighton, was suspended by the Party for a second time after new revelations about her social media output. She was accused of posting messages on social media downplaying antisemitism allegations in the Labour Party and reportedly appeared to condone an online attack on a Jewish party member.

Cllr Pissaridou said: “I am taking legal advice in respect of appealing the decision and do not have any further comment to make at this time.”

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.

,

US condemns Iranian Supreme Leader’s “Zionist merchants” tweet

The United States has condemned claims made by the Supreme Leader of Iran, who said that the West is a mafia-like organisation under the control of “prominent Zionist merchants”.

The US Antisemitism Envoy, Deborah Lipstadt, responded to tweets issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said that “The western powers are a mafia. The reality of this power is a mafia. At the top of this mafia stand the prominent Zionist merchants, and the politicians obey them. The US is their showcase, and they’re spread out everywhere.”

Ms Lipstadt tweeted: “We denounce this continued, egregious antisemitism. This rhetoric is unacceptable – not to mention dangerous – especially from a head of state. It must cease.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran says that its interest is in the destruction of Israel and Zionism, claiming that “Eliminating the Zionist regime doesn’t mean eliminating Jews”. Despite this, commentators have frequently pointed out that the regime’s rhetoric, especially under the administration of the former President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which has been adopted by many of its political allies, merely replaces the word “Jew” with the word “Zionist” when circulating antisemitic conspiracy theories.

According to the US-based group, Secure Community Network (SCN), the massive rise in antisemitic hate crimes during the May 2021 conflict between Israel and the genocidal antisemitic terror group Hamas is partially explained by the “explosion of disinformation” on social media, which SCN attributes to Iran.

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

, ,

Labour Party suspends councillor who allegedly quoted KKK’s David Duke and compared Israel to Nazis

The Labour Party has suspended a councillor from Blackpool based on allegations that he wrote Facebook posts full of inflammatory comments about Jews.

The Party has suspended Councillor David Owen for eighteen months after investigating eight posts that he is alleged to have written between September 2016 and July 2020, including comments that quote the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and another comparing Israel to the Nazis.

Cllr Owen remains, however, part of the Labour group on Blackpool Council.

Cllr Owen released a statement in which he said that “I have tried to remove all my posts which cause offence. I apologise unreservedly to anyone who has read any or all of them and, particularly, I express my sincere regrets to Jewish people as individuals and collectively whom I have wronged through my reckless actions.”

Though Cllr Owen reportedly said that he accepted that his comments were antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, he maintains that the Definition “almost shut[s] down free speech” when it is applied to the State of Israel.

Cllr Owen said: “I am not an antisemite though I have transgressed the definition of what that is in the Labour Party.”

He announced that he intends to appeal his suspension because he feels that the penalty is “disproportionate”.

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.

,

Ukrainian Jewish community demands former Kyiv City Council member is prosecuted over blood libel rant

The Jewish community in Ukraine has announced that it would like to see a former Deputy on Kyiv’s City Council prosecuted for promoting antisemitism.

The United Jewish Communities of Ukraine said that it hopes that Mykhailo Kovalchuk will face legal action for a Facebook post in which he claimed that “some Orthodox Jews practice ritual murder of people, most often their victims are small children, children of non-Jews (Goyim).”

Mr Kovalchuk went on to say that Jews gain “money and power over other peoples…they do not care what will happen to them after death,” before quoting from the Gospel of John in the New Testament: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

The Jewish Community’s statement maintains that Mr Kovalchuk had violated Article 161 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which prevents people from making “false, inhumane, demonising or stereotypical statements about Jews.”

They said that “Such statements are unacceptable in united Ukraine, and even more so during martial law and from a deputy of the city council.”

Mr Kovalchuk was a member of the centre-right Baktivshchyna Party, and entered the Kyiv City Council following the October 2020 local elections. Baktivshchyna favours Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and NATO.

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

,

Bosnia and Herzegovina adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Bosnia and Herzegovina has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The decision took place at both the parliamentary level and the level of the cabinet of the Presidency, and was spearheaded by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Chairman of Parliament, Dargan Čović, and the Serb member of the Presidency Cabinet, Milorad Dodnik.

According to statistics collected over the last decade, there were estimated to be between 500 and 1000 Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina, making up between 0.01 and 0.03 percent of a total population.

The Jewish population has seen a significant decline in recent decades, with about 1,500 Jewish people leaving the territory during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s following the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The Head of the Cabinet of the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tonka Krešić Gagro, said that “I am excited to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, an effort that was made by Mr Dragan Čović. For me, as a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a Jewish legacy in my family, it is a step forward for our people. It is a way to show deep respect for the millions who were murdered during the Holocaust, and to those who survived, and to preserve their legacy and remember history.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates the Bosnian/Herzegovinian 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. Bosnia and Herzegovina joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

, ,

“Chingford Corbynite” Faiza Shaheen reselected as Labour candidate for Chingford and Woodford

Faiza Shaheen has been reselected as the Labour Party’s candidate in the Chingford and Woodford Green constituency.

Ms Shaheen received more than 200 votes from local members. Her main challenger, Bilal Mahmood, who was backed by MPs including Stella Creasy and David Lammy, received just over 160.

Ms Shaheen stood in Chingford and Woodford Green in the 2019 General Election, but was defeated by the Conservative MP, Iain Duncan Smith, who won with a majority of 1,263 votes.

Prior to the 2019 election, Ms Shaheen became known for her close relationship with Mr Corbyn, and was dubbed the “Chingford Corbynite”.

Ms Shaheen has also campaigned with the controversial left-wing filmmaker, Ken Loach, and made statements supporting Naomi Wimbourne-Idrissi, the controversial Media Officer of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation Jewish Voice for Labour.

In 2018, footage emerged in which Ms Shaheen appeared to say that it was “not a fact” that the 1972 Munich Olympic terrorist attack, in which eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were murdered by the Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, was motivated by antisemitism. Ms Shaheen denies these claims.

In a BBC Newsnight interview immediately following the 2019 election, in which she appeared alongside the veteran Labour politician, Jack Straw, Ms Shaheen claimed that the media had told “lies” about Mr Corbyn’s character in order to misrepresent him to the public and appeared to dismiss Mr Straw’s assessment of antisemitism allegations in the Labour Party and the role they played in the election defeat.

however, in a recent interview with Jewish News, Ms Shaheen said that “every member, including myself, must make all efforts to repair the trust between the Labour Party and the Jewish community.”

She also said that she had “criticised the Corbyn leadership for not taking antisemitism seriously enough, and I think [current Labour leader, Keir] Starmer must do more too.”

Ms Shaheen’s selection has been celebrated on Twitter by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, Emily Thornberry, and Labour MP for Ilford North, Wes Streeting. Mr Streeting has also claimed that the current Labour Leader, Sir Keir Starmer, consulted him about possibly leaving the Shadow Cabinet while the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn was Leader. Whether or not such a consultation took place, Sir Keir went on to remain in Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet and back him “100%”.

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.

, ,

In desperate quest for even-handedness highly-anticipated Forde Report fails to pin blame for Labour antisemitism scandal on its culprits

The highly-anticipated Forde Report into issues relating to antisemitism in the Labour Party has been published.

Specifically, the Report (which is the culmination of the inquiry led by Martin Forde QC into a mammoth leaked 2020 report into Labour’s handling of antisemitism complaints), was due to consider the allegations in that report, how it leaked, and the structure, culture and practices of the Labour Party in relation to antisemitism. The investigation into the leak itself was, however, shelved in order not to prejudice an investigation into the same leak by the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is believed to be ongoing.

The Report condemns the toxic factionalism of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, which allowed a culture of antisemitism to develop and undermined the procedures in place to address the ensuing complaints. But it also appears to try to divide the blame among the different ‘sides’ in the antisemitism scandal, failing to recognise that, whatever the sins of the various factions, that which contained the antisemites and their enablers was ultimately at fault for the Party’s unlawful victimisation of Jewish people.

One such example is that, incredibly, the Report expresses regret that Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, was excluded from delivering antisemitism education to the Party. It similarly outrageously rejects a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ in favour of a softer approach recommended by an organisation whose Director opposes the International Definition of Antisemitism. Despite the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Report also still appears to relegate antisemitism to just one of numerous racisms that need to be tackled by the Party equally, as if “all forms of racism” have been equally prevalent in the Party in recent years.

The Report does rightly observe that the problem of antisemitism in the Party in the Corbyn era was not overstated, contrary to repeated claims by Mr Corbyn. There is now no excuse for him not to be expelled from the Labour Party,  a move for which we have been calling for years now.

The Report applauds recent reforms to Labour’s disciplinary process, but still warns that they are vulnerable to factional abuse, which is no comfort to the general public, which has yet to witness the new semi-independent disciplinary process in action. However, the report offers no solutions either.

Our complaints against fourteen sitting MPs, for example, have yet to be acknowledged by the Party, much less investigated, and the Report gives no indication of what is to be expected to remedy that.

We have 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 EHRC’s scathing findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension from the Party 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.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Taking even-handedness to an absurd extreme, the Forde Report tries to criticise and defend both ‘sides’ in Labour’s antisemitism scandal equally. One ‘side’ was filled with antisemites and their enablers. The Report failed to grasp this elemental truth, rendering it useless.

“Just one such example is the Report’s ludicrous suggestion that the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour, should not have been excluded from delivering antisemitism education to the Party.

“It raises more questions than it answers. It welcomes recent reforms to the disciplinary process, but warns that it remains vulnerable to factional abuse. It states that 55 cases were still unallocated as at March 2022, but does not say which ones. We can only assume that they include our complaints against sitting MPs, drafted by counsel, which the Party has yet to acknowledge, much less investigate.

“The Report offers neither explanations nor remedies. Until we see our complaints addressed, we are unable to have confidence in the Party’s leaders and processes, let alone its culture.”

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.

, ,

Sir Keir Starmer uses Berlin Holocaust Memorial as prop in political video that does not even mention Holocaust

Sir Keir Starmer has used the Berlin Holocaust Memorial as prop in a political campaigning video that does not mention the Holocaust.

The video, which is about how Sir Keir hopes to draw inspiration from a political party in Germany, uses footage of Sir Keir and Labour MP David Lammy walking through the Berlin Holocaust Memorial. The visit appears to have taken place earlier in the week, when he wrote that “Labour remains committed to learning from the world’s darkest days.”

However, there was no mention of antisemitism or the Holocaust in the campaigning video.

Use of the Memorial as a backdrop is seen as disrespectful in Germany. Berlin’s Tikvah Institute tweeted: “Why do use the #Holocaust #Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) as a background for your election campaign video without even mentioning the #Shoa with any single word?” James Jackson, a Berlin-based freelance journalist tweeted: “This is a massive faux pas in Germany”.

In 2017, Israeli artist and satirist Shahak Shapira created “Yolocaust”, which highlighted the chilling insensitivity of people using the Memorial for their selfies, gaining widespread international media attention.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is a matter of decency and long-established convention in Germany that you never stoop to using the Berlin Holocaust Memorial as some kind of a prop. But to incorporate the Memorial as the backdrop for a political clip that does not even mention the Holocaust is an insult. This is especially so for a political party that itself still has serious problems with antisemitism in its ranks.

“Exploiting a visit to the Holocaust Memorial like this for campaigning purposes is not just tasteless, it is manipulative and repulsive.

“Our most recent polling found that 81% of British Jews feel that antisemitism is still inadequately addressed under Sir Keir Starmer. Many feel that attempts to tackle racism against Jews in the Labour Party has been more of a public relations effort than anything of substance. This offensively crass PR video will do little to dispel that impression.”

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.

,

Conservative councillor suspended after allegedly sharing social media posts about “Zionist controllers” and “Jewish supremacism”

A councillor representing the Conservatives in Derbyshire has been suspended for five years after allegedly sharing social media posts containing inflammatory remarks about Jews.

It is claimed that Philip Rose shared posts relating to antisemitic conspiracy theories relating to “Zionist controllers”, “Jewish supremacism”, and videos featuring the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke.

Since 2021, Cllr Rose appears to have made at least seventeen remarks online referring to the alleged nefarious activities of “Rothschild Zionists”, “cultural Marxism”, the “Illuminati”, the white genocide conspiracy theory known as the Kalergi Plan and claims that George Soros is encouraging “race war”. Mr Soros a Jewish financier and controversial activist who is often the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Cllr Rose was elected for the Alfreton and Somercotes division in May 2021 and is alleged to have shared the posts in 2019.

It was around this time that Cllr Rose stood as a candidate for UKIP in Erewash and Bolsover for Derbyshire County Council, and for Amber Valley Council, before joining the Conservatives and chosen as a candidate for the 2021 county council elections.

According to a statement released by the Derbyshire Conservative Group, Cllr Rose “expressed fully his genuine regret, embarrassment, and total remorse that he posted the material in question and he offered his sincere and unreserved apologies.” The group added that the councillor may be readmitted to the Party after five years if he commits to undergoing diversity and social media training.

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.

,

Imam preaches reconciliation between Jews and Muslims in Hajj speech

An imam who is known for his attempts to encourage reconciliation between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity has delivered the main address during the Hajj held in one of the most significant mosques in Mecca.

Sheikh Dr. Mohammad al-Issa has vocally condemned the “unconscionable crimes” that were committed against Jewish people during the Holocaust, visited the death camp at Auschwitz with a group of fellow Muslims, and publicly expressed his outrage about antisemitism.

Although the Sheikh did not say anything specific about antisemitism during this address, he did say that truly following Islam involved “avoiding all that leads to dissent, animosity, or division; and instead, ensuring that our interactions are dominated by harmony and compassion.”

The sermon follows the Sheikh’s invitation to speak to students from the Orthodox Jewish higher education institution Yeshiva University in 2020, where he said that he is “proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish and Christian brothers and sisters to build understanding, respect, love and inter-religious harmony.”

On another occasion, he said that “We may have differences, but we must have love for one another and come together.”

Sheikh al-Issa has proved controversial in Saudi Arabia, as well as Pakistan and Afghanistan, because some clerics disapprove of his attitude towards Jews, which they claim makes him “impure”.

Saudis from the younger generation, however, apparently applauded the move on Twitter, saying that this was “the right path” to take.

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

,

Oklahoma Republican state senate candidate says he is “not beholden to Jews” and openly supports Kalergi Plan conspiracy theory

It has been reported that a State Senate candidate for the Republican Party in Oklahoma has produced a series of video recordings and media posts containing inflammatory remarks about Jews.

Jarrin Jackson, who is to contest a runoff election against fellow Republican, Ally Seifried, in Oklahoma’s Senate District 2 in August, has stated that he is “not beholden to Jews,” that “the Jews” serve as evidence that “evil exists”, and that he “largely” believes in the conspiracy theory known as the Kalergi Plan, which alleges that Jews are “taking over the world” by encouraging immigration, as well as marriage and sexual relationships between members of different races.

Mr Jackson has said that “Zionism, Jews taking over the world, the Rothschilds, the Kalergi Plan, the ‘white replacement theology’ or ‘white replacement theory’? I largely agree that all of those things are happening.”

The candidate also said: “I’m not stupid enough or I’m not so arrogant that I can’t acknowledge an idea and look at it and examine it without embracing it. One thing I do agree with is the Kalergi Plan is I think it’s real. I think that there are people who think evilly who actually think that they want to get rid of white people. Why do I say that? Because I think it’s well evidenced.”

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

,

State of South Australia adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

The State of South Australia has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

On Thursday, the Upper House of South Australia’s Legislative Council voted fifteen to four in favour of a motion put forward by the One Nation MP, Sarah Game.

Members of the Labour Party and the Liberals voted to adopt the Definition, while the Greens and members from the SA-Best Party voted against it.

Ms Game said that there is an “obvious necessity for administrators and governments at all levels to have the framework in which to identify antisemitism here in South Australia…it’s the right thing to do, morally and ethically.”

Jewish life in South Australia dates back to at least the 1830s, with a synagogue established in Adelaide in 1850 and religious classes beginning twelve years later.

Today, 561 people identify themselves as being of Jewish descent, making up 0.03% of a total population of just under 1.8 million.

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

, ,

Sadiq Khan welcomes “All about the Benjamins” Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London as heroine of “equality and inclusion” as she meets with fawning MPs and peers

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has welcomed Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London as a heroine of “equality and inclusion” as she began a trip that saw her meet with fawning parliamentarians.

In a statement on Twitter, Mr Khan wrote: “From the lakes of Minnesota to the bright lights of London, we must stand firm in upholding progressive values of equality and inclusion in the face of those who seek to divide us”, adding that they had discussed “how we can keep building bridges, not walls.”

Rep. Omar has been described as a “virulent antisemite” for saying that “Israel has hypnotised the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

On another occasion, Rep. Omar suggested that Jewish people buy political support. She tweeted: “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”, referencing a song about a $100 bill and AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group.

This is not the first time that Mr Khan has praised Rep. Omar and her controversial colleagues.

Rep. Omar also met with Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Labour MPs Naz Shah, Zarah Sultana and Sarah Owen, who tweeted selfies, photographs of warm embraces, and words of praise for the controversial Congresswoman.

Ms Shah welcomed Rep. Omar to the Houses of Parliament, tweeting: “It has been an absolute honour to host my fellow Muslim sister @IlhanMN…at Parliament today” before adding: “The sisterhood is international!”

Ms Shah, Baroness Warsi and Ms Sultana have all faced criticism for their inflammatory comments about Jews. According to analysis conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Naz Shah has acted or spoken in ways that breach the International Definition of Antisemitism and therefore qualify as antisemitic discourse on at least four occasions.

Ms Shah’s previous dalliances with antisemitism were so grave that they led to her suspension from the Labour Party even under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and she has appeared to resent how she was held to account. She also shared a platform with Mr Corbyn but has not been disciplined, even though Mr Corbyn, like Ms Shah before him, was suspended from the Party for antisemitism.

In June, Ms Shah reportedly spoke at a rally where calls were made to “lift the curse of the Jews off the Muslims in Palestine!”

In 2017, Baroness Warsi 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.

Ms Sultana also has a history of unseemly comments about Jews, including telling a Jewish student that it was “privilege” that allowed them to argue for peace in the Middle East, saying: “it is your privilege that lets you speak on stage and call for peace”; saying that students who “go to Zionist conferences and trips should be ashamed of themselves” because they were advocating a “racist ideology”; describing Israel as a “state created through ethnic cleansing”; saying that “those who lobby for Israel” would “in the near future feel the same shame and regret as South African Apartheid supporters”; advocating for “violent resistance” against Israelis; saying that she would celebrate the deaths of Tony Blair and other past and present world leaders (for which she was forced to apologise and was defended by Labour frontbencher John McDonnell); writing that “the Labour Right are scum and genuinely make me sick. Is there any form of discrimination that they won’t weaponise to politically point score like they’ve done in the past with antisemitism and now with homophobia?”; and accusing Jewish students on social media of being on the payroll of Israel’s Prime Minister.

Also pictured in Ms Shah’s photographs is the expelled Labour Party MP Claudia Webbe, who has previously defended Ken Livingstone after he compared a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.

In 2018, when Ms Webbe was the Chair of the Labour Party’s Disciplinary Panel, she tweeted a claim that the “combined machinery of state, political and mainstream elite” are conspiring to smear Jeremy Corbyn with “false allegations.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We are seeing a budding transatlantic relationship between far-left politicians and even some otherwise moderate left-wing politicians, most of whom have controversial records when it comes to antisemitism. For the UK, these meetings one again undermine Sir Keir Starmer’s repeated and unsubstantiated claims to have addressed the antisemitism problem in the Labour Party.

“But for the US, too, the problem of far-left antisemitism in Labour is looking worryingly like the Ghost of Christmas Future for the Democratic Party if they do not get a grip. In the UK, for years the Jewish community made the mistake of thinking that this ideology was fringe and irrelevant in Labour until suddenly it took hold of the leadership. American Jews and Americans in general cannot afford to make the same mistake.”

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.

, ,

Royal Navy promoted submariner who joined far-right group Patriotic Alternative

Reports have surfaced that a submariner from the Royal Navy was promoted by his superiors even though the Ministry of Defence knew of his connection to far-right groups.

Kenneth McCourt was already known to be a part of the Identitarian movement – a network of dozens of regional branches of far-right activists who are strongly opposed to migration into Europe – when he was promoted to the rank of petty officer as a weapons engineering technician submariner.

The Identitarian movement is known to have promoted the “Great Replacement Theory”, an antisemitic far-right conspiracy theory that claims that Jews are the secret masterminds behind a planned “invasion” of non-white immigrants into western countries with the aim of making white people a minority to further an insidious, but largely unclear, agenda.

It has been reported that the movement’s UK branch, Generation Identity UK, of which Mr McCourt was a member, was expelled from the wider pan-European Identitarian network for inviting Colin Robertson (also known as video content creator Millennial Woes), who has said that “antisemitism is hard to resist” and that “there are problems with the Jewish people”.

However, it has now been revealed that Mr McCourt had joined the far-right group Patriotic Alternative only three months prior to his promotion.

Patriotic Alternative 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” home school curriculum condemned as “poison” and “hateful” and attempted to recruit children as young as twelve through livestreaming events on YouTube, according to The Times.

Mr McCourt identified himself as a member of Patriotic Alternative on the social media platform Telegram, where he is also alleged to have used the “echo”, or “triple parentheses”, a tool used to identify someone as Jewish.

Concerns have previously been raised over the alleged increase in neo-Nazi content on Telegram and last year, we reported that members of Patriotic Alternative used Telegram to share antisemitic conspiracy theories and images glorifying Hitler.

A spokesperson for the Royal Navy said that “Those who engage in extremist activities are fully investigated and suitable measures are implemented. It would be inappropriate to comment on specific allegations.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life, and closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

,

President of Mexico accuses Jewish critic of being “Hitlerian”

The President of Mexico has come under fire from the country’s Jewish community for comparing a well-known Mexican-Jewish figure to Adolf Hitler.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during a press conference about the plight of undocumented Venezuelan migrants that advertising executive and political analyst Carlos Alazraki, who is known for his criticisms of the President, was “Hitlerian”.

Mr Lopez Obrador said of Mr Alazraki, who is Jewish: “He is extremely conservative, like Hitlerian”.

One another occasion he said that “Alazraki is a follower of Hitler’s thinking” and made a reference to Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, which the President frequently associates with his critics, it is reported.

A spokesperson for the Jewish community of Mexico condemned the reference to Hitler, saying that “Any comparison with the most bloodthirsty regime in history is regrettable and unacceptable.”

In response, Mr Lopez Obrador said: “I have very good friends in the Jewish community”.

With antisemitism increasing worldwide, Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents globally.

, ,

Former Labour MP Lisa Forbes, who liked Facebook post claiming Theresa May has a “Zionist slave master’s agenda”, blames rejected candidate bid on Party “factionalism”

The former Labour Party MP Lisa Forbes, who once liked a Facebook post claiming that Theresa May has a “Zionist slave master’s agenda”, has said that her candidate bid was rejected due to Party “factionalism”.

Ms Forbes’ remarks, reported earlier today, came after she was asked the reason why she thought that Labour were not backing her to become the Party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in Peterborough, her former constituency.

In her response, she said: “I think my crime here is having the audacity to stand in a by-election when Jeremy Corbyn was the leader. Because before that, the party was very supportive of me and my candidacy, but they’re not anymore. 

“I’m prepared to stand under Keir Starmer, as I say, I’m not a factional person. But I think other people are.”

However, according to the Party, each candidate was informed why they were not selected.

A Labour spokesperson said that leader Sir Keir Starmer “is committed to ensuring that being a Labour candidate is a mark of quality,” adding: “The Labour leader is determined to stick to his promise to pull antisemitism up by its roots and the public have a right to know that everyone the Labour Party puts forward at election time is of a high standard.”

On or around 11th August 2018, Ms Forbes signed a letter to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party opposing the adoption of all eleven examples of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into the Labour Party’s code of conduct. 

On or around 15th April 2019, Ms Forbes, who was by then Labour’s candidate in the Peterborough by election, ‘liked’ a Facebook post which stated that Theresa May had a “Zionist Slave Masters agenda,” for which she later apologised.

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.

, , ,

“It’s the same slogans and you know where they borrowed them”: Izabella Tabarovsky on the parallels between Soviet and present-day far-left antisemitism

Izabella Tabarovsky, an expert on Soviet and contemporary left antisemitism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she discussed the parallels between the two, and how much of the modern-day far-left antisemitism draws from Soviet anti-Zionist propaganda.

Ms Tabarovsky said that much of the antisemitic rhetoric emanating from the far-left is something that “I used to hear,” adding: “I grew up in the Soviet Union. It’s something that I read about in Soviet propaganda materials which I have been researching over the last several years. They make for a pretty depressing read because it’s the same slogans and you also know where they borrowed them. Essentially, it’s a reprocessed antisemitic conspiracy theory. 

“Take ‘Zionism is racism,’ ‘Zionists are fascists,’ ‘Zionists act like Nazis’…the whole idea that Zionism is the greatest evil on Earth and always suspect, and Zionists are always up to no good, that is the conspiracist aspect to it.”

Describing the conflation between the term “Zionist” and “Jew”, Ms Tabarovsky noted that “It’s just a direct parallel and it’s truly incredible for me to be hearing it today in America and in the Western press. I truly thought I left all of it behind when I came to America.”

When asked about recent remarks in which the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Hitler had “Jewish origins” in his latest insulting attempt to justify his country’s invasion of Ukraine, Ms Tabarovsky: “When I saw that, it was as if they’re acting on these old Soviet propaganda memos. But there’s also something new. With antisemitism, we know that it adjusts itself to the current conditions. A new angle is applied to old antisemitic conspiracy theories and rhetoric.

Speaking on Vladimir Putin and Mr Lavrov, Ms Tabarovsky said that “They know really, really well how to manipulate the Jewish topic, the Jewish question, and they know the power of that manipulation. They know it can unify their supporters. Hatred against Jews can unify people across the spectrum, as we know.”

Throughout the interview, Ms Tabarovsky touched upon a wide variety of topics which included her escape from the Soviet Union and why she feels that antisemitism from the far-left manages to go relatively unchecked compared to antisemitism from the far-right.

The podcast with Ms Tabarovsky can be listened to here, or watched in its entirety here.

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.

,

Jewish congressman’s campaign signs graffitied with swastika and death threats

Campaign signs supporting the candidacy of a Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate have been vandalised with swastikas and death threats.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is Jewish and would become the first Jewish Republican Governor of New York if elected, is running a campaign featuring campaign signs that read “Zeldin for New York”.

These signs have been targeted by vandals, which have been graffitied with swastikas and the number 187, a possible reference to the California Penal Code’s definition of murder, which is often used as a death threat.

Rep. Zeldin said in a statement: “In the United States, we settle our scores at the ballot box, and this type of raw hate must never have a home on Long Island or anywhere else in our state and country.”

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

,

Colorado activist accused over controversial tweets

Colorado Democrat congressional candidate Elisabeth Epps has been accused of posting a series of antisemitic tweets.

One tweet referenced a State of the Union address by then-President Barack Obama in which he told the story of an American couple named Rebecca and Benjamin who, in his story, were facing economic difficulties.

Ms Epps wrote, “Rebecca and Benjamin. Hmmm,” likely alluding to their common Jewish names, before saying that this reference was an instance of President Obama “reminding you that Israel is constituent number one.”

Th organisation Stop Antisemitism said that other comments made by Ms Epps in social media posts reflected the idea of “Jewish power and control” seen in White supremacist rhetoric. In another tweet she allegedly wrote: “I want to be a Jewish lawyer billionaire pro-sports team owner when I grow up.”

In an advert placed in a Colorado Jewish newspaper by opponents of Ms Epps, it was claimed that in social media posts she had used the phrase “From the river to the sea”. The chant of “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.

In a statement on her website, Ms Epps claimed that “as a Black and queer woman” she stands with all oppressed people, “always have and always will.” 

Her statement included tweets highlighting her support for Jewish communities. Following the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, she wrote that, while she didn’t yet know “how to support the Jewish community,” she would “find out. That is our work, not yours. We love you.” 

According to the FBI, over 60 percent of hate crimes against a religious minority are motivated by antisemitism. Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents throughout the United States.

, ,

Following last year’s appeal loss at first stage of defamation case in relation to “Zionist irony” comments, Jeremy Corbyn to give evidence at High Court

Following last year’s appeal loss at the first stage of a defamation case brought by a Jewish activist and blogger, the former leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn is set to give evidence at a High Court trial.

On an unknown date in 2013, Mr Corbyn addressed a meeting convened by the Palestinian Return Centre. Referring to a previous speech given by Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian Authority’s representative in Britain, Mr Corbyn suggested that “the progressive Jewish element” in Britain at the time of the Balfour Declaration had been against it, and that these same Jewish progressives had been the leaders of the London trade unions and the Labour Party at the time. He continued: “It was Zionism that rose up and Zionism that drove them [Jewish progressive Trades Union and Labour Party leaders] into this sort of ludicrous position they have at the present time.”

He gave as an example of this supposedly “ludicrous position” the meeting in Parliament, at which, he said, the Palestinian envoy’s words had been “dutifully recorded by the thankfully silent Zionists who were in the audience on that occasion and then came up and berated him afterwards for what he’d said. So clearly two problems. One is that they don’t want to study history and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don’t understand English irony either. Manuel does understand English irony and uses it very, very effectively so I think they need two lessons which we can help them with.”

A video of Mr Corbyn’s comments was shown on The Andrew Marr Show in 2018, and on 13th June 2019 it was reported that one of the activists who had been identified as being the subject of his comments to Andrew Marr, Mr Richard Millett, was seeking libel damages from Mr Corbyn on the basis of his accusation that “Zionists” had “berated” Manuel Hassassian.

Mr Corbyn’s lawyers were said to have argued on the basis that the statement was a ‘statement of opinion’. However, in the ruling, the Judge declared: “In my judgment, it is clear that Mr Corbyn was making factual allegations in the statement as to Mr Millett’s behaviour on more than one occasion.”

At a High Court hearing yesterday, Mr Justice Nicklin considered pre-trial issues. William McCormick QC, who is heading up Mr Corbyn’s legal team, said that Mr Corbyn was mounting a “truth defence” against Mr Millett’s claims.

Justice Nicklin warned lawyers that he would not allow the trial to become “some sort of showpiece”, adding that: “There is the capacity for this to spin into all manner of satellite issues…Sometimes there is a tendency for the settling of scores about issues that are not relevant to the litigation. That will not be taking place in this trial.”

The trial is set to commence on 10th October and is predicted to last fifteen days.

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.

,

Auschwitz Museum accuses Russia of using fake Auschwitz images for propaganda

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland has accused Russia of posting images of the Nazi death camp for propaganda purposes.

Museum authorities have argued that a Russian agency has used fake images from Auschwitz, using the Holocaust as a way of giving credence to the unfounded claim that there is a genocide being committed against ethnic Russians in Ukraine.

The Russian Arms Control Delegation in Vienna, an organisation which claims to be the Delegation to the Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control based in the Austrian capital but is actually considered to be a media disinformation arm of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, tweeted that there are labels in Auschwitz that say “Russia and Russians, we hate you. The only gas you and your country deserve is Zyclone B [sic]”. 

The Auschwitz Museum responded with a tweet which said that the pictures were “gross propaganda” that “strengthens theories about the need for denazification of Ukraine”.

This is not the first time that Russia has invoked the history of Nazism and the Holocaust since its invasion of Ukraine. In May, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, outrageously claimed that Hitler had “Jewish origins” and accused Jews themselves of being the primary source of antisemitism.

In January, the Director of the Auschwitz-Birkeneau State Museum, Piotr Cywiński, appeared on Podcast Against Antisemitism and explained why the Museum is so important in preserving the memory of the Holocaust and the lessons that we must take away from it. 

With antisemitism increasing worldwide, Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents globally.

,

Boston City Councillor deletes inflammatory “Zionists” tweet without apology

A member of Boston’s city council representing the Democratic Socialists of America posted, and subsequently deleted, an inflammatory social media post referring to “Zionists”.

Councillor Kendra Lara posted a tweet stating that “Y’all are letting the Zionists SHAKE YOU DOWN”. 

Cllr Lara deleted the post after she was criticised by Jewish groups and explained in a series of further tweets that she was responding to an Arkansas court case that forced contractors to sign a statement promising not to boycott Israel. 

Cllr Lara said that she “should’ve known better” at a time “when we’re seeing alarming rates of violence against Jewish people,” but she did not formally apologise.

However, the Councillor also stated that “conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism will ultimately prevent us from being in true solidarity with both Jewish people and Palestinians”.

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

,

French Prime Minister speaks publicly about the suicide of her Auschwitz-survivor father when she was eleven

The Prime Minister of France has spoken publicly about the suicide of her father, who was a Holocaust survivor, when she was eleven years old.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne explained her personal history in interviews with Paris Match and LCI Television after critics accused her of lacking emotion in her public persona.

Ms Borne’s father, Joseph Bornstein, was a Jewish refugee who fled Poland for France in 1940, before going on to fight for the French resistance during the Second World War. He was captured by German forces and sent to Auschwitz in 1944, but he survived. He later took his own life.

Ms Borne said: “It’s shocking for an eleven-year-old girl to lose her father in these conditions. And I think I closed up and that I avoid showing my emotions too much. I think…this closing up, maybe, goes a little far. Yes.”

According to a report published by the French Jewish community’s main watchdog, antisemitic incidents in France have skyrocketed. Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents in France.

,

“The Jewish Factor, it’s money”: Biden Administration nominee as ambassador to Brazil under fire for inflammatory comments

The Biden Administration’s nominee for the role of US Ambassador to Brazil is under fire for reported past comments about Jewish people.

Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, a career diplomat and Democratic Party figure, is due to have her nomination advanced next week, but her prospects are now in question following the revelation of past comments.

In a 1998 interview, Ms Bagley reportedly lamented “the influence of the Jewish lobby because there is major money involved.” She continued: “the Democrats always tend to go with the Jewish constituency on Israel and say stupid things, like moving the capital to Jerusalem always comes up.” Support for these issues is, she is reported as having said, due to “the Jewish factor, it’s money.”

The interview was apparently conducted by a historian at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training during the period of the Clinton Administration, under which Ms Bagley served as the US Ambassador to Portugal.

The revelation has prompted bipartisan concern at her suitability for the post.

Questioned about these remarks in her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in May, Ms Bagley that they were the result of a “free-flowing discussion” with the interviewer. Accused by one Jewish Democratic Senator of using a “choice of words was fit into the traditional tropes of anti-Semitism,” Ms Bagley responded: “I regret that you would think that it was a problem,” adding: “I certainly didn’t mean anything by it. It was a poor choice of words, but it was something that the interviewer had asked me, prompted by something about politics.” She insisted that she was “very sorry about that choice of words,” and that she holds no animosity toward Jewish people.

According to the FBI, over 60 percent of hate crimes against a religious minority are motivated by antisemitism. Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents throughout the United States.

,

Australian State of Victoria bans public display of swastika

The Australian State of Victoria has become the first in the country to officially ban the public display of swastikas.

The Parliament of Victoria has set penalties amounting to $22,000 Australian dollars (over £12,000) and a twelve-month prison term for anybody proven to be breaking the law.

The law does not, however, prevent certain faith communities, including Hindus, Buddhists and Jains from using the swastika, which has an long history as a peaceful symbol that long predates its appropriation by the Nazi Party, as part of their religious practice.

Victoria Attorney General, Jaclyn Symes, said: “I’m glad to see that no matter what side of politics, we can agree that this vile behaviour will not be tolerated in Victoria.”

The Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, a group which combats antisemitism in Australia, Dvir Abramovich, said that “The fact that we’ve got a resurgent white supremacist and neo-Nazi movement is a cause for concern in every state.”

With antisemitism increasing worldwide, Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents globally.

,

Israeli Knesset adopts the International Definition of Antisemitism

The Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Though Israel became the second country in the world to adopt the Definition, after the United Kingdom, in 2017, it had been adopted by the Government by not yet formally endorsed by the Knesset as well.

The motion was passed by a majority of 33 against five opponents, mostly from one of the Arab coalitions. It is disappointing that some opposed this act of solidarity against racism.

Knesset Member for the New Hope Party, Zvi Hauser, who proposed the adoption of the Definition said: “I am proud and excited that the Knesset approved my proposal and thus joined over a thousand parliaments, organisations, local and federal governments that have adopted this Definition and adopted examples of modern antisemitism, including opposition of the right of self-determination of the Jewish people. This is an important step in the battle on combating antisemitism.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has consistently backed efforts by the Government to encourage widespread adoption of the Definition by local authorities, universities, public bodies and other institutions. The UK was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism, Lord Pickles and others worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.

, ,

Labour councillor apologises for past comments as other repeat offenders undermine Sir Keir Starmer’s renewed claim that Party’s victory in Barnet shows growing Jewish trust

A Labour Party councillor in Birmingham has apologised after past comments on social media emerged in which she apparently accused the sanitation management company, Veolia, of being a “Zionist supporter” and making her “feel guilty”.

Cllr Shabino Bano, who represents the Small Heath ward, posted on Facebook in 2014, apparently about the company: “Even our rubbish is given to the zionist. The government is destroying our souls, we can’t even get rid of rubbish without feeling guilty! Veoli is a zionist supporter! It is sickening to b in a country that u call your own; but your leader is sympathetic to the evil dogs [sic].”

At first, Cllr Bano reportedly claimed that she did not remember making the comments and said that she did not think she had, noting that she had previously had problems with her Facebook account and had been locked out for a period.

But in a new Facebook message, she reportedly wrote: “In recent days historic social media posts of mine have come to light. I take full responsibility for them. I recognise that they are utterly unacceptable and I apologise unreservedly for them. I am also sorry for the harm they have caused, especially to the Jewish community. Since joining the Labour Party, my opinions on many issues have changed and these historic posts reflect ignorant views that I no longer hold. I will be undertaking further awareness training and I look forward to meeting with the Jewish communities of Birmingham to discuss what more we can do to stamp out anti-Semitism in our city. There is no place for racism or discrimination in our society and I remain committed to serving all the people of Small Heath, who put their trust in me at the elections last year.”

It is understood that her apology followed a formal complaint submitted to the Party against her.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”

The apology also comes as new evidence has been unearthed against three other Labour councillors who have previously been suspended but since reinstated.

According to the JC, Newport councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi was suspended in 2017 after allegedly comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

He was later reinstated. But in May 2021, during the conflict between the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas and Israel, he reportedly posted on Facebook as Israel and Hamas fought: “Why should we expect there to be no reaction from Hamas? Would the British have been happy to have faced such a blockade by Hitler without throwing everything they had to remove that blockade?”

This year, he is alleged to have shared a petition on Twitter about the controversial rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey. He claimed that attempts to remove the rapper from the National Union of Students’ centenary conference, which he was headlining, was due to “pressure from the Israel lobby.” Cllr Al-Nuaimi said: “How dare such insidious lobbies give themselves the right to belittle and suppress the right to free speech so blatantly and arrogantly?” He reportedly declined to comment when approached by the JC.

Peterborough councillor Ansar Ali reportedly posted that he was “boycotting the biased BBC” because it “didn’t want to upset the Zionist Israeli government lobby”. He was suspended but reinstated after investigation. The Labour Party is, however, alleged not to have considered other 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”.

Cllr Labina Basit of Hillingdon has been suspended, but it emerges that she had been suspended back in 2016 as well, having allegedly retweeted a post using the abusive term “Zio”, before being reinstated. The JC has also now reported that she was a leading figure in Labour Against the Witchhunt, a now defunct antisemitism-denial group that was proscribed by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) last year. In a 2018 Facebook group post, Cllr Basit reportedly wrote: “What we are seeing is the complete and utter weaponisation of antisemitism by the Israeli Lobby, its apologists and neo liberals.”

She also apparently defended the notorious mural and compared Labour antisemitism allegations to the McCarthy hearings. This is in addition to her opposition to the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism and apparent support for Ken Livingstone, Jackie Walker and David Miller.

Meanwhile, Lisa Forbes is reportedly running to become Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in Peterborough after her brief stint as an MP for the constituency in 2019, despite her deeply problematic past social media activity. Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Rachel Hopkins has released a statement endorsing Ms Forbes, despite her controversial record.

Campaigns are also heating up for the coming elections to Labour’s ruling NEC, with 117 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs), which represent eighteen percent of the total 650, voting for Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. She is the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and has previously been suspended from the Labour Party before inexplicably being reinstated. These CLPs conduct votes among their members, which means significant numbers of the most active Labour members across the country are backing her for a place on the NEC.

At the same time as these events are unfolding, Sir Keir Starmer has reportedly told the Party’s local Labour conference that the Party’s victory in the heavily-Jewish borough of Barnet in last month’s local elections is indicative of a growing restoration of trust in the Party by the Jewish community. This is despite an analysis by Campaign Against Antisemitism of the results, which in fact do not support such a conclusion.

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.

, ,

Abortive British Association of Social Workers motion against International Definition of Antisemitism proposed by Cardiff University lecturer and Plaid Cymru activist with worrying record

It has emerged that the proposer of an abortive motion against the International Definition of Antisemitism at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is a professor at Cardiff University and a Plaid Cymru activist with a worrying record.

That motion has now been deferred.

But it has now emerged that Motion 8 at the BASW Annual General Meeting, which called on the union to abandon the Definition, was proposed by Abyd Quinn Aziz. Mr Aziz is the Director for the MA in Social Work at Cardiff University and a prominent activist for the Plaid Cymru Party. Mr Aziz’s online output is full of support for figures who have made inflammatory comments about Jews.

Mr Aziz appears to have a good relationship with the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey. Mr Dennis is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A month-long investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst PSC supporters on social media. Mr Dennis has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as “antisemitic”, spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism, has reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson, defended the disgraced academic David Miller, and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Aziz has also said on Twitter that there is “ethnic cleansing in Israeli psyche [sic]” and retweeted an article which describes Zionism as a “Jewish supremacist ideology”.

Mr Aziz is also the BME Section Chair for Plaid Cymru, and has used his position to offer his public support for the controversial party figure, Sahar al-Faifi, who also has a history of making inflammatory remarks about Jews. 

Mr al-Faifi’s comments include the claim that Jews “cause corruption”, accusations about the “Rothschilds Jews” in reference to the well-known historically-Jewish Rothschild banking family, accusations that “pro Zionists pro-war individuals [sic]” were behind the 2017 London Bridge terror attacks, a post that compared Israel’s policies to those of the Nazis, and the antisemitic conspiracy theory that Israel was somehow behind the murder of George Floyd in June 2020.

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.

, , ,

Antisemitic Jeremy Corbyn describes claims he is antisemitic as “foul, dishonest and utterly disgusting and appalling”

The antisemitic former Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has described allegations that he is antisemitic as “foul, dishonest and utterly disgusting and appalling.”

In an in-depth and candid interview with Declassified UK, he was asked if he thought that the antisemitism scandal that engulfed him “was the result of his pro-Palestinian political position,” and replied: “Very largely that is the case.”

He insisted: “I have spent my life fighting racism in any form, in any place whatsoever. My parents spent their formative years fighting the rise of Nazism in Britain, and that is what I’ve been brought up doing. And when in the 1970s the National Front were on the march in Britain, I was one of the organisers of the big Wood Green demonstration to try to stop the National Front marching through.

“And somehow or other I was accused of being antisemitic. The allegations against me were foul, dishonest and utterly disgusting and appalling from people who should know better and do know better. People that have known me for 40 years, never once complained about anything I’d ever said or done in terms of anti-racism, until I became leader of the Labour Party. Interesting coincidence of timing. Disgusting allegations which obviously we sought to rebut at all times. And I’ll be forever grateful for the support given by Jewish socialists, the many Jewish members of the Labour Party all over the country, and of course the local Jewish community in my constituency.”

He said of the allegations against him: “It was personal, it was vile, it was disgusting, and it remains so.”

Declassified UK characterised the antisemitism allegations against Mr Corbyn variously as “an extreme example of a tried-and-tested tactic used by pro-Israel groups across the world”, as a “slur” and as a tactic “instrumentalised to destroy critics of the Israeli state”, which is an example of the antisemitic Livingstone Formulation. 

Mr Corbyn replied: “The tactic is you say that somebody is intrinsically antisemitic and it sticks and then the media parrot it and repeat it the whole time. Then the abuse appears on social media, the abusive letters appear, the abusive phone calls appear, and all of that. And it’s very horrible and very nasty and is designed to be very isolating and designed to also take up all of your energies in rebutting these vile allegations, which obviously we did. But it tends to distract away from the fundamental message about peace, about justice, about social justice, about economy and all of that.”

Other portions of the interview also strayed close to tropes about outsized Israeli influence and control over British politics and the Labour Party.

With regard to Labour Friends of Israel, for instance, Declassified UK suggested that it is a front for the Israeli Embassy and Mr Corbyn questioned the funding of the faction: “I’m not opposed to there being friends of particular countries or places all around the world within the party, I think that’s a fair part of the mosaic of democratic politics. What I am concerned about is the funding that goes with it — and the apparently very generous funding that Labour Friends of Israel gets from, I presume, the Israeli Government.” Despite his ostensible tolerance for the faction even as he has suspicions about its funding, he also questioned why Labour never took action against the group and tellingly listed some of the senior Labour MPs who have been involved with it.

He also claimed that then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “also weighed in on this and said that I must not become Prime Minister. Sorry, who is Benjamin Netanyahu to decide who the British Prime Minister should be? It’s not for me to decide who the Israeli prime minister should be…so who is he to make that kind of comment?”

There is no evidence that Mr Netanyahu ever made such a comment. Declassified UK itself could only assume that Mr Corbyn was referring to a 2019 report in a British newspaper in which Mr Netanyahu had reportedly said that “Israel may halt its intelligence co-operation with the UK if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister,” which is merely a change in Israeli policy that doubtless would have mirrored changes in British policy had Mr Corbyn been elected. What Mr Netanyahu actually said is therefore entirely different from the impression of attempted Israeli domination of British democracy that Mr Corbyn tried to give.

Mr Corbyn, who has repeatedly played down Labour antisemitism, is indefinitely suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party but remains a member of the Labour Party after his brief suspension was overturned.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Mr Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the leader during the period of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) 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.

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.

, ,

Social Workers Union disgracefully refuses to endorse International Definition of Antisemitism

A prominent union representing social workers in the UK has released a statement saying that it will not endorse the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Social Workers Union (SWU), which is an independent trade union and member of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), admitted in its statement that the Definition is “helpful”, but it erroneously states that the examples used to support the Definition “have been regularly used to conflate criticisms of Israel with antisemitism and to frame defending Palestinian rights as antisemitic.”

The statement concludes by saying that “It is the union’s position that antisemitism must be fought at every turn, and that the fight against antisemitism should not be used to delegitimise the fight against the oppression of Palestinians by Israel’s apartheid system.”

In response, a lecturer in Social Work and Social Care at the University of Sussex has expressed his concerns on behalf of Jewish social workers, who reportedly feel deeply concerned by this decision.

Dr Paul Shuttleworth says that Jewish social workers feel “scared” and “uncomfortable” by how their colleagues have responded to the fight against antisemitism.

Dr Shuttleworth tweeted: “It’s uncomfortable being a Jewish social worker at the moment. We are not being listened to and non-Jews are deciding whether we are allowed to define antisemitism. Yes this is real. It puts Jewish experience up for debate by non-Jews.”

The SWU also reportedly backed a motion brought by members of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the BASW conference to reject the Definition. That motion has now been deferred.

Image credit: Google

, ,

“Antisemitism is a scourge on our society”, says GMB chief as union unanimously passes motion to condemn antisemitism

GMB, one of the biggest trade unions in the United Kingdom, has unanimously passed a motion which states that antisemites should “face the full force of the law”. This even present GMB members.

Motion 213 was backed by GMB General Secretary, Gary Smith, and the leadership of the union across the country during the GMB Congress in Harrogate.

The motion states: “This congress strongly challenges the disturbing rise in antisemitism across the UK. This unacceptable behaviour and the perpetrators should be subjected to the full force of the law. Where such behaviour may be present from any member of GMB Union, including social media posts, our Union should take immediate action to investigate and apply appropriate measures to address this within rule.”

Mr Smith, who was a strong critic of the antisemitic former Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said: “Antisemitism is a scourge in our society, and the GMB is clear that we won’t tolerate it. We stand firm against antisemitism in this union. There is no room for hatred in our union. Those who commit it should face the full force of the law.”

We are seeking to recruit a General Counsel a Video and Content Creator to join our London office

Join the fight

Subscribe
Volunteer
Donate

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

Justice, justice, you shall pursue - צדק צדק תרדף
© Copyright - Campaign Against Antisemitism, all rights reserved. Our logo is a registered trademark.
Campaign Against Antisemitism is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission (number 1163790).
Use of our website is subject to our terms. Trees are planted every year to keep our work carbon neutral.