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former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012.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.
