Labour candidate Kate Ramsden withdraws after comparing Israel to child abuser and Nazis, as Labour officials accused of attempted cover-up
Labour’s election candidate in the Scottish constituency of Gordon has withdrawn from the race after it emerged that she had compared the Jewish State to a child abuser and the Nazis, as Party officials as accused of having tried to cover up the incident to protect her.
In an apparent reference to Jewish suffering in the Holocaust, Ms Ramsden reportedly wrote: “Like many abusers, unable to reflect on their own abuse, and ending up recreating it in the abuse of others, exerting their power in those weaker than themselves because once they were the powerless.”
She further wrote that “to me the Israeli state is like an abused child who becomes an abusive adult,” adding: “like child abuse it has to stop…as we intervene with child abusers the international community needs to intervene with Israel.” She also lamented: “I heard yesterday that almost 90 per cent of Jewish Israelis support their government.”
According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis is antisemitic. Mr Ramsden reportedly opposed the adoption of the International Definition by the Labour Party.
Ms Ramsden, who is a senior official at Unison, the trade union, also contended that claims of antisemitism against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn were “orchestrated by the wealthy establishment who do not want a socialist Labour government.”
Despite ludicrous assertions by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell that the Party is doing everything it can on antisemitism and has done everything the Jewish community has asked, there are claims that Labour’s compliance unit in fact told Ms Ramsden that if she deleted the blog post containing her comments about the Jewish State and child abuse, she could remain a candidate.
Following an outcry, Ms Ramsden has stepped down as a candidate, saying: “I can see that many Jewish people have been hurt by my words. That was never my intention and I apologise unreservedly.”
Ms Ramsden’s departure from the race comes after Gideon Bull withdrew as a parliamentary candidate in Clacton after Campaign Against Antisemitism publicised his use of the word “Shylock” to describe a Jewish fellow councillor. It has since emerged that he has also used other racist language.
On 28th May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a full statutory investigation following a formal referral and detailed legal representations from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which is the complainant.
In recent months, thirteen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party over antisemitism, along with a large number of MEPs, councillors and members.
Over 57,000 people have now signed our petition denouncing Jeremy Corbyn as an antisemite and declaring him “unfit to hold any public office.”
