Latest allegations say Corbyn accepted pro-Hamas donation and Chakrabarti ignored “Jewish conspiracy” slur

Extensive further allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party have come to light today, adding further to the scandalous handling by Labour of its antisemitism problem.

The Observer reports that Friends of Al-Aqsa, whose founder, Ismail Patel, has publicly supported genocidal antisemitic terrorist group Hamas, collected £10,000 for Jeremy Corbyn’s last leadership campaign at a fundraising dinner. Patel gave a speech in 2014 in which he said: “Hamas is no terrorist organisation. The reason they hate Hamas is because they refuse to be subjugated, occupied by the Israeli state, and we salute Hamas for standing up to Israel.” Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesman told The Observer that the donation cheque had bounced, and that there might have been a second cheque that was lost, insisting: “There’s nothing dodgy going on.” He then withdrew his comment when it was pointed out that the donation had not been declared to the Electoral Commission. It is unclear whether this means that the official line is that something “dodgy” might be or might have been “going on”.

Next, The Sunday Times reports that the soon-to-be Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti, whose inquiry into antisemitism in the party we decried as a “whitewash”, ignored allegations by policy adviser turned whistleblower in Jeremy Corbyn’s office. Josh Simons reportedly submitted evidence of antisemitism and “flippant disdain” for the Jewish community among senior Labour figures to Chakrabarti, telling her that some of Corbyn’s team had “at least a blind spot with antisemitism and at worst a wilful disregard for it”. One member of the office even referred to a “Jewish conspiracy”, according to Simons. He is reported to have particularly singled out Seumas Milne, Jeremy Corbyn’s Director of Strategy, who Simons says subjected him to an “inquisition” about being Jewish, his family and his attitude to Israel. Milne has also spoken out openly in support of the genocidal antisemitic terrorist group Hamas, praising them for their “spirit of resistance”.

Meanwhile Sky News has reported that having been engulfed in an honours storm, Shami Chakrabarti may be appointed to the Shadow Cabinet when she joins the House of Lords. Asked by Sky News, Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesman refused to rule out that Chakrabarti would be promoted straight to the Shadow Cabinet. We strongly suspect that she was promised the position and the honour before or during her inquiry into antisemitism, and that the inquiry was therefore designed to cover up antisemitism within Labour rather than fix it. Chakrabarti for weeks coyly and then aggressively refused to comment on whether she had been offered a peerage, right up until the publication of the honours list.

This constant stream of controversy and scandal within the Labour Party in relation to antisemitism people further erodes the trust of all reasonable Britons in the party itself. Weak cover stories, half excuses, support from and for extremists, power and honour being handed to those covering up antisemitism, and now money being donated by terrorist sympathisers and supporters; there can be no question that this is being misread or spun by a specific interest group.

A web of evidence and connected actions is revealing a party engaging in anti-Jewish activity not by accident but by design. The pretence of dealing with this antisemitism by means of a weak and tendentious inquiry, followed almost immediately by the reward of its author with a paid position of power and possible front bench role, seems to confirm what many Jewish people have suspected for some time.

Labour needs to clearly answer questions about politicians and senior staff with anti-Jewish tendencies and positions. They need to answer properly why they accepted donations from anti-Jewish terror supporters rather than fudge the question by suggesting an error in the cashing of the cheque itself. They need to address openly their immediate elevation to the Lords of the person they claimed was investigating their problem. They need to root out the antisemites from all parts of their party rather than empowering them.

If they do not do these things, then it is little wonder that the party is increasingly seen as unrepentantly and institutionally antisemitic, much to the shame of many in Labour like John Mann MP, whose proud personal history of fighting antisemitism now stands at odds with the behaviour of his party.