Plaid Cymru divided: One former leader appears to endorse claim that Labour antisemitism accusations are “smear”, while another former leader says Party “cannot tolerate” antisemitism
Plaid Cymru has seen two former leaders at odds over antisemitism, with one appearing to endorse conspiratorial denials of antisemitism in the Labour Party and another calling for no tolerance of anti-Jewish racism.
Leanne Wood, who served as leader of the Welsh Nationalist Party until 2018, appeared to endorse tweets by a controversial American journalist that read: “I’ve never seen a more flagrant, repellent and cynical exploitation of antisemitism in my life than its disgusting use to smear [Jeremy] Corbyn because of a lack of alternatives for how to defeat him. Nothing has trivialized this cause more than what British Blairites have done.”
A further tweet in the thread said: “Jeremy Corbyn is a better human being by a multiple of about 1,000 than all of the Oxbridge cretins in politics and media who have united to cynically smear him with accusations they know in their rotted souls are false.”
This is not the first time that Ms Wood has waded into the Labour antisemitism scandal, coming to the apparent defence of Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was sacked from Labour’s Shadow Cabinet earlier this year after she promoted an article containing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Plaid Cymru, after a recent antisemitism scandal, has announced that it is holding a review into antisemitism in its Party, to which Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be making submissions. The review will be led by the Party’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP.
Commenting on the review, Lord Wigley, who led Plaid Cymru in the 1980s and 1990s, said: “I cannot comment in detail, but it’s absolutely clear that Plaid Cymru cannot tolerate antisemitism or any other form or racism. Liz Saville Roberts is a first-class MP and I have no doubt she will come to the right conclusions.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is evident from our research, media reports, and contact from ordinary Plaid Cymru members and members of the public that there are divisions within the Party as to how to address antisemitism. On one side are culprits, enablers and defenders, and on the other are those fighting to eradicate it. We hope the Party’s review into antisemitism, to which we shall be making submissions, will aid the right side of that internal conflict.”
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.
