Plaid Cymru “has work to do to win the confidence of anyone who opposes racism”: CAA makes submissions to Party’s internal review into antisemitism
Campaign Against Antisemitism has today made submissions to Plaid Cymru’s review into antisemitism in the Party.
Plaid Cymru’s internal review will reportedly be led by Liz Saville Roberts MP, the leader of the Party’s small contingent at Westminster, and it aims to ensure that there is “zero tolerance” of antisemitism in the Party.
The review was announced following the publication of the damning report into antisemitism in the Labour Party by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant in the EHRC’s investigation, having made the formal referral that prompted the launch of the unprecedented full statutory investigation.
Our submissions come on the same day that the EHRC has published new “Guiding Principles” for all political parties and other associations.
The core of the submissions relates to numerous cases that Campaign Against Antisemitism has compiled, with input from concerned Plaid members and other members of the public, to whom we are grateful. The cases can be reviewed here.
One of the cases concerns a former leader of the Party, Leanne Wood, who has courted controversy at least twice this year in relation to antisemitism. Another concerns repeat offender Sahar Al-Faifi against whom the Party has failed to take action.
Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome Plaid Cymru’s announcement of a review into antisemitism in its ranks in the wake of the EHRC’s devastating investigation into anti-Jewish racism in the Labour Party, in which we were the complainant.
“Plaid Cymru has responded positively to our offer of representations, which we have submitted today, drawing attention to a number of very worrying cases, including a former leader of the Party. Among the cases there also appears to be a pattern of possible equality law breaches, similar to those laid out by the EHRC in its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party and which the EHRC has said apply to all political parties.
“Plaid Cymru is making the right decision to try to get ahead of this problem, but it will have to show that it is willing to act. Its recent decision not to take action against repeat offender Sahar Al-Faifi certainly shows that it has work to do to win the confidence of anyone who opposes racism.
“It appears that there are good people in Plaid Cymru who wish to address the challenge of antisemitism within the Party, but as with the Labour Party, the proof of their goodwill lies not in words, but in the actions they take to combat it.”
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.
