Sir Gerald Kaufman MP reportedly claims that “Jewish money, Jewish donations” dictate government policy on Israel

Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman has reportedly claimed that “Jewish money, Jewish donations” dictate government policy on Israel. Kaufman was speaking at a meeting of the “Palestine Return Council” which was attended by other MPs, as well as by the blogger David Collier, who has posted an account of Kaufman’s speech.

Speaking after former MP Martin Linton, Kaufman is reported to have said: “It’s Jewish money, Jewish donations, to the Conservative Party as in the general election in May, support from the Jewish Chronicle, all of those things, bias the Conservatives. There is now a big group of conservative members of Parliament, who are pro-Israel whatever government does and they are not interested in what Israel, in what the Israeli government does.”

Kaufman had reportedly begun his speech by claiming that half of the antisemitic stabbings in Israel (which has recently seen Jews stabbed, axed, run over and shot in the streets), were “fabricated”.

The globally-recognised EUMC definition of antisemitism clearly states that it is antisemitic to make “mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.”

The speech delivered by Sir Gerald Kaufman, as reported by David Collier, is antisemitic and the Labour Party must investigate immediately.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is in contact with the Opposition Chief Whip.