Sir Keir Starmer receives torrent of antisemitic abuse in connection with controversial Jimmy Savile claims

Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, has received a torrent of antisemitic abuse in connection with controversial claims that, in his previous role as Director of Public Prosecutions, he was responsible for the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile, the sexual predator who targeted child fans.

Posts online described Sir Keir’s wife, who is Jewish, as “an Israeli”, and said that his “children are being raised as Jews and he’s been quoted as saying he is ‘Zionist without qualification’, spuriously adding that “Savile was a notable Israeli supporter who had met senior Israeli politicians and was considered an esteemed friend of Israel.”

Another post said: “Damn straight, never voting for zionist apartheid loving Starmer and yesterday was staged, it was a play right out his Israeli master’s handbook.”

Yet another claimed that “Starmer has far more a case to answer on Savile than Corbyn ever did on antisemitism.”

The abuse has been roundly condemned.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

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.

Image credit: Chris Boland