Tag Archive for: Jeremy Corbyn

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Corbyn’s hypocrisy exposed yet again by Labour’s latest stealthy readmission of suspended antisemite

Three weeks ago, on 12th December, Jeremy Corbyn publicly stated that he and the Labour Party accepted the International Definition of Antisemitism, as adopted by the government.

Yet it has now been reported that Labour has quietly allowed the virulently antisemitic Labour councillor Ilyas Aziz back into the Labour Party after gross breaches of that same definition. Mr Aziz announced he had been readmitted on 31st December.

Mr Aziz has explicitly compared the actions of Israel to those of the Nazis.The International Definition states: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is antisemitic. He has also claimed that Jews in Israel should be forcibly relocated to America. The International Definition states that: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” is antisemitic. He shared a post invoking the blood libel: the International Definition states that: “Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g. claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterise Israel or Israelis” is antisemitic.

Mr Aziz’s disciplinary process has taken place in secret, with all the lack of transparency that Shami Chakrabarti, supposedly once an advocate of justice and human rights, enshrined in her whitewash report into antisemitism in the Labour Party: not only was it conducted in secret, but the reasons for the lifting of his suspension have not been explained.

Mr Corbyn has now been exposed as a hypocrite. He and the Party have dissembled on the matter of the Labour Party’s adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The report he commissioned from Baroness Chakrabarti has now once again been shown to be a whitewash. It has allowed cover for the quiet lifting of an antisemite’s suspension, and failed to adhere to the definition the Party claims subsequently to have adopted, despite Tom Watson also declaring on 29th November in relation to antisemitism that: “I know there are still some outstanding issues that cannot be ignored. They won’t be ignored. Action is being taken now.”

The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership is, as the Labour MP Ruth Smeeth stated: “Not a safe space for Jews”. With its first action in relation to antisemitism in 2017, Labour have quietly but clearly demonstrated that the current leadership are determined to do nothing to cleanse the Party of antisemites. In doing so they have nakedly exposed their stated acceptance of the International Definition of Antisemitism as nothing more than a PR stunt, a declaration made hastily in response to the government’s adoption of the definition that Jeremy Corbyn never had any intention of making good on.

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The leopard does not change its spots: Jeremy Corbyn and Hatem Bazian

It is now barely a week since Labour’s Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, stood before a Labour Friends of Israel lunch and declared: “Let me say something before we get any further today about taking on antisemitism in the Labour Party: that’s a moral responsibility. I am ashamed that I am saying antisemitism and Labour in the same sentence. But dealing with it can’t be something we do for show, for the sake of it, because we’ve come under media pressure, or because we need to deal with a political problem. It’s a commandment. I know that people here are understandably frustrated by how long it’s taking the Labour Party to deal with antisemitism in our midst. You’re right to be. It should have been quicker. I know there are still some outstanding issues that cannot be ignored. They won’t be ignored. Action is being taken now and if, G-d forbid, we find these problems again, action will be quicker in the future.”

As if to publicly right what he seems to see as a wrong, the Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has met with one Hatem Bazian: a founder and leader of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the pro-Islamist American Muslims for Palestine. The event, significantly, was Bazian’s book signing and was hosted by Press TV, the international television channel of the Iranian regime, by which Mr Corbyn has previously been paid as a presenter. The event was organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust, organiser of an annual march through London brazenly supporting proscribed genocidal antisemitic terrorist organisation Hizballah, which led Campaign Against Antisemitism to complain about the Trust to the Charity Commission, on which we await an outcome.

Bazian has allegedly quoted in public the infamous Haddith enshrined in the Hamas constitution: “The Day of Judgment will not happen until the trees and stones will say, ‘Oh Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.’” His organisation has constantly breached the International Definition of Antisemitism, comparing Israelis to the Nazis and calling into question Israel’s very right to exist. Bazian himself is alleged to have raised money for Hamas, a genocidal antisemitic terrorist organisation. This litany demonises Israel as the ‘Jew among nations’. He has publicly asked whether Jews should “have to pay reparations for slavery”

Bazian is credited with presenting his antisemitic movement as ‘progressive’ to a whole generation of students, yet SJP members have reportedly intimidated, harassed and even allegedly assaulted a Jewish student. Their demonstrations feature chants in support of terrorism targeting Israeli Jews.

Trust between the Jewish community of this country and the Labour Party is at an all-time low. The antisemites of the Oxford University Labour Club, Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, Ken Livingstone and Jackie Walker, and scores of others have still not been disciplined. The Chakrabarti report has drawn a veil over new cases of antisemitism. The cross-party House of Commons Home Affairs Committee  has issued a warning about antisemitism within the Labour Party and on university campuses. It therefore beggars belief that on Wednesday night Jeremy Corbyn chose to fête Hatem Bazain.

For a man who leads Her Majesty’s Opposition to take time out of his onerous schedule to meet Hatem Bazian in public, is unmistakable in its symbolism and signalling: the leopard not only does not change its spots, but is parading them for Tom Watson and the Jewish community to behold.

We still await a response to our complaint to Tom Watson about Jeremy Corbyn.

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Jeremy Corbyn’s statement after meeting Bashar Assad promotes an antisemitic myth

Last week, Baroness Tonge finally stepped down after the Liberal Democrats suspended her over yet another antisemitism crisis of her own making. This time, she had hosted an event at the House of Lords organised by the Palestine Return Centre (PRC) at which Jews were blamed for the Holocaust. The PRC were the very same hosts of a Parliamentary event last year at which Sir Gerald Kaufmann MP claimed that “Jewish money” controlled British politicians.

It has now emerged that in 2009, Jeremy Corbyn accepted a trip to Syria at the PRC’s expense, along with Baroness Tonge, to greet and praise the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. In writing an account of the trip, he repeated a worn antisemitic conspiracy myth, in declaring that “the Israeli tail wags the US dog”, as well as characterising the Balfour declaration as “infamous”.

Mr Corbyn repeatedly claims that he “condemns antisemitism” yet he fails to act against it, and even normalises it. That was the finding of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee’s report into antisemitism, which criticises Mr Corbyn directly and makes clear that under his leadership the Labour Party has not done enough to stem a flood of antisemitism amongst its supporters. The report demonstrates that at the very heart of Mr Corbyn’s politics lies a deep and profound denial of the nature of post-Holocaust antisemitism, reflected in his disavowal of the International Definition of Antisemitism, a definition that the Committee itself recommended be formally endorsed by the Government and all political parties.

The International Definition of Antisemitism incorporates a necessary understanding of the antisemitism of the period since the Holocaust in which Islamism and the far-Left from which Mr Corbyn hails have played a well-documented part. By making his claim that an Israeli tail controls the United States dog, Mr Corbyn is guilty, in the terms of the International Definition, of “making 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 denial at the heart of the Labour Party’s antisemitism problem is embodied by Mr Corbyn. He can repeat indefinitely his assertion that he condemns antisemitism, but until he acknowledges its recent history, and accepts the definition endorsed by historians, governments, our Police and his parliamentary peers, he will continue to expose himself as a man supporting notions that are increasingly exposing British Jews to persecution.

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Jeremy Corbyn responds to scathing report by Home Affairs Select Committee

The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee today publishes its report following its inquiry into the rise of antisemitism in Britain. Campaign Against Antisemitism has already responded.

The report is extremely critical of Jeremy Corbyn, saying: “While the Labour Leader has a proud record of campaigning against many types of racism, based on the evidence we have received, we are not persuaded that he fully appreciates the distinct nature of post-Second World War antisemitism.” The report then attacked Corbyn’s “lack of consistent leadership on this issue, and his reluctance to separate antisemitism from other forms of racism” which it said “has created what some have referred to as a ‘safe space’ for those with vile attitudes towards Jewish people.”

In some of the report’s bluntest comments, it says “This situation has been further exacerbated by the Party’s demonstrable incompetence at dealing with members accused of antisemitism, as illustrated by the saga involving the suspension, re-admittance and re-suspension of Jackie Walker. The ongoing membership of Ken Livingstone, following his outbursts about Hitler and Zionism, should also have been dealt with more effectively. The result is that the Labour Party, with its proud history of fighting racism and promoting equal rights, is seen by some as an unwelcoming place for Jewish members and activists.”

The report also issues a biting verdict on the contribution of Shami Chakrabarti to Labour’s antisemitism crisis. During Corbyn’s testimony, Chakrabarti had to be repeatedly told to stop passing Corbyn notes. The report says: “The Chakrabarti report makes recommendations about creating a more robust disciplinary process within the Labour Party, but it is clearly lacking in many areas; particularly in its failure to differentiate explicitly between racism and antisemitism. The fact that the report describes occurrences of antisemitism merely as ‘unhappy incidents’ also suggests that it fails to appreciate the full gravity of the comments that prompted the inquiry in the first place. These shortfalls, combined with Ms Chakrabarti’s decision to join the Labour Party in April and accept a peerage as a nominee of the Leader of that Party, and her subsequent appointment as Shadow Attorney General, have thrown into question her claims (and those of Mr Corbyn) that her inquiry was truly independent. Ms Chakrabarti has not been sufficiently open with the Committee about when she was offered her peerage, despite several attempts to clarify this issue with her. It is disappointing that she did not foresee that the timing of her elevation to the House of Lords, alongside a report absolving the Labour Leader of any responsibility for allegations of increased antisemitism within his Party, would completely undermine her efforts to address this issue. It is equally concerning that Mr Corbyn did not consider the damaging impression likely to be created by this sequence of events.”

Attacking specific recommendations made by Chakrabarti, the report echoes our call that “The Labour Party, and all other political parties in the same circumstances, should publish a clear public statement alongside every reinstatement or expulsion of a member after any investigation into suspected antisemitism.” The report continues: “We see no good reason for the Chakrabarti report’s proposed statute of limitations on antisemitic misdemeanours. Antisemitism is not a new concept: an abusive, antisemitic tweet sent in 2013 is no more defensible than one sent in 2016. If the Labour Party or any other organisation is to demonstrate that it is serious about antisemitism, it should investigate all allegations with equal seriousness, regardless of when the behaviour is alleged to have taken place…The Chakrabarti Report is ultimately compromised by its failure to deliver a comprehensive set of recommendations, to provide a definition of antisemitism, or to suggest effective ways of dealing with antisemitism. The failure of the Labour Party to deal consistently and effectively with antisemitic incidents in recent years risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement are institutionally antisemitic.”

Taking aim at Labour figures’ constant references to “antisemitism and all forms of racism”, the report warns “If antisemitism is subsumed into a generic approach to racism, its distinctive and dangerous characteristics will be overlooked. In addition, the Labour Party’s disciplinary process must acknowledge the fact that an individual’s demonstrated opposition to other forms of racism does not negate the possibility that they hold antisemitic beliefs; nor does it neutralise any expression of these beliefs.”

In a statement seen by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Jeremy Corbyn has responded. His statement shows that he is still determined to fight the antisemitism of the Holocaust and workplace discrimination whilst ignoring Labour’s abject failure to tackle antisemitism in its midst. He shows that he has learned nothing at all by brazenly holding up the discredited Chakrabarti whitewash as a model approach to fighting antisemitism in political parties.

Jeremy Corbyn’s full statement full is as follows:

“Antisemitism is an evil, which led to the worst crimes of the 20th century. Every one of us has a responsibility to ensure that it is never allowed to fester in our society again. So we must all be concerned when we hear that antisemitic incidents are on the rise again. Last week I spoke at the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Cable Street and was privileged to meet some veterans of it. And I had hoped that the Home Affairs Committee report ‘Antisemitism in the UK’ would offer all of us some guidance on how we can take forward the fight against antisemitism.
“I welcome some recommendations in the report, such as strengthening anti-hate crime systems, demanding Twitter take stronger action against antisemitic trolling and allow users to block keywords, and support for Jewish communal security. I will be writing to both Twitter and Facebook to request urgent meetings to discuss tackling online abuse.

“The report in fact echoes much of Labour’s own Chakrabarti Inquiry report, including recommendations on language, stereotyping and training. However, there are some important opportunities lost. The committee chose not to look in any detail at – or come up with proposals for – combatting antisemitism in other parties, our major civic institutions, in the workplace, in schools, in all those places where Jewish people’s life chances might be at risk through antisemitism. In the Labour Party, which has been at the forefront of those struggles for equality, we remain committed to doing so. We continue to work with Jewish and other organisations in that endeavor, and are saddened that those on the Committee have chosen not to contribute to it.
“The report unfairly criticises Shami Chakrabarti for not being sufficiently independent. This fails to acknowledge public statements that the offer to appoint Chakrabarti to the House of Lords came after completion of her report, and was based on her extensive legal and campaigning experience. Commissioning Chakrabarti was an unprecedented step for a political party, demonstrating Labour’s commitment to fight against antisemitism. Labour is already acting on her recommendations, including reform of our internal procedures, changes to the Party’s rule book and expansion of training to tackle antisemitism.

“The Inquiry, which included Baroness Jan Royall, former leader of the House of Lords, and David Feldman, Director of the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism on its panel, was praised by a number of bodies, including the Jewish Labour Movement, and by John Mann, the Chair of the All Parliamentary Party Group against Antisemitism. I am proud that Labour is the only party that has specific protections in place to ensure a zero tolerance approach to antisemitism.

“I am also concerned by some other aspects of the Committee’s report. The Committee heard evidence from too narrow a pool of opinion, and its then-chair rejected both Chakrabarti’s and the Jewish Labour Movement’s requests to appear and give evidence before it. Not a single woman was called to give oral evidence in public, and the report violates natural justice by criticising individuals without giving them a right to be heard. The report’s political framing and disproportionate emphasis on Labour risks undermining the positive and welcome recommendations made in it. Although the Committee heard evidence that 75 per cent of antisemitic incidents come from far right sources, and the report states there is no reliable evidence to suggest antisemitism is greater in Labour than other parties, much of the report focuses on the Labour party.

“As the report rightly acknowledges, politicising antisemitism — or using it as a weapon in controversies between and within political parties — does the struggle against it a disservice. Under my leadership, Labour has taken greater action against anti-Semitism than any other party, and will implement the measures recommended by the Chakrabarti report to ensure Labour is a welcoming environment for members of all our communities.”

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Home Affairs Select Committee criticises Labour, Twitter, NUS, police and others in major report, and adopts CAA recommendations

The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee today publishes its report following its inquiry into the rise of antisemitism in Britain.

We could not have said it better ourselves: we are pleased to see that the Select Committee has listened to Campaign Against Antisemitism and that the report firmly endorses measures we have been calling for for two years.

The Select Committee’s rigorous report is uncompromising on the rise in antisemitism and the danger it presents. It directly accuses the enablers of growing antisemitism, including social networks, those on the far-left who allow vile Jew hatred to masquerade as political discourse, and the student leaders who have abandoned Jewish students.

The inquiry called Jeremy Corbyn and Ken Livingstone, among others, to give evidence. Campaign Against Antisemitism’s evidence included a letter, research and information on our recommendations.

The report makes the following key recommendations, which endorse our own:

  • The international definition of antisemitism used by the College of Policing, the European Parliament, the US Department of State and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance “should be formally adopted by the UK Goverment, law enforcement agencies and all political parties”. We have called for this since we launched our five point plan in 2015 and our manifesto for fighting antisemitism in political parties last month, and we repeated this in submissions to the Select Committee.
  • Use of “the word ‘Zionist’ (or worse, ‘Zio’) as a term of abuse has no place in a civilised society…[and] this should be communicated by the Government and political parties”.
  • Police forces should improve the consistency and accuracy with which antisemitic crime is recorded and investigated, noting that “we question why police forces operating in counties in which thousands of Jewish people live, have recorded few or no antisemitic crimes”. This echoes the findings of our National Antisemitic Crime Audit, released earlier this year.
  • “The Government, police and prosecuting authorities must…pursue a robust, zero-tolerance approach to this problem”. We are very pleased by this recommendation, which has been at the core of our message since Campaign Against Antisemitism was formed in 2014.
  • Social networks are acting as a “deplorable…inert host for vast swathes of antisemitic hate speech and abuse” and must “significantly expand its enforcement remit to include proactive identification of abusive users”. We have called for this privately in meetings with social networks, and publicly when they failed to cooperate.
  • Police forces should appoint a “dedicated hate crime officer” so that “individuals reporting hate crime…have a single point of contact”.  We called for this in our National Antisemitic Crime Audit, released earlier this year.
  • The National Union of Students and its President should reverse their damaging antisemitic comments and the removal of Jewish students’ rights to choose their own representative. We have called for this repeatedly, along with others.

The report also finds that Jeremy Corbyn has shown a “lack of consistent leadership” has created a “‘safe space’ for those with vile attitudes towards Jewish people” in the Labour Party. The Select Committee was evidently disgusted by Ken Livingstone’s claims that Adolf Hitler “supported Zionism” as well as Shami Chakrabarti’s whitewash report into antisemitism in the Labour Party. The Select Committee additionally criticises the handling of antisemitism in the Liberal Democrat Party and National Union of Students.

The Select Committee’s report quotes extensively from Campaign Against Antisemitism’s research and recognises that antisemitism in Britain has reached a tipping point. The report makes recommendations which endorse the measures we have called for and must be urgently implemented.

Our only criticism of the report is that it is not sufficiently condemnatory of the Crown Prosecution Service whose response to antisemitism has been utterly deplorable. 15,442 cases of hate crime were prosecuted last year, but we know of only 12 prosecutions for antisemitic hate crime. In the same year, antisemitic crime in the UK reached a record high, rising 26% with antisemitic violence leaping by 51%, yet charging dropped. The Director of Public Prosecutions is presiding over an abject failure to crack down on antisemitism.

As Jews once again leave Europe and antisemitism is rising with chilling celerity in Britain, it is absolutely right that the Select Committee has endorsed the measures we have called for. They must now be swiftly implemented: the international definition of antisemitism must be universally adopted and applied — including in political parties — and the authorities must enforce the law against antisemitism with zero tolerance.

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CAA submits disciplinary complaint against Jeremy Corbyn to Labour

Campaign Against Antisemitism has today filed a disciplinary complaint against Jeremy Corbyn. The complaint was made in a letter to Tom Watson, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, for presentation to the Party’s National Executive Committee.

The allegation that Jews lie and deceive in order to further hidden agendas is an age-old antisemitic trope. It has now been manifestly deployed by Mr Corbyn in his leadership campaign video. It falls under the definition of antisemitism used by decent nations around the world — including our own — by “making mendacious…allegations about Jews”.

Although Mr Corbyn and his allies have a long history of association with antisemites, it was not until April 5th this year that he crossed the line and made an antisemitic statement. At that point, when his brother, Piers Corbyn, characterised the antisemitic abuse complained of by Jewish MP Louise Ellman as a politically motivated “absurd” attack on his brother, Jeremy Corbyn agreed, saying his brother “was not wrong”. This, at a time when Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Chief Rabbi and others concerned with the welfare of British Jews had all called for firm action to excise the antisemitism in Labour’s ranks.

What ensued over the following months was an institutionalising of the trope by senior Party figures under Mr Corbyn’s leadership. On May 1st, Diane Abbott MP stated on the Andrew Marr Show that any accusations of antisemitism in Labour were “a smear”, while Len McCluskey declared that the row had been “got up” by Mr Corbyn’s enemies. Ken Livingstone and Rupa Huq MP averred. The message was heeded: in a YouGov Poll a few days later, 49% of Labour members were in agreement.

On the 30th of June, 2016 Ruth Smeeth MP suffered antisemitic abuse at the launch of Baroness Chakrabarti’s whitewash report into antisemitism in the Party. Mr Corbyn was unmoved, failed to intervene and moreover was filmed talking in very familiar terms with the perpetrator after the incident. Again, the signal sent to the public was clear; Ms Smeeth subsequently received 20,000 mostly antisemitic abusive messages in the next twenty-four hours, including death threats. She now requires police protection and a bodyguard to attend the Labour Party conference.

The recent leadership hustings were characterised by Mr Corbyn’s supporters’ groans of ennui whenever Owen Smith raised the subject of antisemitism. Any person truly opposed to racism would have taken action to counter this chilling normalisation of antisemitism by discrediting its victims, but instead Mr Corbyn has compounded it.

This week, Mr Corbyn’s personal Facebook and Twitter accounts released a video featuring supporters declaring they were “tired of hearing” about antisemitism, characterising the Jewish community’s complaints as ‘rubbish’ — physically and metaphorically — to be tossed onto the floor. In an admission of guilt, the video has been withdrawn, but by then it had been viewed and endorsed over 200,000 times, and there has been no rebuttal by Mr Corbyn.

As a result of these accumulated acts committed by Mr Corbyn himself or under his direct leadership, Campaign Against Antisemitism has today filed a complaint with the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee. We charge that Mr Corbyn has breached the Party’s Conditions of Membership as set out in Chapter 2, Clause I (8) of the Party’s Rule Book by committing acts grossly detrimental to the Party in characterising Jewish people as dissembling and dishonest in their reporting of antisemitism, and by using the influence and prestige of his office to disseminate and normalise that lie, contrary to Chapter I, Clause IV (2) (B) of the Party’s Constitutional Rules.

Our system of justice depends on our institutions having adequate rules, which must be enforced, and seen to be enforced. Under Mr Corbyn, the Labour Party that was once a pioneer in the fight against racism, has made itself deaf to Jews.

Labour’s institutions have failed to act decisively against Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, Ken Livingstone and countless others. It is now high time that the Party acted to preserve its values, and to defend the much-abused Jewish community against the antisemitic lie promoted by Mr Corbyn that our complaints of antisemitism are hollow and motivated by hidden agendas.

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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.

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Jeremy Corbyn grilled on antisemitism by Home Affairs Select Committee

Our Campaign was not among those that offered to give evidence to the Chakrabarti Inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party. Having given support to Baroness Royall’s prior investigation into antisemitism at Oxford University Labour Club and seen its fate, our assessment was that it would be a whitewash, and that Jewish groups and individuals that had taken part in it would prove to be as rudely disappointed as Baroness Royall and Jewish Labour proved to be when the Royall Inquiry was silenced. We therefore withdrew: we were proven correct.

Yesterday, Mr Corbyn appeared before MPs from the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee to answer questions about antisemitism in the Labour Party.

When it comes to antisemitism, he proved himself to be a man who fatally combines the flaws of incomprehension with a lack of responsible leadership.

A most revealing moment in Mr Corbyn’s appearance was when Nus Ghani MP declared that Chakrabarti’s report was one written as if to explain antisemitism to children: the words ‘Zio’ and ‘Paki’ were bad. Jews should not be called Nazis, and so on. For what lies behind that simplistic view is the man himself, trapped in his formative years, when Jews were, as he reminisced yesterday, those such as the Holocaust survivors working in sweat shops that he met as an activist: working class, poor and victims. When questioned repeatedly on all aspects of antisemitism, he repeatedly revealed this Corbyn, a man dedicated to fighting what he sees as a racism like any other, so much so, that he refuses to separate antisemitism from other forms of hate, even when Ms Ghani pressed him continuously to do so.

For the keys to understanding the complexity of antisemitism require a flexibility of mind and intellectual understanding that he demonstrated yesterday he does not possess.

Antisemitism is a prejudice that shape-shifts. It once was purely racism, but now has adapted and grown another skin. As the former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, winner of the 2016 Templeton Prize, points out: after the Enlightenment, it was no longer possible to hate Jews for their religion, so they were hated for their race; after World War II, racial discrimination became unacceptable, and so now Jews are hated for their new country. Mr Corbyn, as evidenced yesterday, is firmly stuck in 1945, and has not, and cannot comprehend the world of antisemitism in which, for example, his brother Piers resides. In this new incarnation, Israel is now the ‘Jew among nations’, creating ISIS, controlling banks, and perpetrating modern versions of the blood libel on innocent children. This new brand of hatred is projected on Jewish communities worldwide by their association with Israel. Jeremy Corbyn, indeed, stands front and centre of that part of the Left that, after the fall of the Berlin Wall embraced an ‘Anti-Imperialist’ Anti-Western position in which they heartily embraced anti-American Islamists, such as those in Iran and Israel/Palestine. In that cauldron, their own strains of Sovietist antisemitism met a genocidally antisemitic Islamism, igniting a new fire of global Jew-hate that has resurrected that which the world believed it would never see again.

Throughout his questioning, Mr Corbyn revealed his incomprehension of history’s emphatic twist. In an excruciating passage yesterday, one MP pressed Mr Corbyn on the fact that Ms Chakrabarti’s report contains no definitions and was therefore meaningless. He responded by explaining that antisemitism is ‘obvious’ and proceeded, child-like, to define it as “hating Jews for who they are”, reducing the most difficult and intricate of human hatreds, which is in large part a conspiracy theory, to simplistic babble. We are therefore unsurprised that he defended Paul Flynn for his attack on the appointment of a Jew as British ambassador to Israel because of his “dual loyalties”, a man famous for such comments who, nonetheless, Corbyn last week appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.

Neither can we be surprised that, when asked, “Does the State of Israel have the right to exist?” he initially replied, resignedly “it exists”.  Nor can we be surprised by his continuing yesterday to justify close comradeship and support of those such as Raed Saleh, Reverend Stephen Sizer, Paul Eisen and Hamas, simply because they embrace the ‘Palestinian cause’. In no other walk of political life could any public figure use the promotion of one cause, whatever its merits, to justify strong and supportive relationships with blood libellers, misogynists, genocidal antisemites, Holocaust deniers and homophobes, people who are essentially fascist and as hateful in their motivations as any racist or bigot. At one moment of black comedy, he attempted to avoid calling Hamas antisemitic until Keith Vaz, the Chair of the committee, read him an excerpt from the Hamas Constitution explicitly calling for all Jews to be sought out and murdered. Only then did Mr Corbyn relent.

These associations and their attendant poor justifications have led some to question whether Mr Corbyn is fit for public life, let alone fit to lead a social-justice party.

In the course of the questioning, Mr Corbyn said that he was “content” that the vice-chair of his Momentum movement, Jackie Walker, had had her suspension lifted, justifying it behind the classic ‘virtue’ argument that the Left cannot be racist – that because Ms Walker is of Afro-Caribbean heritage on one side and Jewish on the other, somehow her genetic inheritance released her from the charge of ignorant bigotry in proclaiming the Jews authors of the slave trade. He was by his own admission unaware of whether she’d ever apologised, and he seemed not to want to know either. Mr Corbyn then claimed that another Momentum activist and author of the racist trope against Ruth Smeeth MP was a victim of “the media”.

But apart from his total failure – willing or otherwise – to comprehend the nature of modern antisemitism, he has another flaw that makes him an enabler of antisemitism: his failure to effectively lead on this important issue. Antisemitism bubbles in all societies, but societies only become openly antisemitic when leaders enable it.

As Chuka Umunna MP so pointedly remarked, when Ruth Smeeth was being abused by Marc Wadsworth at the Chakrabarti report’s launch — walking out in tears to jeers from activists under Mr Corbyn’s nose – he had no notion that, as leader of Labour, it was his place to spontaneously act and call it out. Instead, he did nothing, and then exchanged smiling and friendly words with the perpetrator on the way out. Instead of taking an emphatic lead, he refused yesterday to condemn Ken Livingstone’s comments about Hitler’s relationship with Zionism, citing ‘due process’. Similarly, he used half-hearted words about Ruth Smeeth’s abuse: he would not call that ‘racist’. He would not criticise Momentum’s dark heart, but instead praised it. When confronted with Jewish complaints that his behaviour made Jews feel “sad, shocked and insecure” he replied that he was “disappointed” with the victims.

Mr Corbyn yesterday proved that he is aground, a man whom the tide of history has bypassed. He sits, intellectually beached, unable to grasp the antisemitism he continues to enable. Not only that, his failure to assume the mantle of responsible leadership continues to enable the antisemitic bigotry in his party and beyond.

When Mr Corbyn was confronted with Ruth Smeeth MP’s statement that the Labour party is no longer a safe place for Jews, he disagreed. Yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn’s performance and the Chakrabarti report have only reinforced, rather than reversed that view.

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Jewish MP calls on Corbyn to resign after fleeing antisemitism press conference in tears

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJfBZy4BPBA

Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth has broken her silence and called on Jeremy Corbyn to resign after he failed to intervene in what she said was an antisemitic incident during the press conference to launch the Chakrabarti Inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party.

After a Labour activist accused Smeeth during the question and answer session of participating in a media conspiracy, Smeeth left in tears and issued the following statement calling on Jeremy Corbyn to resign:

“This morning, at the launch of the Chakrabarti Inquiry into antisemitism, I was verbally attacked by a Momentum activist and Jeremy Corbyn supporter who used traditional antisemitic slurs to attack me for being part of a ‘media conspiracy’. It is beyond belief that someone could come to the launch of a report on antisemitism in the Labour Party and espouse such vile conspiracy theories about Jewish people, which were ironically highlighted as such in Ms Chakrabarti’s report, while the leader of my own party stood by and did absolutely nothing.

“People like this have no place in our party or our movement and must be opposed. Until today I had made no public comment about Jeremy’s ability to lead our party, but the fact that he failed to intervene is final proof for me that he is unfit to lead, and that a Labour Party under his stewardship cannot be a safe space for British Jews. I have written to the General Secretary of the Labour Party and the Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party to formally complain about this morning’s events.

“No-one from the Leader’s office has contacted me since the event, which is itself a catastrophic failure of leadership. I call on Jeremy Corbyn to resign immediately and make way for someone with the backbone to confront racism and antisemitism in our party and in the country.”

At the beginning of the event, Jeremy Corbyn to compared Israel to ISIS, showing just how little grasp he has of this pressing problem for his party.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has condemned the report as “a vague, meaningless whitewash that will do nothing to rid Labour of antisemitism or address the total absence of leadership it has shown on this issue.” The report is 41 pages long, but Campaign Against Antisemitism has produced a version with key phrases relating to antisemitism highlighted in yellow.

 

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Corbyn refuses four times to say Hamas and Hezbollah are not his “friends”

In an exchange during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Jeremy Corbyn refused four times to withdraw remarks in which he has previously referred to genocidal antisemitic terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah his “friends”. Challenged by David Cameron, Corbyn repeatedly avoided withdrawing the comments. As the Prime Minister pointed out, both terrorist groups advocate the murder of Jews around the world.

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Campaign Against Antisemitism and the Labour antisemitism furore

Campaign Against Antisemitism has had an extremely busy few weeks. Our investigations team found and then trawled through vast quantities of antisemitic material which we then brought to the attention of the media. For example, at the start of last week we proactively exposed antisemites, then at the end of the week gave our reaction as one after another antisemite showed him or herself for exactly what they are.

We are delighted that at last it seems that the media has started to use the same standards as the Jewish community to judge antisemitism. We like to believe that much of this is because we have shone a powerful spotlight on antisemites, but the massive result that has been playing out on the front pages of national newspapers and every news bulletin is due to the antisemites themselves, and their apologists.

Nobody forced Ken Livingstone to appear in a BBC radio studio and repeat his assertion that Hitler was “supporting Zionism”. Nobody made Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott deny that there was an antisemitism crisis. Nobody forced Seamus Milne, Corbyn’s closest aide, to praise the work of Hamas. Nobody told Labour kingpin, Unite leader Ken McCluskey to claim that antisemitism in the Labour party was a media plot. They all did this of their own volition, antisemites and apologists alike.

Yet we have also been there throughout, doing everything we can to keep our cause as a number one media priority. We have also admired the efforts of others who have worked tirelessly to further our cause, notably Labour MPs Wes Streeting and John Mann.

We have managed all this despite the fact that Campaign Against Antisemitism is an all-volunteer team and all of us have to balance our work against antisemitism with our work to earn a living.

Our experience during these last few weeks has proven to us that there is so much more we can and must do. To keep up our momentum and success we need to hire employees to supplement the work of our volunteers. We have already received a generous donation to cover one salary, but we need two full-time employees and an office. This means we need to raise the money for a second salary and a small London base.

Please donate as generously as you can at antisemitism.org/donate. Every donation helps, but we also need long-term significant financial commitments. If you are in a financial position to help us continue to expose and defeat antisemites wherever and whoever they are, please contact us. We have recently won several battles, and we need you to enable us to win the war.

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David Cameron tells Jeremy Corbyn to ‘sort out’ Labour’s antisemitism problem

As the scandal of rampant antisemitism in the Labour Party continues, the Prime Minister today told Jeremy Corbyn that his party must “sort it out”.

The statement, made in response to a question from Mike Freer MP, came on the heels of revelations today that the Labour Party readmitted a councillor suspended for saying that “Jews” are behind ISIS, while another councillor was caught out sharing Facebook posts making a similar claim. The revelations come as a video by Campaign Against Antisemitism about antisemitism in the Labour Party was viewed 20,000 times within 24 hours of its release.

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What do you have when antisemitism in your ranks is no longer surprising, and complaints from Jews are a daily nuisance?

It is a simple checklist for a political party, really:

  • Do not call antisemitic terrorist groups your “friends”
  • Do not just say you’ll “reflect” when challenged about it
  • Do not associate with Holocaust deniers
  • Do not give a free pass to your senior MPs when they suggest Jews are using their “Jewish money” to facilitate murder
  • Do not cover up investigations into student members who harassed Jews, for example by calling Auschwitz a “cash cow”
  • Do not promote to positions of power people who think that Hitler is the “Zionist God”
  • Do not readmit and then re-expel members who want to solve the “Jewish question”

It is a checklist that the Labour Party has had a great deal of trouble following.

The catalogue of antisemitic acts committed by Labour Party members is growing at an alarming rate. Since making the case for a wholesale investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party just over a week ago, new revelations have come to light.

  • As the Oxford University Labour Club is investigated, Labour students at other universities have been revealed to also have “some kind of problem with Jews”, as Alex Chalmers bravely put it as he resigned as Co-Chair of OULC.
  • It was discovered that Gerry Downing, who wants to solve the “Jewish question”, was readmitted to and then re-expelled from the Labour Party, before being quizzed on his views by Andrew Neil in an interview.
  • Today we learned that Vicki Kirby, who thinks that Hitler is the “Zionist God” and that Jews have “big noses” and “slaughter the oppressed” has been elected Vice Chair of the Woking branch of the Party, and that nothing will be done unless there is “new evidence”.

The decline of the Labour Party has been worryingly swift. This time last year, the Party largely shrugged off accusations of antisemitism by pointing out that its leader was Jewish, but that excuse vanished when Jeremy Corbyn became Leader of the Opposition and showed early on that he could tolerate some pretty extreme antisemitism. Since then, the intermittent trickle of evidence has become a steady stream.

Back in October, we were horrified by Labour’s utterly determined refusal to take action against Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, but we read today’s announcement by the Labour Party that they will do nothing about Vicki Kirby because there is no “new evidence” with resignation.

Jews must feel welcome in any political party. It is extremely dangerous when they do not. Every Party has embarrassing lunatics who are not picked up by vetting procedures until they stumble into the limelight, but when that happens we expect that their Party will firmly and swiftly reject them.

Many Labour members are speaking out bravely against the antisemitic rot that is devouring their political home, but far too many seem not to be terribly bothered.

When antisemitism in your party’s ranks is no longer surprising, and complaints from Jews are a daily nuisance, your party has pervasive antisemitism and a broken system for rooting it out.

The Labour Party is starting to look institutionally antisemitic, and that is dangerous for Jews, dangerous for democracy and dangerous for Britain.

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Jeremy Corbyn’s condemnation of Sir Gerald Kaufman’s antisemitic comments falls far short of what is warranted

Following a meeting between the Opposition Chief Whip, Rosie Winterton, and Sir Gerald Kaufman, Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn has condemned Sir Gerald Kaufman’s comments.

One week after Sir Gerald Kaufman accused British Jews of subverting the government with ‘Jewish money’ so that Israeli Jews could shoot ‘innocent’ people, Jeremy Corbyn has spoken out and the Opposition Chief Whip has expressed ‘deep concern’. That’s positive, but it’s a week late and falls far short of what is warranted. We have been calling for a week for the Labour Party to take formal, firm disciplinary action against Sir Gerald Kaufman. Nothing less will do if Jewish people are to have any faith that the Labour Party’s ‘implacable opposition’ to racism is anything more than a soundbite.

Corbyn’s condemnation comes as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Hudson, told Campaign Against Antisemitism that she would not investigate the matter because Kaufman’s comments did not draw the House of Commons or its members into disrepute. Kaufman is formally known as “Father of the House” because he is the longest serving and oldest MP, and he was speaking on Parliamentary premises to a group which included MPs such as Andy Slaughter, the Shadow Minister for Justice.

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Critics of Jeremy Corbyn dismissed as “extreme Zionists”, Labour Party to “investigate”

Critics of Jeremy Corbyn, who is frontrunner to lead the Labour Party, are being smeared as extremists who are trying to stifle criticism of Israel. Mainstream Jewry’s concerns are neither “extreme” nor anything to do with Israel. As we have written before, we are concerned both by Corbyn’s associations and his many supporters’ apparent indifference to them.

Writing in yesterday’s Independent, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown implored readers to ignore the concerns raised by “extreme Zionists” and “the forces of darkness”, writing that “the overreactions of some extreme Zionists these days is tantamount to an attempt to censor all criticism of Israel’s political and military tactics”.

Labour MP John Mann, who Chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, has complained to the Labour Party after his criticism of Corbyn resulted in a volley of abuse from Corbyn’s supporters, who called him “utter filth” and a “Zionist stooge”. Speaking to the Sunday Express, Mann said: “I have been described as a servant of the Israeli Prime Minister, a Nazi Zionist, a Zionist scumbag. This is all because I chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism.”

The concerns are numerous and well-founded. Hamas and Hezbollah call for a worldwide genocide of Jews but Corbyn called them “friends” and invited them to Parliament. Ra’ed Salah promoted the antisemitic blood libel but Corbyn said “Salah is a voice that must be heard” and invited him to tea at Parliament. Rev Stephen Sizer was censured by the Church for posting a “clearly antisemitic” conspiracy myth about 9/11 on Facebook, but Corbyn protested that he had been “victimised” because he “dares to speak out against Zionism”. Paul Eisen is a self-professed Holocaust denier but we still have no explanation for the photographs of Corbyn at Eisen’s events – Eisen claims that Corbyn has attended “every single one” and even donated.

In response to our previous post on the subject, we received a number of comments on Facebook and Twitter. Some were civil but dismissive, such as the response from Luke Cresswell, a Labour Councillor on Sudbury Town Council who tweeted “He’s anti State of Israel, not anti Jew”. Other comments were vulgar and antisemitic, such as the contribution from Paul Norrison in Kingston upon Hull who commented on our Facebook page: “Jeremy Corbyn for Prime Minister…no one gives a s*** about the Jews, just get on with your lives and stop playing the victims all of the time. Go make something beautiful, contribute to a better tomorrow instead of feeding of the guilt and horror of the past like morose Golem vampires.” We have reported Norrison’s comment to the police.

The grave concern, expressed with rare unanimity by mainstream British Jewry about Jeremy Corbyn’s associations is well-founded and must be addressed. Partisan attempts to smear and whitewash should be seen for what they are. Britain’s Jews have good reason to be worried.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism will always be apolitical and non-partisan. However, we also must not fear to call out antisemitism wherever we see it. Jeremy Corbyn hails from the far-left, and whereas far-right antisemitism is anathema to the far-left, Jewish conspiracy myths and Islamist antisemitism are often accommodated.

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Jeremy Corbyn and antisemites

The Campaign Against Antisemitism will always be apolitical and non-partisan. However, we also must not fear to call out antisemitism wherever we see it. Jeremy Corbyn hails from the far-left, and whereas far-right antisemitism is anathema to the far-left, Jewish conspiracy myths and Islamist antisemitism are often accommodated.

In the past week we have been approached by the Daily Mail to comment on two separate stories revealing Corbyn’s association with antisemites. We wonder why Corbyn has failed to distance himself from antisemites and in some cases has even praised them. For a prospective Labour Party leader, we would have thought that any proximity to antisemites would be toxic. Left unaddressed, it would surely prove fatal to their candidacy; not so for Jeremy Corbyn, frontrunner to become Leader of the Opposition according to recent polls.

Paul Eisen, a self-professed Holocaust denier, claims close association with Corbyn over several years and even that Corbyn has donated to his work. When confronted by the Daily Mail last week, Corbyn’s spokesman condemned Eisen’s views, but declined to comment on Eisen’s claims that Corbyn has attended “every single” one of his events and donated towards his work.

In February, the reverend Stephen Sizer, was ordered by the Church of England to stop using social media after posting an antisemitic conspiracy myth that Israel planned 9/11. While the Church said the material Sizer posted was “clearly antisemitic”, on Sunday the Mail revealed that Corbyn wrote to the Church defending Sizer, saying that he was being victimised because he “dared to speak out against Zionism”.

In April 2012, Corbyn warmly praised Ra’ed Salah, a prolific antisemite who claims that Israel planned 9/11 and who has, according to the Court of Appeal, even promoted the antisemitic blood libel that Jews bake bread using the blood of non-Jewish children. Yet Corbyn has said “Salah’s is a voice that must be heard” and publicly told Salah: “I look forward to giving you tea on the terrace because you deserve it!”

In July, the Telegraph revealed that Corbyn has accepted thousands of pounds in gifts from organisations closely-related to Hamas. This was particularly concerning following Corbyn’s 2009 speech to a conference at the House of Commons in which he said: “And I’ve also invited friends from Hamas to come and speak as well. Unfortunately the Israelis would not allow them to travel here. The idea that [Hamas] should be labelled as a terrorist organisation by the British government is really a big, big historical mistake and I would invite the government to reconsider its position on this matter and start talking directly to Hamas and Hezbollah.”

In its charter, Hamas openly calls for the genocide of all Jews: “our fight with the Jews is very extensive and very grave, and it requires all the sincere efforts… The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them.” The Hamas charter also rejects any form of negotiation intended to lead to a peace deal: “[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement,” it states. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah has been quoted by the New York Times saying: “If Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.”

Perhaps more worrying than Corbyn’s association with antisemites is that this appears not to bother his supporters.

We are seeking to recruit a Communications and Research Manager an Education and Outreach Intern to join our London office

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Campaign Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. Everything that we do is done by people who volunteer their time, using donations contributed by members of the public. Join the fight against antisemitism by subscribing to our updates, volunteering, or donating.