Tag Archive for: Labour Party

Around the world, International Holocaust Memorial Day was marked with dignity and respect. But not everywhere.

Some, like Labour MP Kate Osamor, used the occasion to imply in a message to constituents that what is happening in Gaza is comparable to the Holocaust and, by strong implication, that Israel acts like the Nazis, a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Her apology rang hollow, as if she was unaware of the meaning of her own remarks. Clearly, her understanding of antisemitism is deficient and not in accordance with that of her Party, which has adopted the Definition.

We have called on the Labour Party to suspend her, and she must be required to undertake antisemitism training by a reputable provider.

Meanwhile, at anti-Israel demonstrations in the UK, protesters desecrated the solemnity of the day, not only by equating Israel to Nazis as well, but also in providing a masterclass in how a phenomenon like Holocaust-denial begins, as they cast doubt on, played down or outright denied the Hamas atrocities of 7th October.

Leicester Square attack

Not only are the police failing to police the weekly anti-Israel demonstrations adequately, but they are also failing individual Jews under attack.

Last weekend, in the early hours of the morning, three Jews were physically assaulted by ten men in Leicester Square, resulting in serious injuries. Incredibly, not a single bystanders assisted.

Although the victims called the police while the attack was underway, and notwithstanding that it was taking place in the heart of London, police officers only showed up after half an hour, by which time the perpetrators had fled the scene.

The Metropolitan Police must identify and arrest the attackers. The victims are also calling on the police to apologise for failing them when they needed them most.

Watch the victims speak out here.

“Generation hate”: frightening new polling published

Campaign Against Antisemitism commissioned King’s College London to survey British adults’ attitudes towards Jews, using YouGov.

The polling has revealed worrying levels of anti-Jewish prejudice among the British public, with particularly frightening rates among young people aged between 18 and 24.

Published in the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, the polling raises serious questions about whether lessons about the antisemitism that motivated the Nazis have really been learned by British young adults.

  • A quarter of British people over 64 believe that Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews. Among 18-24 year olds, it is over a third.
  • Almost one fifth of the British public believes that Israel can get away with anything because its supporters control the media. Among 18-24 year olds, it is more than a quarter.
  • Compared to the general population (one in twenty), double the proportion of 18-24s (almost one in ten) do not believe that Jewish people are just as loyal to Britain as other British people.
  • Compared to the general population, more than double the proportion of 18-24 year olds are not as open to having Jewish friends as they are to having friends from other sections of British society.
  • While almost one fifth of the British public believes that Israel and its supporters are a bad influence on our democracy, that rises to over one quarter of 18-24 year olds.
  • 7% of Britons do not believe that Israel is right to defend itself against those who want to destroy it. That figure doubles to 14% of 18-24 year olds.
  • 14% of British people are not comfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel. Among 18-24 year olds, that figure rises to 21% – more than one fifth of the young population.
  • More than one in ten young Britons do not believe that Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.
  • More than one in ten 18-24 year olds believe that Jewish people talk about the Holocaust just to further their political agenda.

Other findings from the survey:

  • More than one in ten British people believe that Jewish people chase money more than other people do.
  • Only three quarters of British people believe that Jewish people can be trusted just as much as other British people in business.
  • More than one in ten Britons believe that, compared to other groups, Jewish people have too much power in the media.

The rhetoric that we are seeing online, on television and on our streets is radicalising the British public, but it is the rates of antisemitism that we have discovered among 18-24 year olds that are most frightening. This is generation hate.

On the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day, our country needs an urgent rethink about how we teach about antisemitism. If young people cannot see the relationship between the genocidal antisemitism of the Nazis and the genocidal antisemitism of Hamas, and, as a society, we refuse to talk about how our attitudes towards Israel and its supporters are influenced by antisemitic prejudice, then we are clearly not talking about antisemitism properly.

Our education is failing the next generation, and our society is suffering as a result. It is British Jews who are paying the price.

The YouGov survey was designed and analysed by experts at KCL on behalf of Campaign Against Antisemitism. Total sample size was 2,084 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th-11th December 2023 by YouGov plc. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). The full results, background information and methodology can be found here.

This weekend saw the memory of the Holocaust appropriated to abuse the Jewish community. What would the British soldiers who liberated the Nazi death camps make of Britain today?

New polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism has revealed a number of startling insights.

  • 69% of British Jews say that they are less likely to show visible signs of their Judaism right now.
  • Almost half of British Jews have considered leaving the UK due to antisemitism, since 7th October.
  • More than six in ten British Jews have either personally experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident since 7th October or know somebody who has.
  • Only 16% of British Jews believe that the police treat antisemitic hate crime like other forms of hate crime, with two thirds believing that the police apply a double standard.
  • A staggering 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there. Our urban centres have become no-go zones for Jews.
  • A full 95% of British Jews believe that the Crown Prosecution Service should report statistics on prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes.
  • 90% of the Jewish community believes that the British Government should proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir.
  • With regard to political parties, 62% of British Jews – almost two thirds – believe that the Labour Party is too tolerant of antisemitism among its MPs, MEPs, councillors, members and supporters. This is the lowest score for Labour in years, but still puts it firmly ahead of the next parties: the SNP (47%) and the Green Party (42%).
  • 86% of British Jews are not satisfied with the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas crisis. Only 4% are satisfied.
  • A near-unanimous 97% of British Jews feel personally connected to events happening in Israel.
  • Eight in ten British Jews consider themselves to be a Zionist. Only six percent do not.

Fieldwork was conducted between 12th and 17th November 2023. In total, 3,744 responses were obtained. The full results and methodology are provided below.

Full results

“Since 7th October 2023, I am less likely to show visible signs of my Judaism when I go out, for example a Star of David or a Jewish skullcap (kippah).”

  • Strongly Agree 40%
  • Agree 29%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 16%
  • Disagree 9%
  • Strongly Disagree 6%

“Since 7th October 2023, I have considered leaving the UK due to antisemitism.”

  • Strongly Agree 17%
  • Agree 31%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 18%
  • Disagree 20%
  • Strongly Disagree 14%

Have you or someone you know experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident since 7th October 2023

  • Yes 61%
  • No 39%

“Antisemitic hate crime is treated by the police in the same way as other forms of hate crime.”

  • Strongly Agree 5%
  • Agree 11%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 18%
  • Disagree 34%
  • Strongly Disagree 32%

“I would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there.”

  • Strongly Agree 74%
  • Agree 16%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 4%
  • Disagree 4%
  • Strongly Disagree 2%

“The Crown Prosecution Service should report statistics on prosecutions of antisemitic hate crimes.”

  • Strongly Agree 70%
  • Agree 25%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 4%
  • Disagree 1%
  • Strongly Disagree 0%

“The British Government should proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir.”

  • Strongly Agree 78%
  • Agree 12%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 9%
  • Disagree 0%
  • Strongly Disagree 0%

“Do you feel that any political parties are too tolerant of antisemitism among their MPs, MEPs, councillors, members and supporters? Please select all that apply.”

  • Conservative Party 14%
  • DUP 16%
  • Green Party 42%
  • Labour Party 62%
  • Liberal Democrats 32%
  • Plaid Cymru 21%
  • Reclaim Party 11%
  • Reform Party 12%
  • SNP 47%
  • Sinn Féin 32%
  • UKIP 16%
  • None 2%
  • Don’t know 26%

“Overall, I am satisfied with the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas crisis.”

  • Strongly Disagree 71%
  • Disagree 15%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 4%
  • Agree 3%
  • Strongly Agree 1%
  • I do not watch or listen to the BBC or read its website 6%

“I feel personally connected to events happening in Israel.”

  • Strongly Disagree 0%
  • Disagree 0%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 2%
  • Agree 19%
  • Strongly Agree 78%

“I consider myself to be a Zionist.”

  • Strongly Disagree 2%
  • Disagree 4%
  • Neither Agree nor Disagree 14%
  • Agree 23%
  • Strongly Agree 57%

Survey methodology

Our surveys of British Jews were modelled on the National Jewish Community Survey (NJCS) conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy research. In common with the NJCS, the samples were self-selecting, and respondents were required to self-identify as Jewish and confirm that they lived in the United Kingdom. Like the NJCS, they were contacted primarily through ‘seed’ organisations, including religious bodies, Jewish online networks (including targeted advertising on social networks), and community welfare organisations, among others. In common with the NJCS, the seed organisations were used to initiate a ‘snowballing’ process which, in effect, created a non-probability convenience sample. It was not possible to use a random probability sampling approach for this study because a suitable sampling frame for the Jewish population is not available in the UK. Fieldwork was conducted between 12th and 17th November 2023. In total, 3,744 responses were obtained. As is the case with the NJCS, the number of unique respondents contacted cannot be determined due to the likely overlap between different ‘seed’ organisations’ supporter bases, thus we cannot estimate the survey response rate.

A key issue with an online survey is to ensure that respondents are not counted twice. To avoid this and other abuses that might affect the survey’s integrity, several measures were implemented. These included: carefully monitoring responses for unusual trends during the fieldwork phase, and assessing the completed dataset for the presence of extreme or unrealistic values (i.e. outlier diagnostics) and for the presence of unlikely combinations of values across variables (i.e. logical checks). Additionally, cookies were used to avoid respondents completing the survey more than once. Finally, respondents’ IP addresses were logged so that if a respondent deleted their cookies, multiple responses from the same IP address could still be identified. As a result, duplicate responses were kept to a minimum and ultimately, removed from the sample.

Our survey is modelled on best practice established by NJCS. All surveys have their shortcomings, and ours shares the shortcomings of NJCS. Even surveys that are based on probability sampling are typically affected by high levels of non- response. Surveys of populations lacking sampling frames, such as this one, are particularly challenging, as is establishing their representativeness. Nevertheless, because we have extremely high-quality baseline statistics available in the UK, it is possible to both accurately weight the data and make reasonable assumptions about where they may depart from the ‘true’ picture. In general, the survey samples reflect the diverse character of Jewish respondents in the UK across geographical, demographic and religious variables. Where the sample does depart from baseline characteristics, responses were weighted for location, gender, age and religious affiliation. Population estimates were based on responses to the 2021 Census in England and Wales and the 2022 Census in Scotland where that data is available, and otherwise on responses to the 2011 Census, and size estimates with regard to religious denominations were based on the NCJS 2013. The weights were calculated using random iterative method weighting by an external consultant.

The disgraced former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and former Labour councillor Pamela Bromley, have now withdrawn their legal proceedings against the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) at the High Court.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley were both named in the EHRC’s report into antisemitism in the Labour Party. The report came about following the EHRC’s years-long investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant, having made the original referral to the EHRC.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley brought a claim for judicial review against the EHRC in order to overturn the EHRC’s landmark 2020 report which concluded that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership had engaged in unlawful antisemitic harassment of its Jewish members. These proceedings were a final attempt by the far-left supposedly to undermine the report, and much was pinned on this case, with those supporting the claimants having said that this judicial review could lead to the report’s worst allegations being entirely discredited. 

Had they been successful, they would have set back the fight against antisemitism and antisemitism-denial by years. To prevent such an eventuality, Campaign Against Antisemitism sought to intervene in the case, and defeated Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s opposition, with the High Court granting our application to do so earlier this year.

At the time, Mrs Justice Lang ruled: “In my judgment, the Court is likely to be assisted by CAA’s intervention…It made the complaint to [EHRC], and requested that an investigation took place. It provided substantial evidence, conceptual framework analysis and legal submissions to support the investigation. It has been particularly concerned with antisemitism denial as a form of harassment. As a Jewish community charity, it is rooted in the Jewish community and it has built up a longstanding expertise on the nature of modern antisemitism. Because of its expertise, it is likely to be able to contribute information, analysis and context more effectively than the other parties [the EHRC and the Labour Party].”

The EHRC supported Campaign Against Antisemitism’s application to intervene, while the Labour Party neither supported nor opposed it, remaining neutral.

Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley have now withdrawn the claim, surrendering and withdrawing the judicial review proceedings without testing the EHRC’s report at all, thereby giving up the chance to have their much-vaunted day in court, for which they had crowdfunded large sums of money from their trusting supporters.

The EHRC’s report cannot now be subject to further review, and its critical findings about the Labour Party and the nature of antisemitism – including about the so-called ‘Livingstone Formulation’, whereby allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as attempts to silence criticism of Israel or as motivated by some other ulterior motive – are no longer at any risk of being overturned.

The EHRC report is now unimpeachable and every finding in it stands, final and binding, including those about Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s conduct. The Labour Party, through their conduct as its agents, was found to have created an intimidating or hostile environment for Party members and prospective members, particularly those who were Jewish. Their statements were unwanted conduct related to Jewish ethnicity, which had the effect of harassing Labour Party members. In other words, their conduct amounted to harassment of Jewish members of the Labour Party on the basis of their Jewishness.

The EHRC found that, in addition to use of antisemitic tropes, antisemitism-denial – that is, dismissing complaints as ‘smears’ and ‘fake’ – can be a form of antisemitic conduct that amounts to unlawful harassment, and that it was in the cases of both of these individuals. The EHRC described these examples of antisemitic conduct as the tip of the iceberg of the issues that it identified in the Labour antisemitism investigation. That finding is now unimpeachable.

In a bizarre display of Humpty Dumpty’s Theory of Meaning, Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley have sought to portray as a brilliant victory their withdrawal of the case, which cost their supporters so much yet achieved not one of their objectives in court. Nobody will be persuaded by this laughable attempt at rationalising their capitulation. Meanwhile, their claim that these proceedings cost Campaign Against Antisemitism some astronomical figure is comically lacking in foundation, thanks to the generosity of our legal team.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This is a significant victory for the Jewish community, as it means that the EHRC’s groundbreaking report into antisemitism in the Labour Party stands. Ken Livingstone has been at the heart of Labour’s antisemitism scandal for years, so it is apt that he is also at the centre of this final failure of the antisemitism-denying far-left to overturn the EHRC’s findings.

“Recognising that Campaign Against Antisemitism originally referred the Labour Party to the EHRC and is an expert body in combating antisemitism, the High Court granted us intervener status in the case. We were keen to defend in court the EHRC’s findings of antisemitism in the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Our only disappointment at the dropping of this specious claim is that we will not have the opportunity to demolish the claims made by apologists for Mr Corbyn and his acolytes.

“This is a humiliating end for Mr Livingstone and his co-complainant, and one that their supporters, whose funds were squandered, will surely question. They are now reduced to crowing that they cost the EHRC hundreds of thousands in taxpayers’ money and delighting in their amusingly false assumption that they cost us vast charitable funds. Having seen off Mr Livingstone, we will continue our work to advocate for zero tolerance of antisemitism in all political parties, without fear or favour.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism was represented by Derek Spitz and Adam Wagner, of counsel, instructed by Asserson solicitors Shimon Goldwater and Joshua Battat. We are extremely grateful to our highly-capable legal team, which has been working on this matter with us since we first referred the Labour Party to the EHRC five years ago.

Shimon Goldwater, partner at Asserson, said: “Mr Livingstone has acted sensibly for the first time in these proceedings and abandoned his judicial review application. The EHRC’s findings are now final and not subject to further challenge, which is materially due to the strong stand taken in this case by Campaign Against Antisemitism.”

A spokesperson for the EHRC said: “We firmly stand by our robust and fair investigation, the findings of which were accepted in full by the Labour Party. We welcome the decision to withdraw this judicial review claim, with disappointment at the valuable time and resources that we have had to expend on defending it.”

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.

The Labour Party has reportedly reached a settlement with nine whistleblowers who had brought legal proceedings against the Party after their names appeared in a leaked report about antisemitism.

The nine individuals sued the Party after their names were included in a leaked 850-page report produced in the waning days of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, titled ‘The work of the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014 – 2019’.

The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit antisemitism allegations in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which the new leadership of the Party declined to do, but it was leaked.

That leak is at the centre of another, ongoing lawsuit. It is understood that this settlement does not affect that case.

Campaign Against Antisemitism called at the time for the report to be sent to the EHRC as part of the evidence of antisemitism-denial and diminishment within the Party.

It is understood that the nine whistleblowers and the Labour Party have reached a settlement out of court, with a notice of discontinuance having been filed with the High Court.

The whistleblowers claimed that the Party had breached their rights to data privacy and exposed them to attacks online.

In a separate case, 21 claimants are suing Labour over alleged breaches of their data privacy rights and defamation.

There are estimates that the various cases could cost the Labour Party several million pounds.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “We are pleased to be able to move forward in a positive manner. The Labour party is committed to continuing its work on combating antisemitism.”

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 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.

A Conservative MP has hired a former Labour Party councillor who has a history of making inflammatory comments about Jews

Paul Bristow, the Conservative MP for Peterborough, hired Ansar Ali, who used to be a councillor for Peterborough City Council, according to the JC.

Mr Ali was suspended from the Labour Party in 2021 whilst under investigation after he posted that he was “boycotting the biased BBC” because the broadcaster “didn’t want to upset the Zionist Israeli government lobby”. Mr Ali was reinstated to the Party after it concluded its investigation. 

The Labour Party is alleged not to have investigated other social media posts that he published, such as one in 2017 linking to an article asking, “How many British MPs are working for Israel?” which he described as “interesting and thought-provoking”, and another from 2016 referencing “Nazi-Zionist collaboration”.

Mr Bristow has acknowledged that whilst he was aware that Mr Ali had been suspended by Labour due to accusations of antisemitism, he had not “closely checked” what prompted the investigation. Nevertheless, according to Mr Bristow, Mr Ali “regrets deeply this social media activity and now sees clearly why it is antisemitic”. 

Mr Bristow added: “In an environment where material such as this (and worse) is being shared openly, he should have known much better.

 “I know some will disagree with my decision to give Ansar a chance to make amends. People may be disappointed. I understand this. But I am convinced that Ansar will stand with me in the fight against hatred and antisemitism. He will use his experience and mistakes as lessons for others.

“Ultimately the proof will be in actions, not words, and I look forward to this being demonstrated. By having his support, I will make a bigger difference than asking him to walk away.”

Mr Bristow also recommended that local politicians in the area undertake antisemitism training: “I think all councillors in Peterborough need to go through antisemitism training as a matter of course. We have a deserved reputational issue.  We owe it to Peterborough to address it.”

Mr Bristow also confirmed that Mr Ali will remain working for the Conservative Party in his role as a translator and caseworker for Mr Bristow’s constituency office. 

Mr Ali said: “In the past I have commented and shared social media posts that I now fully understand would have caused hurt and distress to members of the Jewish faith. This was wrong, and I deeply regret any hurt I have caused to the Jewish community and others.

“I have always considered myself someone who works to bring diverse communities in Peterborough and beyond together. These specific examples of social media activity fell well short of this aspiration.

“I shall work to ensure all community leaders strive to eliminate antisemitism and all forms of racial hatred and division wherever it is expressed. I aspire for a just and peaceful world where humanity comes first. Justice for All. Love for all, hate for none.”

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: Twitter via the JC

The Labour Party has spent over £500,000 in legal costs as part of its case against former staffers who are accused of leaking an internal antisemitism report. 

The costs, reported to be at least £503,260, are understood to relate to a recent hearing in which the Party tried to gain access to Laura Murray’s e-mails. Ms Murray is a disgraced former aide to Jeremy Corbyn who was appointed to lead the Labour Party’s disciplinary process during his tenure as leader of the Party.

The hearing is part of a wider counterclaim against the Party’s former staffers who were criticised in a controversial internal report into the handling of antisemitism cases by the Party. The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit allegations of antisemitism in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as part of its landmark investigation into Labour antisemitism in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant.

In the counterclaim, four other former staffers are named: Karie Murphy, a trade unionist and Mr Corbyn’s chief of staff, whose nomination for a peerage was blocked; Harry Hayball, a staffer in Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit and former Head of Digital Communications at the pro-Corbyn Momentum pressure group, who was reportedly labelled as the author in the report’s metadata; Seamus Milne, the far-left journalist who served as Mr Corbyn’s Executive Director of Strategy and Communications; and George Robertson, who worked in Labour’s communications team.

Last year, it was reported that Labour could face up to £5 million in claims and counterclaims relating to the leaked report. 

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The party has conducted a wide-ranging and appropriately thorough investigation following the leak and is confident of the case it has presented to the court. That remains the case.”

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.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a music venue in Newcastle has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown earlier this month at The Lubber Fiend, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury FestivalYMCAUnite unionBasildon CouncilNorth Ayrshire Council, the national pub retailer Greene KingTolpuddle Village HallYeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church, Ludlow Assembly Rooms and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also featured in the film is the disgraced academic and conspiracy theorist, David Miller, who was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry. More recently, he tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

Another contributor involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the venue for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, Ludlow Assembly Rooms has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown earlier this month, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury FestivalYMCAUnite unionBasildon Council, North Ayrshire Council, the national pub retailer Greene KingTolpuddle Village HallYeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also featured in the film is the disgraced academic and conspiracy theorist, David Miller, who was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry. More recently, he tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

Another contributor involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the venue for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

A Labour Party MP is facing a backlash after inviting Jeremy Corbyn to speak at an event.

Kate Osamor, the MP for Edmonton, has been criticised following a post on her Facebook page about her “political summer school”.

The post read: “Really pleased to be joined by Jeremy Corbyn at my Political Summer School. Without exception the students remain inspired and excited by Jeremy and the politics of hope that he represents.” 

It is understood that a number of Ms Osamor’s constituents have written to the MP to express their concerns. One constituent said: “There are still pockets in the party who are problematic. Kate should be helping fight back against these people, rather than pandering to someone like Corbyn who can’t bring himself to fully accept the recommendations of the EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] report.”

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Meanwhile, two Labour councillors have come under fire following accusations of denying or engaging in antisemitism. 

Cllr Raymond Moon, of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, has been suspended from the Labour group on the Council after he sponsored the screening of Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie at the Tunbridge Wells Forum.

The antisemitism-denial propaganda film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Of his suspension, Cllr Moon said: “I was extremely upset and it’s my own party members that have instigated it. It was a blow, not having been a councillor very long. I try to represent people and this was nothing to do with the party as far as I saw it, it was just giving a personal view.”

Another councillor was suspended from the Labour Party for allegedly sharing antisemitic content online.

Even after his suspension, Cllr David Morton, who sits on the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, liked a tweet questioning the number of Jews who died during the Holocaust, although he claimed that he had misunderstood it and has since blocked the account that had originally tweeted it.

Cllr Morton said of his suspension: “I’m absolutely stunned by this. I do not hold any antisemitic views and I’m certainly not racist. I was shocked because of the allegations of antisemitism and racism. I am probably the last person to be accused of that. My father-in-law was Jewish and I was involved in the report on Kindertransport.”

Labour reportedly opened an investigation, and in the meantime, Cllr Morton resigned from the Party, citing a disagreement within the Council regarding the Clean Air Neighbourhood project as the reason for his departure.

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.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, North Ayrshire Council has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown tonight at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury FestivalYMCAUnite union, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene KingTolpuddle Village HallYeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Council for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Unite union has cancelled the screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that was due to be shown alongside a book signing and talk from Asa Winstanley.

Mr Winstanley, a controversial activist and the author of the book Weaponising Anti-Semitism, is a former Labour member who quit the Party after being suspended pending an investigation. He has called accusations of antisemitism under the Party a “smear” and has referenced “Labour’s manufactured antisemitism crisis”. He has also tweeted repeatedly in promotion of the conspiracy theory that Israel is to blame for the racist killing of George Floyd. 

The event description stated that there would be a launch of the book which apparently “shows how Labour’s antisemitism crisis was manufactured by those who feared Jeremy Corbyn’s support for the Palestinian cause and a broad progressive agenda.” A book signing and talk from Mr Winstanley was then supposed to take place.

This was due to be followed by a screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie. However, following contact from Campaign Against Antisemitism in which we pointed out that the scheduling of the event appeared to be contradictory to the reports that the film has been banned in all of Unite’s buildings, it was cancelled.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury FestivalYMCABasildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene KingTolpuddle Village HallYeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Unite for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

The Shadow Home Secretary has announced that a Labour Government would apply a full ban to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an antisemitic Islamist terrorist group.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously written to all MPs calling on them to back the Government’s reported proposal, as yet unimplemented, to proscribe the IRGC under the Terrorism Act 2000. We have provided Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, and all MPs, with a dossier on the IRGC, detailing its horrendous record of antisemitism and violence against Jewish people.

Now, Yvette Cooper has confirmed that a Labour Government would amend existing terror legislation to “ban hostile state-sponsored organisations who are undermining our national security” as she warned that the UK faces “continued challenges from Islamist and far right extremists, radicalised online, in prison or in the community.”

She argued that, “Instead of trying and failing to use counter terror legislation to proscribe groups like Wagner or IRGC, we’ll introduce a bespoke proscribing mechanism to address state sponsored threats.” She also noted “the persecution of Iranian journalists by the IRGC – including fifteen threats to kidnap or kill on British soil.”

Her speech at the Royal United Services Institute think tank yesterday came after the Government applied an enhanced sanctions regime on Iran but failed to ban the IRGC.

Ms Cooper also observed that “we can’t tackle online radicalisation without stronger action from social media companies,” in an apparent reference to the Government’s Online Safety Bill.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend Yvette Cooper for committing a Labour Government to do what this Government has declined to do so far, namely proscribe the antisemitic Islamist IRGC. However, the ban cannot wait for a general election, and we continue to urge the Government to proscribe the state-sponsored terror group now.”

The controversial elected Mayor of North of Tyne, who has been described as the “last Corbynista in power”, has resigned from the Labour Party after complaining that the Party barred him from standing for a new regional role.

Jamie Discroll, a former Chair of Momentum in Newcastle, has quit Labour, observing in his resignation letter that the Party “barred me from running,” a reference to the race for the first North-East Mayor.

Mr Discroll, who has reportedly described the “Corbynista tag” as an attempt to “define us by London Westminster politics,” did not make it into the final three shortlisted for the Party’s candidacy.

Although he previously claimed that “no explanation had been given” about the Party’s decision not to include him in its candidate shortlist, it was reported that the exclusion stemmed from his appearance at an “In Conversation” event with the outspoken film director Ken Loach at a Newcastle theatre in March.

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

In the past, Sir Keir Starmer has promised to sanction Labour members who share platforms with expelled members, but has generally not fulfilled this pledge.

The decision to bar Mr Driscoll was greeted with a backlash, including by the far-left Unite union, which warned of “serious consequences” of the decision, and, reportedly, by thousands of supporters. In addition, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also criticised the decision to bar Mr Driscoll.

Asked in an interview, Mr Driscoll said that he has not read the full report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into antisemitism in the Labour Party. Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant in the investigation that led to the report.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a pub in the Shropshire town of Ludlow has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown last week at the Blue Boar pub, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury FestivalYMCABasildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene KingTolpuddle Village HallYeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Blue Boar for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, Yeovil Labour Club has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown this Saturday, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Yeovil Labour Club for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Tolpuddle Village Hall has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown next month, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

According to the Tolpuddle Radical Film Festival, which were the organisers of the screening, they initially hoped to show the film at the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival, but withdrew due to “censorship by the secretary.” It then sought to screen the film independently at the Village Hall, which has now decided to cancel the booking.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Village Hall for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church and the independent book retailer, October Books.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

A hate preacher who has a history of making inflammatory statements about Jews was recently granted entry to the UK to give a series of speeches. 

It has been reported that Enayet Ullah Abbasi, an Islamist extremist from Bangladesh, was welcomed by Enam Haque, a Labour Party councillor for Northamptonshire West, who described him as a “highly respected and prominent Islamic scholar.”

Mr Haque later said: “I was completely unaware of Enayet Ullah Abbasi’s abhorrent views, and I condemn them in the strongest possible terms.” 

Despite having a history of publicly expressing antisemitic views, the Home Office had granted Mr Abbasi entry to the UK for his lecture tour. 

In a video that was discovered and translated by The JC, Mr Abbasi allegedly said in a speech: “Hitler did a good job on behalf of humanity.” In the same clip, he also allegedly claims that Jews were “deserving” of being murdered in the Holocaust.

In another video, Mr Abbasi appears to reference the “Khaybar chant”: “Beware Jews, Palestine is the land of Muslims. Palestine is not your kingdom. I tell you Jews, get out of the holy land of Palestine and if you don’t, remember the story of the invasion of Khaybar…Remember the story of the battle of Khaybar in history. Khaybar went down and how were the Jews killed?” 

The “Khaybar” chant is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE. The chant has been heard in numerous anti-Israel rallies in Britain and abroad.

It is understood that Mr Abbasi had a number of his speeches cancelled after venues discovered that he had praised the 9/11 hijackers. 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Enayet Ullah Abbasi is an extremist whose repugnant rhetoric is nothing short of incitement. Not only does he praise Hitler in his speeches, but he invites his audiences to affirm his antisemitic views. That he was welcomed by a fawning local Labour councillor is shocking. Given Mr Abbasi’s public history, not only must the Home Office explain how he was granted entry into the country, but it must also reassure the public that this recent visit will be his last.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2021 showed that almost eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, Basildon Council has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown on Friday at the George Hurd Activity Centre, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, the national pub retailer Greene King, and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Council for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a pub in Lewes has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown next week at the ‘Elephant & Castle’ pub, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, who we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, Greene King and YMCA also cancelled screenings of the film.

The event’s ticket-booking page stated that the film “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the ‘Elephant & Castle’ for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to the venue’s attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, has now been cancelled.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a leading pub retailer has agreed to cancel two screenings of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screenings of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie were scheduled to be shown tonight and tomorrow in Bournemouth, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by Greene King itself.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival and YMCA also cancelled screenings of the film.

The event’s ticket-booking page stated: “We will show the acclaimed Ken Loach documentary revealing the campaign of disinformation against Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour.”

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Greene King for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening, as soon as we brought it to the retailer’s attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, has now been cancelled.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, the YMCA has agreed to cancel the screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie is understood to have been made through the charity’s online room-booking system by a third party, and not by the YMCA itself.

The news comes shortly after Glastonbury Festival agreed to cancel its screening of the film following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which led the public outcry.

The event’s ticket-booking page describes the screening as: “The film Labour Party doesn’t want you to see. This film looks at why and how in 2017 Jeremy Corbyn was stopped from being a PM.”

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

The event was due to have been chaired by Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, a co-founder of JVL.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was expelled from the Labour Party, apparently in relation to her involvement with the far-left “Resist Movement”, “Labour in Exile Network” and antisemitism-denial group “Labour Against the Witchhunt”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the YMCA for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening, as soon as we brought it to the charity’s attention.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

Laura Alvarez has been discovered to be a member of a Facebook group that is reportedly full of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

According to the JC, Ms Alvarez, the wife of the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, is a member of the Organise Corbyn Inspired Socialist Alliance group, which was created in February after Sir Keir Starmer announced that he was barring Mr Corbyn from standing as a candidate for the Labour Party.

Mr Corbyn had the Labour whip removed, which means that he has been indefinitely suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party. He remains a member of the Labour Party, however.

One member of the group posted an edited image of Sir Keir in front of an Israeli flag alongside a fake quotation that read: “We stand up for Israel, we stand up for Israeli people, we stand up for Israeli interests and we will always put them first.” An administrator of the group wrote: “This just goes to prove that [Sir Keir] has been well bought and paid for, by a foreign government!”

The administrator also shared an interview in the group in which Sir Keir insisted that Israel “is not an apartheid state.” In response, a member of the group wrote: “Israelis have recreated the genocide inflicted upon them by the Nazis [while] the whole world turns a blind eye.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Another user complained about Campaign Against Antisemitism, describing us as “unhinged Zionists” and claiming that the group was “almost certainly a venture funded from Tel Aviv.” We and other groups were also accused of being “proxy Israeli agencies” who “exaggerated” antisemitism within the Labour Party to “assassinate” Corbyn.

Yet another wrote: “[Sir Keir] has been bought and paid for by the Zionists in the party.”

A further post claimed that Jews do not suffer racism, only “prejudice”, an received hundreds of likes. The group member wrote: “Why are Jewish people regarded as a race?…To stifle criticism of the actions of Israel.” Another member said in reply: “[Jewish people] are not Semites, they are Israeli Zionists who are from Eastern Europe.”

The Organise Corbyn Inspired Socialist Alliance group is attempting to select a candidate to run in Sir Keir’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency against the Labour leader and to raise half a million pounds to back the challenger’s campaign.

It is alleged that Ms Alvarez commented on a photograph of Sir Keir that was posted in the group, writing “disgusting creature”.

According to Sky News, Ms Alvarez has been a member of the group “since day one” and has sent the group’s administrators her “good wishes”.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The posts in this group are utterly repugnant. These comments constitute a repository of antisemitic tropes and antisemitism-denial, the likes of which were at the core of Labour’s scandal of racism against Jews. No prominent individual should have anything to do with a group like this, let alone be a member.

“It goes without saying that the claims made against us in the group are ludicrous, and are borne of the same conspiracist mentality that infected Labour in the Corbyn years. Far-left antisemites have been forced to return to the sewer whence they came. Peeping down there is never pretty.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

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.

The leadership of the Labour Party is facing a backlash after it barred a local mayor, dubbed the “last Corbynista in power”, from standing for a new regional role.

Jamie Discroll, the elected Mayor of North of Tyne and a former Chair of Momentum in Newcastle, has been prevented by the Labour Party from standing as its candidate in the race for the first North-East Mayor. Mr Discroll, who has reportedly described the “Corbynista tag” as an attempt to “define us by London Westminster politics,” did not make it into the final three shortlisted for the Party’s candidacy.

Although he tweeted that “no explanation had been given,” it has since been reported that the exclusion stems from his appearance at an “In Conversation” event with the outspoken film director Ken Loach at a Newcastle theatre in March.

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

In the past, Sir Keir Starmer has promised to sanction Labour members who share platforms with expelled members, but has generally not fulfilled this pledge.

The decision has been greeted with a backlash, including by the far-left Unite union, which warned of “serious consequences” of the decision, and, reportedly, by thousands of supporters.

In addition, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram have also criticised the decision to bar Mr Driscoll, writing to Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC): “Whilst we appreciate the NEC’s important role in upholding standards within the Party, and rooting out any form of antisemitism, racism and discrimination, it also has a responsibility to ensure decisions are democratic, transparent and fair,” adding: “To exclude a sitting mayor from a selection process with no right of appeal appears to us to be none of those things.” They said that Mr Driscoll should be entitled to an appeal process and “deserves to be treated with more respect than he has so far been shown.”

While the prospect of Sir Keir finally keeping his pledge to sanction Labour figures who share platforms with expelled members is welcome, there is concern that there may be a political motivation as well to the decision to bar Driscoll, namely that it undermines a growing Northern power base of senior Labour figures, particularly those who occupy mayoral positions, who may wish to challenge the Party’s more London-centric leadership.

Asked in an interview, Mr Driscoll said that he has not read the full report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into antisemitism in the Labour Party. Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant in the investigation that led to the report.

Mr Loach, meanwhile, claimed that “the whole antisemitism issue has been substantially revealed as a campaign that is not based on fact. It’s based on political determination to do a number of things, to remove people from the left, to protect the state of Israel, which many people, many Jewish people in the Labour Party, oppose, oppose this campaign.”

Claiming that allegations of antisemitism are used to protect Israel is an example of the Livingstone Formulation. The “Livingstone Formulation”, named by sociologist David Hirsch after the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is used to describe how allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the EHRC found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.

Mr Loach’s voice was among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign. He claimed that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was subjected to a “torrent of abuse” that was “off the scale” and that regardless of what he did, the “campaign” of antisemitism accusations was “going to run and run”. He described the BBC’s Panorama investigation into Labour antisemitism as “disgusting because it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism…and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn.”

He was also reportedly behind a motion passed by Bath Labour Party branding the Panorama programme a “dishonest hatchet job with potentially undemocratic consequences” and asserting that it “disgraced the name of Panorama and exposed the bias endemic within the BBC.” John Ware, the programme’s reporter, is apparently considering legal action against Mr Loach for his comments.

In 2017, Mr Loach caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” is a manifestation of antisemitism. Although Mr Loach later sought to clarify his remarks, he has continued to make inflammatory and provocative statements about Labour’s antisemitism scandal.

While speaking at a meeting of the Kingswood Constituency Labour Party, Mr Loach advocated the removal from the Party of those Labour MPs, some of whom are Jewish, who have taken a principled stand against antisemitism. Shortly after that incident, the Labour Party announced that it would no longer use Mr Loach as a producer of their election broadcasts.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

The Labour Party’s claim to have suspended a councillor is once again being called into question, nine months after similar concerns were raised, after further evidence has arisen appearing to show that the local Labour group continues to include him in its activities.

Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, who served, until his reported suspension, as the leader of the Labour Group on Pendle Council in Lancashire, was reportedly suspended last year by the Party over remarks that he made in a speech in April in which he called for the flag of the Palestinian Authority to be flown from the town hall.

He reportedly said: “The fact is that what’s going on in Ukraine, Palestine, and other areas I’ve mentioned, reminds me, I barely passed my GCSE history at school, but many people in this room will remember what justification Hitler had for what he did to the Jews in the Second World War.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Cllr Iqbal reportedly told the JC at the time: “I disagree that this is antisemitic. I have friends who are Jews and Israeli friends who are Jewish and from other faiths.” He apparently added that several Jewish people had contacted him to express their support.

Campaign Against Antisemitism was informed that Cllr Iqbal continued to enjoy membership of the Labour Group at the Council, despite his apparent suspension. We had, for example, seen a press release sent via e-mail by Cllr Iqbal on behalf of the Labour Group, and a sign-in sheet in which he continued to be listed as a Labour councillor.

It appears that now, nine months later, little has changed, as photographs produced by the JC appear to show Cllr Iqbal campaigning during the recent local elections. 

Andrew Stephenson, the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Pendle, questioned how legitimate Cllr Iqbal’s suspension was.

“Since his supposed ‘suspension’ from the Labour Party, Cllr Iqbal has continued to sit with the Labour group in Pendle Council and Lancashire County Council,” he said. “He was seen repeatedly out campaigning for Labour in the run up to the local elections and then attended the count to celebrate alongside other Labour councillors.”

He added: “It is therefore unclear what his ‘suspension’ actually means. In the light of the Pendle Labour Party turning a blind eye to antisemitism Sir Keir Starmer should launch an investigation into the local Labour party and make Cllr Iqbal’s suspension permanent.”

Anne-Marie Wrigley, Vice-Chair of Pendle Labour Party, rebuffed Mr Stephenson, whom she called a “desperate man”, and reaffirmed that Cllr Iqbal’s suspension was still in effect. 

She said: “After thirteen years as MP for Pendle Andrew Stephenson is now resorting to personal attacks against Labour Party members because he has seen the tide has turned. This is a desperate man worried more about his ministerial career than anything else.

“Cllr Iqbal is suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation which we hope will be concluded soon. He cannot act on behalf of the Labour Party.”

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.

A newly-elected councillor, who was barred from running for Labour after the Party was alerted to his history of inflammatory activity on social media but who was endorsed instead by the Conservatives as their candidate, has now been suspended pending an investigation.

Shakeel Munir Hussain had hoped to run as a Labour candidate in Stockton-on-Tees in the local election as he has on previous occasions, but after being blocked by the Party, he then ran instead for the Conservatives in the Ropner ward.

Mr Hussain’s posts, shares and likes on Facebook allegedly include Rothschild conspiracy theories, comparisons of Israel to the Nazis, suggestions that Israel is in league with ISIS, and claims that “the world knows all too well that their governments are controlled by Zionist money” and that the Jews control American politics, all of which are antisemitic tropes.

Mr Hussain ran for the Labour Party in 2019 and 2021, before a member of the public drew the Party’s attention to his social media history. Most of that activity predates those elections and apparently was not picked up by the Party or was ignored. The Conservative Party then committed the same error.

After being alerted, the Conservatives appeared to try to distance themselves from Mr Hussain, with the Party revealing days before the election that he “would not be allowed to join the Conservative group on the council, if elected, until any investigations had been completed.”

Mr Hussain was elected, although the Conservative Party’s position, for a time, remained unclear, with the Stockton Conservative Group leader reportedly saying: “Ropner is a really, really great win. The two councillors who won have worked their socks off. They know the issues, the residents are fed up with Labour, they complain about the same issues time after time.”

However, it has now been reported that an internal party investigation into Mr Hussain’s posts has been launched, during which time he will remain suspended.

Elsewhere, in North Lincolnshire, Conservative candidate Ashley Sykes, who was standing for the Ashby Lakeside ward, was suspended by the Party after allegedly sharing jokes about the Holocaust online. A spokepserson for the Conservatives said that the Party had “acted swiftly” to suspend Mr Sykes after becoming aware of the historic posts. Mr Sykes did not win his contest.

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.

A magistrate and Labour Party councillor has been issued a formal warning by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) over Facebook posts containing “antisemitic content”.

The warning relates to posts said to have been made between 2015 and 2019 that are believed to be behind Ansar Hussain’s suspension from the Party in May of last year.

Mr Hussain, who was elected in Milton Keynes in 2021 and previously served as Wolverton’s mayor, was alleged to have shared conspiracy theories about the Jewish state on social media, including some that appeared to compare Israeli policies to those of the Nazis. 

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism. 

Contacted by the JC, Cllr Hussain reportedly said at the time that he “disagreed with antisemitism” and, regarding the posts, that “I don’t remember these posts.” 

The JCIO said of its warning to Mr Hussain: “Following a judicial disciplinary investigation, a conduct panel of the South East Region Conduct Advisory Committee found that Mr Hussain had, on four occasions between 2015 and 2019, shared and responded to social media posts which contained antisemitic content.

“The panel decided that Mr Hussain’s actions, two of which took place before he became a magistrate, were prejudiced, and fell below the high standards of conduct expected of a judicial office-holder.

“In deciding to issue Mr Hussain with a formal warning, Mr Justice Keehan and the Lord Chancellor took into consideration that he reported the matter to his bench chair straightaway, accepted responsibility for his conduct and that it was highly improper, apologised, closed his public social media accounts, and voluntarily undertook diversity and inclusivity training.”

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.

The Labour Party has suspended Diane Abbott after she claimed that Jewish people cannot suffer “racism”.

Ms Abbott, who has a history of minimising antisemitism in the Labour Party, made the claim in a letter to The Observer newspaper.

The letter, published today, was in response to an article by Tomiwa Owolade in last week’s newspaper which commented on a new report on ethnic inequality that revealed that “Irish, Jewish and Traveller people are among the most abused. In fact, the two groups most likely to say they have experienced racist abuse, according to the survey, are Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities and Jewish people. More than 60% of Gypsy and Traveller people reported that they had experienced some form of racist assault. More than 55% of Jewish people report the same.”

In her letter, Ms Abbott wrote: “Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from ‘racism’. They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.”

Following an outcry, Ms Abbott issued a retraction, writing: “I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and dissociate myself from them. The errors arose in an initial draft being sent. But there is no excuse, and I wish to apologise for any anguish caused. Racism takes many forms, and it is completely undeniable that Jewish people have suffered its monstrous effects, as have Irish people, Travellers and many others. Once again, I would like to apologise publicly for the remarks and any distress caused as a result of them.”

In the meantime, Labour has withdrawn the whip from Ms Abbott, pending an investigation.

​​A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The Labour Party completely condemns these comments, which are deeply offensive and wrong. The Chief Whip has suspended the Labour whip from Diane Abbott pending an investigation.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Diane Abbott’s claim that Jewish people cannot suffer ‘racism’ is outrageous in itself, but made all the more extraordinary given all that has unfolded in the Labour Party over the past few years. She and her allies on the far-left of the Party could never accept how bad antisemitism had become because they do not even acknowledge that it is a form of racism. We already made complaints against her, which the Party has never investigated. Her suspension now is past time, and must be the first step towards her expulsion from the Party.”

On the day of the publication of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) report, Campaign Against Antisemitism submitted a major complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by the independent disciplinary process that the EHRC demanded and Sir Keir Starmer promised.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

The Conservatives have endorsed a candidate in the local elections who was barred from running for Labour after the Party was alerted to his history of inflammatory activity on social media.

Shakeel Munir Hussain had hoped to run as a Labour candidate in Stockton-on-Tees in the coming local election as he has on previous occasions, but after being blocked by the Party, he is now running instead for the Conservatives in the Ropner ward.

Mr Hussain’s posts, shares and likes on Facebook allegedly include Rothschild conspiracy theories, comparisons of Israel to the Nazis, suggestions that Israel is in league with ISIS, and claims that “the world knows all too well that their governments are controlled by Zionist money” and that the Jews control American politics, all of which are antisemitic tropes.

Mr Hussain ran for the Labour Party in 2019 and 2021, before a member of the public drew the Party’s attention to his social media history. Most of that activity predates those elections and apparently was not picked up by the Party or was ignored. The Conservative Party has now committed the same error.

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.

Nearly half of all disciplinary cases heard by the Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) pertain to antisemitism, according to new figures.

While these latest statistics are a reduction on the 65 percent figure published last November, they still represent an enormous proportion of cases.

Last year, Labour claimed that the backlog of cases from the period of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has been cleared. However, the Party has yet to address the complaints submitted by Campaign Against Antisemitism against over a dozen sitting MPs.

Among the cases that have recently come to light are the suspension of Cllr Ismail Bax in Preston, who allegedly reposted comments on Twitter about the murder of seven Jews outside a synagogue in Jerusalem; and the suspension of Vivien Burke, the Vice Chair of Romford Labour, after tweets were revealed in which she allegedly described claims of antisemitism as a “witch hunt”, said that Sir Keir Starmer and the former Labour MP Joan Ryan are “paid puppet[s]” for Israel, and reportedly implied that a “Jewish lobby” is trying to “gag” people criticising Israel.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

A candidate for a council in Derbyshire allegedly published a series of controversial tweets about Jews. 

The Twitter account is claimed by Gnasher Jew to belong to David Aris-Sutton, who is currently running as a candidate for High Peak Borough Council. Some of the alleged tweets include comparisons of Israelis to Nazis, the characterisation of Jews as “child bombing [sic]” and “land grabbing [sic]”, and claims that if Mr Aris-Sutton had a time machine, “Hitler would be safe”. 

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism (the Definition) “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel” is an example of antisemitism.

High Peak Borough Council has adopted the Definition. 

Mr Aris-Sutton was reportedly suspended from the Labour Party. He continues to sit as a councillor at New Mills Ton Council, sitting as an independent.

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: Google

The Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has today voted not to endorse Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the next general election.

The motion, which passed by a vote of 22 to twelve, was brought by Party leader Sir Keir Starmer. It argued that, “in order to effect the NEC’s primary purpose to maximise the Labour Party’s prospects of winning the next general election, and to avoid any detrimental impact on the Labour Party’s standing with the electorate in the country as a whole; the Labour Party’s interests, and its political interests at the next general election, are not well served by Mr Corbyn running as a Labour Party candidate; And it is not in the best interests of the Labour Party for it to endorse Mr Corbyn as a Labour Party candidate at the next general election. Accordingly…Mr Corbyn will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election.”

Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP, having been indefinitely suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party, but he remains a member of the Labour Party itself, which briefly suspended him in 2020 before readmitting him.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We obviously welcome Labour’s decision not to endorse Jeremy Corbyn’s candidacy, given the central role that he has played in the Party’s antisemitism scandal. But the fact remains that, despite everything, he is still a member of the Labour Party. He has never been subjected to formal disciplinary proceedings or expelled. Even this decision to try to sever ties with him has been framed as being about him costing the Party votes. This is therefore not a stand against racism but a pragmatic approach to try to win elections.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism previously lodged a complaint against Mr Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) shameful findings of institutional racism in the Party. Given the serious detriment that this conduct caused, we have consistently been seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension from the Party and, if the complaint is upheld, his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Labour councillor Pam Bromley have failed in their opposition to Campaign Against Antisemitism’s application to intervene in their judicial review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

In a written judgment, Mrs Justice Lang decided that Campaign Against Antisemitism should be allowed to intervene formally in the judicial review proceedings in which Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley are seeking to overturn the EHRC’s landmark 2020 report which concluded that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership had engaged in unlawful antisemitic harassment of its Jewish members.

Despite our role as originating complainant in the EHRC’s investigation into Labour, Mr Livingstone and Ms Bromley had strongly opposed the High Court giving permission to us to intervene in the case, arguing that our intervention would “not provide any benefits”.

Rejecting Mr Livingstone’s and Ms Bromley’s position, Mrs Justice Lang ruled: “In my judgment, the Court is likely to be assisted by CAA’s intervention…It made the complaint to [EHRC], and requested that an investigation took place. It provided substantial evidence, conceptual framework analysis and legal submissions to support the investigation. It has been particularly concerned with antisemitism denial as a form of harassment. As a Jewish community charity, it is rooted in the Jewish community and it has built up a longstanding expertise on the nature of modern antisemitism. Because of its expertise, it is likely to be able to contribute information, analysis and context more effectively than the other parties [the EHRC and the Labour Party].” 

The EHRC supported Campaign Against Antisemitism’s intervention, while the Labour Party neither supported nor opposed it, remaining neutral.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are pleased that the High Court has ruled that, as complainant in the EHRC’s investigation into antisemitism in the Labour Party, and as an expert body, we are well-suited to assist the court in understanding the nature of antisemitism denial as a form of harassment and other important matters in this case.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism is represented by Derek Spitz and Adam Wagner, of counsel, instructed by Asserson solicitors.

It has been reported Mike Gapes has rejoined Labour, shortly after Luciana Berger announced her decision to rejoin the Party.

Ms Berger, a Jewish former Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, left the Party in 2019 over institutional antisemitism and feeling “unwelcome in [her] own party” during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Following an apology from Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, Ms Berger said last week that she was “pleased to be returning to [her] political home”.

This week, Ms Berger is joined by Mr Gapes, a former Labour MP for Ilford South, who also left the Party in 2019 alongside Ms Berger, Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker and Ann Coffey.

Dame Louise Ellman, who rejoined the Party in 2021, commented at the time, “there remains a great deal more to do to tackle antisemitism in the Party.” 

Earlier this year, Mr Corbyn doubled down on his insistence that the scale of antisemitism in the Party was “grossly exaggerated”.

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 called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

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.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced that it is lifting the Labour Party out of special measures, following the conclusion of the Action Plan agreed between the EHRC and the Party.

The Action Plan was imposed after the EHRC released its damning report in 2020, following an investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the originating complainant.

The EHRC has described itself as “content with the actions taken” by Labour, in justifying its decision to end its monitoring of the Party.

In 2020, at the time of the publication of the report, Campaign Against Antisemitism filed disciplinary complaints against over a dozen sitting Labour MPs against whom no action had yet been taken.

Over two years later, still no action has been taken.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Despite our status as originating complainant in the EHRC’s investigation into Labour, the Party has not carried out disciplinary investigations in relation to more than a dozen complaints that we submitted over two years ago against sitting MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, who remains a member of the Party, and Angela Rayner. It is therefore hard for us to feel that a corner has been turned.

“While welcome progress has been made in the fight against antisemitism under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, justice is yet to be done in too many cases for anyone to conclude that the problem has been rectified. We will continue to press Labour on these complaints and its other failings, just as we do with all political parties. The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn plunged the Jewish community into a state of fear that could all too easily return unless antisemitism is firmly rooted out.”

The Labour Party was found by the 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 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.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to a member of the Welsh Parliament after she issued an invitation to a Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration that omitted any reference to Jewish victims of the Nazis.

In her invitation, Julie Morgan MS, a member of the Welsh Labour Party, referenced Gypsies, Roma and Travellers and emphasised that the event was about “Remembering All”, but made no reference at all to Jews.

While other minorities suffered brutal treatment at the hands of the Nazi regime, an estimated six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered by the Nazis, representing around a third of the entire global population. It was for the systematic and industrial slaughter of the Jews by the Nazis that the word “genocide” was coined and to which the term “Holocaust” principally refers.

There has been a long and absurd trend of dissociating the Jews from the Holocaust and its commemoration. The Welsh Labour Party must give no suggestion that it participates in or endorses this trend. This is particularly so given the recent scandals that have engulfed the national Labour Party with regard to its relationship with the Jewish community.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Ms Morgan calling for the invitation to be amended to include a reference to the primary victims of the Holocaust, and urged that memorialising the murder of Jews remains at the heart of what this important day signifies and teaches.

Ms Morgan is the Deputy Minister for Social Services, and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has been notified.

A spokesperson for Ms Morgan reportedly said: “This is a long-standing annual event being sponsored in Julie Morgan MS’s capacity as an individual Senedd Member. The event has always received cross-party support and ties in with the annual Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Senedd. This is an inclusive event, and as the invitation makes clear, the event aims to remember all victims of the Holocaust, including those who can often be forgotten about.”

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.

UPDATE: Ms Morgan has apologised and re-issued the invitation.

A Labour activist previously appointed as Jeremy Corbyn’s “Jewish liaison officer” has been expelled from the Party.

Heather Mendick’s insulting appointment to the role in 2019 to “build bridges” with British Jews drew the ire of the community, given her record. She had said that antisemitism claims have been “weaponised” and criticised calls for Labour to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism. She also joined disgraced MP Chris Williamson on his “Democracy Roadshow” and expressed “solidarity” for Jenny Manson, a member of the sham Jewish Voice For Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group. She even signed a letter in The Guardian claiming that Mr Corbyn is a “formidable” opponent of antisemitism after Luciana Berger resigned from Labour over “institutional antisemitism”.

Ms Mendick was a member of Momentum, the pro-Corbyn campaign group, and worked as a research consultant and Secretary of Hackney South Labour Party.

In a video announcing her expulsion, Ms Mendick said, “I feel relieved. The Labour Party is a cesspit.”

Elsewhere in London, Cllr Joy Wallace has reportedly been expelled from the Party. Cllr Wallace, who sits on Haringey Council, won election earlier this year and was suspended by the Party. She had allegedly accused a rabbi of being “paid handsomely” for criticising Mr Corbyn on Radio 4, among other inflammatory remarks.

Also expelled was Stephen Marks, a former member of Labour’s powerful National Constitutional Committee. He received an administrative suspension from the Party in July 2021, and has reportedly now been expelled.

Meanwhile, the Labour MP Nadia Whittome has been accused of associating with a controversial group.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi has reportedly been expelled from the Labour Party.

Writing on Twitter, the controversial Labour activist said: “Confidential email to me says my ‘membership of the Party stands terminated’. An NEC panel concluded I had ‘in its opinion, demonstrated the type of support for REIST (sic), LIEN and LAW prohibited by Chapter 2, Clause I.5.B.v of the Rules.’

“I dispute this interpretation and will appeal my expulsion. It disenfranchises 1000s of members who voted to put me on the NEC.”

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi appears to have been referring in her tweet to the far-left “Resist Movement”, “Labour in Exile Network” and antisemitism denial group “Labour Against the Witchhunt”, all of which are factions that have been proscribed by the Labour Party, meaning that membership of them is sufficient grounds for expulsion from the Party.

This follows Ms Wimborne-Idrissi’s suspension in September, which was decided after she attended a meeting last year of the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson’s Resist Movement, knowing that it is proscribed by the Party.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi is the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation. She was reportedly suspended from the Labour Party two years ago but her suspension was inexplicably lifted. She was also previously the Vice-Chair of Chingford and Woodford Green Constituency Labour Party before reportedly being removed last year.

She was recently elected to serve on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), which was one of several results in that election that called into doubt Labour’s progress in dealing with its antisemitism scandal and the culture that created it.

It was also announced that JVL had settled a libel case brought against it by the respected Panorama journalist John Ware in relation to comments made about him by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi. The settlement has reportedly raised the possibility that JVL may be in financial trouble.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi has been embroiled in controversy recently, particularly after it was reported that, in a Palestine Deep Dive podcast, she allegedly said: “There are cases where people have said, ‘we’ve got a Holocaust denier in our branch, what are you going to do about it?’ [to which the response was] ‘Oh, let’s have a look at his credentials. Oh, he’s a right-winger, no, no, he’s fine, he can carry on.’” Following calls on social media for her to provide evidence for her claim, it is not believed that any has been presented.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome the expulsion of Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, but question why it has taken the Party so long to act. As well as being a senior figure in the antisemitism-denial organisation styling itself Jewish Voice for Labour, she has also laughed at allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party, and alleged that ‘pro-Israel advocates’ were working with ‘elites’ in the ‘interests of the capitalist financial system’. Rather than seeing Ms Wimborne-Idrissi expelled on a technicality after so long, we would much prefer that her conduct itself had been examined under Labour’s disciplinary process.”

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.

John Ware, the maker of the BBC Panorama documentary “Is Labour Antisemitic”, has won a total of £90,000 in his libel lawsuit against the Editor of the Press Gang blog.

The lawsuit against Paddy French centred on claims made by Mr French that the Panorama documentary “bent the truth to breaking point” and was a “rogue piece of journalism”. Mr French reportedly disseminated the comment to over 100 senior figures at the BBC, Channel 4 News, Sky News, LBC, The Guardian, The Times and other newspapers.

Mr Ware had originally sued Mr French for £50,000, but received more following Mr French’s decision not to appear in court.

Mr Ware commented: “I wanted my day in court…But not just this unsatisfactory one-sided affair…I wanted my day in court but Mr French has slithered away.”

The judge, Mr Justice Julian Knowles, decided to proceed with the one-hour hearing without Mr French present, noting that “he had no defence” and that his withdrawal of the truth defence had “seriously exacerbated the damage caused” to Mr Ware.

The court concluded that Mr French’s statements caused serious harm to Mr Ware’s reputation as a journalist and awarded him a total of £90,000 in damages. The judge also issued a permanent injunction stopping Mr French from repeating the allegations.

Mr Ware previously received an apology in open court from Jewish Voice for Labour’s Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi following libel claims brought against her.

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.

It has been reported that the Labour Party faces potential costs of up to £5 million in legal claims and counterclaims.

The legal claim against the Party was launched by nine former Labour staffers-turned-whistleblowers who were criticised in a controversial internal report into the handling of antisemitism cases by the Party. The report, which was a last ditch attempt to discredit allegations of antisemitism in the Party, was intended to be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as part of its landmark investigation into Labour antisemitism, in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant. 

The Party has since launched a counterclaim against five of its former staffers, who it claims are responsible for the leak of the internal report. In the counterclaim, the Party named Karie Murphy, a trade unionist and Jeremy Corbyn’s chief of staff, whose nomination for a peerage was blocked; Laura Murray, a disgraced Corbyn aide who was appointed to lead the Labour Party’s disciplinary process; Harry Hayball, a staffer in Labour’s Governance and Legal Unit and former Head of Digital Communications at Momentum who was reportedly labelled as the author in the report’s metadata; Seamus Milne, the far-left journalist who served as Mr Corbyn’s Executive Director of Strategy and Communications; and George Robertson, who worked in Labour’s communications team.

After the data breach, Labour self-reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO’s investigation is ongoing.

As the Party faces a potential legal bill in the millions, it has also revealed that it has a £4.8 million deficit in its finances.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing legal case.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “These are eye-watering legal costs, but they are just a reflection of the real price of Labour’s history of antisemitism denial, which is to demean victims and gaslight whistleblowers who have revealed the depth of anti-Jewish racism in the Party. It is extraordinary how the ‘life-long anti-racist’ former leaders of Labour thought it appropriate to expend such vast sums challenging racism claims instead of the racism itself, and that the current Labour leadership are still so willing to expend treasure in refusing to settle with those who worked to bring Labour’s proven antisemitism to light. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour became morally bankrupt, and these figures show that financial bankruptcy is still a risk that Labour is willing to take to conceal that rot.” 

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

The veteran Labour Party activist, Pete Willsman, has finally been expelled from the Party in relation to antisemitism.

Mr Willsman was even a member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Council (NEC) until he was suspended from the Party in May 2019 after a recording emerged of a conversation between him and the author Tuvia Tenenbom.

In the conversation, which was reportedly recorded without Mr Willsman’s knowledge, Mr Willsman allegedly claimed that Labour’s antisemitism crisis was “all lies” and that critics of Jeremy Corbyn were using claims of antisemitism to “whip people up”.

Mr Willsman allegedly said: “It’s almost certain who is behind all this antisemitism against Jeremy…Almost certainly it was the Israeli embassy. Because they caught somebody in the Labour Party – it turns out they were an agent in the embassy. The thing is that the people that are in the Labour Party doing it are people who are linked…one of them works indirectly for the Israeli embassy.”

Claiming that the Israeli Embassy was behind allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party is a popular antisemitic trope.

Mr Willsman also previously said that he had never seen antisemitism in Labour, blaming Jewish “Trump fanatics” for inventing the problem. When 68 rabbis wrote a joint open letter to the Party alleging “severe and widespread” antisemitism, he challenged them to show evidence.

Already two years ago, Sir Keir Starmer admitted that the investigation into Mr Willsman was taking too long.

Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, defended Mr Willsman, telling the JC: “The expulsion of long-serving Labour Party NEC member Pete Willsman is the inevitable conclusion of a process which has seen hundreds of left wingers driven out on the basis of unfounded allegations of antisemitism. The current party leadership has been clear that it intends to eradicate all trace of the Corbyn era, waging a factional campaign that has nothing to do with protecting Jews from antisemitism.”

Also reportedly expelled from Labour was the former Unite delegate to Labour’s NEC, Martin Mayer, apparently in connection with his alleged support for the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against Witchhunt.

Meanwhile, Ruth George, a former Labour MP who now sits as a local councillor, was reportedly joined by Shadow Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds for a campaigning event, in spite of Ms George’s troubling record.

Recently, Ms George declined to put herself forward to become Labour’s candidate once more in High Peak.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Jeremy Corbyn’s former spokesperson has joined the Green Party.

The move comes as speculation mounts that Mr Corbyn will be barred from running as a candidate for the Labour Party in the next general election.

Matt Zarb-Cousin said that a “factional war” against the left of the Party had been “executed from the top down.”

Mr Zarb-Cousin, who served as a spokesperson for Mr Corbyn when the latter was leader of the Labour Party, complained that left-wingers were “no longer welcome in the Labour Party” and, blaming Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for the change in climate, urged others to defect.

Mr Zarb-Cousin, who also helped to run Rebecca Long-Bailey’s abortive Labour leadership bid, also said that Labour’s apparent decision not to restore the whip to Mr Corbyn “sealed and confirmed” his decision to quit the Party.

Explaining his decision to move to the Greens, Mr Zarb-Cousin said: “Obviously I was attracted to the Greens’ policies on the climate crisis and proportional representation, which are the two most important things going forward for the country. Democratic socialists are no longer welcome in the Labour Party and there is a strong case for them to join the Greens and push for proportional representation,which will give our views and politics more influence.”

Mr Zarb-Cousin said of others moving to the Greens: “I’m hearing that left-wing members have left and other people are thinking about it. I think there will be more.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has repeatedly warned that the Green Party risks becoming a haven for far-left exiles from the Labour Party.

Meanwhile, the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum is reportedly warning its supporters that its future is in financial peril due to the flight of far-left members from the Labour Party.

These developments come as the Labour Party revealed that 65 percent of disciplinary cases heard by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) since May have related to antisemitism.

Labour has allegedly claimed that the backlog of cases from the period of Mr Corbyn’s leadership has been cleared. However, the Party has yet to address the complaints submitted by Campaign Against Antisemitism against over a dozen sitting MPs.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

A former spokesperson for the antisemitic former leader of the Labour PartyJeremy Corbyn, has joined the Green Party.

Matt Zarb Cousin, who declared at the time of the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey from the Shadow Cabinet two years ago that he was “staying in the Party with Rebecca Long-Bailey”, has now revealed that he has joined the Greens.

In a tweet, he said: “I’ve joined the Green Party. The country will not get the change it needs from our broken political system. All in on the Greens and electoral reform.”

He observed in a further tweet, “Thanks to the Greens for all the welcoming tweets, including from the leader and deputy. Very kind,” and criticised Sir Keir Starmer in comments to the media.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long warned of the danger of controversial activists who have left the Labour Party joining the Greens instead.

Earlier this year, Ken Livingstone tried to join the Green Party but was prevented from doing so.

Our Antisemitism Barometer survey of British Jews late last year found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%). 

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

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.

The Labour Party has launched an investigation following allegations of antisemitism that were reported to have taken place during the parliamentary selection contest for the Kensington seat.

It was revealed earlier this week that an e-mail circulated to Labour members accused the Muslim Councillor Mete Coban of being a “sellout” to “his people and his race” and being a “supporter of apartheid, racism and baby killers.”

The e-mail also said that the charity he runs “is funded by the United States embassy who are proven to have strong ties with Israel.”

The Party reportedly dissolved the selection committee and announced that it would be carrying out “a serious investigation into antisemitism” as well as over the need to “suspend members due to antisemitism.”

Earlier this year, Party leader Sir Keir Starmer received a standing ovation for saying “That’s why we had to rip antisemitism out by its roots” in his speech at a Party Conference, which proved a marked contrast to the Party’s conferences under Sir Keir’s predecessor.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

The Labour Party has blocked the former MP Emma Dent Coad from running as its candidate in Kensington.

The former Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, expressed his solidarity with Ms Dent Coad and his outrage at the Party’s decision to block her candidacy, calling it “disgraceful”.

Ms Dent Coad, who served as the Labour MP for Kensington from 2017 to 2019, previously ‘liked’ a comment on Facebook by another user that read: “I’ve always been a Bevanite — my ultimate political hero…and as a Jew, the current Israeli apartheid regime disgraces all of us Jews worldwide.” The comment was posted in response to a post by another user that criticised “Blairite” MPs and “members of the Netanyahu fan club”.Following media attention, Ms Dent Coad apologised and ‘unliked’ the comment.

Meanwhile, Paul Mason, another controversial figure, has reportedly applied to become Labour’s candidate in Sheffield Central.

Elsewhere, Ruth George, a former Labour MP with a troubling record who now sits as a local councillor, has declined to put herself forward to become Labour’s candidate once more in High Peak.

Laura Pidcock, the former Labour MP, has reportedly quit the Labour Party, having resigned from Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) earlier this year after a motion calling for the restoration of the whip to the antisemitic former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, failed to pass.

Ms Pidcock, a staunch ally of Mr Corbyn’s who sat on his front bench, previously voted against the NEC’s proscription of the antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt, and later challenged the practice of expelling Party members based on apparent involvement with the group.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Newham Council has resigned itself to inaction after a suspended Labour councillor has issued an “unreserved apology” after Campaign Against Antisemitism made a complaint about her past social media activity.

Cllr Belgica Guaña wrote to us saying “I would like to say that I totally agree that the package of articles from the Daily Stormer is horrific and I would never knowingly have posted it. The references to the Jewish people and the Holocaust are abhorrent and its Nazi ideology is something I totally reject. I am an international human rights activist and, as an indigenous Latin American, I would actually expect to be persecuted by the Nazis myself.”

With regard to comments that appeared to compare Israel to the Nazis, which would be a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, she wrote: “These statements recognised the reality of the Holocaust but I now believe they made a false equivalence as, although I consider the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians to be wrong, it is in no way equivalent to the Nazis extermination of the Jews and this comparison should never be made. I also now believe that my use of the term ‘genocide’ was totally inappropriate to apply to the case of Israel and Palestine. With these statements I was trying to support the case of the Palestinians and was insensitive to the trauma felt by the Jewish people because of the Holocaust.”

She added that “At the time of these posts I was strongly focussed on Latin America and I did not know so much about British and European politics and history. I knew about the Holocaust of course but I have since learned more about the horrific circumstances in which a large part of the Jewish population of Europe was tortured and killed.”

The letter ended with an apology: “I would like to end by offering my unreserved apology to the Jewish people for the hurt and offence caused by any of the articles I shared and the comments I made.”

In view of her apology, the Council’s Director of Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer told us: “Given her apology and that this matter occurred prior to her being a Councillor, I am minded to close the complaint. I will be encouraging the Councillor to attending equalities training which is part of the Learning and Development programme the Council had devised for all Councillors too.”

Cllr Guaña was suspended hours before the polls opened in the 2022 local elections after it was alleged that she posted a horrific article arguing that “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.”

Cllr Guaña was also alleged to have posted the article, titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity”, on Facebook in 2016, two years before she became a councillor in Newham in London.

The article says that “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them – a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day. The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter. 

“The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

The essay also argues that Jews use pornography to control western societies by way of the “Holocaust hoax”, and pushes the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, as well as claiming that teenage diarist Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis at Bergen-Belsen, was a “bisexual degenerate” whose popular diary is an “obvious fraud…laced with pornographic and sexually subversive messages”.

In May 2016, Cllr Guaña reportedly shared a post that said that “The Nazi holocaust [sic] was a crime against humanity, and the Israeli Genocide against Palestinians can not be ignored or denied,” and in December 2017, Cllr Guaña is said to have shared a video of the United Nations General Assembly, writing: “If you can have a minute of silence for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. So how much time should I ask for the more than 50 years of invasion and oppression of the Palestinian people?” Both posts are further breaches of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The posts were uncovered by Labour Against Antisemitism and reported by the JC. Campaign Against Antisemitism went on to report Cllr Guaña to the police, as well as to Newham Council.

Until recently, it appeared that Cllr Guaña was still listed as a member of the Labour Group on Newham Council. She is now, however, listed as an Independent.

The Labour group at Newham Council has repeatedly been the subject of controversy in relation to antisemitism allegations. In 2020, a leaked report reportedly detailed a complaint by the Council’s only Jewish member about a “culture of accepted antisemitism”, and then last year the Chair of Labour in Newham was reportedly to be investigated over alleged antisemitism, just days after his deputy was suspended over alleged antisemitic social media activity.

Newham Council has not adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Following a libel case brought by journalist John Ware, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, the Media Officer and one of the founders of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, has apologised in open court.

The libel action concerned comments made by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi on Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show, in which she claimed that Mr Ware had a “terrible record of Islamophobia, far-right politics” and that the BBC had in the past had to “apologise” for his journalism and discipline him.

The claims were then repeated on the JVL website, and JVL’s Web Officer, Richard Kuper, was also a defendant. Mr Kuper is the founder of Pluto Press, which was previously the publishing arm of the International Socialists, now known as the Socialist Workers Party. Mr Ware denied the claims made by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi.

Mr Ware was the maker of the BBC Panorama documentary “Is Labour Antisemitic”. The programme, which was televised in July 2019, showed former Labour Party employees speaking out publicly to reveal Jeremy Corbyn’s personal meddling in disciplinary cases relating to antisemitism. The programme explained how senior Labour Party staffers, some of whom Campaign Against Antisemitism has known for years, used to run Labour’s disciplinary process independently, but soon after Mr Corbyn’s election as Party leader found themselves contending with his most senior aides, who were brazen in their efforts to subvert due process. During the programme, Labour’s press team made claims that the staffers featured had political axes to grind and lacked credibility, and the whistleblowers and Mr Ware commenced libel proceedings against the Labour Party.

At a preliminary hearing to determine the ordinary meaning of Ms Wimborne-Idrissi’s words, she argued that they were just “honest opinion.” However, Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that reasonable listeners would have understood the comments as statements of fact, namely that Mr Ware had “engaged in Islamophobia and extreme, far-right politics, as a consequence of which the BBC has had to apologise for his conduct,” and that there were “reasonable grounds to suspect” that Mr Ware had “an extensive record of Islamophobia and of involvement in extreme, far-right politics.”

Mr Ware observed that he had never been disciplined on any matter by the BBC, had no “record of Islamophobia” and had never promoted “extreme far-right politics”. 

Following this ruling, Ms Wimborne-Idrissi had to prove that these assertions of fact were true, which is a higher threshold than showing that they were mere honest opinions.

JVL subsequently wrote a tweet saying that they have a “large bill to pay”. It was reported that the group faces “financial collapse” due to the proceedings.

In her apology to Mr Ware, Ms Wimborne-Idrissi said: “I accept the Court’s judgment that my comments about John Ware in a live radio programme on the Jeremy Vine show were defamatory. I should not have asserted that the BBC had taken action against Mr Ware in connection with allegations he has engaged in Islamophobia and extreme far-right and/or racist politics. Nor that this was in any way reflected in his journalistic work.

“I now accept these allegations to be untrue. JVL and I have apologised unreservedly to Mr Ware and explained that I spoke in the way that I did because I was so angry at the content of the “Is Labour Antisemitic programme” for which Mr Ware was the reporter.”

In his recent report, Martin Forde QC ludicrously suggested that JVL should have a role in antisemitism education in the Labour Party, of which JVL is still, outrageously, considered a legitimate faction.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was recently elected to Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee but was shortly thereafter suspended by the Party for the second time.

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.

Sir Keir Starmer received a standing ovation for saying “That’s why we had to rip antisemitism out by its roots” in his speech at this week’s Labour Party Conference, which proved a marked contrast to the Party’s conferences under Sir Keir’s predecessor.

Sir Keir was ambiguous as to whether he believed that the task of tackling Labour antisemitism, which he described in the past tense, had been completed or whether it was still in progress – an ambiguity that he has cultivated for some time. Indeed, at the Labour Friends of Israel reception at Conference, he said: “I knew when I became leader of this party we had a big task before us. We had to root out antisemitism, and we have made progress, but I’m not complacent. We will never, ever end this work. We have made progress, but there is more to do.”

Wes Streeting MP, who, like Sir Keir, remained in the Party as it became institutionally antisemitic, has asserted that Labour is now safe for Jewish people to support again: “My message to all of those Jewish Labour voters whose doors I knocked and who felt heartbroken by what happened to the Party would now be, ‘You’ve got your Party back.’”

Also at Conference, a proposed rule change that may have helped the antisemitic former leader of the Party, Jeremy Corbyn, stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election, failed to pass. Elsewhere, Mr Corbyn settled a defamation case that had been brought against him.

Meanwhile, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, the recently-elected member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee who was suspended last week, apparently had her Conference pass removed, while fellow Jewish Voice for Labour figure Jenny Manson was reported to have suggested that the controversial antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation may disaffiliate from Labour.

Concerns remain about the Labour Party, however. As the conference took place, it was reported that yet another Labour councillor is under investigation amid antisemitism allegations. Cllr Tariq Khan of Coventry City Council reportedly said that he does not remember sending the offending images, which the BBC claimed would be considered antisemitic and anti-trans, three years ago. Cllr Khan has not, however, been suspended. It comes as a fellow Labour councillor on the same council, Christine Thomas, was embroiled in controversy over alleged antisemitism just last month.

There was also a marked contrast at this year’s Labour Conference between how Rupa Huq MP immediately had the whip removed after she made comments about the Chancellor of the Exchequer widely viewed as racist – including by Sir Keir – while complaints by Campaign Against Antisemitism against numerous Labour MPs have been languishing for years without investigation. The appropriately rapid response to Ms Huq’s remarks demonstrated that Sir Keir and the Party do have the power to move quickly when they choose to do so – often, it must be said, and as in Ms Huq’s case, when there is media scrutiny.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This Labour Party conference was certainly a positive contrast to those held during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as leader, and reflects the progress that has been made in the fight against Labour antisemitism.

“However, Sir Keir Starmer’s persistent ambiguity about whether he feels that that fight is over or ongoing is troubling, particularly as it was announced during Conference that yet another Labour councillor is under investigation. The rapid response to Rupa Huq’s comments is also in marked contrast to Labour’s failure to take any action so far against the MPs against whom we have lodged complaints.

“Sir Keir has pledged repeatedly to tear out antisemitism by its roots, but there remains much more to be done.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Following the airing over the past week of the ‘Labour Files’ programme on Al Jazeera, Campaign Against Antisemitism has released a statement assessing the so-called documentary.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Those who managed to watch all the way through Al Jazeera’s rather boring propaganda trilogy, ‘Labour Files’, were presented with a parallel universe of the Labour Party’s antisemitism crisis.

“With the astonishing and insulting premise that ‘Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party was condemned for antisemitism [but] the Labour Files reveal they were the victims of distortions and misrepresentation’, the so-called documentary purports to show that antisemitism in Labour was a sham without speaking to any of the victims or leaders of the Jewish community or antisemitism experts. A viewer would barely know from the programme that the EHRC, an independent body established by a Labour Government, found that Labour was so racist that it broke the law, following an investigation in which we were the complainant.

“Relying on testimony from members of an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, as well as figures with records of inflammatory views, the programme ludicrously tries to argue that there were significant fissures within the Jewish community on Mr Corbyn or the International Definition of Antisemitism. The programme also repeatedly insists that the facts plainly support claims that Labour antisemitism allegations were fraudulent, yet this is not borne out by the outcomes of any of the legal cases relating to the matter so far.

“Just as the Corbyn era ended with claims of a ‘hierarchy of racism’, so does Al Jazeera, with a repellent last-ditch assertion that there is a hierarchy of racism in Labour that privileges Jews, which is itself a form of antisemitism.

“The Labour Files has added next to nothing to the collective understanding of Labour’s antisemitism crisis. It is not real journalism, but rather the sort of propaganda that we have come to expect from a Qatari-owned media outlet with its own agenda and priorities.”

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.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi has apparently again been suspended from the Labour Party.

Writing on Twitter, the controversial Labour activist said: “I’ve received a Notice of Allegation and Administrative Suspension from @UKLabour. The charge – I “committed a Prohibited Act contrary to Chapter 2, Clause I.5.B of the Rule Book” by speaking at an event run by proscribed organisations in September last year.”

She added: “Admin[istrative] Suspension means I can’t attend AGM of the NEC [National Executive Committee], to which I have just been elected, at Liverpool conference next week. No link of course to my appearance in @AJIunit [Al Jazeera Investigations]’s #LabourFiles series exposing multiple abuses within Labour. First one out tonight. Not to be missed!”

“Solidarity with all the many, many left delegates to conference and other comrades who have been expelled or suspended in recent days and weeks. What a travesty of democracy! Don’t we have some Tories to fight?”

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was referring to a current controversial Al Jazeera documentary that fruitlessly seeks to challenge the well-established antisemitism scandal in the Labour Party.

Last night, after she revealed her suspension, Ms Wimborne-Idrissi appeared to admit that she did indeed attend a meeting last year of the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson’s Resist group, knowing that it was a faction proscribed by the Party.

The controversial pro-Corbyn Momentum faction has tweeted in support of her.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi is the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation. She was reportedly suspended from the Labour Party two years ago but her suspension was inexplicably lifted. She was also previously the Vice-Chair of Chingford and Woodford Green Constituency Labour Party before reportedly being removed last year.

She was recently elected to serve on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), which was one of several results in that election that called into doubt Labour’s progress in dealing with its antisemitism scandal and the culture that created it.

Earlier this month, it was announced that JVL had settled a libel case brought against it by the respected Panorama journalist John Ware in relation to comments made about him by Ms Wimborne-Idrissi. The settlement has reportedly raised the possibility that JVL may be in financial trouble.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi has been embroiled in controversy over recent days, particularly after it was reported that, in a Palestine Deep Dive podcast last week, she allegedly said: “There are cases where people have said, ‘we’ve got a Holocaust denier in our branch, what are you going to do about it?’ ‘Oh, let’s have a look at his credentials. Oh, he’s a right-winger, no, no, he’s fine, he can carry on.’” Following calls on social media for her to provide evidence for her claim, it is not believed that any has been presented, even as other social media users have made suggestions about whom she may have been referring to.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi’s suspension from the Labour Party, but we have been down this road before only to find ourselves back where we started after she was readmitted to the Party. Time will tell whether this removal is permanent.

“This latest suspension has come following her embarrassing election to the NEC, immediately after a controversy about her comments on a podcast, and also as she features in a newly-released controversial documentary by Al Jazeera. However, the reported basis of the suspension relates to her alleged association with a proscribed group a year ago. If so, why was she not suspended for that alleged association until now, and why has this latest suspension not referenced the recent comments and controversies that everyone presumes to be the real reason that the Party wants her out all of a sudden? This chronology hardly inspires confidence in Labour’s disciplinary process, which seems as chaotic and arbitrary as ever.

“From the start, we have always called for a fair and transparent disciplinary process that is not dictated by political expedience or media scrutiny. Ms Wimborne-Idrissi has no place in the Labour Party, as any such process would conclude, but it should not take all of this negative public attention on the Party to bring about that outcome.”

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.

Two Labour Party councillors who were suspended for allegedly making inflammatory social media posts about Jews are still representing the Party, according to online sources.

After Cllr Ibrahim Ali won his seat in Haringey in the local elections in May, it emerged that he was previously employed by the controversial CAGE activist group. In 2015, he reportedly defended the description of the terrorist known as Jihadi John as a “beautiful young man” while speaking to a Parliamentary committee. 

Cllr Ali was suspended by the Labour Party pending an investigation, but has now apparently returned from suspension after the Party reportedly cleared him of any wrongdoing.

During those same elections in May, Councillor Belgica Guaña was suspended hours before the polls opened after it was alleged that she posted a horrific article arguing that “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.”

Cllr Guaña was also alleged to have posted the article, titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity”, on Facebook in 2016, two years before she became a councillor in Newham in London.

The article says that “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them – a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day. The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter. 

“The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

The essay also argues that Jews use pornography to control western societies by way of the “Holocaust hoax”, and pushes the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, as well as claiming that teenage diarist Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis at Bergen-Belsen, was a “bisexual degenerate” whose popular diary is an “obvious fraud…laced with pornographic and sexually subversive messages”.

In May 2016, Cllr Guaña reportedly shared a post that said that “The Nazi holocaust [sic] was a crime against humanity, and the Israeli Genocide against Palestinians can not be ignored or denied,” and in December 2017, Cllr Guaña is said to have shared a video of the United Nations General Assembly, writing: “If you can have a minute of silence for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. So how much time should I ask for the more than 50 years of invasion and oppression of the Palestinian people?” Both posts are further breaches of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism went on to report Cllr Guaña to the police, as well as to New-ham Council.

It now appears, however, that Cllr Guaña is still listed as a member of the Labour Group on Newham Council.

The Labour group at Newham Council has repeatedly been the subject of controversy in relation to antisemitism allegations. In 2020, a leaked report reportedly detailed a complaint by the Council’s only Jewish member about a “culture of accepted antisemitism”, and then last year the Chair of Labour in Newham was reportedly to be investigated over alleged antisemitism, just days after his deputy was suspended over alleged antisemitic social media activity.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Last night, the results of the election of members to the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) were announced.

While most of the results indicated that Labour is trying to move on from its scandal of institutional antisemitism, a number of successful candidates have worrying records that raise questions about the Party’s progress.

Foremost among them is Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, which is an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation. Ms Wimborne-Idrissi received the endorsement of well over one hundred of the 650 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) – which poll their members to decide whom to endorse – as well as sufficient votes to win a place on the NEC. She has previously been suspended from the Labour Party before inexplicably being reinstated.

Another is Yasmine Dar, the pro-Corbyn former Chair of Labour’s disputes panel who did not believe that the Party has a problem of institutional antisemitism even as her brother was suspended over antisemitism allegations.

There were other concerning figures as well, such as Young Labour Chair Jess Barnard, who has expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, amongst other worrying positions.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “Under Keir Starmer’s leadership, we’ve made progress in tackling antisemitism. We are implementing our EHRC antisemitism action plan and are rolling out antisemitism awareness training across the party with the Jewish Labour Movement. Keir Starmer pledged to pull antisemitism up by its roots and that work continues.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The outcome of the election of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee shows that there still remains a significant section of the Party’s membership that is intent on returning – or even newly elevating – the extremists of yesteryear to power, including those who undermined the disciplinary process and made their names denying the Party’s antisemitism.

“This is not a case merely of a few bad apples that happened to get elected, but rather a problem with the cultural soil of the Party. These fruits are the flowering of the rotten roots that Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly pledged to tear out.

“It must be asked why these people remain members of the Party and therefore able to stand for office at all, and why a group like Jewish Voice for Labour has still not been proscribed, as other groups have been. Then there is the much harder question of why there are so many people in Labour who are electing them.

“Yes, progress has been made since Sir Keir became leader, but his recent claims to have solved the antisemitism crisis are belied by this result, which in any other major political party would be utterly scandalous.”

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.

Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, has come under fire for praising the “energy and good messages” of the inflammatory rapper and activist, Lowkey.

Mr Corbyn tweeted his support for Lowkey, whose real name is Kareem Dennis, following a performance by Lowkey in Amsterdam. Lowkey wrote on Twitter: “A beautiful conclusion to 4 city tour of the Netherlands in Amsterdam last night. Thank you to all who came out!”

Mr Corbyn responded: “Well done Lowkey, what energy and good messages you carry!”

Lowkey’s songs include lyrics such as “nothing is more antisemitic than Zionism”. He is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A month-long investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst PSC supporters on social media. Lowkey has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitismdescribed Zionism as “antisemitic”, and spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism.

More recently, Lowkey has reportedly claimed that the “mainstream media” has “weaponised the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stave off” inquiries about far-right groups in Ukraine. He has also appeared on the disgraced former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012. Lowkey has appeared alongside the disgraced academic David Miller, and was recently embroiled in a controversy at the National Union of Students.

Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP as he is indefinitely suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party, but he remains a member of the Labour MP, from which he was briefly suspended before outrageously being readmitted.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The controversial rapper and activist Lowkey has previously described Israel as a ‘racist endeavour’ and Zionism as ‘antisemitic’, and has spoken of the ‘Zionist lobby’ in the context of global capitalism. He has also repeatedly associated with the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson and the conspiracist and disgraced academic David Miller, and was recently embroiled in a controversy at the National Union of Students.

“Whether despite or because of this inflammatory record, Lowkey has drawn praise from none other than Jeremy Corbyn for the ‘good messages you carry’. Yet still, the Labour Party is happy to have Mr Corbyn as a member. Why is the Party so stubbornly unable to see what all of the rest of us can?”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

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.

An MP for the Scottish National Party (SNP) is facing criticism for meeting with an activist previously embroiled in antisemitism allegations who was reportedly expelled by the Labour Party

Tommy Sheppard, who represents Edinburgh East, is reported to have met with Pete Gregson, who was expelled from the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum and from the GMB trade union and suspended from the Labour Party after suggesting that the Holocaust was exaggerated and for abusive behaviour towards a female Jewish Labour member.

Mr Sheppard apparently organised the meeting in order to dampen efforts to make the Scottish capital a twin city with Gaza.

This follows Mr Sheppard’s appearance at the controversial Gig for Gaza, an anti-Israel rally held in Edinburgh in June, which was organised by Mr Gregson.

During the event, Mr Sheppard made a speech calling for pressure on the British Government to “make sure that Israel does answer for its actions.” He also appeared alongside signs that claimed that “Zionism is Racism” and described the Labour Party’s Jewish affiliate and Friends of Israel faction as a “cancer”. The signs appear to be associated with the organisations Labour Against Zionism and Islamophobic Racism (LAZIR) and Campaign Against Bogus Antisemitism, both of which were founded by Mr Gregson.

In 2017, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards opened an investigation into an event hosted by Mr Sheppard, in which it is alleged that Jewish people were deliberately excluded.

In 2019, Mr Gregson was suspended by the Labour Party and expelled from the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum and the GMB union for saying that Israel was a “racist endeavour” which “exaggerates” the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis for “political ends”.

In the same year, Mr Gregson set up LAZIR to support Jeremy Corbyn, to campaign for the International Definition of Antisemitism to be dropped by Labour and for Labour’s Jewish affiliate to be thrown out of the Party. 

In September 2019, police officers removed an antisemitic poster outside the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. The poster depicted the then-Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, piloting a fighter jet labelled “the lobby” and yelling “Antisemite! Antisemite! Antisemite!” at the then-Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who is standing at a podium labelled “Palestinian rights”. The implication of the poster is that the Israeli Government or the “Israel lobby” — portrayed in a militaristic fashion — has weaponised antisemitism and is behind defamatory accusations of antisemitism against the Labour leader, and that Israel wields significant power over British political affairs. The poster was designed and put up by Mr Gregson.

Mr Gregson is believed to be a member of the Resist Movement, headed by the disgraced former Labour MP, Chris Williamson, and is believed to be the chair of the antisemitism-denial group Campaign Against Bogus Antisemitism.

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.

A councillor for the Labour Party in Leeds who came under fire for making inflammatory comments about Jews on Twitter has claimed that his online output has been “taken out of context”.

In May, Leeds’s Labour group launched an investigation into two social media posts written by Councillor John Garvani in 2012. 

However, when local press asked to be updated on the progress of the case, the group’s spokesperson now claims Cllr Garvani was sanctioned for his comments by the Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) a year earlier but did not state how exactly the councillor was reprimanded.

In one post, Cllr Garvani had allegedly written “Why can’t we question the existence of Israel?” accompanied by a link to an article with that title on a political website.

In another post, written five months later, Mr Garvani referred to a guest on BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme as “that Jew”.

Cllr Garvani had been slated to chair a council meeting after he was elected, but the Leeds Labour Group prevented him from standing as a candidate for the role at the authority’s Annual General Meeting when his tweets came to light.

When he was asked if he had any regrets about what he had said, Cllr Garvani said: “I regret that they’ve been taken out of context. They’ve been dealt with by the Party and I was reminded of the Party’s social media code of conduct.”

Cllr Garvani claimed that the tweet about Israel was misunderstood because people seeing the post after the fact had not read the accompanying article. 

Regarding the tweet about the radio guest, Cllr Garvani maintained that he had only referred to them as “that Jew” because he could not remember their name and it was a case of using “rapid shorthand”: “If it had been an Islamic guest I’d have referred to them as ‘that Muslim’ and if it had been a Christian I’d have referred to them as ‘that Christian’.”

A Conservative Party councillor in Leeds, Dan Cohen, who is Jewish, said in May after the tweets first came to light that “I consider these tweets to be antisemitic and grossly insulting.”

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.

A Labour Party councillor has been criticised for using the term “Jewess” in a local Party WhatsApp group.

Coventry City Council’s Christine Thomas, who was elected to represent the Binley and Willenhall ward, used the term, which is widely understood to be a derogatory slur for a Jewish woman, in reference to a conversation she had with a fellow activist regarding the antisemitic former Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

A screenshot from the conversation appears to show Cllr Thomas write: “I had [a very] interesting encounter with a [Jewess] at [a] conference. She was furious. She said it was a lot of crap set to discredit [Jeremy Corbyn]. She even said so from the platform. Saying that the Jewish Labour group did not speak for her. We have Jewish members in [Coventry] South. I know them well. Never have they ever said ANYTHING about antisemitic behaviour.”

According to the Jewish News, fellow Labour members have reported Cllr Thomas’ message to the Party’s compliance unit for investigation. 

A fellow Party member said: “Cllr Thomas clearly seems to be supporting the view that the existence of widespread antisemitism in the party under the previous leader was just a smear.

“As for her use of the word ‘Jewess’, just why does she think it’s OK to use such an obviously offensive term?”

Cllr Thomas has since apologised for the message, stating: “The term used to describe a lady who follows the Jewish faith that I used is apparently regarded as a slur. I was not aware of that fact and I can assure you no such insult or slur is intended. Therefore if it has offended anybody I apologise for my ignorance in using an outdated term which is now frowned upon.”

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.

Labour Party councillor who was reportedly suspended by the Party appears to continue to enjoy membership of his Council’s Labour Group.

Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, who served, until his reported suspension, as the leader of the Labour Group on Pendle Council in Lancashire, was reportedly suspended earlier this year by the Party over remarks that he made in a speech in April in which he called for the flag of the Palestinian Authority to be flown from the town hall.

He reportedly said: “The fact is that what’s going on in Ukraine, Palestine, and other areas I’ve mentioned, reminds me, I barely passed my GCSE history at school, but many people in this room will remember what justification Hitler had for what he did to the Jews in the Second World War.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Cllr Iqbal reportedly told the JC at the time: “I disagree that this is antisemitic. I have friends who are Jews and Israeli friends who are Jewish and from other faiths.” He apparently added that several Jewish people had contacted him to express their support.

However, Campaign Against Antisemitism has now been informed that Cllr Iqbal continues to enjoy membership of the Labour Group at the Council, despite his apparent suspension. We have, for example, seen a press release sent via e-mail by Cllr Iqbal on behalf of the Labour Group, and a sign-in sheet in which he continues to be listed as a Labour councillor.

Earlier this year, Conservatives in Bury also came under scrutiny after it emerged that a suspended candidate appeared to represent the Party at a hustings.

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.

A senior Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) official has said that “Jews who place Israel at the core of their being” are an “obscenity”.

In footage published by the Jewish News, Glyn Secker, the Secretary of JVL, can appear to be heard making the remarks in his speech at a protest this week organised by Stop The War, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of Al Aqsa.

In his recent report, Martin Forde QC ludicrously suggested that JVL, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, should have a role in antisemitism education in the Labour Party, of which JVL is still, outrageously, considered a legitimate faction.

In the past, Mr Secker has said that Jewish organisations are “in the gutter” and “part of the problem”, among other inflammatory comments.

Young Labour Chair Jess Barnard also spoke at the protest.

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.

The Labour Party has reportedly expelled Cllr Anne Pissaridou, but not over antisemitism.

Cllr Pissaridou, along with one of her colleagues in the Labour Group on Brighton and Hove Council, was apparently expelled for belonging to a proscribed organisation.

Earlier this year, Cllr Pissaridou, representing North Portslade in Brighton, was suspended by the Party for a second time after new revelations about her social media output. She was accused of posting messages on social media downplaying antisemitism allegations in the Labour Party and reportedly appeared to condone an online attack on a Jewish party member.

Cllr Pissaridou said: “I am taking legal advice in respect of appealing the decision and do not have any further comment to make at this time.”

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.

The Labour Party has suspended a councillor from Blackpool based on allegations that he wrote Facebook posts full of inflammatory comments about Jews.

The Party has suspended Councillor David Owen for eighteen months after investigating eight posts that he is alleged to have written between September 2016 and July 2020, including comments that quote the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke, and another comparing Israel to the Nazis.

Cllr Owen remains, however, part of the Labour group on Blackpool Council.

Cllr Owen released a statement in which he said that “I have tried to remove all my posts which cause offence. I apologise unreservedly to anyone who has read any or all of them and, particularly, I express my sincere regrets to Jewish people as individuals and collectively whom I have wronged through my reckless actions.”

Though Cllr Owen reportedly said that he accepted that his comments were antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, he maintains that the Definition “almost shut[s] down free speech” when it is applied to the State of Israel.

Cllr Owen said: “I am not an antisemite though I have transgressed the definition of what that is in the Labour Party.”

He announced that he intends to appeal his suspension because he feels that the penalty is “disproportionate”.

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.

Faiza Shaheen has been reselected as the Labour Party’s candidate in the Chingford and Woodford Green constituency.

Ms Shaheen received more than 200 votes from local members. Her main challenger, Bilal Mahmood, who was backed by MPs including Stella Creasy and David Lammy, received just over 160.

Ms Shaheen stood in Chingford and Woodford Green in the 2019 General Election, but was defeated by the Conservative MP, Iain Duncan Smith, who won with a majority of 1,263 votes.

Prior to the 2019 election, Ms Shaheen became known for her close relationship with Mr Corbyn, and was dubbed the “Chingford Corbynite”.

Ms Shaheen has also campaigned with the controversial left-wing filmmaker, Ken Loach, and made statements supporting Naomi Wimbourne-Idrissi, the controversial Media Officer of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation Jewish Voice for Labour.

In 2018, footage emerged in which Ms Shaheen appeared to say that it was “not a fact” that the 1972 Munich Olympic terrorist attack, in which eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were murdered by the Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, was motivated by antisemitism. Ms Shaheen denies these claims.

In a BBC Newsnight interview immediately following the 2019 election, in which she appeared alongside the veteran Labour politician, Jack Straw, Ms Shaheen claimed that the media had told “lies” about Mr Corbyn’s character in order to misrepresent him to the public and appeared to dismiss Mr Straw’s assessment of antisemitism allegations in the Labour Party and the role they played in the election defeat.

however, in a recent interview with Jewish News, Ms Shaheen said that “every member, including myself, must make all efforts to repair the trust between the Labour Party and the Jewish community.”

She also said that she had “criticised the Corbyn leadership for not taking antisemitism seriously enough, and I think [current Labour leader, Keir] Starmer must do more too.”

Ms Shaheen’s selection has been celebrated on Twitter by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, Emily Thornberry, and Labour MP for Ilford North, Wes Streeting. Mr Streeting has also claimed that the current Labour Leader, Sir Keir Starmer, consulted him about possibly leaving the Shadow Cabinet while the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn was Leader. Whether or not such a consultation took place, Sir Keir went on to remain in Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet and back him “100%”.

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.

The highly-anticipated Forde Report into issues relating to antisemitism in the Labour Party has been published.

Specifically, the Report (which is the culmination of the inquiry led by Martin Forde QC into a mammoth leaked 2020 report into Labour’s handling of antisemitism complaints), was due to consider the allegations in that report, how it leaked, and the structure, culture and practices of the Labour Party in relation to antisemitism. The investigation into the leak itself was, however, shelved in order not to prejudice an investigation into the same leak by the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is believed to be ongoing.

The Report condemns the toxic factionalism of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, which allowed a culture of antisemitism to develop and undermined the procedures in place to address the ensuing complaints. But it also appears to try to divide the blame among the different ‘sides’ in the antisemitism scandal, failing to recognise that, whatever the sins of the various factions, that which contained the antisemites and their enablers was ultimately at fault for the Party’s unlawful victimisation of Jewish people.

One such example is that, incredibly, the Report expresses regret that Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, was excluded from delivering antisemitism education to the Party. It similarly outrageously rejects a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ in favour of a softer approach recommended by an organisation whose Director opposes the International Definition of Antisemitism. Despite the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Report also still appears to relegate antisemitism to just one of numerous racisms that need to be tackled by the Party equally, as if “all forms of racism” have been equally prevalent in the Party in recent years.

The Report does rightly observe that the problem of antisemitism in the Party in the Corbyn era was not overstated, contrary to repeated claims by Mr Corbyn. There is now no excuse for him not to be expelled from the Labour Party,  a move for which we have been calling for years now.

The Report applauds recent reforms to Labour’s disciplinary process, but still warns that they are vulnerable to factional abuse, which is no comfort to the general public, which has yet to witness the new semi-independent disciplinary process in action. However, the report offers no solutions either.

Our complaints against fourteen sitting MPs, for example, have yet to be acknowledged by the Party, much less investigated, and the Report gives no indication of what is to be expected to remedy that.

We have previously lodged a complaint against Mr Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the leader during the period of the EHRC’s scathing findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension from the Party and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Taking even-handedness to an absurd extreme, the Forde Report tries to criticise and defend both ‘sides’ in Labour’s antisemitism scandal equally. One ‘side’ was filled with antisemites and their enablers. The Report failed to grasp this elemental truth, rendering it useless.

“Just one such example is the Report’s ludicrous suggestion that the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour, should not have been excluded from delivering antisemitism education to the Party.

“It raises more questions than it answers. It welcomes recent reforms to the disciplinary process, but warns that it remains vulnerable to factional abuse. It states that 55 cases were still unallocated as at March 2022, but does not say which ones. We can only assume that they include our complaints against sitting MPs, drafted by counsel, which the Party has yet to acknowledge, much less investigate.

“The Report offers neither explanations nor remedies. Until we see our complaints addressed, we are unable to have confidence in the Party’s leaders and processes, let alone its culture.”

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

Sir Keir Starmer has used the Berlin Holocaust Memorial as prop in a political campaigning video that does not mention the Holocaust.

The video, which is about how Sir Keir hopes to draw inspiration from a political party in Germany, uses footage of Sir Keir and Labour MP David Lammy walking through the Berlin Holocaust Memorial. The visit appears to have taken place earlier in the week, when he wrote that “Labour remains committed to learning from the world’s darkest days.”

However, there was no mention of antisemitism or the Holocaust in the campaigning video.

Use of the Memorial as a backdrop is seen as disrespectful in Germany. Berlin’s Tikvah Institute tweeted: “Why do use the #Holocaust #Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) as a background for your election campaign video without even mentioning the #Shoa with any single word?” James Jackson, a Berlin-based freelance journalist tweeted: “This is a massive faux pas in Germany”.

In 2017, Israeli artist and satirist Shahak Shapira created “Yolocaust”, which highlighted the chilling insensitivity of people using the Memorial for their selfies, gaining widespread international media attention.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is a matter of decency and long-established convention in Germany that you never stoop to using the Berlin Holocaust Memorial as some kind of a prop. But to incorporate the Memorial as the backdrop for a political clip that does not even mention the Holocaust is an insult. This is especially so for a political party that itself still has serious problems with antisemitism in its ranks.

“Exploiting a visit to the Holocaust Memorial like this for campaigning purposes is not just tasteless, it is manipulative and repulsive.

“Our most recent polling found that 81% of British Jews feel that antisemitism is still inadequately addressed under Sir Keir Starmer. Many feel that attempts to tackle racism against Jews in the Labour Party has been more of a public relations effort than anything of substance. This offensively crass PR video will do little to dispel that impression.”

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 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.

A University of Warwick professor who praised a comment linking Zionism with Nazis as “a good point” has been cleared of antisemitism by the University. 

In a video clip of an online lecture organised by the Institute for Palestinian Studies, Professor Virinder Kalra appears to read out a comment that states: “It is important to point out that Zionists were the only group that broke the Jewish boycott of the Nazis, that many Nazis called themselves Zionists since that would accomplish their ideology of cleansing Europe of Jews.”

Prof. Kalra described this remark as “a good point” and “an important comment”.

Additionally, he remarked that the International Definition of Antisemitism is “opening a very slippery slope in terms of any criticism of state violence suddenly becomes a criticism of a particular group.”

This incident is particularly troubling given that Prof. Kalra was the individual assigned to lead the antisemitism investigation into the controversial Warwick lecturer Dr Goldie Osuri, whom he cleared of any wrongdoing.

In a lecture on 11th November 2019, Dr Osuri posited in a recording obtained by Campaign Against Antisemitism that “the next time they say that the Labour Party is antisemitic, you know there are some people that are possibly antisemitic, but this idea that the Labour Party is antisemitic is very much an Israeli lobby kind of idea.”

Her conspiratorial comments, alluding to supposed outsized Israeli power and interference in British politics, and dismissal of antisemitism in Labour as a smear, left Jewish students outraged.

Dr Osuri was challenged over her remarks by the Warwick Jewish Israeli Society who said in a statement released jointly with the Union of Jewish Students, said that “there can be no excuse from an academic at such a prestigious university to spread conspiracy theories associated with classic antisemitism.” They went on to point out that Dr Onsuri’s comment “belittles and diminishes the fears, experiences and concerns of the Jewish community and spreads the antisemitic conspiracy that Jews control the media”. 

In an e-mail to students shown to Campaign Against Antisemitism, Dr Osuri doubled down on her claims, promoting the work of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour, as well as bemoaning that she was “saddened” that “none of these issues were raised in the seminars.”

Following the news of Prof. Kalra’s remarks, calls have been made to reopen the investigation into Dr Osuri.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has welcomed Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to London as a heroine of “equality and inclusion” as she began a trip that saw her meet with fawning parliamentarians.

In a statement on Twitter, Mr Khan wrote: “From the lakes of Minnesota to the bright lights of London, we must stand firm in upholding progressive values of equality and inclusion in the face of those who seek to divide us”, adding that they had discussed “how we can keep building bridges, not walls.”

Rep. Omar has been described as a “virulent antisemite” for saying that “Israel has hypnotised the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”

On another occasion, Rep. Omar suggested that Jewish people buy political support. She tweeted: “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”, referencing a song about a $100 bill and AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group.

This is not the first time that Mr Khan has praised Rep. Omar and her controversial colleagues.

Rep. Omar also met with Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Labour MPs Naz Shah, Zarah Sultana and Sarah Owen, who tweeted selfies, photographs of warm embraces, and words of praise for the controversial Congresswoman.

Ms Shah welcomed Rep. Omar to the Houses of Parliament, tweeting: “It has been an absolute honour to host my fellow Muslim sister @IlhanMN…at Parliament today” before adding: “The sisterhood is international!”

Ms Shah, Baroness Warsi and Ms Sultana have all faced criticism for their inflammatory comments about Jews. According to analysis conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Naz Shah has acted or spoken in ways that breach the International Definition of Antisemitism and therefore qualify as antisemitic discourse on at least four occasions.

Ms Shah’s previous dalliances with antisemitism were so grave that they led to her suspension from the Labour Party even under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and she has appeared to resent how she was held to account. She also shared a platform with Mr Corbyn but has not been disciplined, even though Mr Corbyn, like Ms Shah before him, was suspended from the Party for antisemitism.

In June, Ms Shah reportedly spoke at a rally where calls were made to “lift the curse of the Jews off the Muslims in Palestine!”

In 2017, Baroness Warsi reportedly made divisive comments claiming that Jews, Sikhs and black people do not do enough to speak out against the far-right and anti-Muslim hatred, and only months prior, she claimed that British Jews who volunteer for the Israeli Defence Force should be prosecuted as though they had been fighting for genocidal terrorist groups such as ISIS.

Ms Sultana also has a history of unseemly comments about Jews, including telling a Jewish student that it was “privilege” that allowed them to argue for peace in the Middle East, saying: “it is your privilege that lets you speak on stage and call for peace”; saying that students who “go to Zionist conferences and trips should be ashamed of themselves” because they were advocating a “racist ideology”; describing Israel as a “state created through ethnic cleansing”; saying that “those who lobby for Israel” would “in the near future feel the same shame and regret as South African Apartheid supporters”; advocating for “violent resistance” against Israelis; saying that she would celebrate the deaths of Tony Blair and other past and present world leaders (for which she was forced to apologise and was defended by Labour frontbencher John McDonnell); writing that “the Labour Right are scum and genuinely make me sick. Is there any form of discrimination that they won’t weaponise to politically point score like they’ve done in the past with antisemitism and now with homophobia?”; and accusing Jewish students on social media of being on the payroll of Israel’s Prime Minister.

Also pictured in Ms Shah’s photographs is the expelled Labour Party MP Claudia Webbe, who has previously defended Ken Livingstone after he compared a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard.

In 2018, when Ms Webbe was the Chair of the Labour Party’s Disciplinary Panel, she tweeted a claim that the “combined machinery of state, political and mainstream elite” are conspiring to smear Jeremy Corbyn with “false allegations.”

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We are seeing a budding transatlantic relationship between far-left politicians and even some otherwise moderate left-wing politicians, most of whom have controversial records when it comes to antisemitism. For the UK, these meetings one again undermine Sir Keir Starmer’s repeated and unsubstantiated claims to have addressed the antisemitism problem in the Labour Party.

“But for the US, too, the problem of far-left antisemitism in Labour is looking worryingly like the Ghost of Christmas Future for the Democratic Party if they do not get a grip. In the UK, for years the Jewish community made the mistake of thinking that this ideology was fringe and irrelevant in Labour until suddenly it took hold of the leadership. American Jews and Americans in general cannot afford to make the same mistake.”

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.

The professor who cleared the controversial University of Warwick lecturer Dr Goldie Osuri of antisemitism linked Zionism with Nazis, prompting calls for the investigation to be reopened, it has been reported.

In a lecture on 11th November 2019, Dr Goldie Osuri posited in a recording obtained by Campaign Against Antisemitism that “the next time they say that the Labour Party is antisemitic, you know there are some people possibly that are possibly antisemitic, but this idea that the Labour Party is antisemitic is very much an Israeli lobby kind of idea.”

Her conspiratorial comments, alluding to supposed outsized Israeli power and interference in British politics, and dismissal of antisemitism in Labour as a smear, left Jewish students outraged.

Dr Osuri was challenged over her remarks by the Warwick Jewish Israeli Society who said in a statement released jointly with the Union of Jewish Students, said that “there can be no excuse from an academic at such a prestigious university to spread conspiracy theories associated with classic antisemitism.” They went on to point out that Dr Onsuri’s comment  “belittles and diminishes the fears, experiences and concerns of the Jewish community and spreads the antisemitic conspiracy that Jews control the media”. 

In an e-mail to students shown to Campaign Against Antisemitism, Dr Osuri doubled down on her claims, promoting the work of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour, as well as bemoaning that she was “saddened” that “none of these issues were raised in the seminars.”

However, it was reported yesterday that Professor Virinder Kalra, the person assigned to lead the investigation into Dr Osuri, was found to have made inflammatory remarks of his own relating to Zionism and Nazis.

In a video clip of an online lecture organised by the Institute for Palestinian Studies, Prof. Kalra appears to read out a comment that states: “It is important to point out that Zionists were the only group that broke the Jewish boycott of the Nazis, that many Nazis called themselves Zionists since that would accomplish their ideology of cleansing Europe of Jews.”

Prof. Kalra described this remark as “a good point” and “an important comment”.

Additionally, he remarked that the International Definition of Antisemitism is “opening a very slippery slope in terms of any criticism of state violence suddenly becomes a criticism of a particular group.”

Robert Halfon MP is said to be one of those calling for the investigation to be reopened.

A Warwick University Jewish Society spokesperson said: “The dismissal of the complaint is a sign that Jewish students cannot rely on the processes of the university to protect them.”

However, according to the JC, a Warwick University spokesperson said: “We are satisfied that this complaint was reviewed correctly at the time.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

The former Labour Party MP Lisa Forbes, who once liked a Facebook post claiming that Theresa May has a “Zionist slave master’s agenda”, has said that her candidate bid was rejected due to Party “factionalism”.

Ms Forbes’ remarks, reported earlier today, came after she was asked the reason why she thought that Labour were not backing her to become the Party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in Peterborough, her former constituency.

In her response, she said: “I think my crime here is having the audacity to stand in a by-election when Jeremy Corbyn was the leader. Because before that, the party was very supportive of me and my candidacy, but they’re not anymore. 

“I’m prepared to stand under Keir Starmer, as I say, I’m not a factional person. But I think other people are.”

However, according to the Party, each candidate was informed why they were not selected.

A Labour spokesperson said that leader Sir Keir Starmer “is committed to ensuring that being a Labour candidate is a mark of quality,” adding: “The Labour leader is determined to stick to his promise to pull antisemitism up by its roots and the public have a right to know that everyone the Labour Party puts forward at election time is of a high standard.”

On or around 11th August 2018, Ms Forbes signed a letter to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party opposing the adoption of all eleven examples of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into the Labour Party’s code of conduct. 

On or around 15th April 2019, Ms Forbes, who was by then Labour’s candidate in the Peterborough by election, ‘liked’ a Facebook post which stated that Theresa May had a “Zionist Slave Masters agenda,” for which she later apologised.

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.

Labour Party councillor in Birmingham has apologised after past comments on social media emerged in which she apparently accused the sanitation management company, Veolia, of being a “Zionist supporter” and making her “feel guilty”.

Cllr Shabino Bano, who represents the Small Heath ward, posted on Facebook in 2014, apparently about the company: “Even our rubbish is given to the zionist. The government is destroying our souls, we can’t even get rid of rubbish without feeling guilty! Veoli is a zionist supporter! It is sickening to b in a country that u call your own; but your leader is sympathetic to the evil dogs [sic].”

At first, Cllr Bano reportedly claimed that she did not remember making the comments and said that she did not think she had, noting that she had previously had problems with her Facebook account and had been locked out for a period.

But in a new Facebook message, she reportedly wrote: “In recent days historic social media posts of mine have come to light. I take full responsibility for them. I recognise that they are utterly unacceptable and I apologise unreservedly for them. I am also sorry for the harm they have caused, especially to the Jewish community. Since joining the Labour Party, my opinions on many issues have changed and these historic posts reflect ignorant views that I no longer hold. I will be undertaking further awareness training and I look forward to meeting with the Jewish communities of Birmingham to discuss what more we can do to stamp out anti-Semitism in our city. There is no place for racism or discrimination in our society and I remain committed to serving all the people of Small Heath, who put their trust in me at the elections last year.”

It is understood that her apology followed a formal complaint submitted to the Party against her.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”

The apology also comes as new evidence has been unearthed against three other Labour councillors who have previously been suspended but since reinstated.

According to the JC, Newport councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi was suspended in 2017 after allegedly comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

He was later reinstated. But in May 2021, during the conflict between the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas and Israel, he reportedly posted on Facebook as Israel and Hamas fought: “Why should we expect there to be no reaction from Hamas? Would the British have been happy to have faced such a blockade by Hitler without throwing everything they had to remove that blockade?”

This year, he is alleged to have shared a petition on Twitter about the controversial rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey. He claimed that attempts to remove the rapper from the National Union of Students’ centenary conference, which he was headlining, was due to “pressure from the Israel lobby.” Cllr Al-Nuaimi said: “How dare such insidious lobbies give themselves the right to belittle and suppress the right to free speech so blatantly and arrogantly?” He reportedly declined to comment when approached by the JC.

Peterborough councillor Ansar Ali reportedly posted that he was “boycotting the biased BBC” because it “didn’t want to upset the Zionist Israeli government lobby”. He was suspended but reinstated after investigation. The Labour Party is, however, alleged not to have considered other posts that he published, such as one in 2017 linking to an article asking, “How many British MPs are working for Israel,” which he described as “interesting and thought-provoking,” and another from 2016 referencing “Nazi-Zionist collaboration”.

Cllr Labina Basit of Hillingdon has been suspended, but it emerges that she had been suspended back in 2016 as well, having allegedly retweeted a post using the abusive term “Zio”, before being reinstated. The JC has also now reported that she was a leading figure in Labour Against the Witchhunt, a now defunct antisemitism-denial group that was proscribed by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) last year. In a 2018 Facebook group post, Cllr Basit reportedly wrote: “What we are seeing is the complete and utter weaponisation of antisemitism by the Israeli Lobby, its apologists and neo liberals.”

She also apparently defended the notorious mural and compared Labour antisemitism allegations to the McCarthy hearings. This is in addition to her opposition to the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism and apparent support for Ken Livingstone, Jackie Walker and David Miller.

Meanwhile, Lisa Forbes is reportedly running to become Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in Peterborough after her brief stint as an MP for the constituency in 2019, despite her deeply problematic past social media activity. Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Rachel Hopkins has released a statement endorsing Ms Forbes, despite her controversial record.

Campaigns are also heating up for the coming elections to Labour’s ruling NEC, with 117 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs), which represent eighteen percent of the total 650, voting for Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. She is the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and has previously been suspended from the Labour Party before inexplicably being reinstated. These CLPs conduct votes among their members, which means significant numbers of the most active Labour members across the country are backing her for a place on the NEC.

At the same time as these events are unfolding, Sir Keir Starmer has reportedly told the Party’s local Labour conference that the Party’s victory in the heavily-Jewish borough of Barnet in last month’s local elections is indicative of a growing restoration of trust in the Party by the Jewish community. This is despite an analysis by Campaign Against Antisemitism of the results, which in fact do not support such a conclusion.

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.

The Labour Party has implemented a raft of suspensions following a series of controversies at local councils.

Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, who is the leader of the Labour group on Pendle Council in Lancashire, has reportedly been suspended by the Party over remarks that he made in a speech last month in which he called for the flag of the Palestinian Authority to be flown from the town hall. He reportedly said: “The fact is that what’s going on in Ukraine, Palestine, and other areas I’ve mentioned, reminds me, I barely passed my GCSE history at school, but many people in this room will remember what justification Hitler had for what he did to the Jews in the Second World War.”

Yasser Iqbal, another Labour councillor who serves as the town’s mayor, reportedly cited Pastor Niemoller’s famous anti-Nazi poem denouncing those who did not “speak out”, saying, according to the JC, that those who failed to speak out against the Jewish state were culpable.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Cllr Iqbal reportedly told the JC: “I disagree that this is antisemitic. I have friends who are Jews and Israeli friends who are Jewish and from other faiths.” He apparently added that several Jewish people had contacted him to express their support. Cllr Yasser Iqbal reportedly did not respond to a request for comment.

The motion to fly the flag passed unanimously in the Council, where the Conservatives are in the majority. Among their number is Cllr Mohammed Aslam, who was formerly a Labour councillor and has previously (as a Conservative) been embroiled in controversy, with Cllr Mohammed Iqbal among those calling on the Conservatives to take action.

In Haringey, Cllr Joy Wallace has reportedly been suspended by the Labour Party. Cllr Wallace, who won election last month, allegedly accused a rabbi of being “paid handsomely” for criticising Jeremy Corbyn on Radio 4, among other inflammatory remarks.

The Labour leader on the Council has called on councillors to disclose any controversies or latent scandals in an apparent effort to pre-empt further revelations, as another councillor, Ibrahim Ali, was also suspended by Labour after it emerged that he was previously employed by the controversial CAGE activist group, and in 2015 he reportedly defended the description of the terrorist known as Jihadi John as a “beautiful young man” while speaking to a Parliamentary committee.

In Hillingdon, Cllr Labina Basit has reportedly been suspended by Labour over her past alleged views on antisemitism in the Party, including apparent opposition to the International Definition of Antisemitism.

In Milton Keynes, Cllr Ansar Hussein has also reportedly been suspended by Labour. He was alleged to have shared conspiracy theories about the Jewish state on social media, including some that appear to compare Israeli policies to those of the Nazis. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Other controversies have also arisen elsewhere.

A handful of Labour councillors have now been suspended since the local elections, with Newham’s Cllr Belgica Guaña having been suspended just hours before the polls opened. Campaign Against Antisemitism has reported her to the police and Newham Council.

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.

Observers have reacted with disbelief after it emerged that the controversial former journalist Paul Mason is on the longlist to become the Labour Party’s candidate for Parliament in the Stretford and Urmston constituency.

Mr Mason, a former Economics Editor of Newsnight and Channel 4 News, was a staunch backer of the antisemitic former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, opposed the former leader’s suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party and has repeatedly called for the whip to be restored.

He opposed the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey from the Shadow Cabinet, which was widely considered a potential turning point in Labour’s handling of antisemitism in the Party.

Mr Mason was also allegedly a member of the Facebook group “Palestine Live”, whose membership reportedly included numerous antisemites and Jew-baiters and where antisemitism was brazenly on display, although there is no suggestion that Mr Mason was himself involved in any such expression.

He has, however, spoken out in the past against the “reflection” of antisemitism in the Labour Party, although it is not entirely clear what the phrase meant.

Meanwhile, in Derby North, it is understood that Nadine Peatfield, the leader of the Derby Labour Group, has been dropped from the longlist for candidates in that seat, after it emerged that she had signed a letter of support for the constituency’s then-Labour MP, the disgraced Chris Williamson. She has reportedly accepted her removal from the list, saying:“I regretted signing the letter very soon afterwards as more information was revealed and I disassociated myself completely from that person from the moment of his second suspension. For my misplaced support of the former MP and for any associated harm to the Jewish community caused by my words or actions related to that support, I apologise unreservedly.”

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 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.

The Labour Party has published its latest statistics in connection with antisemitism disciplinary cases in the Party, just as a spate of new incidents among local councillors has emerged.

The statistics have been published in accordance with Labour’s Action Plan, agreed with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) following its damning report into Labour antisemitism which came following the EHRC’s investigation in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant.

According to the latest figures, of the 148 cases dealt with by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) since the last report in January, 81 percent involved antisemitism. Just under ten percent involved online conduct, two per cent related to bullying and under one percent involved anti-Muslim hatred.

While some Labour activists hailed the figures, others were more sceptical, with Labour Against Antisemitism pointing out that the number of expulsions for antisemitism cases remains comparably low.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “Antisemitism, like many other hate incidents, has unfortunately been spread by the widespread use of social media and there are many antisemitic conspiracy theories circulating, which are often used to insult, belittle, blame and demonise Jewish people for many different things within our society and government structures. None of this is acceptable, and such behaviour from Labour Party members will not be tolerated as it does not align with our aims and values. The Labour Party has made a commitment to require all members who are respondents in upheld complaints of antisemitism, to undertake appropriate education or training modules.”

At the same time, however, numerous Labour councillors are facing mounting pressure over their social media activity.

Cllr Belgica Guaña, who won re-election in Newham this month, is alleged to have posted on Facebook a horrific article titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity” arguing that “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.” The allegation that Cllr Guaña posted the article was made in the JC, based on research by Labour Against Antisemitism. Cllr Guaña was suspended by the Labour Party on the eve of the local elections, reportedly a week after Labour Against Antisemitism submitted its complaint to the Party but, notably, immediately after the allegations were published in the JC. Campaign Against Antisemitism has reported her to the police and to Newham Council.

In Milton Keynes, Ansar Hussain, who was elected in 2021 and has previously served as Wolverton’s mayor, has been alleged to have shared conspiracy theories about the Jewish state on social media, including some that appear to compare Israeli policies to those of the Nazis. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism. Contacted by the JC, Cllr Hussain reportedly said that he “disagreed with antisemitism” and, regarding the posts, that “I don’t remember these posts.” A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”

Since Ibrahim Ali won election in Haringey this month, it emerged that he was previously employed by the controversial CAGE activist group, and in 2015 he reportedly defended the description of the terrorist known as Jihadi John as a “beautiful young man” while speaking to a Parliamentary committee. Cllr Ali has reportedly been suspended by Labour pending an investigation.

Also in Haringey, Joy Wallace, who also won election this month, allegedly accused a rabbi of being “paid handsomely” for criticising Jeremy Corbyn on Radio 4, among other inflammatory remarks. According to the JC, Labour is investigating, but action is yet to be taken.

In Hillingdon, Cllr Labina Basit is also facing scrutiny over her past views on antisemitism in the Labour Party, including alleged opposition to the International Definition of Antisemitism.

In Leeds, Cllr John Garvani has had his nomination for the chairmanship of one of the most high-profile committees on Leeds City Council withdrawn following revelations about his inflammatory social media activity, according to the Jewish Telegraph.

In Derby North, Cllr. Nadine Peatfield, who is looking to become Labour’s candidate for Parliament in the constituency, allegedly defended the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson in the past.

Separately it has been reported that the Brighton Pavilion, Brighton Kemptown and Hove and Portslade Constituency Labour Parties will no longer control their local candidate selection due to concerns over antisemitism and a lack of ethnic minority representation. The decision was approved by Labour’s NEC, which, together with the Regional Executive Committee, will now appoint a five-member panel to vet future candidates.

The move comes after antisemitism allegations among the local council’s Labour group – and the subsequent suspensions and resignations – saw power pass from Labour to the Greens, with one of the councillors at the heart of the scandal being readmitted and then re-suspended from the Party on the eve of the local elections earlier this month.

Finally, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, who is the Media Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, is running for a position on the NEC, and has the endorsement of Mr Corbyn; the actress Maxine Peake who has previously promoted an antisemitic conspiracy theory; the controversial actress Miriam Margolyes; Andrew Feinstein, who was involved in a group raising legal funds for Mr Corbyn and who is allegedly a member of JVL; and Louise Regan, the Chair of the Nottingham East Constituency Labour Party who was reportedly suspended and reinstated by the Party in the past.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “British Jews reading reports alleging that Labour councillors have shared material justifying the persecution of Jewish people, promoting conspiracies about the Jewish state, opposing the International Definition of Antisemitism and other antisemitic material, will be feeling a sense of déjà vu. It has been two years since Jeremy Corbyn stepped down as leader of the Labour Party, and yet here we are again, with another spate of incidents among Labour officeholders, in some cases newly elected.

“Public statements from Labour and Sir Keir Starmer over the past few months extolling the progress that the Party has made in tackling antisemitism are increasingly divorced from reality. Some progress notwithstanding, clearly Labour is still infested with people who have antipathetic views of Jews and the Party’s vetting process is an offensive joke. Whether the failures of that process are due to enduring procedural deficiencies or the same cultural problems that have bedevilled the Party for years now, or both, Labour is required to address them, and, as these stories show, it has yet to succeed in doing so.”

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.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article reported that Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi had also been endorsed by Syed Siddiqi who, according to Dame Margaret Hodge MP, has in the past associated with the expelled Labour member and antisemite Jackie Walker and the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson, whom Mr Siddiqi has reportedly defended in the past. After the article was published, Jewish Voice For Labour wrote to us saying: “The endorsement by Syed Siddiqi was included in error in a post to our members that was corrected soon after. Syed Siddiqi has endorsed no candidates for the NEC election.”


Former Labour Party Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, and Labour MP for Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, are under pressure to explain why they took part in a rally in which the crowd allegedly called for the genocidal antisemitic terrorist group Hamas to blow up an Israeli city.

Both Mr McDonnell and Ms Sultana attended the demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition held in Whitehall on 14th May. Several hundred people were in attendance.

At one point, the crowd was allegedly heard chanting in Arabic “Abu Ubaida…blow up Kiryat Shmona”.

Abu Ubaida is the spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Kiryat Shmona is an Israeli city near the northern border of Israel.

The Board of Deputies, a Jewish charity, wrote to the two controversial MPs.

Mr McDonnell responded: “I was not aware of the speeches or chants you have cited in your letter but let me make myself absolutely clear that of course I disassociate myself from and condemn any antisemitic statements, speeches or chants or calls for violence if they took place here or on any other occasion. I always have and will always do so.

“One can never control what others say or do at any public gathering but if any actions take place that I disagree with, once this has been pointed out, it is right and important to explain one’s own position.

“With regard to your comments on BDS, again let me make it absolutely clear that I support the policy of boycott, divestment and sanctions, actually like many Israeli and Jewish colleagues, as a means of exerting pressure on the Israeli government to secure a just and fair treatment of the Palestinian people, nothing more.”

Ms Sultana also responded, saying: “I did not hear the chant you reference, and I was not at the demonstration at the time you flag in the recording. I have no hesitation in disassociating myself from such chants, or in condemning any instance of antisemitism. As I am sure you will appreciate, it is impossible for speakers from the main stage of public gatherings like this, which was attended by an estimated 15,000 people, to be aware of the behaviour of every member of the crowd.

“Last May, after a horrifying and widely-reported incident of antisemitic abuse on Finchley Road, I publicly condemned it and expressed my solidarity with the Jewish community in London. As I stated then: the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom is anti-racist at its heart, driven by a conviction that all peoples should live in equality and with dignity.

“Antisemitism can therefore have no place in the Palestine solidarity movement. I will continue to insist on this, as it is incredibly important to me that my anti-racism is universal, and that – especially as minority communities in Britain – we work to build safety through solidarity.”

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.

The race to become the Labour Party’s candidate in the coming Wakefield by-election has been marred by antisemitism allegations.

One shortlisted candidate, Kate Dearden, has reported that she has endured taunts from far-left activists that she is a “Zionist”. Ms Dearden, an official for the trade union Community, has worked in the past with the Union of Jewish Students and the Labour Party’s Jewish affiliate.

The taunts reportedly included “Kate seems to have supported Zionists (UJS/JLM),” while another post said: “Dinner with the Zionists is it? How can you be a socialist party when you have kicked out the Socialists. In fact this little vote has collapsed because you are all a farce.” Yet another post read: “Soo surprised to see Starmer’s choice is a Zionist supporter…”

Another prospective candidate, Jack Hemmingway, is alleged to have downplayed antisemitism within the Labour Party, called for the reinstatement of Jeremy Corbyn after the publication of the Equality and Human Rights Commision’s (EHRC) report about antisemitism in the Party under Mr Corbyn’s leadership, and liked online posts by controversial figures George Galloway and Salma Yaqoob.

On Twitter, Mr Hemmingway defended himself, claiming that his comment arguing that Labour was not institutionally antisemitic came before the outcome of the EHRC report, the findings of which he accepts.

Neither Ms Dearden nor Mr Hemmingway were selected as the Party’s candidate.

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.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has reported to the police a Newham councillor alleged to have posted a horrific article arguing that “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.”

We have also reported the councillor to Newham Council.

Belgica Guaña is alleged to have posted the article, titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity”, on Facebook in 2016, two years before she became a councillor in Newham in London, where she was re-elected last week.

The article says that “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them – a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day. The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter. 

“The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

The essay also argues that Jews use pornography to control western societies by way of the “Holocaust hoax”, and pushes the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, as well as claiming that teenage diarist Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis at Bergen-Belsen, was a “bisexual degenerate” whose popular diary is an “obvious fraud…laced with pornographic and sexually subversive messages”.

In May 2016, Cllr Guaña reportedly shared a post that said that “The Nazi holocaust [sic] was a crime against humanity, and the Israeli Genocide against Palestinians can not be ignored or denied,” and in December 2017, Cllr Guaña is said to have shared a video of the United Nations General Assembly, writing: “If you can have a minute of silence for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. So how much time should I ask for the more than 50 years of invasion and oppression of the Palestinian people?” Both posts are further breaches of the International Definition of Antisemitism. Other inflammatory material is also alleged to have been posted by Cllr Guaña, both before and during her term in office.

The allegation that Cllr Guaña posted the article was made in the JC, based on research by Labour Against Antisemitism. Cllr Guaña was suspended by the Labour Party on the eve of the local elections last week, reportedly a week after Labour Against Antisemitism submitted its complaint to the Party but, notably, immediately after the allegations were published in the JC.

The Labour group at Newham Council has repeatedly been the subject of controversy in relation to antisemitism allegations. In 2020, a leaked report reportedly detailed a complaint by the Council’s only Jewish member about a “culture of accepted antisemitism”, and then last year the Chair of Labour in Newham was reportedly to be investigated over alleged antisemitism, just days after his deputy was suspended over alleged antisemitic social media activity.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

A slew of controversial and antisemitic signs and chants were present on the streets of London yesterday during an anti-Israel rally that was organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), but numbers seem to have declined considerably since the last large-scale mobilisation of protesters.

An evidence gathering team from Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit was present at the rally, which started outside the BBC’s headquarters, and ended at 10 Downing Street. Our team gathered evidence of numerous antisemitic placards, with a significant proportion equating Israel with Nazi Germany.

One placard read: “Well done Isr*el [sic] Hitler would be proud”, “Say no to fascism say no to Zionism”, and “If genocide wasn’t tolerated in 1945 why do we allow it in 2022?”.

Other signs read: “In Palestine 86% of Jews have no legitimate rights to be there. Palestine From the river to the sea” and “Zionism is racism.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” and “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” are both examples of antisemitism.

The rally also featured disturbing chants, including “Victory to the intifada” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

An intifada is a rebellion or uprising, but the Palestinian intifadas were characterised by acts of terrorism targeting Jews. The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” appears to refer to the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, and therefore only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a state of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the Definition.

This is not the first time that a PSC rally has been riddled with antisemitism. An investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst supporters of the PSC.

The rally featured several speakers that included Labour Party MPs Zarah Sultana and John McDonnell, Sinn Féin MP ​​Francie Molloy, and Andrew Murray, the Chief of Staff to the Unite union.

Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, did not attend in person but wrote a speech to be read out on his behalf. However, his older brother, the anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn, did make an appearance.

The rally’s organisers claimed that 10,000 to 15,000 people attended, but our estimate was a fraction of that number.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Ivan Lewis, the former Labour Party MP who left the Party during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, has labelled suggestions that Labour’s result in Bury South proves that the Party has repaired its relationship with the Jewish community as “dangerous and misleading”, describing those who suggest otherwise as being “totally out of touch with reality.”

Mr Lewis, a former MP for Bury South who quit Labour and endorsed the Conservatives in the 2019 General Election, called on voters not to support the Conservatives in the local elections last week due to numerous controversies surrounding the local association. Campaign Against Antisemitism helped to publicise these controversies and has written to the Conservative Party calling for an urgent investigation.

In a Facebook post outlining his interpretation of the local election results, Mr Lewis wrote: “I am pleased that Bury Labour Group retained control of the council. I hope this sends the strongest possible message to Bury Conservatives about tackling the antisemitism in their ranks…Finally, there are some who are suggesting that Labour’s result in Bury South proves the Party has repaired its relationship with the Jewish community and the fear of antisemitism has dissipated. They are totally out of touch with reality and run the risk of sending a dangerous and misleading message to the national Party.

“A significant proportion, possibly a majority of Jewish voters who voted Labour in Prestwich, Whitefield, Radcliffe and Unsworth in the council elections or abstained from voting remain very concerned at the prospect of a Labour Government. They have not yet been persuaded that the Labour Party has left the antisemitism of the Corbyn years behind…They do not dispute Keir Starmer has made serious efforts to improve the situation but continue to mistrust the Party’s instincts and worry about those activists who still deny the scale of the antisemitism problem in the Corbyn years. 

“These voters voted Labour or abstained in the council elections because of their support for local candidates, concern at antisemitism in the local Tory party and in the full knowledge their vote would not lead to a change of Government…”

Mr Lewis’ sentiments echo an analysis conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism of the local election results in the heavily-Jewish borough of Barnet in London. Sir Keir Starmer and other Labour figures claimed that the results in Barnet indicated that the Party has regained the Jewish community’s trust, but our analysis demonstrated that the evidence did not in fact support this contention. Indeed, polling for our Antisemitism Barometer last year showed that an overwhelming majority of Jewish voters — 81% — still believed that the Labour Party is too tolerant of antisemitism. While it is not in doubt that the Labour Party under Sir Keir’s leadership is in a more promising place vis-à-vis antisemitism than it was under his predecessor, it is indisputable that there remains a great deal of work to be done.

Our analysis was protested by some Labour activists, who also pointed to Bury to defend their interpretation of the results. Mr Lewis’ intervention may make those claims even more difficult to sustain.

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 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.

It has been reported that a Jewish candidate standing for the Labour Party in the London Borough of Camden was the target of antisemitic intimidation in the run-up to the recent local elections.

Izzy Lenga, who successfully stood for Labour in Camden’s South Hampstead ward, has revealed that she faced “levels of antisemitism I’ve never had before” after she was made the target of a poster campaign that called for people to not vote for her because she supported “apartheid”.

The harassment campaign is reported to have been based on accounts on anti-Israel websites like The Electronic Intifada dating back to 2014 about how Ms Lenga, a well-known young activist and leader in the Jewish community, once took part in a basic training course in Israel organised by the IDF. Ms Lenga also took part in the BBC Panorama documentary about antisemitism in the Labour Party during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Posters publicising this information were plastered on walls and bus stops throughout the South Hampstead Ward in the weeks leading up to the election on 5th May.

The police do not believe that the people responsible for the 2014 articles had any role in the poster campaign, and have arrested a suspect believed to have been involved in the making or distributing of the posters because they apparently repeatedly misspelt the word “apartheid” in the same way each time.

A Metropolitan Police statement said: “We can confirm that a 39-year-old man was arrested on Friday, 29th April on suspicion of a Section 19 offence under the Public Order Act 1986. He was taken to a north London police station and was subsequently released on bail to return on a date in mid-June. Enquiries are ongoing. The arrest relates to two incidents where offensive materials were distributed in the South Hampstead area.”

Cllr Lenga was nevertheless elected as a councillor with the second highest vote in the South Hampstead ward.

Upon being elected, Cllr Lenga tweeted: “I’ve not spoken about it too much, but it’s been a really rough few months. I’ve faced levels of antisemitism I’ve never had before, and am eternally grateful for all those who’ve offered support.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

The Bishop of Oxford has said that he was “disturbed” by the antisemitism that was allowed to grow in the Labour Party under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

The Right Reverend Dr Steven Croft made his admission days before a commemorative event held at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, during which the Church of England offered an apology to the British Jewish community eight centuries after Jews were expelled from England.

Sunday 8th May was the 800th anniversary of the 1222 Synod of Oxford, known as the “Magna Carta” of English canon law – the system of laws enforced by the church hierarchy to regulate its organisation – which put antisemitic doctrines in place, forbidding social interactions between Jews and Christians, taxing the Jews, and making them wear a badge to identify them.

The Bishop took the opportunity of the church’s apology to voice his concerns about the climate of antisemitism during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as Labour leader, the other causes of which are the “general kind of fragmentation” of British society and Brexit.

The Right Rev Dr Croft said: “Three or four years ago, I was really disturbed by how deeply Jewish friends and the Jewish community in Oxford were affected by the antisemitism that was growing in society as part of the climate that was around.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

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.

Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that the Labour Party’s success in Thursday’s local elections in the heavily-Jewish borough of Barnet in north London indicates that the Party has regained the Jewish community’s trust.

Labour won the council from the Conservatives after famously failing to do so in 2018, despite other electoral trends that year, in what was widely interpreted as a snub by the Jewish community of the Party under the leadership of the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn, who campaigned with local Labour candidates in Islington this week.

Addressing Labour activists in the borough on the morning after the election, Sir Keir said: “My first words as leader of our Party, when I took over in April 2020, was that we were going to root out antisemitism from our Party, not tolerate it any more in our Party, change our Party. I said the test of that will be whether voters trust us again in places like Barnet, and they’ve done it.

“That is your hard work, that is the change we’ve collectively brought about in our Labour Party, the trust that we’re building, putting us on the road to No 10 the road to that general election. That change these last two years has been really hard for us as a party, but we’ve done it, we’ve built those solid foundations, we’ve won here in Barnet, we’ve won across London, we’re winning from coast to coast.”

However, a closer look at the results shows that the wards of the borough with the largest Jewish populations, including Edgware, Finchley Church End, Garden Suburb, Golders Green, Hendon, Mill Hill and Totteridge returned not a single Labour councillor, with the exception of the new ward of Whetstone.

Polling for our Antisemitism Barometer last year showed that an overwhelming majority of Jewish voters — 81% — still believed that the Labour Party is too tolerant of antisemitism.

It is not in doubt that the Labour Party under Sir Keir’s leadership is in a more promising place vis-à-vis antisemitism than it was under his predecessor, but neither is it disputable that there remains a great deal of work to be done.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Sir Keir Starmer’s suggestion that the success of local Labour candidates in the heavily-Jewish borough of Barnet demonstrates that Labour has restored the trust of the Jewish community is decidedly premature. Our latest polling has shown that 81% of the Jewish community still feels that Labour is too tolerant of antisemitism. Yesterday, the most Jewish neighbourhoods in Barnet, including Edgware, Finchley Church End, Garden Suburb, Golders Green, Hendon, Mill Hill and Totteridge, returned not a single Labour councillor. We hope that Labour will concentrate on doing the work of fighting antisemitism rather than misleadingly implying that the problem is solved.”

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 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.

In recent weeks, we have called out antisemitism and publicised allegations and relevant controversies in the full spectrum of British political parties, including the ConservativeLabourLiberal DemocratsSNP, and Green Party.

The Labour Party has reportedly suspended a councillor alleged to have posted a horrific article arguing “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.”

The suspension came within hours of the JC publicising the allegation, but reportedly a week since Labour Against Antisemitism first filed the complaint, raising questions anew about how Labour is tackling antisemitism in its ranks and reviving concerns about the extent to which PR considerations are a driving factor.

Belgica Guaña is alleged to have posted the article, titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity”, on Facebook in 2016, two years before she became a councillor in Newham in London, where she is running for re-election this week.

The article says that “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them – a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day. The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter. 

“The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

The essay also argues that Jews use pornography to control western societies by way of the “Holocaust hoax”, and pushes the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, as well as claiming that teenage diarist Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis at Bergen-Belsen, was a “bisexual degenerate” whose popular diary is an “obvious fraud…laced with pornographic and sexually subversive messages”.

In May 2016, Cllr Guaña reportedly shared a post that said that “The Nazi holocaust [sic] was a crime against humanity, and the Israeli Genocide against Palestinians can not be ignored or denied,” and in December 2017, Cllr Guaña is said to have shared a video of the United Nations General Assembly, writing: “If you can have a minute of silence for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. So how much time should I ask for the more than 50 years of invasion and oppression of the Palestinian people?” Both posts are further breaches of the International Definition of Antisemitism. Other inflammatory material is also alleged to have been posted by Cllr Guaña.

Although Cllr Guaña has been suspended from the Labour Party and therefore no longer enjoys its endorsement in her bid for re-election, she will remain on the ballot paper listed as a Labour candidate, which is unavoidable in view of how close the revelations came before the local elections.

The allegation that Cllr Guaña posted the article was made in the JC, based on research by Labour Against Antisemitism. Earlier this week, Campaign Against Antisemitism announced that it is examining legal options in respect of the posting of the article.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said on Wednesday: “The article allegedly shared by this councillor is a not only an abhorrent collection of antisemitic tropes, from Holocaust denial and paedophilia to comparisons of Israel with the Nazis and support for the far-right ‘Great Replacement Theory’, but it may also imply support for Jewish genocide. In view of just how horrific this post is, we are examining legal options.”

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.

A Labour Party councillor is alleged to have posted a horrific article arguing “The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews…just as we would be today.”

Belgica Guaña is alleged to have posted the article, titled “The Holocaust Hoax and the Jewish Promotion of Perversity”, on Facebook in 2016, two years before she became a councillor in Newham in London, where she is running for re-election this week.

The article says that “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them – a war that began with the National Socialists coming to power in Germany in the 1930s and continues to this very day. The Jews do not have the means or the numbers to defeat Europeans with the force of arms so they have to rely mainly on infiltration, subversion, and economic and psychological warfare, with the Holocaust hoax being the best example of the latter. 

“The Germans were completely justified in persecuting and expelling the Jews (which is all that was actually happening), just as we would be today. Hitler and the National Socialists freed Germany from the death grip of the Jews and gave it back to the German people.”

The essay also argues that Jews use pornography to control western societies by way of the “Holocaust hoax”, and pushes the “white genocide” conspiracy theory, as well as claiming that teenage diarist Anne Frank, murdered by the Nazis at Bergen-Belsen, was a “bisexual degenerate” whose popular diary is an “obvious fraud…laced with pornographic and sexually subversive messages”.

In May 2016, Cllr Guaña reportedly shared a post that said that “The Nazi holocaust [sic] was a crime against humanity, and the Israeli Genocide against Palestinians can not be ignored or denied,” and in December 2017, Cllr Guaña is said to have shared a video of the United Nations General Assembly, writing: “If you can have a minute of silence for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. So how much time should I ask for the more than 50 years of invasion and oppression of the Palestinian people?” Both posts are further breaches of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The allegation that Cllr Guaña posted the article was made in the JC, based on research by Labour Against Antisemitism.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The article allegedly shared by this councillor is a not only an abhorrent collection of antisemitic tropes, from Holocaust denial and paedophilia to comparisons of Israel with the Nazis and support for the far-right ‘Great Replacement Theory’, but it may also imply support for Jewish genocide. In view of just how horrific this post is, we are examining legal options.

“The Labour Party must urgently investigate both the veracity of the allegation and how Belgica Guaña was allowed to become and remain a councillor in spite of the post, and why she was endorsed by the Party in her bid for reelection.”

Cllr Guaña is not the only Labour candidate in the coming elections to be embroiled in controversy.

Cllr Lee Garvey, an independent candidate representing Pallister and Berwick Hills in Middlesbrough, had applied to become a member of the Labour Party, but was rejected after concerns were raised about material that he had allegedly shared online. Cllr Garvey allegedly compared Israel’s policies to the Holocaust and referenced antisemitic conspiracy theories surrounding the Rothschild family.

In a 2015 Facebook post referencing then-Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, Cllr Garvey reportedly wrote: “Just saw an interview with [Channel 4 News presenter John] snow and CaMORON where he says, we need to stop the Demonisation of Jews…Lets look at how I see it…Israel is doing to the Palestinians what they themselves suffered at the hands of the Nazi’s [sic].”

On another occasion, Cllr Garvey allegedly complained about the number of Jewish characters on television, saying: “Watch any US sitcom or show, you will find the vast majority have at least one Jewish character if not a Jewish family. Why is this when they make up JUST 2.2% of the population?? And if like me you fear the TV is just a Propaganda, it certainly makes you think [sic].”

In another alleged 2015 Facebook post, Cllr Garvey is claimed to have referenced classic antisemitic conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family, writing: “I also take the sleeping enhancer from those drug companies I despise, use money to purchase items given to us by the Rothschild family who I regard as less than poo and I also maek most of my living in churches and we all know how I feel about them…”

Another Labour candidate, Anne Pissaridou, representing North Portslade in Brighton, has been suspended by the Party for a second time after new revelations about her social media output. She is accused of posting messages on social media downplaying antisemitism allegations in the Labour Party and reportedly appeared to condone an online attack on a Jewish party member.

A third figure caught up in controversy is former Labour MP Martin Linton. Mr Linton served as the MP for Battersea between 1997 and 2010, but is now running as a council candidate in Wandsworth’s Lavender ward. He has allegedly made a number of inflammatory statements in the past.

In 2010, while Mr Linton was Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine, he reportedly claimed that the “Israel lobby” played a malign role in marginal constituencies. During a meeting held at the House of Commons by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of al-Aqsa, Mr Linton is reported to have said that “There are long tentacles of Israel in this country who are funding election campaigns and putting money into the British political system for their own ends…When you make decisions about how you vote and how you advise constituents to vote, you must make them aware of the attempt by Israelis and by pro-Israelis to influence the election.”

In an appearance on the Islam Channel, Mr Linton said that the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas should not be called “terrorists”. That is, Mr Linton explained “the wrong word to use when you are talking about someone who is fighting a military occupation”. Mr Linton’s preferred term is “Gazan militants”, because, while the actions of individuals may be described as terroristic, the same apparently cannot be said for groups and governments.

In 2010, Mr Linton appeared on the Iranian-backed news outlet PressTV to, it has been claimed, defend Hamas terrorists in Israeli prisons. On another occasion, he appeared on PressTV to defend Raed Salah, a prolific antisemite who claims that Israel planned 9/11.

Murad Qureshi, the candidate for the ward of Little Venice in west London, is also embroiled in controversy. Mr Qureshi is alleged to have made comments about the “powerful pro-Israel lobby” in the United States, and retweeted a Twitter post which read “You can get away with offending anyone so lomng as they’re not Jewish”. In a 2013 blog post, Mr Qureshi also reportedly questioned the “legal basis” for the trial of the leading Nazi Adolf Eichmann. Mr Qureshi allegedly wrote that “I am not sure the Eichmann trial can be held up as a model of due processes [sic].” From 2016 to 2021, Mr Qureshi was Chair of Stop the War Coalition, and has been photographed alongside Hamas politicians including leader Ismail Haniyeh.

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.

The Labour Party has suspended a candidate in the upcoming local elections after he reportedly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, as a “Zionist”, questioning why he had so much support.

Ziad Alsayed, a candidate for the Baruc ward in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, allegedly wrote the tweet in Arabic on 26th February, saying “How could we side with a country that has a Zionist president?” He has since deleted the tweet.

Alun Cairns, Conservative MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, expressed his concern about another tweet written by Mr Alsayed, in which the Labour candidate calls Mr Zelenskyy a “fascist”. Mr Alsayed is understood to have responded to an expression of solidarity for Ukraine written by London Mayor Sadiq Khan with the words: “If you mean the Ukrainian people that’s OK, but not the fascist president.”

Although the Labour Party has suspended Mr Alsayed pending an investigation, he will remain on the ballot for the election, nominally as the Party’s candidate, because nominations have already closed.

A spokesperson for Labour said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”

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.

Sir Keir Starmer has apologised again for how Jewish members of the Labour Party and the community more generally were treated under his antisemitic predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.

In his first interview with a Jewish newspaper since his election as Labour leader exactly two years ago, Sir Keir did not apologise for his own role backing Mr Corbyn. Sir Keir also declined to tell the JC whether he believed that Mr Corbyn is antisemitic.

The interview came following numerous expulsions and suspensions of Labour officeholders at the local level.

In Plymouth, Cllr Chaz Singh, the Chair of the Council’s Equalities Working Group, has come under fire for allegedly retweeting a post by a local firm of beekeepers directed at the local ward councillors, which said: “You’re lucky, if you get to see yours! We have three, and they’re as much use as Anne Frank’s drum kit!” The tweet was in reference to a local dispute about sewage. Cllr Singh was criticised by his colleagues for apparently using social media to amplify an offensive analogy to a victim of the Holocaust, and in particular for doing so given his position at the Council and purported status as a champion of diversity.

In Dudley, Cllr Zafar Islam was reportedly suspended from Labour after months of inaction by the Party following a complaint.

The complaint by Labour Against Antisemitism, submitted in September 2021, detailed Cllr Islam’s social media activity, where he claims a “witch-hunt” has taken place against Labour politicians critical of Israel, among other inflammatory remarks.

In London, the former Chair of the Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party, Pete Firmin, has reportedly been automatically expelled from Labour over alleged support for factions that have been proscribed by the Party.

In Wales, a former leader of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, has been revealed not to have left Labour after 46 years of his own accord, but rather because he was expelled following disciplinary action. Cllr Hedley McCarthy had reportedly been accused of ‘liking’ antisemitic posts on social media, which he denied, saying that he has “a proven track record of opposing racism of all forms, including antisemitism.”

However, a Labour Party spokesman reportedly said: “Hedley McCarthy was expelled from the Labour Party in January 2022 following the conclusion of an internal disciplinary investigation into antisemitic social media activity. It is therefore incorrect for Hedley McCarthy to claim that he resigned from membership of the Labour Party.”

The local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) reportedly claimed that it had not been aware of the expulsion, relying instead on Cllr McCarthy’s claim that he had left of his own accord. Cllr McCarthy said in response: “I want to apologise to my former colleagues in the Labour group and the CLP for not informing them of the suspension or the eviction letter.” He added that he had been concerned about the confidentiality of the disciplinary process, apparently having been warned that any breach could result in further disciplinary action. “In any case, I left the group in November and didn’t see that the letter was relevant to them by then,” he said, adding: “I am sorry now that I didn’t speak out about these ridiculous accusations.”

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.

Further concerns have been raised after more troubling tweets from the newly-elected President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Shaima Dallali, have surfaced

This most recent batch of tweets has come to light mere days after we reported that Ms Dallali was forced to apologise when, in 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, the then-hopeful NUS candidate tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.” 

Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.

Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”

Shortly after her apology, it came to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter reportedly included other inflammatory messages as well, including one from 2018 in which she said: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.

Other alleged tweets expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party. On 17th November 2020, Ms Dalalli wrote a response to Mr Corbyn’s readmission to the Labour Party, saying that “He should never have been suspended in the first place.” A few months later, on 5th January 2021, Ms Hallami tweeted that “Jeremy Corbyn was too good for this godforsaken country.” At present, these tweets have not yet been deleted, though it has been reported that several others have.

However, a new set of historic tweets from Ms Dallali has now come to light, one of which includes the antisemitic “From the river to the sea” chant. The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Additionally, Ms Dallali reportedly referred to a preacher who condemned actions taken by Hamas as a “dirty Zionist” and has also raised money for the controversial activist group CAGE which, while it does not advocate violence, has previously been criticised for promoting problematic or extreme views, which they deny.

Ms Dallali also allegedly said that the cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has been described as an “Islamist theologian”, was the “moral compass for the Muslim community at large”. In January 2009, Mr al-Qaradawi said on Al-Jazeera TV that he would “shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews.” In a sermon that took place in that same month, he again spoke of Jewish people and called upon God to “kill them, down to the very last one.”

In a 2010 interview on BBC Arabic, Mr Yusuf al-Qaradawi reportedly said: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.”

Replying to UJS’s tweet about the “bridges broken” over the past few weeks in regard to NUS’ booking of the controversial rapper Lowkey, Ms Dallali said that her hands “are outstretched to all students and staff that work in our movement, including Jewish students, and would love to arrange a meeting once I’m in office,” though in the past, she has lashed out at UJS over Twitter, accusing them of having “a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists.” In that same tweet, she added: “You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

The Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has proscribed the Labour Left Alliance, reportedly due to the faction’s stance on antisemitism.

Labour Left Alliance is a member-based group with close links to Labour Against the Witchhunt and Labour In Exile Network, which were among four groups banned by the NEC last July. Labour Against the Witchhunt has since disbanded, with its members focusing their energies on other groups instead.

Twenty members of the NEC voted in favour of the proscription of Labour Left Alliance at yesterday’s full meeting, while eleven voted against.

The ban on another group, Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, was divided on the same lines, while the vote to ban Socialist Labour Network was split nineteen to eleven. The latter two groups are not believed to have been proscribed in connection with antisemitism.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The NEC has decided that these organisations are not compatible with Labour’s rules, or our aims and values.”

The Labour MP and Corbyn ally, Clive Lewis, tweeted: “Proscription lists; mass expulsions; the centralisation of power. It’s naive to think the ‘crisis of democracy’ and the slide to authoritarianism afflicting western polities won’t affect our own political institutions.”

However, the NEC declared that there are no plans to proscribe another controversial pro-Corbyn group, Momentum. It is reported that NEC papers read: “Custom and practice also establishes that the definition of a ‘political organisation’ does not include organisations that are compatible with the aims and values of the Labour Party…This includes networks of members, such as Sikhs for Labour or the Labour Muslim Network; single issue campaigns, such as Labour for a Green New Deal; and ginger groups, such as Labour First, Momentum, and Progress.”

meeting earlier this month of Labour Left Alliance featured questions from Tony Greenstein and Gerry Downing, both of whom have been expelled from the Labour Party. Mr Downing was a founder of Labour Against the Witchhunt, and at this meeting he referenced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Jewish identity and declared his support for Russia in its invasion of its neighbour. Tina Werkmann, who was chairing the meeting, then said about Mr Downing’s comments: “About Zelenskyy being Jewish I think this is a very dodgy territory to go down it’s not his Jewishness that is the problem it’s that he’s a Zionist and he works with fascists. Zionism and fascists they can work very well together and they have done in the past and they go hand in hand in Britain as well. So that’s not an issue. But I don’t think we need to peddle antisemitism crap here in this section.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism: “We commend the NEC for banning Labour Left Alliance, which is another important step in the fight against antisemitism and antisemitism-denial in the Labour Party. It is regrettable that Momentum has been given a new lease on life, however, which risks the Party looking like it only goes after low hanging fruit. We have always been clear that this process would take years, and yesterday’s NEC vote shows that progress is being made, but slowly.”

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: Harry’s Place

A controversial councillor infamous for joking about “Jew process” and who was expelled from the Labour Party has now been welcomed to the Green Party.

Jo Bird, who re-joined the Labour Party in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn was running for the Party’s leadership, has a long history of controversy relating to Jews, including renaming ‘due process’ in the Labour Party as “Jew process”, for which she was suspended; supporting the expelled Labour activist Marc Wadsworth, who was thrown out of the Party after a confrontation with Jewish then-MP Ruth Smeeth; and worrying about the “privileging of racism against Jews, over and above — as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism.”

Elected to Wirral Council in August 2018, Cllr Bird is a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and she has described Labour’s institutional antisemitism as based on mere “accusations, witch-huntery and allegations without evidence”.

Cllr Bird appears to have been expelled from the Labour Party for her association with the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt. Cllr Bird said on Facebook: “I’m delighted to say that the Labour Party have expelled me today. They say its [sic] for speaking at a meeting (more than three years ago) and signing a petition (early 2020) – organised by Labour Against the Witchthunt, which they banned only four months ago. I’m not free from the Labour Party’s hostile environment, where Jewish people like me are 31 times more likely to be investigated for talking about the racism we face.” She concluded by stating that “this racist Labour party is so different to the Party I joined in 2015. The Labour Party is dying as a vehicle for social justice.”

Cllr Pat Cleary, who leads the now six-strong contingent of Green councillors on Wirral Council, said in a statement this week that “hardworking people like Jo are very welcome in the Green Party.”

The move comes just after Campaign Against Antisemitism published new polling that shows that a majority of British Jews believe that the Green Party is too tolerant of antisemitism, making it only the second party, after Labour, to cross that threshold.

Recently, the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was denied membership of the Green Party, while inflammatory former Deputy Leader, Shahrar Ali, was dropped as the Party’s Spokesperson for Policing and Domestic Safety, but not over allegations of antisemitism, which have dogged him in the past.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

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.

Today, Campaign Against Antisemitism publishes our latest Antisemitism Barometer, comprising a survey of the British public’s views toward Jews and a poll of the Jewish community.

The Barometer’s poll of the British public’s views towards Jews utilises the Generalised Antisemitism Scale. The survey was designed and analysed by Dr Daniel Allington of King’s College London, with fieldwork carried out by YouGov.

  • Using the twelve-question Generalised Antisemitism Scale, the survey shows that 57% of British adults do not harbour any antisemitic views; they did not affirm a single one of the twelve statements.
  • The other side of the coin, however, is that there is deeply troubling normalisation of antisemitism, as 43% of British adults did affirm at least one antisemitic statement, although over half of them only agreed with only one or two antisemitic statements.
  • 11% of British adults have entrenched antisemitic views, affirming four or more antisemitic statements. 
  • The most popular antisemitic statement was that “Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews”, with which 24% of British adults agreed. That view is antisemitic under the International Definition of Antisemitism adopted by the Government.

The Barometer also includes a separate survey of British Jews designed and analysed in consultation with Dr Allington and carried out by Campaign Against Antisemitism and Jewish community partners. The survey reveals that:

  • The events of 2021, when antisemitism surged on British streets and campuses, online, in workplaces, schools and hospitals and in other institutions, have left their mark. British Jews are now less optimistic about their future in the UK, and a record 46% also decline to display visible signs of their Jewish identity due to antisemitism.
  • The antisemitism that arose during the conflict between Hamas and Israel weighed particularly heavy with British Jews, almost eight in ten of whom disclosed that the various demonstrations in the UK during the conflict caused them to feel ‘intimidated as a Jew’.
  • British Jews’ confidence in the criminal justice system is lower than ever: the Crown Prosecution Service has always performed poorly in our polling, but for the first time ever, a majority of British Jews do not believe that the police or the courts do enough to protect them either.
  • British Jews reserve significant opprobrium for political parties: over eight in ten British Jews still feel that the Labour Party is too tolerant of racism against Jews, belying Sir Keir Starmer’s claim to have “shut the door” on antisemitism in his Party. For the first time, a majority of British Jews also believe that another party is too tolerant of antisemitism: the Green Party.
  • In the first ever poll on the subject, almost all British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities (92%) and on social media (96%) is a problem, underscoring the need for urgent action.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The events of 2021 have left their mark on Britain’s Jews. Antisemitic incidents broke new records, particularly during the conflict between Hamas and Israel, with almost eight in ten British Jews feeling ‘intimidated as a Jew’ and many now questioning our community’s future in the UK.

“It is not just the perpetrators who are faulted by the Jewish community, but also those tasked with protecting us. For the first time, a majority of the Jewish community now does not trust the police, CPS and courts to protect them. If the next commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and Director of Public Prosecutions wish to restore the confidence of British Jews in their institutions, they should urgently adopt the recommendations set out in our report.

“British Jews also point the finger at political parties, with over eight in ten British Jews still feeling that Labour is too tolerant of racism against Jews, belying Sir Keir Starmer’s claim to have ‘shut the door’ on antisemitism in his Party.

“Jewish life on campus is thriving, but there is no excuse for Jewish students or faculty to be forced to think twice about their educational or professional trajectory because of concerns over antisemitism. As our polling demonstrates for the first time, there is a clear consensus that British Jews are alarmed by antisemitism in universities. Given the strength of sentiment, it is vital that a minority of universities stop refusing to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, and that all institutions actually apply the Definition when allegations of racism toward Jews arise.”

“Britain cannot be content when almost half of a long-established minority community avoids disclosing identifying signs in public, or when a broad majority considers one of the two major political parties to be too tolerant of racism. It is not too late to make the right changes in politics, at universities, online and to criminal justice, but our recommendations are increasingly urgent.”

The full Barometer is available at antisemitism.org/barometer.

It has been reported that a mandatory two-hour antisemitism training course delivered to Labour Party MPs and officials depicts the notorious mural that was defended by Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Party, as an example of antisemitism.

In October 2012, Los Angeles-based street artist Mear One, painted a wall in London’s East End which featured apparently-Jewish bankers beneath a pyramid often used by conspiracy theorists playing Monopoly on a board carried by straining, oppressed workers.

Following complaints, the mural was due to be removed, prompting Mear One to post on Facebook: “Tomorrow they want to buff my mural. Freedom of Expression. London Calling, Public art.” Mr Corbyn commented: “Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller [sic] destroyed Diego Viera’s [sic] mural because it includes a picture of Lenin.”

One Labour source reportedly said of the inclusion of the mural in the training: “Whereas Corbyn defended this image, course facilitators are using it as a potent illustration of antisemitism.”

Other examples used in the 44-slide PowerPoint, which was announced last year and initially met with a revolt and antisemitic conspiracy theories by antisemitism-deniers in the Party, include the blood libel, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Nazi-era drawings, and popular internet memes. The training is required under the Action Plan agreed between the Party and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

The course also teaches the International Definition of Antisemitism, which was adopted by the Party, under pressure, during Mr Corbyn’ tenure as leader.

The Jewish former Labour MP, Ruth Smeeth, said: “We’re under no illusions. Rooting out the toxic culture will not be a quick job. We know it will take time. But by using education, a proper disciplinary process and leadership from Keir Starmer, progress is being made.”

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

In a Channel 4 News interview broadcast on 15th February, Sir Keir Starmer declined to express remorse for serving alongside and backing the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn, and said that whether Mr Corbyn returned to the Parliamentary Labour Party, from which he is currently suspended, is “a matter for him and the Chief Whip”.

In comments that are unlikely to satisfy those who question how Sir Keir could have served in Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet through the years of the Labour Party’s antisemitism crisis, only to begin to speak out against it when he ran for leader of the Party, Sir Keir nevertheless did go on speculate that Mr Corbyn is unlikely to be a Labour candidate in the next General Election.

Asked by presenter Cathy Newman, “Do you regret serving alongside Jeremy Corbyn?” Sir Keir responded: “No. I think it’s very important for people to make the arguments wherever they can, and that gave me the ability to make the argument about NATO in the Shadow Cabinet.”

Ms Newman pressed the Labour leader, asking: “Would you and are you looking to deselect Jeremy Corbyn now so that he can’t stand again as a Labour MP?”

Sir Keir replied: “Well Jeremy Corbyn’s position at the moment is that he’s not got the Labour whip for reasons that everybody understands in relation to his response to the antisemitism report. That remains the situation, and will remain the situation until something’s done about it.”

Ms Newman further asked: “But are you going to show leadership on this and deselect him?” Sir Keir responded, “Well look, the whip has been removed from Jeremy and that’s the same position it’s been for…” but was interrupted by the presented, who observed: “But that’s different from deselecting him for the next election.” Sir Keir reiterated: “Well, he’s not a Labour MPa t the moment.”

Finally, Ms Newman asked: “Can you see any scenario that he will stand under the Labour banner at the next election?”

He replied: Well, at the moment he’s not a Labour MP and so I don’t see how that’s possible, but you know that’s a matter for him and the Chief Whip, but, you know, we’ve been in this position for over a year now.”

Meanwhile, Labour has reportedly dropped an investigation into Diana Neslen, a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour. Ms Neslen apparently threatened to sue the Labour Party for discrimination based on her anti-Zionist beliefs and her position, expressed in a 2017 tweet that was reportedly the subject of Labour’s investigation, that the Jewish state is a “racist endeavour”. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” is an example of antisemitism.

This matter was also the cause of one of the BBC’s numerous recent controversies in relation to antisemitism, as the broadcaster invited Ms Neslen to a panel to discuss whether anti-Zionism should be a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, only to invite someone else instead, record the segment but then not air it after pressure from an outraged Jewish community.

In the past, Ms Neslen has reportedly denied that the Jewish former Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Dame Louise Ellman were “hounded out” of the party under Mr Corbyn, and has apparently posted: “Zionism is not Judaism. It is blasphemy.”

Also in the past week, Mr Corbyn withdrew from what news reports described as a “Hamas-linked rally”.

Joe Gasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This interview is revealing. Once again, Sir Keir Starmer has not apologised for standing by Jeremy Corbyn through the years of Labour’s antisemitism crisis, and he has declined to show leadership by actively deselecting the former leader, relying instead on Mr Corbyn being automatically replaced by virtue of his ongoing suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party. Even with regard to the future of that suspension, Sir Keir avoided taking responsibility, asserting that it was not a matter for him but for the Chief Whip. The only bright spot was that he could not foresee Mr Corbyn having the endorsement of the Labour Party in the next General Election.

“This is illustrative of how Sir Keir is addressing antisemitism in the Labour Party: passively letting things happen in the hope that the antisemites will go away without showing real leadership by calling out racism against Jews for what it is and actively expelling it. This is about pushing the problem away rather than seeking justice; it is pragmatism over principle.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

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.

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

The Labour Party in Brighton has stoked controversy by readmitting a councillor suspended in connection with allegations of antisemitism.

Cllr Anne Pissaridou was suspended from Labour in 2020, reportedly in connection with antisemitism allegations, and a Facebook post in particular.

At the time, she said: “I am deeply sorry for my actions and any distress I have caused to the Jewish community. This happened several years ago, before I was a councillor, and the posts I shared do not reflect my views. I do not seek to excuse my mistake. I deeply regret not properly reading information before sharing such hurtful links. I am aware of the complaint that has been made to the Labour Party and will fully co-operate with any investigation.” 

In 2021, when her suspension was due to end, her colleagues wrote to the Council’s Chief Executive to exclude her from their faction. They have now reversed themselves, however, welcoming her reinstatement.

In a statement, Brighton and Hove Labour Group of Councillors said: “The Brighton and Hove Labour Group of Councillors have decided to readmit Cllr Pissaridou into the Labour Group after a period of exclusion. The Labour Group have made this decision as they feel Cllr Pissaridou has made conscious and sustained efforts to educate herself on issues around antisemitism and antisemitic tropes. She has also begun rebuilding trust with members of the local Jewish community and has apologised wholeheartedly for her actions that led to her initial suspension from the Labour Party.

“The Labour Group are clear that whilst we welcome the rehabilitative steps Cllr Pissaridou has taken, there is an ongoing learning journey we must all continuously take to improve our efforts to be proactive anti-racists and ever vigilant in the face of antisemitism. The Brighton & Hove Labour Group are clear that there is no room for antisemitism or any other form of racism in our party, on our council, or in our city. That’s why we pledged to become an anti-racist Council, and we remain committed to delivering on that promise.”

The about-turn has been met with fury by local activists.

Meanwhile in Dudley, action is yet to be taken against Cllr Zafar Islam despite a complaint reportedly having been made against him months ago.

The complaint by Labour Against Antisemitism, submitted in September 2021, details Cllr Islam’s social media activity, where he claims a “witch-hunt” has taken place against Labour politicians critical of Israel, among other inflammatory remarks. The activist group reportedly has yet to hear if any action has been taken in connection with the complaint.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “If Jackie Walker, Marc Wadsworth and Chris Williamson have no place in the Labour Party, then surely those like Cllr Zafar Islam who appear to have defended them and persistently complain about how Labour antisemitism allegations are pushed by a ‘Lobby’ must be investigated and sanctioned. Yet it remains unknown if the Party has taken any action against Cllr Islam at all, despite a complaint having been made months ago. Sir Keir Starmer claims that he has ‘shut the door’ on antisemitism, but with cases like these it looks more like the Party is shutting the door on campaigners who want transparency and action.”

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.

The Green Party has reportedly rejected a bid by the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to join the Party.

Mr Livingstone, 76, quit the Labour Party after being suspended over comments that he made about Hitler supporting Zionism.

The former mayor has an exceptionally poor record on antisemitism and relations with the Jewish community, which predated his terms as mayor and has endured since. Among many other entries, that record includes welcoming, during his first term as mayor, a radical, antisemitic cleric to City Hall, and during his second term comparing a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard, a comment that got him briefly suspended as mayor before the suspension was overturned.

More recently, Mr Livingstone contended that Adolf Hitler “was supporting Zionism”, an assertion that prompted 107 MPs to sign a statement describing his words as “insidious racism” and eventually led to his resignation from the Labour Party.

Indeed, Mr Livingstone is infamous in the Jewish community for inspiring the so-called ‘Livingstone Formulation’, by which Jews who cite evidence of antisemitism are accused of lying, conspiring or having deceitful motives in doing so.

Mr Livingstone recently said: “I genuinely think we’re heading toward extinction before the end of the century because no government anywhere is doing enough to tackle the impact of climate change. At Cop26 they all said the right things but…you’ve got to get people to completely change the way we live and no government around the world seems to have the courage to do that.”

He claimed that he made contact with the Green Party in the past about joining, but that “they never got back to me.” He suspected that they “thought that if they brought me in they’d be accused of being antisemitic.”

It is understood that membership applications from high-profile political defectors are reviewed by a Green Party regional council for consultation.

Asked about the apparent rejection of Mr Livingstone’s membership bid, a spokesperson for the Green Party said: “The Green Party does not comment on individual applications for membership. We reserve the right to exclude people from membership where necessary, in line with the party’s principles and values.”

Separately, it has been reported that the Greens have dropped their inflammatory former Deputy Leader, Shahrar Ali, as the Party’s Spokesperson for Policing and Domestic Safety, apparently for “for breaches of the Speakers’ Code of Conduct”. Dr Ali, who remains a member of the Party, has longed faced criticism from Party activists over his alleged views on trans rights, and there is speculation that this may be the reason for his ouster. It is notable that he has also faced criticism over his stances on antisemitism and yet this has apparently played no role in the pressure that he has faced.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

Our Antisemitism Barometer survey of British Jews in 2020 found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%), while our 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.

Laura Pidcock, the former Labour MP, has resigned from the Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee after a motion calling for the restoration of the whip to the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn failed to pass.

Ms Pidcock, a staunch ally of Mr Corbyn’s who sat on his front bench, previously voted last year against the NEC’s proscription of the antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt, and later challenged the practice of expelling Party members based on apparent involvement with the group.

The motion to restore the whip to Mr Corbyn – which, even if passed, would not have effected a restoration in itself – was defeated by 23 votes to fourteen, with one abstention. The margin reflects the divide on the NEC between pro-Corbyn elements and those less sympathetic to the former leader.

Mr Corbyn reacted to the vote by tweeting: “Today’s NEC vote and Keir Starmer’s ongoing decision to bar me from sitting as a Labour MP is disappointing. I am grateful for and humbled by the support I’ve received, especially from my Islington North constituents. The struggle for peace, justice and sustainability goes on.”

In her resignation statement, Ms Pidcock said that “I am resigning because of what I see as an irreconcilable difference between the actions of the Labour Party as it stands and the principles that underpin the way I have been taught to treat people and my idea of what a political organisation should be for.” She described Sir Keir Starmer’s tenure as leader so far as leading to “a barrage of top-down changes which is making it hostile territory for socialists, from those of us on the NEC, to those in CLPs [Constituency Labour Parties] across the country.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We welcome the NEC’s decision not to call for a restoration of the whip to the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn. The next step for the Party is to investigate our complaints against him and expel him from the Labour Party, to which he was disgracefully readmitted after an embarrassingly short suspension. The NEC vote reflects a Party that remains divided over what kind of party it wishes to be. It is yet further evidence that the fight to make Labour a safe place for Jews still has a long way to go.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Mr Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

The Labour Party was found by the 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.

The controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has declared his intention to apply to join the Green Party.

Mr Livingstone quit the Labour Party after being suspended over comments that he made about Hitler supporting Zionism.

The former mayor has an exceptionally poor record on antisemitism and relations with the Jewish community, which predated his terms as mayor and has endured since. Among many other entries, that record includes welcoming, during his first term as mayor, a radical, antisemitic cleric to City Hall, and during his second term comparing a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard, a comment that got him briefly suspended as mayor before the suspension was overturned.

More recently, Mr Livingstone contended that Adolf Hitler “was supporting Zionism”, an assertion that prompted 107 MPs to sign a statement describing his words as “insidious racism” and eventually led to his resignation from the Labour Party.

Indeed, Mr Livingstone is infamous in the Jewish community for inspiring the so-called ‘Livingstone Formulation’, by which Jews who cite evidence of antisemitism are accused of lying, conspiring or having deceitful motives in doing so.

Last week, Mr Livingstone said: “I genuinely think we’re heading toward extinction before the end of the century because no government anywhere is doing enough to tackle the impact of climate change. At Cop26 they all said the right things but…you’ve got to get people to completely change the way we live and no government around the world seems to have the courage to do that.”

Mr Livingstone has claimed that he made contact with the Green Party in the past about joining, but that “they never got back to me.” He suspected that they “thought that if they brought me in they’d be accused of being antisemitic.”

A member of the London Assembly, Zack Polanski, said: “The rules are very clear that there’s no space in the party for antisemitism, transphobia, racism, sexism or any other form of discrimination and while it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on any individual application, I’d expect any new member – whoever they are – to follow our code of conduct.”

It is understood that membership applications from high-profile political defectors are reviewed by a Green Party regional council for consultation.

A spokesperson for the Green Party said: “We welcome everybody who shares our political aims and values to join the Green party.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.

Our Antisemitism Barometer survey of British Jews in 2020 found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%), while our 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.

Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, is reportedly considering launching a new political party.

Mr Corbyn is apparently being urged by his allies to register his organisation, the Peace and Justice Project, as a political party. Mr Corbyn set up the Project following his suspension from the Labour Party in order to coordinate his activism.

However, Mr Corbyn has also recently observed that he could stand as an independent at the next election. He reportedly said: “Let’s not go into too much speculation about this…my wish is to stand as a Labour candidate…I do feel I’ve been very badly treated, but let’s take it one step at a time.”

Although Mr Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party, he was rapidly and disgracefully readmitted. However, the whip has not been restored to him, so he is in the absurd position of being a member of the Labour Party who sits as an independent MP.

Now, Nadia Jama and Ian Murray, both allies of Mr Corbyn on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), have submitted a motion to the NEC calling for the whip to be restored to the former leader. Even if successful, the motion cannot require the whip to be restored to Mr Corbyn.

Late last year, Ms Jama seconded a motion challenging the practice of expelling Party members based on apparent involvement with groups that were proscribed after the time of alleged involvement, and earlier last year Ms Jama voted against the proscription of Labour Against the Witchhunt by the NEC.

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.

Four Labour Party MPs – Grahame Morris, Nadia Whittome, John McDonnell and Lucy Powell – are now under pressure in relation to antisemitism.

The Mail on Sunday revealed that the Labour MP Grahame Morris is the director of the controversial “Palestine Deep Dive” company. Research by Labour Against Antisemitism uncovered Mr Morris’ association with the company, of which he is the founding director. The MP reportedly admitted being a director of the purportedly educational organisation and that he had failed to declare this directorship to Parliament.

The company’s website has previously published an article claiming that “Israel’s racism” has “let loose the pogroms so reminiscent of Czarist times and Kristallnacht in Germany, 1938.” According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

The website has also attacked BBC’s Panorama for contributing to a “smear campaign” against Labour, due to its investigation into antisemitism in the Party. The website reportedly apologised for this latter article by the controversial musician and activist, Roger Waters, last month. Mr Waters has made other outrageous claims on the website as well.

The website has interviewed the activist and comedian, Alexei Sayle, who has claimed that allegations of antisemitism “amongst supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are a complete fabrication.” Palestine Deep Dive has also reportedly platformed the controversial figure Tariq Ali, who has previously tried to link Israel to the racist killing of George Floyd – a trope for which Rebecca Long Bailey was fired from the Shadow Cabinet – among other inflammatory claims.

Grahame Morris is believed to be the only sitting MP in the entire House of Commons not to have endorsed the International Definition of Antisemitism. In 2012, he himself apparently tweeted: “World’s richest Jacob Rothschild, John Paulson & George Soros Are All Betting That Financial Disaster is Coming.”

Mr Morris reportedly said that, although he is a director of the company, he has “no involvement in the editorial decisions” of the website, and he issued an apology for failing to register his directorship with the House of Commons.

A spokesperson for the company reportedly said that the website “has not knowingly published material that may be considered antisemitic, nor has it been challenged as such. If this would ever be the case, it would be removed.”

Meanwhile, former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP and fellow Socialist Campaign Group member Nadia Whittome MP both reportedly shared a platform with expelled Labour member and outspoken filmmaker Ken Loach. Sir Keir Starmer pledged during his leadership campaign that any Labour member who shares a platform with a member expelled in relation to antisemitism would be disciplined, but he has consistently failed to fulfil this promise.

Reports have also emerged that Lucy Powell MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has been campaigning with Cllr. Majid Dar, a Labour councillor in Manchester who was suspended following allegations of antisemitism. Cllr Dar’s sister, Yasmine Dar, is an ally of Jeremy Corbyn and served as the head of Labour’s disputes panel. She is infamous for claiming that the Party did not have a problem of institutional antisemitism even as her brother was suspended over antisemitism allegations.

Scandals relating to antisemitism continue to rock the Labour Party at other levels as well. For example, a Labour councillor in West Lancashire, Ron Cooper, has tweeted: “If Corbyn was Labour Leader again then hundreds of thousands of members would rejoin the Party. @Keir_Starmer Stands for nothing #Purge of socialists and following commands from Israel.” Cllr. Cooper was swiftly suspended from the Party pending an investigation, and currently sits as an independent councillor, the whip having been withdrawn.

There are also unverified reports that Maureen Madden, the Chair of the North Tyneside Constituency Labour Party, has been expelled from the Labour Party. She has reportedly shared Rothschild conspiracy theories in the past.

Furthermore, Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, has tweeted in response to verified reports of Chinese espionage in Parliament: “Chinese interference in Parliament is unacceptsble [sic] and the security services were correct to draw attention to it. When are they going to turn their attention to the widespread Israeli Parliamentary interference #LFI #CFI #LDFI.” Claims that the Jewish state or lobbyists on its behalf wield excessive power in foreign nations is a common trope.

Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Sir Keir Starmer’s failure to fulfil his pledge to discipline MPs and others who share platforms with expelled members continues to haunt him. He tells non-Jewish audiences that he has closed the door on antisemitism in his Party – while whispering to Jewish audiences that there is still more to do – but his own MPs and officeholders continue to push the door wide open. With the new disciplinary system yet to be tested, Labour cannot be said to have gotten to grip with its scandal of institutional racism against Jews.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

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.

The Leader of Scottish Labour is under pressure to discipline one of his MSPs who called for the Labour Party whip to be returned to the antisemitic former leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

North East Scotland MSP Mercedes Villalba tweeted last week: “Jeremy Corbyn is a Labour Party member and should have the whip restored to him immediately.”

Mr Corbyn was suspended by the Labour Party but shambolically readmitted, but the whip was not restored to him, leaving him in the absurd position of being a member of the Labour Party but an independent MP.

Ms Mercedes has previously spoken out in the support of the disgraced former leader.

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour Leader, tried to distance himself from the Ms Villalba’s remarks but fell short of disciplining her. Asked if Mr Corbyn should apologise for his role in the Party’s antisemitism scandal, Mr Sarwar said: “Yes, I think that’s the least that anyone who has caused pain or hurt should do in that situation. The reality is that that is an internal disciplinary process and we have got to reflect on the impact that the antisemitism row – it was more than a row – had on communities across the country. I have been spending a lot of time speaking to the Jewish community here in Scotland and I have heard directly about the pain and the anguish that that whole episode caused and I am working to rebuild our relationship with all our communities across Scotland, including the Jewish community.

“As someone who has campaigned on Islamophobia and antisemitism and other forms of prejudice and hate, I know we can’t afford to be complacent. I would much prefer that those responsible for the pain apologised directly, reflected on their position. But I want us to focus on the future, not the past. I am not interested in past leaders or past problems or past issues. I am interested in the future and I expect every Labour MP, MSP and councillor to be focused on the future as well.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Jeremy Corbyn’s absurd status as a Labour member who sits as an independent MP, when in fact he should not be in the Party at all, has left Labour and the public in confusion over Labour\s position on racism against Jews. If Anas Sarwar is serious when he says that the Party cannot be complacent in fighting antisemitism, then he must discipline Mercedes Villalba MSP for supporting the restoration of the whip to Mr Corbyn. Scottish Labour must decide whether it is a party of people who support the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn or not.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Mr Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs.

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.

The Prime Minister has called for “swift” action by the BBC over its biased coverage of antisemitic Oxford Street incident.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister confirmed that Boris Johnson agrees with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries’ letter to BBC Director General Tim Davie urging the BBC urgently to get a grip on the issue.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, the spokesperson said that the Prime Minister “agrees with the Culture Secretary that the BBC should move forward swiftly to set out what action they plan to take. We look forward to that happening in good time.”

Ms Dorries wrote to Mr Davie explaining that the BBC’s outrageous coverage of the Oxford Street incident was “not only distressing for those involved but also the wider Jewish community.” Although she has no control over the BBC’s editorial decisions, she expressed dismay that the row had been allowed to “drag on for so long” and urged the BBC to “resolve the issue” as quickly as possible, otherwise Ofcom, the broadcaster regulator, should intervene.

Her intervention comes after Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to Ms Dorries and the BBC over the Corporation’s coverage of the antisemitic incident on Oxford Street, in which the BBC baselessly defamed the Jewish victims and suggested that they may have brought the attack upon themselves. The coverage prompted condemnation from Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups, a rally outside Broadcasting House held by Campaign Against Antisemitism and attended by hundreds, and the resignation of a rabbi and long-time BBC broadcaster.

Ms Dorries wrote: “Whilst it would obviously be inappropriate for the Government to take a view on the details of the case, as the BBC is editorially and operationally independent, and responsibility for regulation sits with Ofcom, I would like to understand the actions the BBC has taken so far in response to the concerns raised by the Board of Deputies and how you intend to resolve the issue in a suitably timely manner.  You will know my concerns about the speed of the process which I asked officials to communicate to the BBC.

“It is crucial that the BBC can be properly held to account for the fulfilment of its Mission and Public Purposes as set out in the Charter, including through a fair and effective complaints process.  I expect the mid-term Charter to consider whether this is currently the case.”

The interventions come as the BBC has become embroiled in multiple other controversies relating to antisemitism. First, BBC Radio 4 was forced to pull a debate on whether anti-Zionism should be a protected characteristic, which was due to feature a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour.

Meanwhile, on its website, the BBC reported that a Labour Party councillor had been “suspended from the party over an offensive tweet about leader Keir Starmer” but studiously avoided mentioning that the tweet in question claimed that Sir Keir was following “commands from Israel”. After outrage, the BBC article was updated to incorporate the inflammatory language.

Then, yesterday, a presenter claimed on BBC 5 Live Breakfast that there is “absolutely no evidence” that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic, and belittled antisemitism in the Labour Party as mere “allegation”. Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to the BBC on this issue.

These are just the latest scandals relating to antisemitism in which the BBC has become embroiled in just the past few weeks, and follow years of eroding confidence in the BBC on the part of the Jewish community.

Our Antisemitism Barometer last year revealed that two thirds of British Jews are deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints.

The BBC’s coverage of the Oxford Street incident and our rally, which was endorsed by former BBC Chairman Lord Grade and actress Dame Maureen Lipman, has been discussed on previous episodes of our weekly podcast, Podcast Against Antisemitism. Episodes are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be writing to the BBC after a presenter claimed on BBC 5 Live Breakfast this morning that there is “absolutely no evidence” that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic.

Rachel Burden said towards the end of the programme, referring to her interview earlier with the businessman John Caudwell, who described the former Labour Party leader as “a Marxist and antisemite”, that she redirected him back to the topic under discussion but “I should have challenged him on the particular allegation of antisemite [sic] because there is absolutely no evidence that the leader of the Labour Party at that time, Jeremy Corbyn, was or is antisemitic. He had to deal with allegations of that within his party but there is nothing to suggest that he himself as an individual was. So I apologise for not challenging more directly, I should have done, and I want to emphasise there is no evidence for that at all.”

It would be understandable for Ms Burden to say that Mr Corbyn would dispute the characterisation, but it is unacceptable for her to editorialise and dismiss publicly-available evidence that has been reported in the national media for years.

Over two years ago, for example, Campaign Against Antisemitism published data, using a peer-reviewed research method, showing that Mr Corbyn was personally responsible for 24 incidents relating to antisemitism, which was equal to fifteen percent of all recorded incidents involving parliamentary candidates and party leaders in the lead-up to the 2019 General Election. That meant that, if Jeremy Corbyn were a political party, the ‘Jeremy Corbyn party’ would be responsible for almost four times more incidents than all the other major parties combined.

For Ms Burden to dismiss this evidence without basis represents both offence and inaccuracy under the BBC’s code.

Moreover, it is remarkable that Ms Burden would refer to the antisemitism in the Labour Party as mere “allegation” even though the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported that the allegations of racism against Jews in the Party were not only made out but were so bad as to have broken the law. Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant in the EHRC’s investigation.

The BBC is currently mired in scandal in connection with having referred to evident antisemitism in an antisemitic incident on Oxford Street also as mere “allegation”. The Culture Secretary has written to the Director General of the BBC over its coverage of the incident and the ensuing controversy, which remains live. Ms Dorries’ intervention came after Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to her and the BBC over the Corporation’s coverage, in which the BBC also baselessly defamed the Jewish victims and suggested that they may have brought the attack upon themselves. The coverage prompted condemnation from Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups, a rally outside Broadcasting House held by Campaign Against Antisemitism and attended by hundreds, and the resignation of a rabbi and long-time BBC broadcaster.

Just in the past week, the BBC has also become embroiled in two further controversies relating to antisemitism. In one case, BBC Radio 4 was forced to pull a debate on whether anti-Zionism should be a protected characteristic, which was due to feature a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour.

Meanwhile, on its website, the BBC reported that a Labour Party councillor had been “suspended from the party over an offensive tweet about leader Keir Starmer” but studiously avoided mentioning that the tweet in question claimed that Sir Keir was following “commands from Israel”. After outrage, the BBC article was updated to incorporate the inflammatory language.

These are just the latest scandals relating to antisemitism in which the BBC has become embroiled in just the past few weeks, and follow years of eroding confidence in the BBC on the part of the Jewish community.

Our Antisemitism Barometer last year revealed that two thirds of British Jews are deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints.

The BBC’s coverage of the Oxford Street incident and our rally, which was endorsed by former BBC Chairman Lord Grade and actress Dame Maureen Lipman, has been discussed on previous episodes of our weekly podcast, Podcast Against Antisemitism. Episodes are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Over two years ago, we published data, using a peer-reviewed research method, showing that Jeremy Corbyn was personally responsible for 24 incidents relating to antisemitism. For Rachel Burden to editorialise and dismiss this evidence without basis represents both offence and inaccuracy under the BBC’s code. Moreover, it is obscene for her to belittle Labour’s antisemitism as mere ‘allegation’, even though the EHRC, following an investigation in which we were the complainant, found those allegations to be made out to such an extent that the Party was deemed to have broken the law. This is not the first time in the past few weeks that the BBC has reduced evident antisemitism to mere ‘allegation’, as it has done with the Oxford Street incident. As these controversies relating to antisemitism and the BBC grow in number, it is no wonder that the Jewish community has lost confidence in our public broadcaster.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

The controversial columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has once again overstepped the line, arguing in an article that “any criticism of the state [of Israel] is deemed antisemitic by apologists and diehard allies, and suggesting that this is motivating a “purge” of Labour Party members.

In the article titled “The UN is warning of spiralling violence, yet the West has forgotten the Palestinians” for the i newspaper, Ms Alibhai-Brown also wrote that “a report from Jewish Voice for Labour accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of purging Jewish members who call Israel to account.”

This is a fine example of the ‘Livingstone Formulation’, by which allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.

This is not Ms Alibhai-Brown’s first offence of this nature. Last year, she replied to journalist Stephen Bush’s reaction to being appointed to lead a Jewish charity’s review of racial inclusivity in the Jewish community by tweeting:“maybe ask them about the Palestinians.” The review was concerned with British Jews and was unrelated to Israel, a distinction that Ms Alibhai-Brown is apparently incapable of apprehending.

Previously Ms Alibhai-Brown also expressed her opposition to the Labour Party’s adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitismdescribing the fringe minority of Jewish individuals who agreed with her as “good Jews”.

Newspapers and television broadcasters who host Ms Alibhai-Brown must think again before giving a platform to someone who takes such positions.

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 monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

Tony Greenstein has been removed as a trustee of The Brighton Trust, formerly known as the “Trust 4 Unpopular Causes”, by the Charity Commission after being declared legally bankrupt in July following his failed defamation claim against Campaign Against Antisemitism earlier this year.

Mr Greenstein had been ordered by judges to pay Campaign Against Antisemitism £81,854 over a libel claim brought by Mr Greenstein after we called him a “notorious antisemite”. In an example of litigation humiliatingly backfiring, the High Court struck out Mr Greenstein’s libel claim against us, ruling that it was permissible for us to call the co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and expelled Labour Party member a “notorious antisemite” in articles on our website. Mr Greenstein then brought an appeal against aspects of the High Court ruling, which he also lost earlier this month.

Following an Insolvency and Companies Court hearing on 14th July that lasted only a quarter of an hour, Judge Catherine Burton, noting that Mr Greenstein has been properly served and failed to attend or make representations, concluded proceedings by saying: “I make a bankruptcy order this day against Tony Greenstein at 10:46am.”

Consequently, Mr Greenstein met the criteria for automatic disqualification as a charity trustee. We wrote to the Charity Commission to notify them of the bankruptcy order and that he must therefore cease to be a trustee of The Brighton Trust.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Today, the Charity Commission removed Tony Greenstein as a trustee of a charity that purports to challenge racist discrimination but has given grants to causes associated with antisemitism denial during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, including the Chris Williamson Left Legal Fund, The Electronic Intifada and Labour Against the Witchhunt, amongst others. Mr Greenstein’s removal as a trustee will hopefully prove beneficial to the charity.”