Labour is in danger of destroying itself due to the reaction of a past leader over anti-Semitism.
Let me start this by saying that I do not think that Jeremy Corbyn is anti-Semitic. In the past, he organised a demonstration against a 1970s National Front march through Wood Green; spoke on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street and has signed numerous Early Day Motions condemning antisemitism. In addition to this, in 1987, he campaigned to reverse Islington Council's decision to grant the planning application to destroy a Jewish cemetery, and in 2010, he called on the UK government to facilitate the settlement of Yemeni Jews in Britain. He also took part in a ceremony in his Islington constituency to commemorate the original site of the North London Synagogue and visited the Theresienstadt Ghetto, calling it a reminder of the dangers of far-right politics, antisemitism and racism.
But, like many throughout all wings of the party, he has been linked to those who hold anti-Semitic views. Unlike the others though, he has been held up to greater scrutiny, and example being how up to 2013, Jeremy Corbyn and Jewish Labour MP Gerald Kaufman attended "two or three" of the annual events of a group linked to holocaust denial. A huge example of this is a novel by our current Prime Minister which included anti-Semitic characterisations, interspersed with many other parts viewed by many as racist. It is right that Labour, under his charge, has been investigated for prejudice, but it is frustrating that the Conservatives have in essence got away with Islamophobia.
The difference is that under Corbyn, Jewish MP’s have been hounded out of the party by those using racist slurs. Under Corbyn, those who claimed to support him have harassed those of Jewish descent. And Labour, under Corbyn, did not bring in the findings of the Chakrabarti Inquiry, a report it commissioned itself!
While Jeremy Corbyn was in charge, there was an exaggerated perception that Labour was anti-Semitic, this not just being amongst those of Jewish heritage, but also among anti-Semites. Nick Griffin, the former leader of the far right BNP thought that Jeremy Corbyn was going to act against Jews and tweeted in support of his perception of him on this matter. Emily Thornberry was approached by anti-Semites during the time Jeremy Corbyn was in charge to offer support and she would make it clear that such views were not acceptable.
I had been suspended by Twitter. I felt that this was wrong, but someone independent looked at my tweet and felt it did breach the terms and conditions of the site. So I accepted the findings and deleted the offending tweet. Labour has been subject to a report from the EHRC, a neutral body and it is important for Corbyn to accept to the findings. There are ways of hinting at disagreement with the findings without expressly saying so.
The facts are simple. Jewish MP’s were hounded out from the party using anti-Semitic language and the party did not implement the findings of the inquiry into anti-Semitism which it had commissioned itself.
I do not think that Corbyn is anti-Semitic, but he has been failed by supporters who did not follow his desire for Kinder Gentler Politics. If they had followed that mantra, this could all have been avoided.
