Labour’s antisemitism failure means it cannot be a credible critic of Israel
The news cycle has been rife with stories about the Labour party and antisemitism in the past few weeks. Much of the debate hinges on the point at which criticism of Israel moves into the territory of antisemitism. It’s clear that the Labour party leadership and the leadership of the Jewish community do not agree on where that line is drawn.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism is the closest thing that exists to a universally recognised definition. Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) chose to adopt the IHRA definition in part and create its own code of conduct on antisemitism. Much has been written about the exclusion of some examples listed in IHRA, but the key argument for not adopting them is that it might prevent criticisism of the state of Israel and its current and past policies.
The NEC’s altered definition has not been well received by members of the Jewish community at large, who have asked the party multiple times, and in multiple ways, to accept the IHRA definition in full. The Jewish community rightly feels that the Macpherson principle that victims of racism should have the right to define what they perceive to be racist, seems not to apply to Jews and antisemitism in the Labour party.
Given that the NEC appears to be rethinking its decision, it is important to examine the implications of adopting the IHRA definition in full and how it can form the basis of a robust code that gives confidence to the Jewish community and allows criticism of the Israeli government. The recent passing of Israel’s highly contentious “nation state” law is an example of a policy that deserves critique.
In reality, the NEC’s decision not to adopt the IHRA definition in full has created a scenario where no matter what rationale is given for the decision, trust is so rock-bottom that mainstream Jewry believes that it is an attempt to whitewash many of the examples of antisemitism that have come to the surface. And without a real resolution of the issue, Jews will continue to feel unsafe and unwelcome.
But it also means that there is almost zero chance of the Labour party ever being able to make any kind of meaningful contribution to influencing the direction of political travel inside Israel, which is, ironically, apparently the issue that people were so concerned about in relation to adopting the IHRA definition. Because why would a country, of which most of its Jewish population (which makes up about 80% of the total population) are either refugees themselves, or second or third-generation refugees as a result of antisemitism in its most extreme form, listen to a political party perceived not to take antisemitism – in all its forms – seriously?
If you are the survivor, or the child or grandchild of a survivor of a Nazi death camp, you’re highly unlikely to listen to someone comparing any aspect of the conflict in Israel-Palestine to the mass extermination of 6 million Jews. According to the newly adopted Labour party code of conduct, you would have to prove that the person making a statement of this nature has antisemitic intent. Short of the disciplinary committee finding a way to read people’s minds, it is almost impossible to do this. And that means a member of the Labour party who calls a Nazi anyone who has a relationship or affinity with Israel – which, according to research, would be most of the Jewish community – can walk away with their anti-racist credentials intact. No one is asking for the IHRA definition and examples to stand alone, but to be the basis of the party’s code of conduct.
Imagine if the British government was the Labour party in its current form, unable to resolve an antisemitism crisis, and it wanted to criticise Israel’s decision to adopt the “nation state” law. The law has been heavily criticised within Israel and beyond, including by both of us. The British Jewish organisation, Yachad, encouraged its supporters to “speak up in opposition to this racist bill which turns minorities in Israel into second-class citizens” and Alex Sobel, alongside parliamentary colleague Wes Streeting MP, tabled an early day motion calling for the British government to urge the Israeli government to repeal this law. You can be sure that there would be literally no point
in a Labour government uttering an iota of criticism because there was no chance that anyone would pay attention.
It is not criticism of Israel that the IHRA definition prevents. It is not even criticism of way in which the state of Israel was founded that the IHRA prevents. It is comparisons to Nazis, telling Jews that the idea of a Jewish state is in and of itself racist, and accusing Jews of having dual loyalties, that it prevents. And when those in Labour who are trying to tackle the issue are told that antisemitism doesn’t exist, or in some cases subjected to abuse, what further proof is needed that there is a very real problem that requires a widely accepted code of conduct to deal with it?
• Hannah Weisfeld is director of Yachad, an organisation building support for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Alex Sobel is Labour Co-operative MP for Leeds North West and vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism