Jewish paper’s scathing verdict as it quizzes Corbyn: Not good enough
JEREMY Corbyn faced more criticism last night after he described protesters who tried to disrupt this week’s rally against anti-Semitism as ‘good people’.
He refused to apologise for attending Hamas marches and defended a Palestinian figure who accused Jews of blood libel.
The Labour leader was speaking in a wideranging interview with Jewish News, which branded his answers ‘Not Good Enough’.
In it, he insisted that Ken Livingstone, who has still not been expelled two years after claiming adolf Hitler was a Zionist, had a ‘right to be heard’.
Mr Corbyn said the question of whether a Labour MP targeted by anti-Semites for attending Monday’s rally should be deselected was ultimately one for the local party. and, in an extraordinary situation for the Leader of the opposition, Mr Corbyn had to declare: ‘I’m not an anti-Semite in any way, never have been, never will be.’ Monday’s rally in Westminster was organised by the board of Deputies and backed by the official Jewish Labour Movement (JLM). a fringe group, Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), organised a counter-demonstration at which they accused the board of ‘playing politics’.
JVL was set up last year by activists including Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, who has accused Israel of ‘exploiting’ the Holocaust to ‘commit crimes against humanity’. Despite this, Mr Corbyn told Jewish News: ‘I’m not a member of that or JLM, but they’re good people, they are in the party because they love and believe in it.’
The Labour leader was then asked about calls for David Lammy to be deselected in Tottenham because he attended the rally against anti-Semitism, he said: ‘It’s up to the local party, but not for that, no.
‘obviously the local parties must decide what they want to do in the future.’ on Mr Livingstone, he replied: ‘That now has to be subject to a probe. Ken will have a right to be heard.’ Mr Corbyn also defended meeting raed Salah, accused of the anti- Semitic offence of blood libel – although he admitted that addressing him as an ‘honoured citizen’ was ‘inappropriate’. Mr Corbyn also complained his views of terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah had been ‘misinterpreted’ after he once called them ‘friends’.
Gideon Falter, chairman of Campaign against anti-Semitism, said JVL was a ‘tiny fringe’. He added last night: ‘Mr Corbyn’s praise for them demonstrates that after three years he still just does not get it.’