Watson: We face ‘eternal shame’

LABOUR’S deputy leader last night attacked Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of the antiSemitism crisis – saying the party faces being lost in a ‘vortex of eternal shame’.

In a strongly-worded intervention, Tom Watson said Labour had to take a ‘long, hard look at ourselves’ if they were to win back the confidence of the Jewish community.

He demanded immediate action to end tensions, including fully adopting an international definition of anti-Semitism which the party’s ruling body has so far resisted.

And he also called for the lifting of disciplinary action against Dame Margaret Hodge and Ian Austin, who have both criticised the party leadership over the issue.

He told the Observer: ‘We have to take a long, hard look at ourselves, stand up for what is right and present the party as fit to lead the nation – or disappear into a vortex of eternal shame and embarrassment.’

Jews believe they have a ‘monopoly on suffering’, attendees at an event chaired by Jeremy Corbyn were told. Slides used at the event in 2010 said Jews are using what they endured at Auschwitz as an excuse to pardon atrocities against the Palestinians.

A talk by Hajo Meyer – a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz who became a passionate antiZionist – repeatedly made the comparison between the Nazi regime and Israeli policy.