PALESTINIANS TELL LABOUR: DO NOT ‘GIVE IN’ ON ANTI-SEMITISM

LABOUR must not ‘give in’ and change its definition of anti-Semitism, the Palestinian Authority’s representative in the UK has said.

Manuel Hassassian praised Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘principled stance’ and claimed ‘proIsraeli interest groups in Britain’ are using the row to silence criticism of Israel.

The party has been embroiled in a row over whether Labour should adopt the full definition used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Its leadership has refused to adopt all the examples of anti-Semitism listed with the definition – to the fury of many MPs. Yesterday, Mr Hassassian called on Mr Corbyn not to bow to pressure from his MPs. He wrote on the Palestinian diplomatic website: ‘Labour must stick to its guns in championing Palestinian rights.

‘We are at a key juncture where the Labour Party and all it stands for may be forced to bow to the immense pressures of the elite, the Right-wing and pro-Israeli pressure groups.’ A Labour spokesman declined to comment.