Caught on film, day Corbyn accused Israel of genocide
... and did he give speech in front of the Hamas flag?
JEREMY Corbyn accused Israel of ‘genocide’ in front of what appears to be a Hamas flag at an anti-Israel rally, it emerged yesterday.
The Labour leader was recorded at the 2014 protest close to the Israeli embassy in Kensington, West London, saying, ‘This is an occupation, this is a genocidal attack on Palestinian people.’
The Israel Advocacy Movement tweeted a link to the footage, captioning it: ‘Jeremy Corbyn stands in front of a Hamas flag at an antiIsrael rally and makes the outrageous claim of an Israeli genocide against Palestinians.’
This appears to be the first known occasion that Mr Corbyn has used the word genocide in relation to Israel’s actions in Palestine. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘Even the casual observer would have to see this as clear evidence as to why Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party will never be able to deal with anti-Semitism – because he himself is an anti-Semite.’
Labour sources said Mr Corbyn was not responsible for flags waved by other people. They added he was discussing the ‘asymmetrical nature’ of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The flag is believed to be that of Hamas, a Palestinian group designated a terrorist organisation by Britain, the European Union, United States, Canada, Australia and numerous other countries.
The latest revelations highlight the depth of the Labour leader’s connections with the militants. He notoriously called the organisation his ‘ friends’ in 2009, something he later said he regretted.
It also emerged yesterday that Mr Corbyn said in 2013 that British ‘Zionists’ have ‘two problems’ including ‘no sense of English irony’.
He made the comments while giving a speech alongside prominent Islamic extremists at a London conference publicised by Hamas’ military wing.
‘His comments are inexcusable’
The Labour leader said: ‘[British Zionists] clearly have two problems. One is they don’t want to study history and, secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don’t understand English irony.’
Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, responded: ‘This shows the reality of what Jeremy Corbyn thinks of Jews, somehow a breed apart from “normal” English people.’
Mr Pollard said he believed the Labour leader ‘used the word “Zionist” to mean Jews’.
Last night Labour MP Luciana Berger called Mr Corbyn’s comments ‘inexcusable’ on Twitter. She added it ‘makes me as a proud British Jew feel unwelcome in my own party. I’ve lived in Britain all my life and I don’t need any lessons in history/ irony’. Anti- racism campaigner Jonathan Sacerdoti, added: ‘The idea that British Jews somehow haven’t absorbed British values is outrageous.
‘To doubt our Britishness because we disagree with your controversial views on Palestine is deeply anti-Semitic.’
Mr Corbyn has come under fire after it emerged he invited Hamas-linked speakers to a meeting in Parliament in 2015. Last week it was also revealed that he met Hamas officials on a 2010 trip to the Middle East.
Mr Corbyn has also been criticised over his appearance at a 2014 wreath-laying ceremony in Tunis near graves of terrorists.
A Labour spokesman said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn has a long and principled record of solidarity with the Palestinian people and engaging with actors in the conflict to support peace and justice in the Middle East.’