Corbyn does meet a Jewish activist – but he’s an anti-gay rights campaigner
JEREMY Corbyn was criticised by Labour’s gay rights campaigners after meeting a hardline anti-LGBT Jewish activist in the Commons.
The Labour leader and his wife Laura Alvarez met Shraga Stern, a campaigner against sex education who took part in the protests outside a school in Birmingham which was teaching children about gay issues.
The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) said it was a shame that Mr Corbyn preferred to listen to extremists rather than mainstream members of the Jewish community. Dan Carden, the shadow international development secretary, was also at the meeting.
In February, Mr Stern attended the protest outside a Birmingham school. He also wrote to Education Secretary Damian Hinds, saying: ‘Many members of the community would choose to leave the United Kingdom for a more hospitable jurisdiction rather than comply with such an obligation to mention homosexuality or gender reassignment in a positive context at school.’
Responding to Mr Corbyn’s meeting, the group LGBT Labour said: ‘When the debate about inclusive education is provoking division and anger, and increased attacks on LGBT+ people, it is disgraceful that the leader of the Labour Party would knowingly engage with someone with these views.’
A Labour spokesman said the encounter was a lunch, not a formal meeting. He said: ‘ The Labour Party has long supported and campaigned for LGBT+ inclusive education in schools, and the achievement of cross party support for legislation this year was a significant step forward in the struggle for LGBT+ equality.’ A JLM spokesman said: ‘Shraga Stern’s views and tactics do not represent the vast bulk of the Jewish community.’