Labour fury at Corbyn for defending ‘anti-Semitic’ public mural
JEREMY Corbyn has admitted defending an artist who painted an anti-Semitic mural.
The Labour leader criticised the decision to remove the painting, which depicts a group of ‘hook-nosed’ men around a Monopoly board, from a wall in east London.
When the artist complained on Facebook that it was being painted over, Mr Corbyn replied: ‘Why?’, before going on to condemn previous destruction of controversial political art.
Jewish groups condemned the image, saying it contained ‘vile anti-Semitic tropes’ such as the idea that Jewish people controlled the world.
After Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger demanded a response from Mr Corbyn yesterday, he admitted writing the Facebook post six years ago – and agreed that the mural was anti-Semitic.
A spokesman said: ‘In 2012, Jeremy was responding to concerns about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech. However, the mural was offensive, used anti-Semitic imagery, which has no place in our society, and it is right that it was removed.’ The mural, entitled Freedom For Humanity, was painted in the East End by graffiti artist Kalen Ockerman, known as Mear One, in 2012.
It showed six businessmen and bankers sitting around a Monopoly board counting money. The board is placed upon crouched human figures representing the oppressed masses. Mr Ockerman denies being anti-Semitic, saying it is about ‘class and privilege’ and contains bankers ‘made up of Jewish and white Anglos’.
The mural was removed by Tower Hamlets council after residents complained. Lutfur Rahman, who was mayor, said: ‘The images of the bankers perpetuate anti-Semitic propaganda about conspiratorial Jewish domination of financial and political institutions.’
Labour MP Ian Austin said: ‘This is one of the worst antiSemitic images I have seen. Jeremy would never have defended a racist image of any other group.’
Mr Ockerman told his Facebook followers in October 2012 that it was to be removed.
In a misspelled post, Mr Corbyn said: ‘Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller destroyed Diego Viera’s mural because it includes a picture of Lenin.’ His post referred to the removal in 1934 of a work by Left-wing artist Diego Rivera from New York’s Rockefeller Center.
Jennifer Gerber, of the Labour Friends of Israel, said: ‘It’s repugnant that Mr Corbyn would defend an anti-Semitic mural.’
Mr Corbyn said last night: ‘In 2012 I made a general comment about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech. My comment referred to the destruction of the mural Man At The Crossroads by Diego Rivera on the Rockefeller Center.
‘That is in no way comparable with the mural in the original post. I sincerely regret that I did not look more closely at the image I was commenting on, the contents of which are deeply disturbing and anti-Semitic.
‘I wholeheartedly support its removal. I am opposed to the production of anti-Semitic material of any kind, and the defence of free speech cannot be used as a justification for the promotion of anti-Semitism. That is a view I’ve always held.’
The row comes days after it emerged Mr Corbyn was in Palestine Live, a Facebook group whose posts often criticised Jews and Israel.
‘Class and privilege’