Corbynistas must be driven out of Labour to beat anti-Semitism, says Jewish leader
LABOUR’S next leader must drive out Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters to end its anti-Semitism crisis, a leading member of the Jewish community has urged.
Jonathan Goldstein, chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council, said the ‘problem is not only Corbyn but also Corbynism and Corbynites, and these remain strong in the party’.
His warning yesterday came as defeated Labour MPs blamed the party leadership’s ‘repeated unwillingness to stand up to the stain of anti-Semitism’.
Rebecca Long Bailey and Sir Keir Starmer, two of the frontrunners to replace Mr Corbyn, condemned antiSemitism yesterday after graffiti was sprayed in north London.
Miss Long Bailey tweeted: ‘This is truly horrifying... it is an awful reminder of the rise in anti-Semitism around the world. It must be defeated.’
Writing in The Sunday Times yesterday, Mr Goldstein said Mr Corbyn’s defeat had provided an ‘extraordinary relief’ for the vast majority of British Jews. But he warned Labour had hundreds of thousands of members who joined to support him.
Mr Goldstein added: ‘Large numbers of the influx of far-Left members have been carriers of a particular variant of anti-Semitism deep in their ideological and political approach.’
Mr Goldstein demanded a ‘zerotolerance approach to anti-Jewish racism’ from whoever takes the reins. He also warned against the influence of the Unite union and its leader, Len McCluskey, adding that they must ‘have the will to take on Unite, which has been part of the problem and is unlikely to be part of the solution under
Len McCluskey’. Yesterday, defeated Labour MPs and candidates demanded ‘fundamental change’ at the top of the party in the wake of its devastating election defeat. In a letter to The Observer, 11 ex-MPs called for an ‘unflinching’ review into exactly what led to the party’s worst election defeat in 84 years.
They wrote: ‘We need to be honest about why our outgoing leadership’s reflexive anti-western
‘Anti-western worldview’
worldview was so unpopular and address the reasons.’ The group, which includes former MPs Mary Creagh, Emma Reynolds and Anna Turley, said the party’s defeat stemmed from a ‘focus on nationalisation and uncontrolled spending commitments’ as well as ‘cronyism at the top... and repeated unwillingness to stand up to the stain of anti-Semitism’.
‘Labour needs to be in government – and for that, fundamental change at the top... is required,’ they said. Signatory Paul Williams, the former Stockton South MP, told Sky News Labour was a ‘toxic brand’ in some areas.
Meanwhile, Labour chairman Ian Lavery is reported to be ‘seriously considering’ running for leader. He held his constituency of Wansbeck in Northumberland this month with a majority of just 814, down from 10,435 in 2017.
The ally of Jeremy Corbyn has faced questions about how he received £165,000 from a fund propped up with compensation for sick miners. A spokesman for Mr Lavery said: ‘He has had a tremendous amount of support.’