Corbyn faces inquiry over comments on ‘UK Zionists’
MPS and Jewish groups round on Labour leader as ‘inexcusable’ remarks add fuel to anti-semitism row
JEREMY CORBYN was last night reported to the parliamentary watchdog after he was widely accused of claiming that British Zionists “don’t appear to understand English irony”.
The Labour leader now faces investigation after he provoked outcry among the Jewish community and his own MPS. Helen Grant, the Conservative vice-chairman, has written to Kathryn Stone, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, urging her to investigate whether Mr Corbyn had brought the House of Commons into disrepute.
In her letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph, Ms Grant said the comments had been denounced as “xenophobic and anti-semitic” by campaign groups, and that Mr Corbyn had breached the members’ code of conduct.
It came after footage emerged of Mr Corbyn at an event in London in 2013. Appearing alongside Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian Authority representative in Britain, Mr Corbyn described how a speech given by the envoy had been criticised by Zionists.
He said: “[Mr Hassassian’s words] were dutifully recorded by the thankfully silent Zionists who were in the audience on that occasion and then came up and berated him afterwards for what he’d said. So clearly two problems. One is that 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 either. Manuel does understand English irony and uses it very, very effectively.”
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn claimed he had been referring to a “group of proisrael activists” and had not been singling out Jews, adding that he was “opposed to all forms of anti-semitism”.
However, critics pointed out that his reference to people who had lived in Britain for “a very long time” appeared to be a specific criticism of Jews.
Mr Corbyn was publicly condemned yesterday by more than a dozen Labour MPS. Luciana Berger, the chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, said his remarks were “inexcusable”.
David Lammy said: “[These comments] are wrong and risk offending the 90 per cent of British Jews who identify as Zionists.”
Joan Ryan, the chairman of Labour Friends of Israel, added: “Jeremy Corbyn’s comments were highly offensive.”
Dan Hogan, previously part of Labour’s former Governance and Legal Unit, said that if Mr Corbyn was an ordinary member he “would have been suspended and investigated, and the NEC would nod through the bulging report on his offences”.
Mr Corbyn last night said that his comments were defending the ambassador “in the face of what I thought were deliberate misrepresentations by people for whom English was a first language, when it isn’t for the ambassador”.
He added: “I described those pro-israel activists as Zionists, in the accurate political sense and not as a euphemism for Jewish people – and that is made clear in the rest of my speech that day.
“I am now more careful with how I might use the term ‘Zionist’ because a once self-identifying political term has been increasingly hijacked by anti-semites as code for Jews.”
Footage has surfaced of Jeremy Corbyn at yet another strange conference, except that this time he might be the most controversial person in the video. Referring to “Zionists” who had “berated” another speaker, he said that they didn’t want to study history and “having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives… don’t understand English irony either”. “Zionists”, say Mr Corbyn’s critics, is code for “Jews” – and any suggestion that Jewish Britons might be uneducated or lack a sense of humour has provoked anger and ridicule.
The remarks are delivered, without irony and by a famously humourless man, among some controversial figures who have, on occasion, shown little sensitivity for history. Daud Abdullah led a boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day. The Rev Dr Stephen Sizer once posted on social media a link to an article that said Israel was behind 9/11. We could go on listing names – indeed, there’s a danger that the charge sheet against Mr Corbyn is so long that the public becomes inured to the scandal.
But they mustn’t. Here is the leader of the Opposition suggesting that someone he disagrees with might not be 100 per cent English in character. If a Tory said something similar about a racial minority, they would have the whip taken from them. Labour would call for their head. So where is the Left’s unified outrage at Mr Corbyn?
There is talk of Labour moderates splitting from the party. When? What will it take for this to happen? The gun is now visibly smoking and the voters are waiting for moderate Labour MPS to live up to their reportedly high ethical standards and take some serious action.