Corbyn’s bid to halt anti-Semite outcry blows up in his face
After another calamitous week for Labour...
JEREMY Corbyn’s attempt to address the anti-Semitism crisis engulfing his party backfired last night as he was accused of insulting the Jewish community.
In a bid to defuse the row, Mr Corbyn wrote a newspaper article insisting that those who ‘dish out antiSemitic poison need to understand: you do not do it in my name’.
But he then went on to suggest that Jewish newspapers were guilty of ‘overheated rhetoric’ for claiming that Labour represented an ‘existential threat’ to the community.
The Labour leader also stood by his decision not to adopt the internationally agreed definition of anti-Semitism in full, saying it prevented criticism of Israel. And he appeared to claim it was not offensive to deny the right of Israel to exist, saying that anti-Zionism is not racism.
Some in the Jewish community expressed anger last night that the article was published hours before the start of the Jewish Sabbath, leaving them without proper time to respond.
Others pointed out that the piece, which was meant to be Mr Corbyn’s heartfelt response to the anti-Semitism row, included extracts apparently copied from a another article he wrote in April.
Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, described the Labour leader’s intervention as ‘vague and meaningless’. He added: ‘There is no acknowledgement of his own role in this crisis. He has hypocritically condemned as anti-Semitic behaviour that he himself has been guilty of.
‘He has again preached to Jews that he is right to have rewritten the international definition of anti-Semitism. We remain convinced that under his leadership the once anti-racist Labour has become institutionally anti-Semitic and an existential threat to British Jewry.’
The appearance of Mr Corbyn’s article comes days after the president of the Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, called on him to come out of ‘hiding’ and address the crisis. It also comes a week after Jewish newspapers ran an editorial claiming a Labour government would be an ‘existential threat’ to British Jews.
In his article, Mr Corbyn rejected the suggestion, but acknowledged there was a ‘real problem’ to overcome. He wrote: ‘I do not for one moment accept that a Labour government would represent any kind of threat, let alone an “existential threat”, to Jewish life in Britain, as three Jewish newspapers recently claimed.
‘That is the kind of overheated rhetoric that can surface during emotional political debates. But I do acknowledge there is a real problem that Labour is working to overcome.’
He added: ‘People who dish out antiSemitic poison need to understand: you do not do it in my name.’ The Labour leader also stood by his decision not to adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism in the party’s code of conduct.
But he acknowledged the community should have been consulted more extensively at an earlier stage. He added that it was not racist to be anti-Zionist, which means denying the legitimacy of Israel, saying: ‘In the 1970s some on the Left argued that “Zionism is racism”. That was wrong, but to assert that “anti-Zionism is racism” now is wrong too.’
A Jewish Labour Movement spokesman said: ‘Other than bemoaning a situation of the party’s own making, nothing has changed. There is no trust yet.’
Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, tweeted: ‘So Corbyn’s great move is a piece in The Guardian saying our worries are overheated rhetoric and all would be well if only we could just talk. And not a word of contrition about anything except process. He really is shameless.’
The article appeared hours after Mr Corbyn was forced to cancel a speech on anti-Semitism when a Jewish charity refused to let him use their venue. His office approached the Jewish Museum in London on Thursday, but the Jewish Chronicle said talks broke down due to a misunderstanding.
Meanwhile Dame Margaret Hodge – who has been threatened with suspension for criticising Mr Corbyn over the anti-Semitism storm – suggested she is considering taking the party to court over its investigation into her.
‘He really is shameless’