Jewish leaders urge Corbyn to renounce extremists
Board of Deputies warns Labour front-runner he must address concerns about links to anti-Semites
JEREMY CORBYN must publicly reject Hamas and Hizbollah to win back trust in the Jewish community angered by his “very hostile” views on Israel, according to the head of a body that represents British Jews.
Jonathan Arkush, the president of the Board of Deputies, said Mr Corbyn’s links to Holocaust deniers and antiSemites had caused “very deep concerns” that must be addressed.
He told The Daily Telegraph that the Labour leadership front-runner would not be taken seriously unless he started giving “straight answers to straight questions” on his links to extremists.
Mr Arkush also said he would demand an immediate meeting with Mr Corbyn if he wins the leadership to seek reassurances over his stance towards Israel.
The intervention is the first time Mr Arkush has spoken at length about Mr Corbyn. The Islington North MP has had to distance himself from a series of anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers he shared a platform with during his years as an anti-war campaigner.
The figures he has been linked with include Paul Eisen, a Holocaust denier; Raed Salah, who has been accused of “virulent anti-Semitism”, and the Mus- lim extremist Dyab Abou Jahjah. Mr Corbyn also once introduced members of Hamas and Hizbollah as “friends”. He has since said this was “diplomatic language in the context of dialogue”.
“The Jewish community has some very deep concerns about the reported links to a Holocaust denier and antiSemite. Of course his views are very hostile to Israel,” Mr Arkush said.
“But the Jewish community was also very concerned about his seeming partiality towards Hamas and Hizbollah.”
Mr Arkush, a lawyer elected as presi- dent of the Board of Deputies in May, said the concerns over Mr Corbyn’s stance towards Israel were “not at all exaggerated”.
A recent poll in the Jewish Chronicle found that almost seven in 10 British Jews were concerned about the prospect of Mr Corbyn becoming Labour leader.
Asked how Mr Corbyn could win back Jewish communities, Mr Arkush said: “By giving clear, straight answers to straight questions and repudiating any sort of support for or links to antiSemites, racists, terrorists bodies, peo- ple from whom I would expect any serious British UK politicians would want to maintain a great distance.”
Mr Corbyn recently responded to criticism of his links, saying that the Holocaust was “the most disgraceful and vile process of the history of the 20th century”. He added: “The idea that I’m some kind of racist or anti-Semitic person is beyond appalling, disgusting and deeply offensive. I have spent my life opposing racism.”