Labour hopeful quits after saying Israel is like victim turned abuser
A LABOUR election candidate who was selected despite comparing Israel to a child abuser yesterday resigned from the race.
Party bosses were accused of a cover-up after it emerged Kate Ramsden had been permitted to stand in the Scottish seat of Gordon as long as she deleted the incriminating blog posts.
In an apparent reference to the Holocaust, the union official reportedly wrote: “To me the Israeli state is like an abused child who becomes an abusive adult. Like many abusers, unable to reflect on their own abuse, and ending up recreating it in the abuse of others, exerting their power in those weaker than themselves because once they were the powerless.”
Jonathan Goldstein, the Jewish Leadership Council chairman, said: “This seems to be evidence of a deliberate cover-up by Labour to hide the open anti-semitism of a candidate. How many other candidates have been instructed to cover up their pasts?”
Ms Ramsden announced she had quit as a candidate yesterday and a Labour spokesman said the party had taken “swift and robust action”.
Ms Ramsden, a senior Unison official, had also written that anti-semitism claims against Jeremy Corbyn were “orchestrated by the wealthy establishment who do not want a socialist Labour government”, according to The Jewish Chronicle.
A source within Labour’s compliance unit told the newspaper that Ms Ramsden was allowed to delete the messages ahead of her campaign.
A Labour spokesman said: “Candidate selection is devolved in Scotland but we carry out additional checks centrally when candidates are chosen. When we found this material Scottish Labour were immediately alerted and the Scottish Executive Committee decided to re-interview Kate Ramsden.
“She then stood down as a candidate and is therefore not a Labour candidate in the election. The party took swift and robust action on this matter. We are not aware of anyone suggesting she should delete the post in question.”
Today, The Jewish Chronicle urges non-jews to vote against Mr Corbyn in an unprecedented front-page appeal against anti-semites.
It says the “near total inaction of Mr Corbyn and the rest of the Labour leadership in dealing with anti-semites in the party has both emboldened them and encouraged others”. And the newspaper adds: “History has forced our community to be able to stop extremism as it emerges”, citing Mr Corbyn’s election as leader as “one such example”.
It goes on to accuse the Left-winger of supporting anti-semites throughout his career, including expressing solidarity with terrorist organisations such as Hamas. The article concludes: “If this man is chosen as our next prime minister, the message will be stark: that our dismay that he could ever be elevated to a prominent role in British politics, and our fears of where that will lead, are irrelevant.”
Labour is under investigation by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission over allegations of anti-semitism following a torrent of allegations from Jewish Labour members.
The newspaper cites a recent poll which showed 87 per cent of British Jews consider the Labour leader to be an anti-semite, with 47 per cent saying they would “seriously consider” emigrating should he win the election.
The Labour Party said Mr Corbyn was a “lifelong campaigner against anti-semitism and other forms of racism, hatred and bigotry” and had made it clear that anti-semitism had no place “in our Party and society”.
It added: “The Labour Party is fully committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community. We are taking robust action to root out anti-semitism in the party, with swift suspensions and expulsions.
“Anti-semitism complaints account
‘This seems to be evidence of a deliberate cover-up ... to hide the open antisemitism of a candidate’
for less than 0.1 per cent of the Labour membership, while polls show antisemitism is far more prevalent among Conservative than Labour supporters, and a majority of Conservative party members hold Islamophobic views.”
The issue blew up as another Labour candidate who had said she looked forward to the death of Tony Blair and has backed “violent resistance” against Israel faced deselection.
Zara Sultana, who accused some in Labour of “weaponising” anti-semitism, was chosen to fight the safe seat of Coventry South but must now subject herself to an interview by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee.
Jane Aitchison, another Labour candidate, appeared to defend Ms Sultana on BBC 5 Live when she seemed to compare celebrating the death of Mr Blair to that of Adolf Hitler. Ms Aitchison later said she had been challenged during the interview about a case she knew nothing of. She apologised for causing offence and said she did not condone celebrating anyone’s death.
Another candidate, Sally Gimson, said she would sue the party after an NEC panel, chaired by Momentum group founder Jon Lansman, refused to endorse her candidacy for Bassetlaw, having been adopted by the local party.