Labour inquiry told of hate lobby at LSE
LABOUR’S INVESTIGATION into allegations of antisemitism at Oxford University has been made aware of similar Jew-hate claims at a second campus.
A complaint was sent to Baroness Royall, who is leading the inquiry, about the actions of a candidate standing for general secretary of the London School of Economics’ students’ union.
Rayhan Uddin later apologised for lobbying another candidate to drop out of the race, claiming that “leading Zionists” were trying to swing the election.
He said he was “deeply sorry” for his remarks and said he was disappointed his actions had overshadowed his work to combat antisemitism on campus.
Mr Uddin, a leading figure in LSE’s Labour Society, had encouraged Samiha Begum to leave the contest to be general secretary.
In a message Mr Uddin sent to Ms Begum, seen by the JC, he wrote that fellow candidate Harry Maxwell, who is endorsed by LSE’s Jewish and Israel societies, was “running a very slick campaign”. Mr Uddin wrote: “We discussed how he is backed by Jay Stoll [a former Jewish LSE SU general secretary] and other leading Zionists around the country because they want to win back LSE and make it right wing and Zio again.
“The Zionists at LSE have two priorities this year; getting last year’s LSE Israel society president Josh Seitler to become the new UJS President, and the second is for Harry Maxwell to become Gen Sec.” Mr Uddin also claimed that it would be “awful for Muslims and pro-Palestine activists” if Mr Maxwell won.
The complaint about the correspondencewasmadeto Baroness Royall and Labour general secretary Iain McNicol on Wednesday morning. It alleged that Mr Uddin’s comments amounted to “antisemitic conspiracy theories by a senior member of the Labour club”.
In a lengthy explanation on his Facebook page posted later on Wednesday, Mr Uddin apologised for using the word “Zio”. He wrote: “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community.
“As somebody who stands in a proud tradition of anti-racism it is utterly repugnanttometothinkthatImayhave unwittingly appeared to endorse in any way the foul ideology of antisemitism.
“I am deeply sorry to all those who I have angered or offended.”
Mr Uddin said he would be continuing his election campaign and outlined his efforts to tackle antisemitism on campus. He said he had worked closely with LSE’s Jewish Society, had organised a visit to Auschwitz and joined an interfaith trip to Jerusalem.
Asked if Mr Uddin’s activities will be considered by the inquiry, a Labour spokesperson said: “All relevant evidence will be considered.”
The election returning officer is understood to be investigating a complaint about Mr Uddin’s comments.
LSE Jewish Society said it found Mr Uddin’s reported remarks “alarming”.