Anti-Semitic’ activist selected as Labour candidate
JEREMY CORBYN is facing fresh questions over his pledge to stamp out antiSemitism in Labour after an activist accused of repeatedly publishing antiSemitic tropes was selected as one of the party’s candidates in next month’s council elections.
The Sunday Telegraph can disclose that Sameh Habeeb, who founded and edited The Palestine Telegraph, a journal criticised for publishing conspiracy theories about Jews, is being put forward as a Labour council candidate in Northwood, north-west London. Mr Habeeb, who has spoken at several events alongside Mr Corbyn, was formally selected as a candidate last weekend, despite past concerns raised by the Jewish community about his actions.
They included concerns about a series of anti-Semitic articles published on The Palestine Telegraph website while he was editor, and accusations he “hint[ed] at the well-known canard about Jewish or Zionist media control” when he stated in a 2010 interview about Israel: “I think you have to ask yourself who controls the media.” The Palestine Telegraph is no longer online. Mr Habeeb denied the comment was anti-Semitic, saying he had been referring to Israel supporters, not Jews.
The disclosure came as Christine Shawcroft, the Labour official at the centre of an anti-Semitism row, stepped down from the party’s ruling body. She will be replaced by Eddie Izzard, the comedian.
Ms Shawcroft, who had already quit as chairman of the disputes panel, had been under pressure to quit her post on the national executive committee (NEC) after it emerged she opposed the suspension of a council candidate in a row over Holocaust denial. Last night, she said: “It has been a privilege to serve on the Labour Party national executive committee for the last 19 years, and I was standing down in September in any event. I have, however, decided to resign with immediate effect.
“It is clear that my continued membership of the NEC has become a distraction for the party and an excuse for endless intrusive media harassment of
myself, my family and friends.” Last week Labour MPs joined a 600-strong protest by members of the Jewish community calling on Mr Corbyn to stamp out anti-Semitism within the party.
Louise Ellman, a Labour MP and former chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, described Mr Habeeb’s selection as “deeply disturbing”.
“I’m amazed that Labour Party procedures could allow someone with a record like this to slip through the net,” Ms Ellman said. “It brings the Labour Party into disrepute and makes a mockery of Jeremy Corbyn’s promise to tackle anti-Semitism.”
Mr Habeeb announced his selection as a Labour candidate in the Northwood Hills ward of Hillingdon last Saturday. A few days earlier, The Palestinian Return Centre, a controversial UK advocacy group, announced that he had left the organisation after almost 10 years.
The website of the Community Security Trust (CST), the Governmentbacked organisation that works with the Home Office to protect the Jewish community, claims that “as editor of The Palestine Telegraph website, [Mr Habeeb] repeatedly published anti-Semitic material, including Holocaust denial, 9/11 conspiracy theories and vile anti-Semitic cartoons.” It quotes from an article published in 2010 stating that the First and Second World Wars “were planned in advance for the sake of a group following the dictates of Zionism”.
“These Masters, controlled by such luminaries as the Rothschild Dynasty, have been working in the wings …” the article added. It was later removed from The Palestine Telegraph website.
In 2010, Baroness Tonge, the former Liberal Democrat peer, withdrew her patronage of the website after it published a video including claims that Israel posed a terrorist threat to America.
The CST posted an article in 2010 about an interview Mr Habeeb gave to a student newspaper in which, asked if mainstream news organisations had a hidden agenda, he replied: “They are certainly pro-Israeli. I think you have to ask yourself who controls the media.” The CST post states: “This reply certainly hints at the well-known canard about Jewish or Zionist media control.”
Contacted by The Telegraph, Mr Habeeb said there was “no credibility whatsoever” in the claims against him.
“I have never been anti-Semitic. I was expecting this – it’s normal that any pro-Israelis wouldn’t want any pro-Palestinians to run in the May election.”
He added that he did not agree with the offensive articles. They were published at a time when The Palestine Telegraph “was open for citizen journalism” and were “promptly removed”.
A Labour spokesman said the party was “committed to challenging and campaigning against anti-Semitism” and that all complaints were taken “extremely seriously”, but “we do not comment on individual cases”.
Sir David Garrard, a Jewish leading Labour donor, last night announced he had quit the party over its response to “blatant” anti-Semitism.
‘It’s normal that any proIsraelis wouldn’t want any pro-Palestinians to run in the May election’