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{{Antisemitism}} | |||
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Allegations of '''antisemitism in the UK Labour Party''' have been made since ] was first elected as ] leader in September 2015, and after controversial comments by ] and ] under Corbyn's leadership of the party.{{refn|{{sfn|Rich|2016}}{{sfn|Beauchamp|2016}}{{sfn|Hirsh|2017}}{{sfn|Seymour|2018}}}} Following their comments, both Livingstone and Shah were suspended pending investigation. | |||
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The controversy prompted Corbyn to establish the ] to investigate the allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party. A number of party activists have either been expelled or suspended after allegations of antisemitism. While Labour Party investigations concluded that some had brought the party into disrepute, others were subsequently reinstated after disciplinary measures. One senior figure resigned from the party in 2018 after being suspended for two years. Corbyn himself was the subject of controversy in 2018 over his comments in 2012 concerning the removal of an allegedly antisemitic mural were brought to public notice and for being a member of three Facebook groups in which antisemitic content was posted.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pollard|first=Stephen|url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/my-jeremy-corbyn-dilemma-1.460305|title=My Jeremy Corbyn dilemma|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=8 March 2018|accessdate=23 March 2018|quote=And over the past couple of years, we have exposed numerous Corbynite antisemites. The truth is that we could have such a story almost weekly.}}</ref> | |||
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} | |||
{{antisemitism|Manifestations}}{{Update|date=November 2024|reason=Needs to extend coverage for the post-October 7, 2023 period}} | |||
] within the Labour Party of the ] (UK) dates back to its establishment. One early example was comments about "]" during the ]. In the 2000s, controversies arose over comments by Labour politicians regarding an alleged "]", a comparison by ] of a Jewish journalist to a ] guard, and a 2005 Labour attack on Jewish ] politician ]. | |||
Following the election of ] as party leader in September 2015, allegations of antisemitism within the party grew. Incidents involving ] in 2014 and Livingstone in 2016 resulted in suspension from party membership pending investigation. In response, Corbyn established the ], which concluded that while the party was not "overrun by anti-Semitism or other forms of racism", it found an "occasionally toxic atmosphere" and "clear evidence of ignorant attitudes".{{sfn|Seymour|2017|p=186}}{{sfn|Lerman|2019a}} | |||
In 2015, 2016 and 2017, the ] commissioned ] to carry out a survey into British attitudes towards Jews which found that Labour Party supporters were less likely to hold antisemitic views than supporters of the ] or the ] (UKIP), and ] supporters were the least likely to hold antisemitic views. 32% of Labour supporters endorsed at least one antisemitic attitude, compared to 30% of Liberal Democrat supporters, 39% of UKIP supporters, and 40% of Conservative supporters.<ref name="CAAsurvey17"/> In 2017, a poll by ''The Jewish Chronicle'' of the Jewish population when asked to rank the degree of "antisemitism among the political party's members and elected representatives" between 1 (low) to 5 (high), Jews ranked Labour at 3.94, compared with 3.64 for UKIP, 2.7 for Liberal Democrats, and 1.96 for Conservatives.<ref name="JCMay2017"/> A ] poll before the ] found 13% of Jews were planning to vote Labour in 2017, however, two years earlier, in the ], 14% said they were supporting Labour when ] was leader.<ref name="Zagoria"/> | |||
In 2017, Labour Party rules were amended to categorize ], including antisemitism, as a disciplinary matter. In 2018, Corbyn faced scrutiny for his 2012 response to an allegedly antisemitic mural and for his association with ] groups, mainly pro-Palestinian, containing antisemitic posts. Labour's NEC (NEC) adopted a definition of antisemitism for disciplinary purposes in July of that year, aligning with the ] (IHRA) ], with modified examples related to ].<ref name=bbcihra>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-44863606 |title=New Labour anti-Semitism code criticised |date=17 July 2018 |work=BBC News}}</ref>{{sfn|Klug|2018a}} In September 2018, the National Executive Committee (NEC) incorporated all 11 IHRA examples, unamended, into the party's code of conduct.<ref name="SabSep18">{{cite news |last1=Sabbagh |first1=Dan |title=Labour adopts IHRA antisemitism definition in full |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/04/labour-adopts-ihra-antisemitism-definition-in-full |date=4 September 2018 |work=The Guardian |access-date=10 September 2018}}</ref> | |||
In 2018, Labour's ] adopted a new code of conduct that defines antisemitism for the purposes of disciplinary cases brought before the National Constitutional Committee.<ref name="lansman"/> It included the same definition of antisemitism, which is provided in the ] (IHRA) working definition on antisemitism, but it removed or amended four out of eleven of the examples of what allegedly constitutes antisemitism, added an additional three examples and amended points showing how criticism of Israel can stray into antisemitism.<ref name=bbcihra>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44863606</ref><ref name=jcdefinition>https://www.thejc.com/comment/analysis/jeremy-corbyn-labour-definition-antisemitism-1.466626</ref><ref name=odklug>https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/brian-klug/code-of-conduct-for-antisemitism-tale-of-two-texts</ref> | |||
In May 2019, the ] (EHRC) launched an inquiry into whether Labour had "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish". In October 2020, EHRC published its report, determining that the party was "responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination". It reported 23 instances of political interference and concluded that Labour breached the Equality Act in two cases.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54730425|title=Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn over reaction to anti-Semitism report|work=BBC News|date=29 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/29/key-findings-of-the-ehrc-inquiry-into-labour-antisemitism|title=Key findings of the EHRC inquiry into Labour antisemitism|date=29 October 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref> Corbyn was subsequently suspended from Labour and the party whip was removed on 29 October 2020 "for a failure to retract" his assertion that the scale of antisemitism within Labour had been overstated.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn over reaction to anti-Semitism report|work=]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54730425|date = 29 October 2020|access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref> | |||
==History== | |||
], the founder of the Labour Party has been found to have expressed views that would be considered ] by today's standards. In 1891, he is recorded as asserting that imperialist wars were being planned to suit the interests of "hook-nosed ]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/labour-party-antisemitism-jeremy-corbyn-jewish-left-wing-holocaust-a8306936.html|title=Labour and antisemitism: What went wrong and what is to be done?|author=Feldman, David; McGeever, Brendan|date=20 April 2018|work=The Independent}}</ref> Despite the views of Labour members like Hardie, ] have traditionally supported the ] and party, the ], the UK arm of ], supported the Labour Party, affiliating to the party in 1920. The Labour Party had a historical affinity for Israel both because the labour movement was part of a broad, political left that historically supported national movements, and because it felt an affinity for ], which was the dominant movement within pre-state political ], and the political identity of the founding government of Israel in 1948 and Israeli government until the election of ] in 1977.{{sfn|Rich|2016}}{{sfn|Hirsh|2017}} | |||
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Despite leaning towards Labour in the immediate ] decades, along with most other immigrant communities, much of the Jewish population supported ] in the 1980s, especially in her own seat of ]. Many Jewish voters returned to Labour in ], with polling generally showing Jews as evenly split between<ref name="Zagoria">{{cite news |last=Zagoria|first=Thomas|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/07/can-jeremy-corbyns-labour-win-back-jewish-vote|title=Can Jeremy Corbyn's Labour win back the Jewish vote?|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=4 July 2017|accessdate=27 May 2018}}</ref> Labour and ], which remained the case in 2010.<ref name="Field">{{cite news |last=Field|first=Clive D.|url=http://www.brin.ac.uk/2010/political-leanings-of-britains-jews/|title=Political Leanings of Britain’s Jews|work= |location= |publisher=''British Religion in Numbers''|date=1 May 2010|accessdate=27 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
==20th century== | |||
===1980s; proposed origin of new antisemitic attitudes=== | |||
===Second Boer War and "Jewish finance"=== | |||
Although antisemitic attitudes were rare in the Party in the 1980s,{{sfn|Rich|2016}}{{sfn|Hirsh|2017}} in his 2016 book, '']'', ] attributes what he believes to be the origin of ] in the Labour Party to attitudes towards Jews and Israel that began to develop among young British political activists in the early 1970s. At that time, a coalition that included ] (later a Labour MP) and Louis Eaks of the ] section of the ] "pioneered" the reframing of the Zionist movement as an imperialist project imposing ] on an indigenous people.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=98}}<ref name="Fraser">{{cite news |last1=Fraser |first1=Jenni |title=This man wrote the book on British Labour anti-Semitism – literally |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/this-man-wrote-the-book-on-british-labour-anti-semitism-literally/ |work=] |date=3 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="RichCampusWars">{{cite news |last1=Rich |first1=Dave |title=Hatred at the heart of the campus wars |url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/hatred-at-the-heart-of-the-campus-wars-1.61362 |accessdate=8 December 2017 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=2 December 2015}}</ref> | |||
{{see also|History of the Jews in South Africa|Rothschild banking family of England#Involvement in finance and industry}} | |||
In the late 19th century, ] was common throughout British society. This intensified during the ] (1899–1902) and came to include the ], dismaying socialist Jews.{{sfn|Judd|Surridge|2013|pp=241–242}} ] MP ]' was prone to antisemitic outbursts when airing his views on the war, and labour movement figures opposed to the war, such as ], blamed "Jewish capitalists" for starting it, which angered other members of the ]. Liberal journalist ] wrote that the gold mines in South Africa were "almost entirely in their hands",{{sfn|Judd|Surridge|2013|pp=241–242}} and Labour Party founder ] stated that Jewish financial houses were part of a secretive imperialist cabal that promoted war.{{sfn|Wistrich|2012|pp=203–205}} According to Denis Judd and Keith Surridge in ''The Boer War: A History'', the ], the ], and ]'s '']'' blamed "Jewish capitalists" for being "behind the war and imperialism in general".{{sfn|Judd|Surridge|2013|p=242}} | |||
===Palestine=== | |||
James R. Vaughn traces the origin of new antisemitism within the party to the creation of the Labour Middle East Council in 1969 by ], laying a foundation of radical ] that enabled the later growth of new antisemitism within the Labour Party.<ref name="VaughnMayhew">{{cite journal |last1=Vaughn |first1=James |title='Mayhew's outcasts': anti-Zionism and the Arab lobby in Harold Wilson's Labour Party |journal=Israel Affairs |date=2015 |volume=21 |page=27 |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537121.2014.984420?needAccess=true |accessdate=4 December 2017}}</ref> Mayhew joined the ] in 1974 but,<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Michael |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-lord-mayhew-1282313.html |title=Obituary: Lord Mayhew |work=The Independent |date=9 January 1997 |accessdate=29 December 2017}}</ref> according to Vaughn, his rhetoric from the 1960s onwards, "blurred the boundaries between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism".<ref name="VaughnStarted">{{cite news |last1=Vaughn |first1=James |title=How the U.K. Labour Party's Zionist Problem Started |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.710056 |accessdate=8 December 2017 |publisher=Haaretz |date=21 May 2016}}</ref> According to Rich, Mayhew founded the Council in order to change the "pro-Israel" position of the Labour Party.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=26}} | |||
Antisemitic attitudes were not prominent in the 1980s Labour Party.{{sfn|Rich|2018}}{{sfn|Hirsh|2017}} Paul Kelemen ascribed the shift in Labour's views to Israel's increasingly right-leaning politics and to the left's opposition to the ]. He found no evidence that antisemitism played a role in the left's changing perceptions of the ] in that period.{{sfn|Kelemen|2012|p=185}}{{sfn|Kolpinskaya|2014|p=450}} Daniel L. Staetsky, stated that in the 1980s, parts of the political left assumed pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel positions, and faced accusations of antisemitism within Labour.{{sfn|Staetsky|2017|p=42}} | |||
Dave Rich credits the British Anti-Zionist Organization (BAZO), established in 1975 to focus on university students, with "show(ing) how a highly ideological anti-Zionism can.... incubate anti-Semitic campaigns".{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=99}} BAZO distributed anti-Semitic leaflets and argued that Zionists encourage antisemitism to benefit Israel, and that Zionists collaborated with the Nazi regime during the second World War.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=99}} According to the Labour MP ], who was a member of the BAZO Executive in the 1970s,{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=99}} BAZO was funded by the government of Iraq.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=100}} BAZO was banned by the ] by the early 1980s for distributing antisemitic material.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=100}} Burden and ], then a Labour Party member, both first visited the Middle East on a 1977 tour sponsored by BAZO.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=100}} Galloway credits the BAZO trip with igniting his enduring support for the Palestinians.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=100}} | |||
==2000–2015== | |||
According to June Edmunds, University Lecturer in Sociology of the ], the party's leadership shifted to an anti-Israel attitude in the early 1980s, though the membership did not.<ref name=EdmundsJune>June Edmunds ; The Evolution of British Labour Party Policy on Israel from 1967 to the Intifada, Twentieth Century British History, Volume 11, Issue 1, 1 January 2000, Pages 23–41, https://doi.org/10.1093/tcbh/11.1.23</ref> Noting that "fringe" Palestinian groups began operating at ] in the 1970s, Edmunds credits the shift to fading memories of the plight of Jews in the 1940s, together with agitation for party change by Arab and socialist groups.<ref name=EdmundsJune/> Paul Kelemen, in his 2012 book, ''The British Left and Zionism: History of a Divorce,'' explores the question of whether it was antisemitism, perhaps in new a form (new antisemitism), that caused the Labour Party to move away from its historic support for Israel in the 1980s, and concludes that Labour's shift to support for the Palestinian cause was purely political.<ref name="KolpinskayaDivorce">{{cite journal |last1=Kolpinskaya |first1=Ekatarina |title=The British Left and Zionism: History of a Divorce (book review) |journal=Political Studies |date=September 2014 |volume=13 |issue=3 |doi=10.1111/1478-9302.12067_101}}</ref> | |||
==="Israel lobby" accusations=== | |||
This has carried on into the 21st Century. According to ] "Too many Labour politicians cravenly adopted the anti-Semitic tropes and anti-Israel demonization they think will get them ] votes, rather than standing up to the prejudice that exists in the community".<ref>, Ha'aretz, ], 4 May 2016</ref> Dr. ] said that while not all of the most extreme anti-Semitic slurs were made by Muslim representatives of Labour, they represent a disproportionately large proportion of anti-Semitic perpetrators. According to Gerstenfeld, Labour's anti-Semitic issues "demonstrate what happens when a party bends over backward to attract Muslim voters".<ref>, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, Israel National News, 8 May 2016</ref> | |||
In 2003, Labour MP ] claimed, referring to the ], that "there is far too much Jewish influence in the United States" and that "a cabal of Jewish advisers" was directing American and British policy on Iraq, stating that ], close to ]'s ], and also singling out ], chief fundraiser for ] and his Middle East envoy for nine years. ] stated he did not think that Dalyell, a close associate of ], was antisemitic, but that his language could be taken as supportive of such views.{{sfn|Havardi|2016|p=74}}{{efn|"Mr Dalyell's career includes a close alliance with the late ], a passionate Zionist who believed that all gentiles – including himself – are anti-semitic at some level."{{sfn|White|2003}}}} | |||
In 2010, Labour MP ] alleged that a malevolent ], saying "There are long tentacles of Israel in this country who are funding election campaigns and putting money into the British political system for their own ends", while his Jewish fellow Labour MP ] said that right-wing Jewish millionaires had large stakes in the ].{{efn|The British Liberal Party's ] had, some years earlier (2006), asserted that 'The pro-Israeli lobby has got its grips on the Western world, its financial grips. I think they've probably got a grip on our party'. Likewise, Conservative MP ] in 2014 stated that despite UK rules forbidding political funding from abroad, in his view an exception was made for Israel, and later added that "the United States is in hock to a very powerful financial lobby which dominates its politics."{{sfn|Havardi|2016|p=74}}}} ] spokesman Mark Gardner responded: "Anybody who understands antisemitism will recognise just how ugly and objectionable these quotes are, with their imagery of Jewish control and money power."{{sfn|Havardi|2016|p=74}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bright |first1=Martin |title=MP: Israel's tentacles will steal the election |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/mp-israel-s-tentacles-will-steal-the-election-1.14781 |website=] |access-date=13 September 2018 |date=29 March 2010}}</ref> In 2015, Kaufman said that "Jewish money, Jewish donations ... support from the '']''" had led to "a big group of Conservative MPs who are pro-Israel whatever (its) government does", referring to the ]; Corbyn condemned Kaufman's remarks at the time as "completely unacceptable".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Rowena |title=Gerald Kaufman's 'Jewish money' remarks condemned by Corbyn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/03/gerald-kaufmans-jewish-money-condemned-jeremy-corbyn |access-date=2 August 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=3 November 2015 |ref=none}}</ref> | |||
The Labour Committee on Palestine was formed in June 1982 to challenge the Labour Middle East Council, which supported a two-state solution, and to oppose the "Zionist state as racist, exclusivist, expansionist and a direct agency of imperialism." Labour politicians ] of the ] and ] of the ] were early supporters; the chair was former BAZO activist Tony Greenstein.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=143}} The new Committee backed a resolution at the party 1982 Party national conference to recognise the ] (PLO) as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people", which passed at conference, "embarrassing" the Party leadership.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=144}} Knight and Livingstone established the ''Labour Herald'' newspaper with funding by the PLO{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=143}} and, in 1982, the ''Herald'' was accused by The Jewish Socialist Group of publishing a "blatantly anti-Semitic" book review. No apology was made.{{sfn|Rich|2016|p=145}} | |||
===2005 === | |||
===Incidents in the 21st century=== | |||
In 2005, Labour politician ] was accused of antisemitism after he asked '']'' reporter Oliver Finegold if he had been "a German war criminal". When the reporter said he was Jewish, Livingstone said "Just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?" and asserted that he (Finegold) worked for the "reactionary bigots... who supported fascism" at the '']''. The ''Evening Standard'' was then a sister paper of the ''Mail'', which had been supportive of fascism in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite book |title=] |last=Hosken |first=Andrew |year=2008 |publisher=Arcadia Books |isbn=978-1-905147-72-4 |pages=385–386}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Boris v. Ken: How Boris Johnson Won London |last1=Edwards |first1=Giles |last2=Isaby |first2=Jonathan |year=2008 |publisher=Politico's |location=London |isbn=978-1842752258 |page=40}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/feb/10/pressandpublishing.politicsandthemedia|title=Livingstone attacks 'scumbag' Standard|work=The Guardian|location=London, UK|first=Chris|last=Tryhorn|date=10 February 2005|access-date=4 April 2010}}</ref> | |||
In the 21st century there were several incidents which were seen as antisemitic. In 2003, Labour MP ] claimed that "there is far too much Jewish influence in the United States" and that "a cabal of Jewish advisers" was directing American and British policy on Iraq.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/06/race.politics|title=Dalyell steps up attack on Levy|first=Michael|last=White|date=6 May 2003|website=The Guardian}}</ref> In 2010, Labour MP ] said, "There are long tentacles of Israel in this country who are funding election campaigns and putting money into the British political system for their own ends." Community Security Trust spokesman Mark Gardner responded: "Anybody who understands antisemitism will recognise just how ugly and objectionable these quotes are, with their imagery of Jewish control and money power.<ref>https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/mp-israel-s-tentacles-will-steal-the-election-1.14781</ref> Labour MP ] said in 2015 that "Jewish money" had influenced the Conservatives.<ref>https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-veteran-sir-gerald-kaufman-claims-jewish-money-has-influenced-conservatives-1.60992</ref> | |||
== |
==== Election ==== | ||
In the run-up to the ], Labour, under ], tested posters{{sfn|Tempest|2005}} which ], Labour's advertising agency, later said originated from Campaign Director ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Waugh|first=Paul|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/campbell-behind-pig-poster-7275427.html|title=Campbell 'behind pig poster'|location=London|newspaper=]|date=7 February 2005|access-date=28 May 2019}}</ref> One depicted the faces of Conservative Party leader ]{{efn|When Howard made an unsuccessful bid in 1997 to become Prime Minister, it was alleged he was the victim of a widespread antisemitic whispering campaign by Conservative backbenchers and members of the constituency workers. In his 2004 comeback he argued for a programme blatantly hostile to immigrants while rebuffing accusations he was racist as impossible, since he himself was the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors.{{sfn|Kushner|2017|p=267}}}} and Shadow Chancellor ], who are Jewish, superimposed upon flying pigs. The slogan was "The Day Tory Sums Add Up" and the poster illustrated the ], ], used for something that never happens.{{sfn|Sanz|2012|pp=219–227}}{{sfn|Burleigh|2005}}{{efn|Kushner argues: 'A closer reading of these images, however, reveals a more nuanced situation. In the case of the two little Jewish pigs, the direct connection to the '']'' is coincidental: if anything, the images managed to make Howard and Letwin endearing. Yet if the point that the Conservative figures on tax and spending simply did not add up-hence pigs might fly-it was insensitive of the Labour spin doctors not to show some awareness that to connect Jews to pork, the subject of past Christian fascination, crude humour and physical persecution, lacked an element of sensitivity.'{{sfn|Kushner|2017|p=268}}}} A second poster was of Howard swinging a pocket watch on its chain with the slogan "I can spend the same money twice!" somewhat suggestive of stage ], where the subject is persuaded to accept false ]s as true. Conservative backbencher ] had suggested Howard, whose father was born in Romania, had an image problem in that he had "something of the night about him". Labour strategists leapt at this by then depicting Howard as a ] figure swinging a hypnotic watch.{{sfn|Delaney|2015}} The pose was said by '']'' to be reminiscent of fictional Jewish, criminal, characters, such as the moneylender, ], from '']'' and the master pickpocket, ], from '']''.{{sfn|BBC|2005}} The posters were not used and Labour denied any antisemitic intent.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Carroll|first1=Lisa|last2=Tempest|first2=Matthew|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/feb/08/media.media1|title=Campbell fires off four-letter blast at BBC|newspaper=]|date=8 February 2005|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones|first1=George|last2=Helm|first2=Toby|last3=Sylvester|first3=Rachel|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1483102/Campbell-in-trouble-again-over-4-letter-tirade-at-BBC.html|title=Campbell in trouble again over 4-letter tirade at BBC|newspaper=]|date=9 February 2005|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref> They prompted protests from some Jewish groups but the ] (BDBJ) declined to raise the issue.{{sfn|Tempest|2005}} | |||
On 14 August 2015, as ] emerged ] for the position of Party Leader in the ], '']'' devoted its "front page to seven questions regarding Corbyn's record on antisemitism" headlined: "The key questions Jeremy Corbyn must answer".<ref name="Hirsh2017">{{cite book |last1=Hirsh |first1=David |title=Contemporary Left Antisemitism |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |edition=1}}</ref><ref name="ExCathedra">{{cite news |last1=Editoral Board |title=The key questions Jeremy Corbyn must answer |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/the-key-questions-jeremy-corbyn-must-answer-1.68097 |accessdate=8 December 2017 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=12 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="Hirsh2015">, ], The Jewish Chronicle</ref><ref name="Klaff">{{cite journal |last1=Klaff |first1=Lesley |last2= |first2= |date= |title=Jeremy Corbyn: why the British Labour Party is no longer a safe place for Jews |url=http://shura.shu.ac.uk/14585/1/Jeremy%20Corbyn%20pdf.pdf |journal=International Relations and Diplomacy |volume=4 |issue=7 |pages=427–433 |doi=|access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref> The questions raised were about Corbyn's endorsements of individuals known for promoting antisemitic ideas; his relationship with Islamist organisations ] and ], organisations that Corbyn called "friends" (although he has stated he disagrees with their views);<ref>{{cite web |title=Jeremy Corbyn: ‘I wanted Hamas to be part of the debate’ |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/jeremy-corbyn-i-wanted-hamas-to-be-part-of-the-debate |publisher=Channel 4 News |accessdate=16 December 2017}}</ref> and about his failure to object to many antisemitic banners and posters that "dominate" the London ] rallies supported by the organisation, ] of which Corbyn was national chair from 2011 to 2015.{{sfn|Hirsh|2017|pp=42–45}} | |||
===Corbyn's backbench record=== | |||
MP ] defended Corbyn by calling his critics part of a "Westminster elite" afraid of Corbyn's ] agenda.{{sfn|Hirsh|2017|p=45}} MP ], a supporter of Palestinian statehood, published a letter criticising Corbyn's support for Hamas and Hezbollah, ] and ], all alleged with antisemitic statements and policies.{{sfn|Hirsh|2017|p=46}} 47 prominent Jewish activists, including ], ], ], ], ] and ] were signatories to a letter criticising ''The Jewish Chronicle''{{'}}s reporting of Corbyn's association with alleged antisemites.<ref name="thejc1">{{cite news |last=Dysch|first=Marcus|url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/142553/anti-israel-activists-attack-jc-challenging-jeremy-corbyn|title=Anti-Israel activists attack JC for challenging Jeremy Corbyn|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=18 August 2015|accessdate=7 April 2017}}</ref> | |||
] was a patron of the ],{{sfn|Rich|2018|pp=i–ii}} and had campaigned extensively for Palestinian rights during his 32 years as a Parliament backbencher.<ref name="McGee 2019">{{cite web | last=McGee | first=Luke | title=Jeremy Corbyn was once a radical outsider. Now he has the chance to transform the UK | website=CNN | date=28 November 2019 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/28/uk/uk-election-corbyn-analysis-gbr-ge19-intl/index.html | access-date=19 May 2023}}</ref> | |||
In August 2015, as Corbyn emerged ] in Labour's ], '']'' devoted its front page to seven questions regarding Corbyn's associations with those it described as "Holocaust deniers, terrorists and some outright antisemites", although Corbyn said he met with them in his search for Middle East peace.<ref>{{cite news |title=The key questions Jeremy Corbyn must answer |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/the-key-questions-jeremy-corbyn-must-answer-1.68097 |access-date=8 December 2017 |work=] |date=12 August 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Hirsh|2017}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klaff |first1=Lesley |title=Jeremy Corbyn: why the British Labour Party is no longer a safe place for Jews |url=http://shura.shu.ac.uk/14585/1/Jeremy%20Corbyn%20pdf.pdf |journal=International Relations and Diplomacy |volume=4 |issue=7 |pages=427–433 |access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref> These included his relationship with Islamist militant organisations ] and ], organisations that Corbyn called "friends" (although he has stated he disagrees with their views);<ref>{{cite news |title=Jeremy Corbyn: 'I wanted Hamas to be part of the debate' |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/jeremy-corbyn-i-wanted-hamas-to-be-part-of-the-debate |work=] |date=13 July 2015 |access-date=16 December 2017}}</ref> and his failure to object to what ''The Jewish Chronicle'' described as antisemitic banners and posters at London ] rallies supported by the organisation, ], of which Corbyn was national chair from 2011 to 2015.{{sfn|Hirsh|2017|pp=42–45}} Two of the questions related to "] Remembered", an organisation commemorating the massacre of over 100 Palestinian villagers in 1948 and founded by ] Paul Eisen.{{sfn|Mason|2015}}{{sfn|Prince|2016}}{{sfn|Mendick|2017}}<ref>, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' 4 September 2018</ref> Up to 2013, Corbyn and ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/revealed-jeremy-corbyn-attended-event-hosted-by-holocaust-denier-s-group-in-2013-1.68163 |title=Revealed: Jeremy Corbyn attended event hosted by Holocaust denier's group in 2013 |website=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref> a Jewish Labour MP, attended "two or three" of the group's annual events. Corbyn has said that this had taken place before Eisen had made his views known publicly, and that he would not have associated with him had he known.{{sfn|Mason|2015}} It was reported that Eisen's views were known in 2005 and that he had written an essay on his website in 2008 entitled "My life as a Holocaust denier".{{sfn|Mendick|2017}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-taken-to-task-by-holocaust-survivor-at-launch-of-design-exhibition-of-uk-holocaust-memorial-1.469242 |title=Labour condemned by Holocaust survivor at launch of memorial design exhibition|author= Sugarman, Daniel|work= The Jewish Chronicle|date= 4 September 2018|access-date= 20 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Britains-Labour-party-expels-activist-over-Holocaust-denial-450309 |title=Britain's Labour Party expels activist over Holocaust denial|author=Sam Sokol|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date =5 April 2016}}</ref> | |||
==2016 inquiries== | |||
In April 2016, it was revealed that Labour MP for ] ], during the ], had shared a graphic from ] showing an image of Israel's geographic outline superimposed on a map of the U.S. under the headline "Solution for ] - relocate Israel into United States", with the comment "problem solved". ] then appeared on ] to defend Shah and said he had never heard anyone in the Labour Party say anything anti-Semitic. He then added: "When ] won his election in 1932 his policy then was that ] should be moved to Israel. He was supporting ] before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43539774|title=How the Labour anti-Semitism saga unfolded|first=Jennifer|last=Scott|date=26 March 2018|work=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
==2016== | |||
On 29 April 2016, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn launched an ] following the publication of comments made by Shah and Livingstone which were considered antisemitic, both of whom were suspended pending investigation. The report was described as a 'whitewash',<ref>, Guardian, Decca Aitkenhead, 13 October 2017</ref>{{sfn|ToI staff|2016}} and as a "whitewash for peerage scandal" by ].<ref>, The Jewish Chronicle, Daniel Sugarman, 23 June 2017</ref><ref>, Telegraph, Christopher Hope and Laura Hughes, 5 August 2016</ref><ref>, Independent, Caroline Mortimer, 4 August 2016</ref> ] led the inquiry and joined the Labour Party on the same day she was appointed to chair the investigation.{{sfn|Asthana|2016}} The inquiry had two deputy chairs: Jan Royall, who was at the time holding an investigation into antisemitism at ], and Director of the ] ], whom Chakrabarti had to defend due to his being a signatory to ], which had claimed that some of the allegations of antisemitism within Labour were "baseless and disingenuous".{{sfn|Asthana|2016}} | |||
===Shah, Livingstone and Walker comments=== | |||
In April 2016, after it was revealed that Labour MP ] had, during the ] and before becoming an MP, shared a graphic of Israel superimposed on the U.S. with the caption "Solution for ] – relocate Israel into United States", adding the comment, "Problem solved". She was suspended pending investigation, but reinstated after agreeing to apologise for bringing the party into disrepute.<ref>{{cite news |author=Judah, Ben |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/you-wouldnt-be-surprised-by-naz-shahs-remarks-if-you-knew-more-about-the-town-she-came-from-a7005336.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/you-wouldnt-be-surprised-by-naz-shahs-remarks-if-you-knew-more-about-the-town-she-came-from-a7005336.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=You wouldn't be surprised by Naz Shah's remarks if you knew more about the city she came from |work=The Independent |date=28 April 2016 |access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Alexandra Sims |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/naz-shah-readmitted-to-labour-party-following-anti-semitism-row-a7121746.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/naz-shah-readmitted-to-labour-party-following-anti-semitism-row-a7121746.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Naz Shah readmitted to Labour party following anti-Semitism row |work=The Independent |date=5 July 2016 |access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref> By May 2016, Labour had suspended 56 members for statements alleged to be antisemitic, pending investigation; these accounted for 0.4% of the parliamentary group, 0.07% of Labour councillors, and 0.012% of the Party membership.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2016/may/labour-and-anti-semitism|title=Labour and Anti-Semitism|last=Jones|first=Thomas|date=4 May 2016|access-date=14 May 2016|work=]}}</ref> The graphic was created by American political scientist ], who described the controversy as "obscene". Referring to those on the Labour right allegedly using the scandal to undermine Corbyn, Finkelstein asked "What are they doing? Don't they have any respect for the dead? ... All these desiccated Labour apparatchiks, dragging the Nazi holocaust through the mud for the sake of their petty jostling for power and position. Have they no shame?"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-antisemitism-row-naz-shah-israel-map-norman-finkelstein-obscene-a7012461.html|title=Jewish author whose Israel 'relocation' map was shared by Naz Shah condemns 'obscene' Labour antisemitism row|author= Dearden, Lizzie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215032253/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-antisemitism-row-naz-shah-israel-map-norman-finkelstein-obscene-a7012461.html|archive-date=15 February 2018|work=The Independent|date=4 May 2016|access-date=21 November 2020}}</ref> | |||
Livingstone was |
Livingstone defended Shah and said he had never heard antisemitic comments from Labour members. Livingstone added: "When Hitler won his election in 1932 his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43539774 |title=How the Labour anti-Semitism saga unfolded |first=Jennifer |last=Scott |date=26 March 2018 |work=BBC News}}</ref> After a year-long suspension, a hearing in April 2017 by the National Constitution Committee (NCC) determined he was guilty of prejudicial and detrimental conduct and suspended him from standing for office or representing the party for a further year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39498275 |title=Ken Livingstone Hitler row: Labour suspends former mayor again |work=BBC News |date=5 April 2017 |access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref> In May 2018, he resigned from the party, saying the issues surrounding his suspension had become a distraction.<ref name=GNPA210518>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/21/ken-livingstone-quits-labour-after-antisemitism-claims|title=Ken Livingstone quits Labour after antisemitism claims|work=The Guardian|agency=Press Association|date=21 May 2018|access-date=21 May 2018}}</ref> In a statement Livingstone said, "I do not accept the allegation that I have brought Labour into disrepute – nor that I am in any way guilty of antisemitism. I abhor antisemitism, I have fought it all my life and will continue to do so."<ref>{{cite news |last=Crerar |first=Pippa |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/21/ken-livingstone-quits-labour-after-antisemitism-claims |title=Ken Livingstone quits Labour after antisemitism claims |work=The Guardian |date=21 May 2018 |access-date=23 May 2018}}</ref> | ||
In May 2016, ] vice-chair ] was investigated by the party over private comments she made on Facebook exaggerating the ]. Walker said her words had been taken out of context. No further action was taken following the investigation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mortimer |first=Caroline |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/anti-semitism-row-momentum-organiser-jackie-walker-readmitted-to-labour-party-following-racism-a7053966.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/anti-semitism-row-momentum-organiser-jackie-walker-readmitted-to-labour-party-following-racism-a7053966.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Anti-Semitism row: Momentum organiser Jackie Walker readmitted to Labour party following racism allegations |work=The Independent |date=28 May 2016 |access-date=26 September 2016}}</ref> Momentum chair ] defended her, describing the media as "a 'lynch mob' whose interest in combating racism is highly selective".<ref name="Lansman081016">{{cite news |last=Lansman |first=Jon |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/a-a35e-a-loss-of-confidence-the-real-reason-why-momentum-removed-jackie-walker-1 |title=A loss of confidence: the real reason why Momentum removed Jackie Walker |work=] |date=8 October 2016 |access-date=9 October 2016}}</ref> Following that year's Party Conference, at which Walker asked in a training session why ] did not include pre-1940 genocides such as the ], she was removed from her Momentum position, while remaining on its steering committee, after ] union general secretary ] said their funding would be reconsidered otherwise.<ref name="Stone">{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Jon |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jackie-walker-momentum-antisemitism-vice-chair-sacked-a7339261.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jackie-walker-momentum-antisemitism-vice-chair-sacked-a7339261.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Momentum set to sack vice-chair Jackie Walker after Holocaust Memorial Day comments |work=The Independent |quote=(Manuel Cortes) I am asking Jackie that in the interests of unity she resigns at once from our Party and also as vice-chair of Momentum. If she doesn't, both the Labour Party and Momentum need to act to get rid of her at once. Furthermore, TSSA will reconsider our union's support for Momentum if she is still in post by this time next week |date=30 September 2016 |access-date=30 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Peter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/03/momentums-vice-chair-removed-antisemitism-row-jackie-walker |title=Jackie Walker stripped of Momentum post in antisemitism row |work=The Guardian |date=3 October 2016 |access-date=4 October 2016}}</ref> Lansman called Walker's comments "ill-informed, ill-judged and offensive", but not antisemitic.<ref name="Lansman081016" /> The party suspended her pending investigation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/30/momentum-chief-jackie-walker-suspended-from-labour-over-holocaus/ |title=Momentum chief Jackie Walker suspended from Labour over Holocaust Memorial Day comments |work=The Daily Telegraph |agency=Press Association |date=30 September 2016 |access-date=30 September 2016}}</ref> Walker said that she "utterly condemn antisemitism", that her words were taken out of context, and that "I would never play down the significance of the ]. Working with many Jewish comrades, I continue to seek to bring greater awareness of other genocides, which are too often forgotten or minimised. If offence has been caused, it is the last thing I would want to do and I apologise."<ref name="theguardianwalker">{{cite news |last=Elgot |first=Jessica |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/28/momentum-vice-chair-jackie-walker-pressure-resign-antisemitism-row-jewish-labour-movement |title=Momentum vice-chair under pressure to resign over antisemitism row |work=The Guardian |date=28 September 2016 |access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref> She was expelled from the party for misconduct in March 2019.<ref name="Labour Expels Jackie Walker">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/27/labour-expels-jackie-walker-for-leaked-antisemitism-comments|title=Labour Expels Jackie Walker for leaked antisemitism remarks|last=Elgot|first=Jessica|date=27 March 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref> | |||
British author ] called the Chakrabarti Inquiry "a brief and shoddy shuffling of superficies" that "spoke to very few of the people charging the party with anti-Semitism and understood even fewer of their arguments."{{sfn|Jacobson|2017}} Jacobson also suggested that Corbyn nominating Chakrabarti for a peerage was shown contempt for those who had raised issues over antisemitism in the party.{{sfn|Sugarman|2017}} | |||
===Inquiries === | |||
Following allegations of antisemitism from the Oxford University Labour Club, an inquiry was launched by ], chaired by Jan Royall.{{sfn|Tran|2016}} The party's ] accepted the report in May 2016. Some of the report was published, but the full report was deemed confidential until Royall leaked it.{{sfn|Hirsh|2017|p=82}} The report found that whilst there was a "cultural problem" in which "behaviour and language that would once have been intolerable is now tolerated" leading to some anti-Semitic behaviour towards Jewish students there was also "no evidence the club is itself institutionally anti-Semitic".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/oxford-university-labour-club-anti-semitism-report-baroness-royall-jewish-students-a7170446.html|title=Report finds there have been anti-Semitic incidents in Oxford University’s Labour Club|date=3 August 2016|publisher=|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
Following the suspensions, Corbyn commissioned ] into antisemitism and other forms of racism in April 2016, led by barrister ], former head of the human rights advocacy group ]. She said she joined Labour to show that she had members' interests and values at heart.{{sfn|Asthana|2016}} The inquiry had two deputy chairs: ] and ], Director of the ]. In 2007, Feldman was a signatory to ], which in May 2016 described some allegations of antisemitism within Labour as "baseless and disingenuous". Chakrabarti said he distanced himself from this comment.{{sfn|Asthana|2016}} | |||
In June, the inquiry reported that it had found "no evidence" of systemic antisemitism in Labour, save for an "occasionally toxic atmosphere", and made 20 recommendations, including outlawing offensive terms and improving disciplinary procedures.{{sfn|Seymour|2018a}} Responses included both acceptance and criticism. Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) chair Jeremy Newmark said, "It's a strong platform for the party to ... set a gold standard in tackling racism and anti-Semitism."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-anti-semitism-shami-chakrabati-unveils-report/|title=From 'hugely significant' to 'vague': mixed reactions to Labour anti-Semitism report|work=Jewish News|last=Maguire|first=Patrick|date=30 June 2016|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref> BDBJ said: "We hope that the implementation of this report will be rigorous and swift."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bod.org.uk/jonathan-arkush-reacts-to-report-by-shami-chakrabarti-inquiry-on-antisemitism/|title=Reaction to Shami Chakrabarti report|work=Board of Deputies of British Jews|date=30 June 2016|access-date=14 March 2019|archive-date=14 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414180810/https://www.bod.org.uk/jonathan-arkush-reacts-to-report-by-shami-chakrabarti-inquiry-on-antisemitism/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ] ] called for a "full and unhesitating implementation of the report's findings".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/corbyn-under-fire-for-offensive-comments-at-antisemitism-event-34846331.html|title=Corbyn under fire for 'offensive' comments at anti-Semitism event|date=30 June 2016|access-date=14 March 2019|work=The Belfast Telegraph}}</ref> | |||
In 2016, the ] held an inquiry into ]. The committee found "no reliable, empirical evidence to support the notion that there is a higher prevalence of antisemitic attitudes within the Labour party than any other political party". However, it was critical of Corbyn's response to antisemitic incidents against Labour MPs. The committee described the Chakrabarti inquiry as "ultimately compromised".{{sfn|Boffey|Sherwood|2016}} The report also found that "the failure of the Labour Party to deal consistently and effectively with anti-Semitic incidents in recent years risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement are institutionally anti-Semitic".{{sfn|ITV|2016}} | |||
Chakrabarti was Labour's sole nomination to the ] in ]'s August 2016 ]. She became a peer in September and the following month was appointed ]. Commentators were immediately more critical, with the report being described as a "whitewash for peerage scandal" by BDBJ.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206140132/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/book-and-documentary-to-launch-on-labour-s-whitewash-inquiry-1.440453 |date=6 December 2017 }}, The Jewish Chronicle, Daniel Sugarman, 23 June 2017</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324205702/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/05/shami-chakrabarti-handed-peerage-weeks-after-suppressing-jeremy/ |date=24 March 2018 }}, Telegraph, Christopher Hope and Laura Hughes, 5 August 2016</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215033817/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/honours-list-jeremy-corbyn-shami-chakrabarti-labour-peerage-anti-semitism-a7172641.html |date=15 February 2018 }}, Independent, Caroline Mortimer, 4 August 2016</ref> British author ] called the inquiry "a brief and shoddy shuffling of superficies",{{sfn|Jacobson|2017}} and suggested that the peerage was showing contempt for those who had objected.{{sfn|Sugarman|2017}} | |||
In May 2016, American political scientist ] (whose map "Solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict – relocate Israel to United States" was shared by MP Naz Shah leading to claims she was antisemitic) described the controversy as "obscene", adding that he posted the map because he found it funny, claiming that such "jokes are commonplace in the US". Continuing, referring to those on the right of the Labour Party using this as a way of undermining Corbyn, "What are they doing? Don't they have any respect for the dead? ... ... All these desiccated Labour apparatchiks, dragging the Nazi holocaust through the mud for the sake of their petty jostling for power and position. Have they no shame?"<ref>, ''The Independent'', 4 May 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2017.</ref> | |||
In April 2018, Chakrabarti accepted that some recommendations had not been implemented and said that Labour Party General Secretary ] would make this a priority.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43782111|title=Chakrabarti: Time for Labour to tackle anti-Semitism|work=BBC|date=16 April 2018|access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref> | |||
In May 2016, the vice-chair of Momentum, ], was briefly suspended from Labour Party membership in spring 2016 for making comments on Facebook concerning the alleged role of Jewish people in the ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Mortimer|first=Caroline|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/anti-semitism-row-momentum-organiser-jackie-walker-readmitted-to-labour-party-following-racism-a7053966.html|title=Anti-Semitism row: Momentum organiser Jackie Walker readmitted to Labour party following racism allegations|work=The Independent|date=28 May 2016|accessdate=26 September 2016}}</ref> ], the chair of ], defended her against these claims at the time, describing the media campaign against Walker as "a 'lynch mob' whose interest in combating racism is highly selective".<ref>{{cite news|last=Lansman|first=Jon|url=http://www.leftfutures.org/2016/05/a-frenzied-witch-hunt-is-not-the-way-to-combat-antisemitism-or-any-form-of-racism/|title=A frenzied witch-hunt is not the way to combat antisemitism or any form of racism|work=Left Futures|date=9 May 2016|accessdate=26 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Lansman081016">{{cite news|last=Lansman|first=Jon|url=https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-a35e-A-loss-of-confidence-the-real-reason-why-Momentum-removed-Jackie-Walker#.V_pHO4bpyrh|title=A loss of confidence: the real reason why Momentum removed Jackie Walker|work=Morning Star|date=8 October 2016|accessdate=9 October 2016}}</ref> | |||
Following allegations of antisemitism within the ], Jan Royall chaired an inquiry by ].{{sfn|Tran|2016}} The party's NEC accepted the report in May 2016. The report found "no evidence the club is itself institutionally anti-Semitic", still reporting a "cultural problem" in which (antisemitic) "behaviour and language that would once have been intolerable is now tolerated".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/oxford-university-labour-club-anti-semitism-report-baroness-royall-jewish-students-a7170446.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/oxford-university-labour-club-anti-semitism-report-baroness-royall-jewish-students-a7170446.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Report finds there have been anti-Semitic incidents in Oxford University's Labour Club |date=3 August 2016 |work=The Independent |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
At the September 2016 Labour Party conference, Walker's comments about ] led to renewed calls for her to be expelled from the Labour Party.<ref name="Stone">{{cite news|last=Stone|first=Jon|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jackie-walker-momentum-antisemitism-vice-chair-sacked-a7339261.html|title=Momentum set to sack vice-chair Jackie Walker after Holocaust Memorial Day comments|work=The Independent|quote=(Manuel Cortes) I am asking Jackie that in the interests of unity she resigns at once from our Party and also as vice-chair of Momentum. If she doesn't, both the Labour Party and Momentum need to act to get rid of her at once. Furthermore, TSSA will reconsider our union’s support for Momentum if she is still in post by this time next week|date=30 September 2016|accessdate=30 September 2016}}</ref> ], the general secretary of the ] union, said their Momentum funding would be reconsidered if Walker failed to be removed.<ref name="Stone"/> She was suspended from Labour Party membership at the end of September.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/30/momentum-chief-jackie-walker-suspended-from-labour-over-holocaus/|title=Momentum chief Jackie Walker suspended from Labour over Holocaust Memorial Day comments |work=The Daily Telegraph|agency=Press Association|date=30 September 2016|accessdate=30 September 2016}}</ref> On 3 October 2016, the organisation's steering committee decided she should cease being vice-chair, but would remain a member of the committee.<ref>{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Peter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/03/momentums-vice-chair-removed-antisemitism-row-jackie-walker|title=Jackie Walker stripped of Momentum post in antisemitism row|work=The Guardian|date=3 October 2016|accessdate=4 October 2016}}</ref> Lansman now wrote that they considered Walker's comments about Holocaust Memorial Day "to be ill-informed, ill-judged and offensive though not anti-semitic".<ref name="Lansman081016"/> | |||
In October, the ] ] held an inquiry into ].{{sfn|Boffey|Sherwood|2016}} The committee found "no reliable, empirical evidence to support the notion that there is a higher prevalence of antisemitic attitudes within Labour than any other party." It was critical of Corbyn's response to antisemitic incidents against Labour MPs and described the Chakrabarti inquiry as "ultimately compromised".{{sfn|Boffey|Sherwood|2016}} The report also found that "the failure of Labour to deal consistently and effectively with anti-Semitic incidents in recent years risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement are institutionally anti-Semitic".<ref>{{cite book | last =Kogan | first =David | author-link =David Kogan | title =Protest and Power: The Battle for the Labour Party | year =2019 | publisher =Bloomsbury | location =London | isbn =978-1-4482-1728-1 | page = 346}}</ref> | |||
Walker, who is of mixed African and Jewish heritage, has claimed that her words have been taken out of context by a right-wing media. Walker claims that: "I … utterly condemn antisemitism", and that: "I would never play down the significance of the Shoah. Working with many Jewish comrades, I continue to seek to bring greater awareness of other genocides, which are too often forgotten or minimised. If offence has been caused, it is the last thing I would want to do and I apologise."<ref name="theguardianwalker">{{cite news |last=Elgot|first=Jessica|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/28/momentum-vice-chair-jackie-walker-pressure-resign-antisemitism-row-jewish-labour-movement|title=Momentum vice-chair under pressure to resign over antisemitism row|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=28 September 2016|accessdate=7 July 2018}}</ref> | |||
==2017== | ==2017== | ||
=== |
===General election=== | ||
During the ] campaign, ] chairman ] said that "Jeremy Corbyn appears to have failed to understand the nature of contemporary anti-Semitism in the same way that it's understood by most of its target group". Labour MP ] criticised the party's record, saying "I don't think many Jewish voters in my constituency have been very impressed with the way Labour as a whole have responded", but denied that Corbyn was antisemitic.{{sfn|Josephs|2017}}{{sfn|Hope|2017}} According to polling in 2015, politicians' attitudes towards Israel influenced the vote of three out of four British Jews.<ref>"". ''The Jewish Chronicle'', 7 April 2015</ref> | |||
In April 2017, ]'s suspension was extended for a further 12 months after a disciplinary panel of the Labour Party upheld three charges of breaching party rules against him. Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader ordered a new inquiry into Livingstone's conduct, which did not take place during the next 10 months.<ref>{{cite news|last=Helm|first=Toby|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/24/ken-livingstone-hitler-suspension-end-no-further-action|title=Labour faces new furore over return of Ken Livingstone|work=The Observer|date=24 February 2018|accessdate=1 March 2018}}</ref> In March 2018, Livingstone's suspension was extended indefinitely pending the outcome of an inquiry.<ref>{{cite web|title=Labour extends Livingstone suspension|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43244090|website=BBC News|date=1 March 2018}}</ref> In May 2018, Livingstone announced that he is resigning from the party.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ken Livingstone to quit Labour|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44196298|website=BBC News|date=21 May 2018}}</ref> In a statement Livingstone said, "I do not accept the allegation that I have brought the Labour Party into disrepute - nor that I am in any way guilty of anti-Semitism. I abhor anti-Semitism, I have fought it all my life and will continue to do so."<ref>{{cite news |last=Crerar|first=Pippa|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/21/ken-livingstone-quits-labour-after-antisemitism-claims|title=Ken Livingstone quits Labour after antisemitism claims|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=21 May 2018|accessdate=23 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
It is estimated that 26% of Jewish voters voted for Labour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brin.ac.uk/2017/religious-affiliation-and-party-choice-at-the-2017-general-election/|title=Religious Affiliation and Party Choice at the 2017 General Election|website=Brin.ac.uk}}</ref> Analysis by election analysts academics Stephen Fisher et al., suggested that, in the five UK constituencies where more than 10% of the population (]) identify as Jewish – ] (21%), ] (17%), ] (14%), ] (11%) and ] (10%) – Labour's vote share at the 2017 general election increased by seven share points on average, almost three points less than the national average. This included an above-average swing to Labour in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.{{sfn|Fisher|Ford|Curtice|English|2018}} | |||
In November 2017, a Labour Party member was suspended following the posting of what Labour councillor Adam Langleben called antisemitic comments. The party member was suspended after Langleben reposted the material, saying that Labour had failed to take action prior to publication.<ref>, BBC, 30 November 2017</ref><ref>, The Times, 30 November 2017</ref> | |||
===Hate speech === | |||
In another incident, a Labour council candidate was removed from the Labour candidate list in Bradford after making antisemitic remarks such as "teachers are brainwashing us and our children into thinking the bad guy was Hitler" and "What have the Jews done good in this world?"<ref>, Haaretz, 17 November 2017</ref><ref>, BBC, 16 November 2017</ref> | |||
During the 2017 Labour Party Conference, new rules on ] were adopted, as proposed by JLM and supported by Corbyn. Previously, party members could not be disciplined for "the mere holding or expression of beliefs and opinions". Under the new rules, those who express antisemitic or other forms of hate speech, including racism, Islamophobia, sexism and homophobia, or other "conduct prejudicial to the Party", could be disciplined.{{sfn|Elgot|2017}} | |||
===Public letter=== | |||
In December 2017, a Brighton and Hove Labour housing campaigner was suspended after posting a "spoof" ] video featuring three dancing Orthodox Jews with the faces of local councillors superimposed on Facebook. The campaigner denied allegations of anti-semitism, stating that he condemned "all forms of racism" and stated that the posts were meant to be "a bit of fun, not racist".<ref>, Bright & Hove News, 8 December 2017</ref><ref>, The Jewish Chronicle, 8 December 2017</ref> | |||
In November 2017, Jewish authors ], ], and ] in a letter to '']'', said "We are alarmed that during the past few years, constructive criticism of Israeli governments has morphed into something closer to antisemitism under the cloak of so-called ]", further stating "Although anti-Zionists claim innocence of any antisemitic intent, anti-Zionism frequently borrows the libels of classical Jew-hating," and adding "Accusations of international Jewish conspiracy and control of the media have resurfaced to support false equations of Zionism with colonialism and imperialism, and the promotion of vicious, fictitious parallels with genocide and Nazism".<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206031928/https://forward.com/culture/386975/howard-jacobson-simon-schama-condemn-labour-party-anti-semitism/ |date=6 December 2017 }}, ], Talya Zax, 7 November 2017</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Howard |last2=Montefiore |first2=Simon Sebag |last3=Schama |first3=Simon |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-labour-party-and-its-approach-to-zionism-cpx2xnkdm |title=The Labour Party and its approach to Zionism |work=The Times |date=6 November 2017 |access-date=10 December 2017}} {{subscription required}}</ref> | |||
== |
==2018== | ||
During the ] campaign, Jeremy Newmark, the chairman of the ], said that "Jeremy Corbyn appears to have failed to understand the nature of contemporary anti-Semitism in the same way that it's understood by most of its target group". Labour MP ] also criticised the party's record on antisemitism, saying "I don't think many Jewish voters in my constituency have been very impressed with the way the Labour party as a whole have responded". Corbyn has in the past said that the party will not tolerate anti-Semitism in any form.{{sfn|Josephs|2017}} Streeting also said he did not believe Corbyn was antisemitic.{{sfn|Hope|2017}} | |||
===Relationship with the Jewish community=== | |||
In the Epilogue{{sfn|Hirsch|2017|pp=273–280}} to his book ''Contemporary Left Antisemitism'' (2017), written after the general election, sociologist ] alleges Corbyn's "antisemitic... politics...{{sfn|Hirsch|2017|p=275}} did not seem to be an issue" with voters, with the possible exception of four constituencies with significant Jewish populations,{{sfn|Hirsch|2017|p=277}} and discusses the impact of the near win by a Labour Party, he says, is led by man who has a "decades-long association with antisemitic politics"{{sfn|Hirsch|2017|p=274}} who has "for his whole career, embraced or tolerated certain kinds of antisemitic... politics,"{{sfn|Hirsch|2017|p=275}} and "long been connected to antisemitic ways of thinking and antisemitic movements".{{sfn|Hirsch|2017|p=279}} | |||
In March 2018, BDBJ and the ] (JLC) issued an open letter stating that Corbyn was "repeatedly found alongside people with blatantly anti-Semitic views", concluding that Corbyn "cannot seriously contemplate anti-Semitism, because he is so ideologically fixed within a far-left worldview that is instinctively hostile to mainstream Jewish communities".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-jewish-leaders-slam-corbyn-for-siding-with-anti-semites/ |title=In bitter letter, UK Jewish leaders slam Corbyn for 'siding with anti-Semites' |work=The Times of Israel |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> Hundreds of protestors outside Parliament Square Labour Party antisemitism,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/enough-is-enough-protest-labour-mps-join-hundreds-of-activists-outside-parliament-in-campaign-to-a3799546.html |title=Labour MPs join hundreds outside Parliament in anti-Semitism protest |access-date=1 April 2018|date=26 March 2018 }}</ref> demanding that Corbyn do more to tackle anti-Jewish feeling.<ref name="Cowburn">{{cite news |last=Cowburn |first=Ashley |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-party-antisemitism-jeremy-corbyn-protest-parliament-square-israel-palestine-jewish-a8274996.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-party-antisemitism-jeremy-corbyn-protest-parliament-square-israel-palestine-jewish-a8274996.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Hundreds of people protest outside Parliament against antisemitism in the Labour Party |work=] |date=26 March 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) organised a smaller counter-demonstration.<ref name="Cowburn" /> | |||
In April 2018, Corbyn attended a "third night" ] celebration held in his constituency by radical Jewish group ].<ref name="standardjewdas">{{cite web |author=Sean Morrison |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-antisemitism-row-what-is-jewdas-and-why-is-jeremy-corbyn-under-fire-for-jewish-group-meeting-a3804856.html |title=Labour anti-Semitism row: What is Jewdas and why is Jeremy Corbyn under fire for Jewish group meeting? |work=London Evening Standard |date=3 April 2018 |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="guardianjewdas">{{cite news |last=Elgot |first=Jesica |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/03/jewdas-political-activists-make-fun-communal-bodies-jeremy-corbyn |title=Jewdas: political activists who make fun of establishment Judaism |work=The Guardian |date=3 April 2018 |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="jewdasstatement">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewdas.org/enough-is-enough/ |title=Our Statement On Our Seder |work=Jewdas |date=3 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Pfeffer |first=Anshel |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-no-one-gets-to-say-who-are-good-jews-not-even-jews-1.5976112 |title=No One Gets to Say Who Are Good Jews. Not Even Jews |work=Haaretz |date=4 April 2018 |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> JLC criticised Corbyn for attending the event, while BDBJ said: "If Jeremy Corbyn goes to their event, how can we take his stated commitment to be an ally against anti-Semitism seriously?"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43624231 |title=Labour anti-Semitism row: Corbyn defends appearance at Jewdas event |work=BBC News |date=3 April 2018 |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="jewdas-nyt">{{cite news |last=Castle |first=Stephen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/world/europe/uk-jeremy-corbyn-jewdas.html |title=Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Leader, Defends Sharing Seder With Jewdas |work=The New York Times |date=3 April 2018 |access-date=6 April 2018|ref=none}}</ref> ], ]'s women's officer and Jewdas member, commended Corbyn for attending the event,<ref>{{cite news |last=Sparrow|first=Andrew|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2018/apr/03/labours-nec-drops-bid-to-force-dan-jarvis-to-stand-down-as-mp-as-he-fights-mayoral-election-politics-live|title='I learned a lot. Isn't that a good thing?': Corbyn defends meeting with controversial Jewish group – Politics live|work=The Guardian|date=3 April 2018|access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> arguing that it was "absolutely right" for Corbyn to "engage with the community at all levels"<ref name="jewdas-nyt" /> and that many of the event attendees "are absolutely part of the 'mainstream community'".<ref>{{cite news |last=MacAskill|first=Andrew|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-labour-antisemitism/british-labour-leader-corbyn-criticized-for-spending-passover-with-anti-israel-group-idUSKCN1HA15Q|title=British Labour leader Corbyn criticized for spending Passover with anti-Israel group|work=Reuters|date=3 April 2018|access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Conference=== | |||
During the 2017 ], new rules were introduced to combat antisemitism or other "conduct prejudicial to the Party" by members. Some party activists made the accusation that Labour was policing "]" and claimed that the rule was "an attempt to stifle ]". 98% of members supported the change to the ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Cicurel |first=Deborah |url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-backs-anti-semitism-rule-change-as-corbyn-denies-he-leads-a-nasty-party/ |title=Labour overwhelmingly backs anti-Semitism rule change |publisher=Jewish News |date=27 September 2017 |accessdate=10 December 2017}}</ref> Deputy leader ] promised there would be an investigation into how the party provided a platform at a conference fringe event to Israeli author and activist ], who was criticised for saying that ] should be open to debate, saying "This is about free speech, the freedom to criticise and to discuss every issue, whether it's the Holocaust: yes or no, Palestine, the liberation, the whole spectrum."{{sfn|Elgot|2017}}<ref name="Wearmouth">{{cite news |last1=Wearmouth |first1=Rachel |title=Labour in Fresh Anti-Semitism Row As Speaker Calls For Free Speech To Cover Holocaust Denial |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour-anti-semitism_uk_59c9ed4de4b0cdc7733402a2 |accessdate=7 January 2018 |publisher=Huffington Post |date=26 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/26/new-antisemitism-row-for-labour-over-fringe-speakers-holocaust-remarks-miko-peled |title=Labour fringe speaker's Holocaust remarks spark new antisemitism row}}</ref> Watson responded that "it is nothing to do with the official Labour party conference. And if there was Holocaust denial there, these people have no right to be in the Labour party, and if they are they should be expelled".{{sfn|Weaver|Elgot|2017}} Delegates at the fringe event demanded that the ] be expelled from the party over their support for the state of Israel.{{sfn|Donaldson|2017}} In October 2017, Chair of Jewish Voice for Labour, Jenny Manson said, "Miko asked whether we are Zionist or not, and I said we do not have a policy on that. We have members who are progressive Zionist, anti-Zionist, people for whom Israel is not their daily concern. We stand against racism in all forms and we have our definition of anti-semitism, which is hostility towards or abuse of Jews – so not a criticism of Israel in itself. There is no reason that we would condemn Zionism, or promote Zionism. Our members can decide..."<ref name="Manson">{{cite news |last=Manson|first=Jenny|url=http://www.talkradio.co.uk/news/head-new-jewish-labour-party-we-should-be-focusing-islamophobia-not-punishing-ken-livingstone|title=Head of new Jewish Labour party: We should be focusing on Islamophobia, not punishing Ken Livingstone|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=6 October 2017|accessdate=1 July 2018}}</ref> | |||
In April 2018, following a meeting with Corbyn to discuss antisemitism in Labour, JLC and BDBJ said "We are disappointed that Mr Corbyn's proposals fell short of the minimum level of action which our letter suggested. In particular, they did not agree in the meeting with our proposals that there should be a fixed timetable to deal with antisemitism cases; that they should expedite the long-standing cases involving ] and ]; that no MP should share a platform with somebody expelled or suspended for antisemitism; that they adopt the full ] definition of antisemitism with all its examples and clauses; that there should be transparent oversight of their disciplinary process".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harpin |first1=Lee |title=Anger after JLC and Board meeting with Corbyn |url=https://www.thejc.com/corbyn-meeting-board-jlc-1.463017 |access-date=13 August 2018 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=24 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Corbyn anti-Semitism meeting 'disappointing', Jewish leaders say |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43887223 |access-date=13 August 2018 |work=BBC News |date=24 April 2018}}</ref> Corbyn described the meeting as "positive and constructive" and re-iterated that he was "absolutely committed" to rooting out antisemitism in Labour.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kentish |first1=Benjamin |last2=Khan |first2=Sehab |title=Jewish leaders call meeting with Jeremy Corbyn 'disappointing and a missed opportunity' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-antisemitism-jewish-leaders-meeting-a8320641.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-antisemitism-jewish-leaders-meeting-a8320641.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=13 August 2018 |work=The Independent |date=24 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Definition of antisemitism=== | |||
In March 2017, human rights lawyer ] criticised the ] (IHRA) definition as "unclear and confusing" saying it did not have "the clarity which would be required" from a legal definition of anti-Semitism.<ref name="Winstanley"/>{{sfn|Tomlinson|2017}} He presented his legal opinion on the new working definition at the ].<ref name="jewishnews1">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/hugh-tomlinson-ihra/|title=Leading lawyer rounds on ‘unclear and confusing’ IHRA anti-Semitism definition|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=3 April 2017|accessdate=19 May 2018}}</ref> In May, former appeal court judge ] said: "Shorn of philosophical and political refinements, anti-Semitism is hostility towards Jews as Jews. Where it manifests itself in discriminatory acts or inflammatory speech it is generally illegal, lying beyond the bounds of freedom of speech and of action. By contrast, criticism (and equally defence) of Israel or of Zionism is not only generally lawful: it is affirmatively protected by law. Endeavours to conflate the two by characterising everything other than anodyne criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic are not new. What is new is the adoption by the UK government (and the Labour Party) of a definition of anti-Semitism which endorses the conflation."{{sfn|Sedley|2017}} | |||
In April 2018, the ], JLM's sister party,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishlabour.uk/what_is_the_jewish_labour_movement|title=What is the Jewish Labour Movement?|access-date=13 July 2019|work=Jewish labour Movement}}</ref> led by ], announced it would cut ties with Corbyn and his office due to their handling of antisemitism, but retain ties with Labour as a whole. In a letter to Corbyn, Gabbay wrote of "my responsibility to acknowledge the hostility that you have shown to the Jewish community and the antisemitic statements and actions you have allowed".<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411104828/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/10/israeli-labor-leader-cuts-ties-jeremy-corbyn-antisemitism |date=11 April 2018 }}, 10 April 2018</ref> | |||
The IHRA definition of antisemitism was formally accepted by the Labour Party at the 2017 conference. ] saw this as "attempts to widen the definition of antisemitism beyond its meaning of hostility towards, or discrimination against, Jews as Jews".<ref name="Sugarman">{{cite news |last=Sugarman|first=Daniel|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/new-jewish-group-launched-in-labour-1.443348|title=New Jewish group launched in Labour|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=25 August 2017|accessdate=18 May 2018}}</ref> Jewish Voice for Labour's information officer, Jonathan Rosenhead sees this definition as being intentionally "vague" allowing for "the protection of Israel" via "a side door" and thus "encouraging the presumption that ] is likely to be antisemitic".<ref name="Sugarman"/><ref name="Rosenhead">{{cite news |last=Rosenhead|first=Jonathan|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/jonathan-rosenhead/new-jewish-voice-for-labour|title=A new Jewish voice for Labour|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=11 October 2017|accessdate=18 May 2018}}</ref> The organisation sees the change to the Labour Party Rule Book as an "anti-democratic restriction on political debate".<ref name="Philpot">{{cite news |last=Philpot|first=Robert|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-new-jewish-voice-for-labour-seeks-to-throw-off-the-shackles-of-israel/|title=UK’s new Jewish Voice for Labour seeks to throw off the 'shackles' of Israel|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=15 December 2017|accessdate=18 May 2018}}</ref> In May 2018, Jewish Voice for Labour along with members of Free Speech on Israel produced a definition of antisemitism as "Antisemitism is a form of racism: hatred, hostility, discrimination or prejudice against Jews because they are Jews. It may be manifested in violence; denial of rights; direct, indirect or institutional discrimination; prejudice-based behaviour; or verbal or written statements. Such manifestations draw on stereotypes – characteristics which all Jews are presumed to share."<ref name="jewishnews2">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jewish-voice-for-labour-offer-new-anti-semitism-definition/|title=Jewish Voice for Labour offer new anti-Semitism definition|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=17 May 2018|accessdate=18 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
In August 2018, Corbyn said that antisemitism was a "problem that the Labour Party is working to overcome". He said that criticism of Israel may stray into antisemitism at times, but denied that all forms of anti-Zionism were inherently racist, and pledged to root out antisemitism within the party,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dallison |first1=Paul |title=Jeremy Corbyn vows to root out anti-Semitic 'poison' |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semitism-labour-vows-to-root-out-anti-semitic-poison/ |access-date=13 August 2018 |work=Politico |date=3 August 2018}}</ref> saying: "People who dish out anti-Semitic poison need to understand: You do not do it in my name. You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement."<ref name = "JSDS">{{cite web | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/corbyn-and-labour-struggle-with-anti-semitism-accusations-a-1224067.html | title=Corbyn's Anti-Semitism Problem Labour Stumbles in Polls as Accusations Mount | work=Die Spiegel | date=21 August 2018| access-date=25 August 2018 | author=JSchindler örg}}</ref> In a video release a few days later, Corbyn apologised again, saying, "I acknowledge there is a real problem of antisemitism that Labour is working to overcome. I am sorry for the hurt that has been caused to many Jewish people".<ref>A. Morales, '' (05/08/18) on ]</ref> In the same month, Corbyn denied that he or Labour posed an "existential threat".<ref>, CNN, 17 August 2018</ref><ref>, ''The Washington Post'', 10 August 2018</ref> | |||
In June 2018, a group of 23 prominent academics and other figures wrote an open letter to '']'' calling for clarity about what constitutes antisemitism. They wrote: "Antisemitism is discrimination, prejudice or hostility against us because we are Jews. It is a form of racism. It may be manifested in violence, denial of rights, discriminatory acts, prejudice-based behaviour, verbal or written statements, negative stereotypes or scapegoating. Holocaust denial, the blood libel, conspiracy theories about supposed Jewish power or the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide – all are expressions of antisemitism." They added: "Criticism of Israel is not antisemitic unless motivated by anti-Jewish prejudice... Criticism of Israel, of its displacement of Palestinians and of its denial of their rights, is not antisemitic. Criticising laws and policies of the state of Israel as racist and as falling under the definition of apartheid is not antisemitic. Calling for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel to oppose those policies is not antisemitic." The academics and other figures included, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="theguardian3">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/15/we-must-define-antisemitism-to-fight-it-effectively|title=We must define antisemitism to fight it effectively|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=15 June 2018|accessdate=19 July 2018}}</ref> | |||
In September 2018, at Labour Conference, Corbyn said he wants Labour and the Jewish community to "work together and draw a line" under antisemitism. He went on to attack the Conservative Party for accusing Labour of "anti-Semitism one day, then endorse ]'s hard-right government the next day".<ref>{{cite news |title=Labour conference: Corbyn on anti-Semitism and racism|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-45653781/labour-conference-corbyn-on-anti-semitism-and-racism|access-date=1 October 2018|work=BBC News|date=26 September 2018}}</ref> | |||
In July, Labour's ] adopted a new code of conduct that defines antisemitism for the purposes of disciplinary cases brought before the National Constitutional Committee, which intended to help make the disciplinary process more efficient and transparent.<ref name="lansman">{{cite news |last=Lansman|first=Jon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/12/labour-antisemitism-code-gold-standard-political-parties|title=Labour’s antisemitism code is the gold standard for political parties|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=12 July 2018|accessdate=17 July 2018}}</ref> The new code of conduct included the same definition of antisemitism, that's provided in the IHRA working definition on antisemitism, but it was accused of removing or amending four out of eleven of the examples of what constitutes antisemitism,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-antisemitism-code-dismissed-by-chief-rabbi-ephraim-mirvis-j0g9n9p3h |title=Margaret Hodge confronts Jeremy Corybn in antisemitism row}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/labour-mps-condemn-party-anti-semitism-definition-on-eve-of-endorsement-11439122 |title=Labour MPs call for tougher anti-Semitism code}}</ref><ref name=bbcihra/> and amended points showing how criticism of Israel can stray into antisemitism.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/analysis/jeremy-corbyn-labour-definition-antisemitism-1.466626 |title=Read Labour's new definition of antisemitism that has caused so much anger |publisher=The JC |date=5 July 2018 |first=Lee |last=Harpin |accessdate=17 July 2018}}</ref> The code was also accused of failing to apply the Macpherson Principle which says "A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person."<ref name=GuardianJul16>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/16/labour-antisemitism-code-could-breach-equality-act |title=Labour antisemitism code could breach Equality Act |publisher=The Guardian |first=Jessica |last=Elgot |date=16 July 2018 |accessdate=17 July 2018}}</ref> In response, more than 60 British rabbis wrote a joint letter, saying that Labour had “chosen to ignore the Jewish community”. The authors included Rabbi ], vice-chair of the United Synagogue’s rabbinical council, and Rabbis ], ] and ], leaders of the Reform, Liberal and Masorti movements. The authors said that it was “not the Labour party’s place to rewrite a definition of antisemitism” and noted that the full IHRA definition had been accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service, the Scottish parliament, the Welsh assembly and 124 local authorities.<ref name=guardianrabbis16082018>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/16/68-rabbis-labour-chooses-ignore-uk-jewish-community |title=Dozens of rabbis say Labour chooses to ignore UK Jewish community}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/nearly-70-leading-rabbis-sign-letter-to-labour-nec-over-insulting-ihra-stance/ |title=Nearly 70 leading rabbis sign letter to Labour NEC over ‘insulting’ IHRA stance}}</ref> | |||
===March–April === | |||
Jewish Voice for Labour said in a statement that the code of conduct "offers a constructive framework for moving forward in this difficult area." ] director Ben Jamal said it was important that Labour had rejected the examples in the IHRA document which pro-Israel groups use to "assert that calling Israel an apartheid state or calling for peaceful action to respond to its human rights abuses via ] are inherently anti-Semitic." This "not only demeans the struggle against anti-Semitism in which all should be involved but also prevents action to address the injustices perpetrated against Palestinian people." ] and the ] criticised Labour alleging that the new rules "only dilute the definition and further erode the existing lack of confidence that British Jews have in their sincerity to tackle anti-Semitism within the Labour movement."<ref name="Winstanley">{{cite news |last=Winstanley|first=Asa|url=https://www.electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/calling-israel-racist-isnt-anti-semitic-rules-uk-labour|title=Calling Israel racist isn’t anti-Semitic, rules UK Labour|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=7 July 2018|accessdate=17 July 2018}}</ref> | |||
Controversies erupted about incidents in Jeremy Corbyn's backbench record. | |||
====Freedom for Humanity mural ==== | |||
According to ], General Secretary of the Labour Party, the code of conduct takes the IHRA Working Definition and supplements it "with additional examples and guidance", thus creating "the most thorough and expansive Code of Conduct on anti-Semitism introduced by any political party in the UK".<ref name="jewishnews3">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/opinion-ihra-doesnt-go-far-enough-labours-new-anti-semitism-guidelines-are-more-comprehensive/|title=OPINION: IHRA doesn’t go far enough – Labour’s new anti-Semitism guidelines are MORE comprehensive|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=6 July 2018|accessdate=18 May 2018}}</ref> Labour National Executive Committee member ] called the code of conduct "the new gold standard" for political parties, "stronger than anything of its kind adopted by any political party in this country". He said, it "fully adopts the IHRA definition, and covers the same ground as the IHRA examples". He added, "Conflating legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism is dangerous and undermines the fight against antisemitism. Clear and detailed guidelines are essential to ensure that antisemitism isn't tolerated, while protecting free speech on Israel's conduct within a respectful and civil environment. This is what Labour's code of conduct provides."<ref name="lansman"/> Following the adoption of the new code of conduct on antisemitism, Labour MP ] accused Corbyn of being "an anti-Semitic racist".<ref>, Guardian, Heather Stewart and Jessica Elgot, 17 July 2018</ref> Labour MP ] resigned from the party while suspended on misconduct allegations, saying that "anti-Semitism is being tolerated" in the party.<ref>, Jewish News, 18 July 2018</ref> | |||
{{Main|Freedom for Humanity}} | |||
The 2012 ''Freedom for Humanity'' was a street mural painted in east London by American artist ]. The artwork depicted what Mear One described as an "elite banker cartel" of the ], the ], the ] and others sitting around a ]-style board game on the backs of men with dark complexions.<ref name="ToI2012">{{cite news | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/london-council-set-to-remove-anti-semitic-mural-showing-jewish-bankers/ | title=London council set to remove 'anti-Semitic' mural showing Jewish bankers | newspaper=The Times of Israel | date=6 October 2012 | access-date=16 September 2018}}</ref> The temporary mural was removed by ] following complaints by residents. Mayor ] said "the images of the bankers perpetuate antisemitic propaganda about conspiratorial Jewish domination of financial and political institutions".<ref name="Dysch">{{cite news|last=Dysch|first=Marcus|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/did-jeremy-corbyn-back-artist-whose-mural-was-condemned-as-antisemitic-1.62106|title=Did Jeremy Corbyn back artist whose mural was condemned as antisemitic?|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=6 November 2015|access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref> In response, Mear One denied that the mural was antisemitic; he said that the mural was about "class and privilege", and pointed out that the figures depicted included both "Jewish and white Anglos".<ref name="ToI2012" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semitism-row-key-facts/ | title=Jeremy Corbyn's anti-Semitism row: the key facts you need to know |date=26 March 2018 |work=i News | access-date=16 September 2018}}</ref> | |||
Corbyn, responding to a Facebook post from the artist that contained an image of the mural and was written before it had been criticised, saying, "Tomorrow they want to buff my mural Freedom of Expression," had written: "Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller destroyed ]'s mural because it includes a picture of ],"<ref name="Merrick">{{cite news |last=Merrick |first=Rob |date=23 March 2018 |title=Jeremy Corbyn forced to backtrack over apparent support for antisemitic mural |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semitic-mural-mear-one-luciana-berger-east-end-a8271111.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semitic-mural-mear-one-luciana-berger-east-end-a8271111.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |access-date=23 March 2018 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref name="Stewart 2018">{{cite web | last=Stewart | first=Heather | title=Corbyn in antisemitism row after backing artist behind 'offensive' mural | website=The Guardian | date=23 March 2018 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/23/corbyn-criticised-after-backing-artist-behind-antisemitic-mural | access-date=19 May 2023}}</ref> an apparent reference to ]'s destruction of ]'s '']'' fresco in 1934.<ref name="Dysch" /> | |||
Philosopher ] said: "it is not true to say that the NEC rejects the IHRA 'working definition'. On the contrary, it endorses it and incorporates it – prominently – in its Code. It does, however, depart from the IHRA document in certain other respects, including the 'examples' it gives." He concluded: "The way forward for people of goodwill who genuinely want to solve the conundrum with which this article opens – combating antisemitism while protecting free political speech – is to welcome the NEC Code as the latest incarnation of a living document that constantly requires work."{{sfn|Klug|2018}} | |||
In March 2018, Labour MP ] asked Corbyn why he had questioned the removal of a mural showing a member of the Rothschild family as it did.<ref name="Elliott">{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Francis |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-mp-pressures-corbyn-over-antisemitic-mural-9m9bj7jq7 |title=Labour MP Luciana Berger pressures Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitic mural |work=The Times |date=23 March 2018 |access-date=23 March 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Corbyn said, "I sincerely regret that I did not look more closely at the image I was commenting on, the contents of which are deeply disturbing and antisemitic". "The defence of free speech cannot be used as a justification for the promotion of antisemitism in any form."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43523445 |title=Jeremy Corbyn regrets comments about 'anti-Semitic' mural |work=BBC News |date=23 March 2018 |access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-criticised-by-labour-mp-for-appearing-to-defend-anti-semitic-painting_uk_5ab5280ee4b054d118e27934 |title=Jeremy Corbyn Admits 'Regret' After Appearing To Defend Anti-Semitic Mural |work=HuffPost |date=23 March 2018 |access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref> Karen Pollock of the ] said that the mural was "indefensible" as it "was blatantly anti-Semitic, using images commonly found in anti-Semitic propaganda".<ref>{{cite news |last=Peyer |first=Robin de |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-antisemitism-jeremy-corbyn-under-fire-for-facebook-post-as-row-intensifies-a3798286.html |title=Labour anti-Semitism: Jeremy Corbyn under fire for Facebook post as row intensifies |work=London Evening Standard |date=24 March 2018 |access-date=24 March 2018}}</ref> Jeremy Gilbert argued that this accusation was based on a ], saying that the allegation "amounts to a mere argument from resemblance: because anti-capitalist discourse and anti-Semitic discourse share some structural features, they are fundamentally the same".{{sfn|Gilbert|2018}} According to ], echoed in local media, the Jewish caricatures resembled the imagery used by '']'' in Nazi Germany.<ref name="Lipstadt2019">{{cite book|author=Deborah E. Lipstadt|author-link=Deborah Lipstadt|title=Antisemitism: Here and Now|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWJKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|year=2019|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8052-4338-3|pages=59–61}}</ref> | |||
On 17 July, a statement signed by 39<ref name="jewishorganisations">, Jerusalem Post, 18 July 2018</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/far-left-jewish-groups-slam-false-accusations-of-anti-semitism-against-them/|title=Far-left Jewish groups slam ‘false accusations of anti-Semitism’ against them|access-date=2018-07-18|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jns.org/three-dozen-far-left-pro-bds-jewish-groups-urge-rejection-of-anti-semitism-definition/|title=Three-dozen far-left pro-BDS Jewish groups urge rejection of anti-Semitism definition {{!}} JNS.org|website=www.jns.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-07-18}}</ref> left-wing Jewish organisations worldwide, including six based in the UK, was released criticising the IHRA definition, declaring that it was "worded in such a way as to be easily adopted or considered by western governments to intentionally equate legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism, as a means to suppress the former" and that "this conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law." The statement went on to urge governments, municipalities, universities and other institutions to reject the IHRA definition.<ref>{{cite web |title=Corbyn receives a huge boost from 36 Jewish groups worldwide, embarrassing the media |url=https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2018/07/17/corbyn-receives-a-huge-boost-from-36-jewish-groups-worldwide-which-is-awkward-for-the-media/ |publisher=The Canary |date=17 July 2018}}</ref> | |||
====Comments about certain Zionists==== | |||
===Public perceptions=== | |||
In a January 2013 meeting in Parliament, UK Palestinian Authority representative ] said that Jews are "the only children of God ... because nobody is stopping Israel building its messianic dream of Eretz Israel ".<ref name="Paul_JPost">{{Cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Palestinian-envoy-to-Britain-dismisses-two-state-solution|title=Palestinian envoy to Britain dismisses two-state solution|last=Paul|first=Jonny|date=20 January 2018|work=]|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> Pro-Israel activists at the meeting then challenged Hassassian.<ref name="Paul_JPost" /> In August 2018, MailOnline released footage of comments that Corbyn had made a few days after this event at Friends House in Euston, convened by the Palestinian Return Centre. He defended Hassassian's comments, which, he said, were "dutifully recorded by the thankfully silent Zionists" in the audience.<ref name="StSp24Au18">{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Heather |last2=Sparrow |first2=Andrew |title=Jeremy Corbyn: I used the term 'Zionist' in accurate political sense |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/24/corbyn-english-irony-video-reignites-antisemitism-row-labour |access-date=25 August 2018 |work=] |date=24 August 2018 }}</ref> Corbyn went on to say that these "Zionists" had two problems: "One is that they don't want to study history and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don't understand English irony either. Manuel does understand English irony and uses it very, very effectively so I think they need two lessons which we can help them with".<ref name="Ke25Au18">{{cite news |last1=Kennedy |first1=Dominic |title=Jeremy Corbyn: Zionists in Britain just don't grasp irony |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jeremy-corbyn-zionists-just-don-t-grasp-irony-29wx7gwsl |access-date=25 August 2018 |work=The Times |date=24 August 2018 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The text of that speech by Jeremy on the Palestinian ambassador to the UK: English irony and certain Zionist critics |journal=] |date=29 August 2018 |url=http://labourbriefing.squarespace.com/home/2018/8/29/full-texxt-of-that-speech-by-jeremy-on-zionists-and-a-sense-of-irony |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911225611/http://labourbriefing.squarespace.com/home/2018/8/29/full-texxt-of-that-speech-by-jeremy-on-zionists-and-a-sense-of-irony |archive-date=11 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
A ] poll before the ] found 13% of Jews were planning to vote Labour in 2017, however, two years earlier, in the ], 14% said they were supporting Labour when ] was leader.<ref name="Zagoria"/> | |||
His comments were accused by some of coded antisemitism, including by Labour MPs Luciana Berger, ], ] and ].<ref name="StSp24Au18" /><ref name="Ke25Au18" /> Conservative MPs reported Corbyn to the parliamentary standards watchdog over the comments.<ref name="Ba25Au18">{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Tom |title=Corbyn defends 'Zionists don't understand English irony' remarks as Tories report him to parliamentary watchdog |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-zionists-speech-english-irony-reports-parliamentary-standards-antisemitism-a8507196.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-zionists-speech-english-irony-reports-parliamentary-standards-antisemitism-a8507196.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=25 August 2018 |work=] |date=24 August 2018}}</ref> ] asserted that Corbyn had crossed the line from anti-Zionism to antisemitism.<ref name="AhistoricalAntisemitism">{{cite magazine |last=Lipstadt |first=Deborah |title=Jeremy Corbyn's Ironically Ahistorical Anti-Semitism |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/jeremy-corbyn-jews/568792/ |access-date=29 August 2018 |magazine=] |date=28 August 2018}}</ref> Corbyn's remarks were defended by shadow chancellor ], who argued that the comments were taken out of context.<ref name="Ke25Au18" /> A Labour spokesperson said that parts of the speech which contexualised Corbyn's language were "edited out of the footage ... He had been speaking about Zionists and non-Zionist Jews and very clearly does not go on to use Zionists as any kind of shorthand for Jews".<ref name="StSp24Au18" /> | |||
According to a poll of 1,864 British Jewish adults carried out in 2017 a majority of British Jews believed that the Labour Party was too tolerant of antisemitism. Of those surveyed for their opinion, 83% (in 2016 this was 87%) stated that racist sentiments were not adequately challenged by Labour members of parliament, members of the party, or Labour Party supporters. The poll was held for the group ] (who said of the poll "It is important to note that there is no evidence that parties' supporters favour a soft approach to antisemitism. The failure to deal robustly with antisemitism is more likely to be a result of a failure to recognize and understand the many guises of modern antisemitism."),<ref name="CAS2017">{{cite web|url=https://antisemitism.uk/caa-launches-manifesto-for-fighting-antisemitism-as-poll-reveals-extent-of-antisemitism-crisis/|title=CAA launches manifesto for fighting antisemitism as poll reveals extent of antisemitism crisis|date=27 September 2016|publisher=|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref> and followed increasing criticism of Corbyn's attempts to fight anti-Jewish sentiment within the party.{{sfn|Bodkin|2017}} A poll by ''The Jewish Chronicle'' prior to the 2017 election found that just 13% of Jews intended to vote for Labour, and that when asked to rank the degree of "antisemitism among the political party's members and elected representatives" between 1 (low) to 5 (high), Jews ranked Labour at 3.94, compared with 3.64 for UKIP, 2.7 for Liberal Democrates, and 1.96 for Conservatives.<ref name="JCMay2017">, ], Marcus Dysch May 30, 2017</ref> | |||
=== Facebook groups === | |||
In March 2018, it was reported that, in 2014, Corbyn and some of his staff had been members of three private Facebook groups, including "Palestine Live" and "History of Palestine", containing antisemitic posts. A spokesman said that Corbyn had been added to the first two groups by others, had little involvement in them, and had either left them already or left following the reports. Labour stated that a full investigation would be undertaken and action taken against any member involved.<ref name="Harpin1">{{cite news |last=Harpin |first=Lee |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-start-disciplinary-action-over-antisemitic-posts-on-secret-facebook-group-joined-by-corbyn-1.460197 |title=Labour start disciplinary action over antisemitic posts on secret Facebook group joined by Corbyn |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=7 March 2018 |access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="Zeffman">{{cite news|last1=Zeffman|first1=Henry|last2=Bridge|first2=Mark |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/labour-to-act-on-antisemitic-member-posts-9zbqcfrkp|title=Labour to act on antisemitic member posts|work=The Times|date=8 March 2018|access-date=8 March 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Elgot |first1=Jessica|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/08/labour-suspends-party-members-in-antisemitic-facebook-group|title=Labour suspends party members in 'antisemitic' Facebook group |work=The Guardian|date=8 March 2018|access-date=29 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Harpin|first=Lee |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-start-disciplinary-action-over-antisemitic-posts-on-secret-facebook-group-joined-by-corbyn-1.460197|title=Labour start disciplinary action over antisemitic posts on secret Facebook group joined by Corbyn|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=7 March 2018|access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Forrester|first=Kate| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-was-member-of-facebook-group-at-centre-of-anti-semitism-investigation_uk_5aa00289e4b002df2c5fc68d| title=Jeremy Corbyn Was Member Of Facebook Group At Centre Of Anti-Semitism Investigation|work=HuffPost|date=7 March 2018|access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/08/labour-suspends-party-members-in-antisemitic-facebook-group |title=Labour suspends party members in 'antisemitic' Facebook group |newspaper=]}}</ref><ref name="Fisher22Ma18">{{cite news|last=Fisher|first=Lucy|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/corbyn-in-another-pro-palestine-facebook-group-linked-to-antisemitism-wkbd6209w|title=Jeremy Corbyn in another pro‑Palestine Facebook group linked to antisemitism|work=The Times|date=22 March 2018|access-date=24 March 2018|quote=The Labour leader belonged to 'History of Palestine', on which other people posted anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, according to the Guido Fawkes website. He is said to have been added to the group in 2014 and quit it yesterday after media reports about his membership. Mr Corbyn is not thought to have posted any comments himself.}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Welch |first1=Ben |title=Jeremy Corbyn accused of belonging to third antisemitic Facebook group |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jeremy-corbyn-antisemitic-facebook-group-mural-1.461353 |access-date=19 September 2018 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=26 March 2018}}</ref> | |||
At the beginning of April, '']'' reported that it had uncovered over 2,000 examples of antisemitic, racist, violent threats and abusive posts in Corbyn-supporting private Facebook groups, including frequent attacks on Jews and Holocaust-denying material.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kerbaj |first1=Richard |last2=Pogrund |first2=Gabriel |last3=Ungoed‑Thomas |first3=Jon |last4=Shipman |first4=Tim |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/exposed-jeremy-corbyns-hate-factory-kkh55kpgx |title=Exposed: Jeremy Corbyn's hate factory |work=The Sunday Times |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="timesofisrael1April">{{cite news |last=Surkes |first=Sue |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-labour-officials-are-in-facebook-groups-with-anti-semitic-content-report/ |title=12 top UK Labour officials in Facebook groups with anti-Semitic content – report |work=The Times of Israel |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> The 20 largest pro-Corbyn private Facebook groups, with combined membership of over 400,000, were reported to have as members 12 senior staff who worked for Corbyn and shadow chancellor ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43609296 |title=Labour Party 'not connected' to abusive anti-Jewish messages |work=BBC News |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> Many of the posts criticised Labour MP Berger and ], president of BDBJ.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-anti-semitism-facebook-groups-corbyn-latest/ |title=Labour seeks to distance itself from pro-Corbyn anti-Semitic Facebook groups |work=i News |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="timesofisrael1April" /> A Labour Party spokesperson said the groups "are not officially connected to the party in any way". Labour MPs urged Corbyn to instruct his supporters to shut down groups containing abusive posts.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/c233fc34-35af-11e8-8b98-2f31af407cc8 |title=Labour MPs urge Corbyn to shut down abusive Facebook groups |work=Financial Times |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Kate Forrester |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/activists-demand-jeremy-corbyn-clean-up-pro-labour-facebook-pages-amid-anti-semitism-row_uk_5abd0753e4b03e2a5c7a4123 |title=Activists Demand Jeremy Corbyn 'Clean Up' Pro-Labour Facebook Pages Amid Anti-Semitism Row |work=HuffPost |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> Subsequently, Corbyn deleted his personal Facebook account, which he had set up before becoming Labour leader, although his official page remained.<ref>{{cite web |last=Demianyk |first=Graeme |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-facebook-page_uk_5ac1052fe4b055e50ace82be |title=Jeremy Corbyn Deletes Personal Facebook Page Amid Anti-Semitism Row |work=HuffPost |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
According to journalist Stephan Daisley, the Labour Party had previously been quick to take a stance against groups where racism, sexism, and homophobia had been tolerated. However, according to Daisley, antisemitism is now routine within the party, and that by its own definition, the party is now "institutionally anti-Semitic".{{sfn|Daisley|2017}} | |||
====Corbyn's responses==== | |||
Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and ]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/revealed-jeremy-corbyn-attended-event-hosted-by-holocaust-denier-s-group-in-2013-1.68163 |title=Revealed: Jeremy Corbyn attended event hosted by Holocaust denier's group in 2013 |website=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref> have attended events of "] Remembered", founded by ] Paul Eisen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/18/jeremy-corbyn-antisemitism-claims-ludicrous-and-wrong|title=Jeremy Corbyn says antisemitism claims 'ludicrous and wrong'|first=Rowena|last=Mason|date=17 August 2015|website=The Guardian}}</ref>{{sfn|Freedland|2016}} However, Corbyn has said that this had taken place before Eisen had made his views known. In 2012, Corbyn praised ], leader of the northern branch of the ], who had been found guilty of using the antisemitic trope of the ] in a speech in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jeremy |first=Yonah |url=http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Islamic-Movement-leader-Salah-convicted-of-racist-incitement-on-appeal-381337 |title=Islamic Movement leader Salah convicted of racist incitement on appeal - Arab-Israeli Conflict - Jerusalem Post |publisher=Jpost.com |date=16 February 2007 |accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref> In Freedland's view, while under Corbyn the Labour party is increasing its membership, it is attracting those on the left who would previously have rejected the party, or would not have been accepted by it.{{sfn|Freedland|2016}} A party spokesman said, "Jeremy has consistently spoken out against all forms of antisemitism and condemned Holocaust denial as vile and wrong." Corbyn said had he known of Eisen's Holocaust denial, he would have had nothing to do with the group.{{sfn|Mendick|2017}} | |||
In March 2018, in response to claims that he may be seen as antisemitic, Corbyn stated, "I'm not an anti-Semite in any form" and that he challenges "anti-Semitism whenever it arises and no anti-Semitic remarks are done in my name or would ever be done in my name".<ref name="JNO">{{cite web|url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/exclusive-corbyn-interview/|title=Exclusive Jewish News interview with Jeremy Corbyn: 'I'm not an anti-Semite in any form'|last=Cohen|first=Justin|date=28 March 2018|work=Jewish News|access-date=3 April 2018|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401125330/http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/exclusive-corbyn-interview/|archive-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> In the same month, Corbyn said that he would not tolerate antisemitism "in and around" Labour. "We must stamp this out from our party and movement", he said. "We recognise that anti-Semitism has occurred in pockets within Labour, causing pain and hurt to our Jewish community in Labour and the rest of the country. I am sincerely sorry for the pain which has been caused, and pledge to redouble my efforts to bring this anxiety to an end".{{sfn|BBC|2019}} The following month, writing in the '']'', Corbyn said, "We have not done enough fully to get to grips with the problem, and for that the Jewish community and our own Jewish members deserve an apology. My party and I are sorry for the hurt and distress caused".<ref>J. Murphy, '' (24/04/18) in '']''</ref> | |||
===Christine Shawcroft resignation=== | |||
In November 2017, leading British authors ], ], and ] condemned Labour's failure to address anti-semitism in a letter to '']'' saying "We are alarmed that during the past few years, constructive criticism of Israeli governments has morphed into something closer to antisemitism under the cloak of so-called anti-Zionism", further stating "Although anti-Zionists claim innocence of any antisemitic intent, anti-Zionism frequently borrows the libels of classical Jew-hating," and adding "Accusations of international Jewish conspiracy and control of the media have resurfaced to support false equations of Zionism with colonialism and imperialism, and the promotion of vicious, fictitious parallels with genocide and Nazism".<ref>, ], Talya Zax, 7 November 2017</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Howard |last2=Montefiore |first2=Simon Sebag |last3=Schama |first3=Simon |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-labour-party-and-its-approach-to-zionism-cpx2xnkdm |title=The Labour Party and its approach to Zionism |work=The Times |date=6 November 2017 |accessdate=10 December 2017}} {{subscription required}}</ref> | |||
In March 2018, ], the recently appointed<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42708215 |title=Momentum's Christine Shawcroft voted on to Labour disputes panel |work=BBC News |date=16 January 2018 |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> head of the Party's disputes panel, resigned after it emerged she had opposed the suspension of Peterborough council candidate Alan Bull, for what she called "a Facebook post taken completely out of context and alleged to show anti-Semitism". She later said that she had not seen the Facebook post in question. Bull, in 2015, had shared in a closed Facebook group an article suggesting that the Holocaust was a hoax to "invite discussion and debate". Bull later said "I'm not an anti-Semite, I am not a Holocaust denier – I support equal rights for Palestinian people".<ref>{{citation | title = Labour member 'sorry' over Holocaust Facebook post | work = BBC News |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43655793 | date = 5 April 2018 | access-date = 5 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{citation | url = http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-alan-bull-council-holocaust-hoax/ | work = Jewish News | title = Labour suspends candidate who called Holocaust a 'hoax' | date = 22 March 2018 | access-date = 5 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43578225 |title='Deeply sorry' Christine Shawcroft quits as Labour disputes chief |work=BBC News |date=29 March 2018 |access-date=29 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43592838 |title=MPs urge Corbyn to suspend Shawcroft amid anti-Semitism row |work=BBC News |date=30 March 2018 |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43605840 |title=Anti-Semitism row official Christine Shawcroft quits Labour NEC |work=BBC News |date=1 April 2018 |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition=== | |||
In December 2017, ] member of the Knesset and senior Israeli minister, ], said that "We recognise and we see that there are antisemitic views in many of the leadership of the current Labour party". A Labour Party spokesperson said in response "Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party campaign against and condemn all forms of antisemitism and the Labour party conference recently adopted new tough rules on antisemitism."<ref>, Guardian, 6 December 2017</ref> | |||
{{Main|Working Definition of Antisemitism}} | |||
In December 2016, Labour adopted the ] (IHRA) ].<ref name="SabSep18"/> It was criticised for this in 2017 by ]<ref>{{cite news |last=Sugarman |first=Daniel |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/new-jewish-group-launched-in-labour-1.443348 |title=New Jewish group launched in Labour |work=] |date=25 August 2017 |access-date=18 May 2018|ref=none}}</ref><ref name="Philpot">{{cite news |last=Philpot |first=Robert |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-new-jewish-voice-for-labour-seeks-to-throw-off-the-shackles-of-israel/ |title=UK's new Jewish Voice for Labour seeks to throw off the 'shackles' of Israel |work=] |date=15 December 2017 |access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="jewishnews2">{{cite news |url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jewish-voice-for-labour-offer-new-anti-semitism-definition/ |title=Jewish Voice for Labour offer new anti-Semitism definition |work=] |date=17 May 2018 |access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> and in 2018 by writer and scholar of antisemitism ].{{sfn|Lerman|2018a}}{{sfn|Lerman|2018b}} | |||
====Revision==== | |||
In a December 2017 Jewish Labour Movement Chanukah party, after Jeremy Corbyn said that the Labour party has "zero tolerance" for antisemitism within the party, Corbyn was heckled by a crowd member who shouted "Corbyn, you're a liar", and "What about Ken?" She was subsequently ejected from the event.<ref>, The Jewish Chronicle, 13 December 2017</ref><ref>, Times of Israel, 16 December 2017</ref> | |||
In July 2018, Labour's NEC (NEC) adopted a new code of conduct defining antisemitism for disciplinary purposes, intended to make the process more efficient and transparent.{{sfn|Lansman|2018}} It included the IHRA definition, but amended or omitted four of the eleven examples, all relating to Israel,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-antisemitism-code-dismissed-by-chief-rabbi-ephraim-mirvis-j0g9n9p3h |title=Margaret Hodge confronts Jeremy Corybn in antisemitism row|newspaper=The Times|date=18 July 2018|first=Lucy|last=Fisher}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/labour-mps-condemn-party-anti-semitism-definition-on-eve-of-endorsement-11439122|title=Labour MPs call for tougher anti-Semitism code|website=Sky News}}</ref><ref name=bbcihra /> and added three others.{{sfn|Klug|2018a}} | |||
BDBJ and JLC said that the new rules "only dilute the definition and further erode the existing lack of confidence that British Jews have in their sincerity to tackle anti-Semitism within the Labour movement".<ref name="Kentish">{{Cite news |last=Kentish |first=Benjamin |date=8 July 2016 |title=Labour wrong not to use full antisemitism definition in code of conduct, Sir Keir Starmer says |work=] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-antisemitism-sir-keir-starmer-ihra-definition-code-of-conduct-jeremy-corbyn-a8437751.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-antisemitism-sir-keir-starmer-ihra-definition-code-of-conduct-jeremy-corbyn-a8437751.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=21 November 2020}}</ref> MP ] called Corbyn a "fucking anti-Semite and a racist."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/corbyn-and-labour-struggle-with-anti-semitism-accusations-a-1224067.html | title=Labour Stumbles in Polls as Accusations Mount | work=Die Spiegel | date=21 August 2018| access-date=25 August 2018 | author=Schindler Jörg}}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718110135/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/17/labour-agrees-to-fresh-antisemitism-consultation-after-stormy-debate |date=18 July 2018 }}, Guardian, Heather Stewart and Jessica Elgot, 17 July 2018</ref> Law lecturer Tom Frost said the code ignored the ] that "A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person."<ref name=GuardianJul16>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/16/labour-antisemitism-code-could-breach-equality-act |title=Labour antisemitism code could breach Equality Act |work=The Guardian |first=Jessica |last=Elgot |date=16 July 2018 |access-date=17 July 2018}}</ref> On 16 July, over 60 British rabbis said that Labour had "chosen to ignore the Jewish community", and that it was "not Labour's place to rewrite a definition of antisemitism".<ref name=guardianrabbis16082018>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/16/68-rabbis-labour-chooses-ignore-uk-jewish-community |title=Dozens of rabbis say Labour chooses to ignore UK Jewish community|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 July 2018|last1=Elgot|first1=Jessica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/nearly-70-leading-rabbis-sign-letter-to-labour-nec-over-insulting-ihra-stance/|title=Nearly 70 leading rabbis sign letter to Labour NEC over 'insulting' IHRA stance|first=Jack|last=Mendel|website=The Times of Israel|date=16 July 2018 }}</ref> Later in July, in an unprecedented move, three UK Jewish newspapers, '']'', '']'' and '']'', carried a joint editorial saying that a Corbyn government would be an "existential threat to Jewish life" in the UK,{{sfn|Castle|2018}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rawlinson |first1=Kevin |last2=Crerar |first2=Pippa |title=Jewish newspapers claim Corbyn poses 'existential threat' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/25/jewish-newspapers-claim-corbyn-poses-existential-threat |work=The Guardian |date=26 July 2018}}</ref> which ] said was the most drastic step taken by the ] since ] ].{{sfn|Patrikarakos|2018}} Former chief rabbi ] in turn stated that Labour's antisemitism was causing British Jews to consider leaving the country.{{sfn|Eaton|2018}}{{sfn|Embury-Dennis|2018}} | |||
==2018== | |||
===Facebook groups about Palestine containing antisemitic content=== | |||
In March 2018, a dossier was published by David Collier exposing the actions of Labour Party members, including Corbyn, some of his office staff and MPs, who all belonged to a private Facebook group where antisemitic tropes and comments were freely made.<ref name="Zeffman">{{cite news|last1=Zeffman|first1=Henry|last2=Bridge|first2=Mark|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/labour-to-act-on-antisemitic-member-posts-9zbqcfrkp|title=Labour to act on antisemitic member posts|work=The Times|date=8 March 2018|accessdate=8 March 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Corbyn left the group at some point in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last=Elgot|first=Jessica|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/08/labour-suspends-party-members-in-antisemitic-facebook-group|title=Labour suspends party members in antisemitic Facebook group|work=The Guardian|date=8 March 2018|accessdate=8 March 2018}}</ref> Soon after the dossier was published the Labour Party made a statement saying that a full investigation will be undertaken and appropriate action will be taken against any Labour member found to be involved.<ref name="Harpin1">{{cite news|last=Harpin|first=Lee|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-start-disciplinary-action-over-antisemitic-posts-on-secret-facebook-group-joined-by-corbyn-1.460197|title=Labour start disciplinary action over antisemitic posts on secret Facebook group joined by Corbyn|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=7 March 2018|accessdate=8 March 2018}}</ref> | |||
====Defence==== | |||
Corbyn's office issued a statement not denying his involvement in the group but saying that he had no knowledge of what was being discussed in the group.<ref name="Zeffman"/> There was no suggestion that Mr Corbyn was aware of any extremism on the Forum. Collier writing: "There is no suggestion Jeremy Corbyn shares the views of many inside the group, what this provides is evidence he knows he is a member".<ref>{{cite news|last=Ferrer|first=Ronald|url=http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/corbyn-named-in-facebook-hate-group-expose-as-labour-suspends-members/|title=Corbyn named in Facebook hate group probe, as Labour suspends members|work=Jewish News|date=7 March 2018|accessdate=8 March 2018}}</ref> The dossier shows Corbyn responding to and commenting on various posts including those that contravene the guidelines set by the ]. He left the group after becoming Labour leader in 2015.<ref name="Harpin1"/> According to the '']'' he was enrolled by someone else in 2014 and had only made a small number of posts.<ref>{{cite news|last=Forrester|first=Kate|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-was-member-of-facebook-group-at-centre-of-anti-semitism-investigation_uk_5aa00289e4b002df2c5fc68d|title=Jeremy Corbyn Was Member Of Facebook Group At Centre Of Anti-Semitism Investigation|work=HuffPost|date=7 March 2018|accessdate=8 March 2018}}</ref> A fortnight later, Corbyn's membership of a second Facebook group 'History of Palestine', which featured antisemitic comments, became known. He then left the group to which he had been added around 2014. Corbyn's spokesman said "he was added to this group without his knowledge".<ref>{{cite news|last=Fisher|first=Lucy|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/corbyn-in-another-pro-palestine-facebook-group-linked-to-antisemitism-wkbd6209w|title=Jeremy Corbyn in another pro‑Palestine Facebook group linked to antisemitism|work=The Times|date=22 March 2018|accessdate=24 March 2018|quote=The Labour leader belonged to 'History of Palestine', on which other people posted anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, according to the Guido Fawkes website. He is said to have been added to the group in 2014 and quit it yesterday after media reports about his membership. Mr Corbyn is not thought to have posted any comments himself.}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Later in March, it was reported that Corbyn was a member of a third group containing antisemitic content. Corbyn left the group following the reports and a spokesman said that he was not an active member.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wetch|first=Ben |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jeremy-corbyn-antisemitic-facebook-group-mural-1.461353 |title=Jeremy Corbyn accused of belonging to third antisemitic Facebook group |date=26 March 2018 |website=thejc.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/27/jews-furious-corbyn-evasions-labour-antisemitism|title=Why did I protest against Corbyn? Look at his long list of evasions - Hadley Freeman|first=Hadley|last=Freeman|date=27 March 2018|website=the Guardian}}</ref> | |||
Human rights solicitor ] said, "The new code of conduct on antisemitism seeks to establish that antisemitism cannot be used as a pretext for censorship without evidence of antisemitic intent in line with the view of the all-party Commons home affairs select committee in October 2016 that the IHRA definition should only be adopted if qualified by caveats making clear that it is not antisemitic to criticise the Israeli government without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent... Far from watering down or weakening it, Labour's code strengthens it by addressing forms of discrimination that the IHRA overlooked."{{sfn|Sedley|Janner-Klausner|Bindman|Rose|2018}} ] QC made a similar point.<ref name="thetimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/government-definition-of-antisemitism-not-fit-says-geoffrey-robertson-qc-htx6trnmq|title=Government definition of antisemitism not fit, says Geoffrey Robertson, QC|newspaper=]|date=31 August 2018|access-date=1 September 2018}}</ref>{{sfn|Robertson|2018}} ] said "The IHRA code is a living document, subject to revision and constantly needing to be adapted to the different contexts in which people apply its definition. This is the spirit in which the drafters of Labour's code have approached their task."{{sfn|Klug|2018a}}{{sfn|Klug|2018b}} Historian ] wrote: "This Labour Party row will not be settled by relying on a flawed and faulty definition of antisemitism."{{sfn|Alderman|2019c}}{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
====Outcome and media review==== | |||
However, these allegations have been dismissed as an ]. Journalist ] made the point that "Labour's so-called enemy within appears largely confined to social media and ]."{{sfn|Jenkins|2018}} Tom Peck of ''The Independent'' also identifies the fallacy stating that "guilt by association is a standard political attack method and it is not always fair. Conflating someone's views with others they have "shared a platform with" or even shared a Facebook group with is very often a cheap tactic. Judging a person by which Facebook groups they are in is absurd."{{sfn|Peck|2018}} | |||
In September, all 11 examples were accepted by the NEC, while Jeremy Corbyn said that they would not prevent criticism of the Israeli government or advocating Palestinian rights.<ref name="SabSep18"/> | |||
Also in September, the ] examined over 250 articles and broadcast news segments covering the issue, and found over 90 examples of what it considered to be misleading or inaccurate reporting. The research found evidence of "overwhelming source imbalance", in which Labour's critics dominated coverage that failed to include those defending the code or critiquing the IHRA definition, and omitted contextual facts about the IHRA definition, concluding these were "systematic reporting failures" disadvantaging Labour leadership.<ref name="MRC">{{cite news |title=Flawed reporting on antisemitism claims against the Labour party |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/30/flawed-reporting-on-antisemitism-claims-against-the-labour-party|access-date=30 September 2018|work=The Guardian|date=30 September 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Corbyn and an allegedly antisemitic mural=== | |||
Later in March 2018, a spokesman for the Labour leader admitted Corbyn had posted a comment on Facebook in 2012 questioning the removal of a mural which was condemned as having antisemitic tropes.<ref name="Horton">{{cite news|last1=Horton|first1=Helena|last2=Yorke|first2=Harry|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/23/labour-mps-demand-answers-jeremy-corbyn-support-antisemitic/|title=Labour MPs demand answers from Jeremy Corbyn over his 'support for antisemitic mural'|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 March 2018|accessdate=23 March 2018}}</ref> The mural, painted on private property in the East End of London, had been the subject of complaints from residents and was removed by the local council.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dysch|first=Marcus|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/did-jeremy-corbyn-back-artist-whose-mural-was-condemned-as-antisemitic-1.62106|title=Did Jeremy Corbyn back artist whose mural was condemned as antisemitic?|work=The Jewish Chronicle|date=6 November 2015|accessdate=23 March 2018}}</ref> | |||
In July, ] asked its members for help in delivering an "expanded programme" of antisemitism training to party members in response to what it called a "growing number of requests".<ref>{{cite news |last=Sugarman |first=Daniel |date=8 November 2018 |title=Pro-Corbyn JVL triggers fury with plan to give Labour members antisemitism training |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jewish-voice-for-labour-ask-for-help-to-conduct-antisemitism-training-from-controversial-members-1.472111 |access-date=31 August 2019 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |ref=none}}</ref> | |||
Labour MP ] tweeted about the issue in March 2018 asking Corbyn why he defended the mural.<ref name="Elliott">{{cite news|last=Elliott|first=Francis|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-mp-pressures-corbyn-over-antisemitic-mural-9m9bj7jq7|title=Labour MP Luciana Berger pressures Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitic mural|work=The Times|date=23 March 2018|accessdate=23 March 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Corbyn's spokesman issued a statement later in the day: "Jeremy was responding to concerns about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech. However, the mural was offensive, used antisemitic imagery, which has no place in our society, and it is right that it was removed".<ref name="Horton"/><ref name="Elliott"/> Berger said the response was "wholly inadequate".<ref>{{cite news|last=Merrick|first=Rob|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semitic-mural-mear-one-luciana-berger-east-end-a8271111.html|title=Jeremy Corbyn forced to backtrack over apparent support for antisemitic mural|work=The Independent|date=23 March 2018|accessdate=23 March 2018}}</ref> In his own statement, Corbyn said: "I sincerely regret that I did not look more closely at the image I was commenting on, the contents of which are deeply disturbing and antisemitic," he said. "The defence of free speech cannot be used as a justification for the promotion of antisemitism in any form. That is a view I've always held."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43523445|title=Jeremy Corbyn regrets comments about 'anti-Semitic' mural|work=BBC News|date=23 March 2018|accessdate=23 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-criticised-by-labour-mp-for-appearing-to-defend-anti-semitic-painting_uk_5ab5280ee4b054d118e27934|title=Jeremy Corbyn Admits 'Regret' After Appearing To Defend Anti-Semitic Mural|work=HuffPost|date=23 March 2018|accessdate=23 March 2018}}</ref> Karen Pollock of the ] said: "If as he says, Mr Corbyn is against all forms of racism, why does his stance on anti-Semitism always fall short?"<ref>{{cite news|last=Peyer|first=Robin de|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-antisemitism-jeremy-corbyn-under-fire-for-facebook-post-as-row-intensifies-a3798286.html|title=Labour anti-Semitism: Jeremy Corbyn under fire for Facebook post as row intensifies|work=London Evening Standard|date=24 March 2018|accessdate=24 March 2018}}</ref> | |||
In 2018, JLM was invited to provide antisemitism awareness training to those subject to disciplinary proceedings but declined as they did not believe training was an appropriate sanction.<ref>{{cite news |last=Harpin |first=Lee |date=11 March 2019 |title=Labour ditches Jewish Labour Movement for antisemitism training, backs new university course instead |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jewish-labour-movement-furious-as-labour-stops-using-them-for-antisemitism-training-1.481326 |access-date=31 August 2019 |work=]}}</ref> | |||
However, it has been argued that this accusation is based on a ]. Jeremy Gilbert, Professor of Cultural and Political Theory at the ], has pointed out that the allegation "amounts to a mere argument from resemblance: because anti-capitalist discourse and anti-Semitic discourse share some structural features, they are fundamentally the same". For example, both anti-capitalist discourse and antisemitic discourse are often conspiratorial in nature; but similarity does not denote the same motive or intent.{{sfn|Gilbert|2018}} | |||
===August: Holocaust remembrance=== | |||
The coverage over the mural was followed by an open letter from the ] and the ] stating that Corbyn was "repeatedly found alongside people with blatantly anti-Semitic views", concluding that Corbyn "cannot seriously contemplate anti-Semitism, because he is so ideologically fixed within a far-left worldview that is instinctively hostile to mainstream Jewish communities".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-jewish-leaders-slam-corbyn-for-siding-with-anti-semites/|title=In bitter letter, UK Jewish leaders slam Corbyn for ‘siding with anti-Semites’|publisher=|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref> Conversely, left-wing Jewish organisations such as the ],<ref name="jewishvoiceforlabour">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/jvl/a-jvl-statement-on-the-current-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn/|title=A statement from Jewish Labour members on the current attacks on Jeremy Corbyn|publisher=Jewish Voice for Labour|date=26 March 2018|accessdate=1 June 2018}}</ref> ],<ref name="jewishsocialist2">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsocialist.org.uk/news/item/statement-on-labours-problem-with-antisemitism-from-the-jewish-socialists-g|title=Statement on "Labour’s problem with antisemitism"|publisher=Jewish Socialists' Group|date=28 April 2016|accessdate=12 May 2018}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/ben-white/shifty-antisemitism-wars|title=Shifty antisemitism wars|date=22 April 2016|website=openDemocracy|language=en|access-date=12 May 2018}}</ref> ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/03/jeremy-corbyn-passover-jewdas-good-news|title=Jeremy Corbyn celebrated Passover with us. It’s a simple good news story {{!}} Jewdas|last=Jewdas|date=3 April 2018|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=12 May 2018}}</ref> and ] disputed claims that Corbyn was antisemitic<ref name="ijv">{{cite web |url=https://www.ijv.org.uk/2018/04/03/jeremy-corbyn-and-the-jewdas-seder-a-statement-by-independent-jewish-voices/|title=Jeremy Corbyn and the Jewdas Seder: A Statement by Independent Jewish Voices|publisher=Independent Jewish Voices|date=2 April 2018|accessdate= }}</ref> with the ] asserting that "the accusations have come from the unrepresentative Board of Deputies and the unelected, self-proclaimed 'Jewish Leadership Council', two bodies dominated by supporters of the Tory Party".<ref name="jewishsocialist3">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsocialist.org.uk/news/item/oppose-antisemitism-and-malicious-accusations-by-supporters-of-the-tory-par/|title=Oppose antisemitism and malicious accusations by supporters of the Tory Party|publisher=Jewish Socialists' Group|date=26 March 2018|accessdate= }}</ref> | |||
In January 2010, during the UK's ], Corbyn co-chaired a meeting in the House of Commons, with the main talk by anti-Zionist Auschwitz survivor ] entitled, "The Misuse of the Holocaust for Political Purposes", in which Israel was compared to Nazis.<ref name="Marsh01082018">{{cite news |last1=Marsh |first1=Sarah |title=Corbyn apologises over event where Israel was compared to Nazis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/01/jeremy-corbyn-issues-apology-in-labour-antisemitism-row |access-date=2 August 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=1 August 2018}}</ref> Meyer said "Judaism in Israel has been substituted by the Holocaust religion, whose high priest is ]."<ref name="times2010" /> In August, MP ] told the BBC that she was "absolutely appalled" at Corbyn for chairing Meyer's talk.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gordon |first1=Tom |title=Labour 'shaken to the core' over anti-Semitism |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald/20180802/281702615525403 |access-date=13 August 2018 |work=The Herald |date=2 August 2018}}</ref> When asked about his involvement, Corbyn said, "Views were expressed at the meeting which I do not accept or condone. In the past, in pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people and peace in Israel/Palestine, I have on occasion appeared on platforms with people whose views I completely reject. I apologise for the concerns and anxiety that this has caused".<ref name="Marsh01082018" /><ref name="times2010">{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jeremy-corbyn-hosted-event-likening-israel-to-nazis-6sb5rqd5x |title=Jeremy Corbyn hosted event likening Israel to Nazis |last=Zeffman |first=Henry |date=1 August 2018 |access-date=2 August 2018 |newspaper=The Times |url-access=subscription }}</ref> | |||
In January 2011, a motion was submitted to rename ] to "Genocide Memorial Day", supported by 23 MPs, mainly from Labour and including Corbyn. Karen Pollock, chief executive of the ] said, "Holocaust Memorial Day already rightly includes all victims of the Nazis and subsequent genocides, but the Holocaust was a specific crime, with anti-Semitism at its core. Any attempt to remove that specificity is a form of denial and distortion." Labour responded by saying that "this was a cross-party initiative, jointly sponsored by a senior Conservative MP, to emphasize the already broader character of Holocaust Memorial Day. It is not our policy to seek a name change for this important commemoration".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/corbyn-called-for-uks-holocaust-memorial-day-to-be-renamed/|title=Corbyn called for Holocaust Memorial Day to be renamed 'Genocide Memorial Day'|last=Bachner|first=Michael|work=]|date=2 August 2018}}</ref><ref>, Haaretz, 2 August 2018</ref><ref>, The Sunday Times, 4 August 2018 {{subscription required}}</ref> | |||
Following the open letter's publication accusing Corbyn of siding with anti-Semites "again and again", hundreds of people outside Parliament Square gathered to protest 'Enough is Enough' against antisemitism in the Labour Party,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/enough-is-enough-protest-labour-mps-join-hundreds-of-activists-outside-parliament-in-campaign-to-a3799546.html|title=Labour MPs join hundreds outside Parliament in anti-Semitism protest|publisher=|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref> demanding that Corbyn does more to tackle anti-Jewish feeling in Labour Party ranks.<ref name="Cowburn">{{cite news |last=Cowburn|first=Ashley|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-party-antisemitism-jeremy-corbyn-protest-parliament-square-israel-palestine-jewish-a8274996.html|title=Hundreds of people protest outside Parliament against antisemitism in the Labour Party|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=26 March 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> Jewish Voice for Labour organised a smaller counter-demonstration.<ref name="Cowburn"/> A Jewish Voice for Labour spokesman said after the event: "There is a massive difference between saying that more needs to be done within the party and a demonstration like this which is implicitly trying to force him out... This protest is unnecessary, inflammatory and politicised."<ref name="Welch">{{cite news |last=Welch|first=Bem|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/news-features/what-is-jewish-voice-for-labour-jvl-1.462012|title=What is JVL?|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=3 April 2018|accessdate=1 June 2018}}</ref> The organisation said in a statement that it was "appalled" by the Board of Deputies' letter. "They do not represent us or the great majority of Jews in the party who share Jeremy Corbyn's vision for social justice and fairness. Jeremy's consistent commitment to anti-racism is all the more needed now."<ref name="bbc1">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43536830|title=Corbyn apologises for 'hurt' caused by anti-Semitism in Labour|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=26 March 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> Jewish Voice for Labour's Chair ] defended Corbyn on '']'', saying he had taken "enormously strong action" to deal with the issue in his party.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-43546693/daily-politics-guests-debate-whether-jeremy-corbyn-has-tackled-anti-semitism|title=Daily Politics guests debate whether Jeremy Corbyn has tackled anti-Semitism|work=]|location=London|date=26 March 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> Corbyn has said of Jewish Voice for Labour, they are "committed to fighting anti-Semitism and making sure there is a Jewish voice in the party. We already have the Jewish Labour Movement. JVL was established last year and I think it is good that we have organisations within the party that are giving that voice to people."<ref name="thejc">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/corbyn-calls-jewish-voice-for-labour-good-people-1.461650|title=Corbyn calls Jewish Voice for Labour "good people"|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=28 March 2018|accessdate=26 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
==2019== | |||
===Resignation of Christine Shawcroft=== | |||
In February and July 2019, Labour issued information on investigations into complaints of antisemitism against individuals, with around 350 members resigning, being expelled or receiving formal warnings, equating to around 0.06% of the party's membership. In February, nine MPs resigned from the party, citing Labour's leftward political direction and its handling of allegations of antisemitism and of ] – most of them then formed ].<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/19/uk/labour-resignation-intl-gbr/index.html|title=Eighth Labour lawmaker resigns from party, as Corbyn and allies remain defiant|last1=Al-Jawahiry|first1=Warda|last2=Griffiths|first2=James|date=20 February 2019|publisher=CNN|access-date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/world/europe/labour-anti-semitism-luciana-berger.html|title=For U.K.'s Labour, Anti-Semitism and Corbyn Are as Divisive as Brexit|last=Freytas-Tamura|first=Kimiko de|date=21 February 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 February 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47330079|title=Ian Austin quits Labour blaming Jeremy Corbyn's leadership|date=22 February 2019|work=]|access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodgers |first1=Sienna |title=Jennie Formby and Tom Watson exchange letters in antisemitism row |url=https://labourlist.org/2019/07/jennie-formby-and-tom-watson-exchange-letters-in-antisemitism-row/ |date=12 July 2019 |work=LabourList |access-date=12 July 2019}}</ref> | |||
In late March, ] the recently appointed<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42708215 |title=Momentum's Christine Shawcroft voted on to Labour disputes panel |publisher=BBC|website=bbc.co.uk|date=16 January 2018|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref> head of the Labour Party's disputes panel resigned from the panel after it emerged she had opposed the suspension of a Peterborough council candidate who was accused of Holocaust denial. In the leaked email, Shawcroft said she was "concerned" to hear about the suspension of Alan Bull for "a Facebook post taken completely out of context and alleged to show anti-Semitism". However, she later said that she had not seen the "abhorrent" Facebook post which led to his suspension.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43578225 |title='Deeply sorry' Christine Shawcroft quits as Labour disputes chief|publisher=BBC|website=bbc.co.uk|date=29 March 2018|accessdate=29 March 2018}}</ref> Subsequently, a group of 39 Labour politicians, both MPs and peers in an open letter called on Corbyn to suspend her from Labour's National Executive Committee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43592838 |title=MPs urge Corbyn to suspend Shawcroft amid anti-Semitism row|publisher=BBC|website=bbc.co.uk|date=30 March 2018|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref> Two days later, on 1 April, she resigned from the committee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43605840 |title=Anti-Semitism row official Christine Shawcroft quits Labour NEC|publisher=BBC|website=bbc.co.uk|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=1 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Peter Willsman comments=== | |||
{{Collapsible list | |||
In May 2019, Labour NEC member ] asserted that the Israeli embassy were "behind all this antisemitism" and were "the ones whipping it all up". He added: "They caught somebody in Labour. It turns out they were an agent in the Israeli Embassy", referring to '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-s-pete-willsman-recorded-ranting-the-israeli-embassy-is-fuelling-antisemitism-crisis-1.484944|title=Labour's Pete Willsman recorded ranting the 'Israeli embassy' is manufacturing party's antisemitism crisis|work=]|date=31 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531090917/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-s-pete-willsman-recorded-ranting-the-israeli-embassy-is-fuelling-antisemitism-crisis-1.484944|archive-date=31 May 2019}}</ref> | |||
|framestyle=border:none; padding:0; <!--Hides borders and improves row spacing--> | |||
|title=List of MPs and peers who signed the open letter to Jeremy Corbyn calling for Christine Shawcroft's resignation<ref>{{cite web | last = Skwawkbox | title = 41 MPs demand Corbyn sack Shawcroft: Disingenuous or just colossally ignorant? (blog) | url = https://skwawkbox.org/2018/03/29/41-mps-demand-corbyn-sack-shawcroft-disingenuous-or-just-colossally-ignorant/ | website = skwawkbox.org | publisher = Skwawkbox | date = 29 March 2018 | access-date = 4 April 2018 }}</ref> | |||
|1=] |2=] |3=] |4=] |5=] |6=] |7=] |8=] |9=] |10=] |11=] |12=] |13=] |14=] |15=] |16=] |17=] |18=] |19=] |20=] |21=] |22=] |23=] |24=] |25=] |26=] |27=] |28=] |29=] |30=] |31=]|32=] |33=] |34=] |35=] |36=] |37=] |38=] |39=] }} | |||
===Training and education=== | |||
===Pro-Corbyn Facebook groups containing antisemitic content=== | |||
In March, Labour announced that a short course in antisemitism would be developed by the ] and that Jewish communal organisations would be consulted. The intention would be to enrol staff, NCC, and NEC members on the course. JLM, which had provided volunteer-led training for the past three years, then withdrew its training provision for branches.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/102466/row-jewish-labour-movement-replaced-partys-anti|title=Row as Jewish Labour Movement is replaced as party's anti-semitism training provider|last=Schofield|first=Kevin|date=12 March 2019|access-date=27 March 2019|work=Politico}}</ref> | |||
At the beginning of April 2018, '']'' reported that it had uncovered over 2,000 examples of antisemitic, racist, violent threats and abusive content in non-public Corbyn-supporting Facebook groups, including frequent attacks on Jews and Holocaust denying material.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kerbaj|first1=Richard|last2=Pogrund|first2=Gabriel|last3=Ungoed‑Thomas|first3=Jon|last4=Shipman|first4=Tim|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/exposed-jeremy-corbyns-hate-factory-kkh55kpgx|title=Exposed: Jeremy Corbyn’s hate factory|work=The Sunday Times|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="timesofisrael1April">{{cite new|last=Surkes|first=Sue|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-labour-officials-are-in-facebook-groups-with-anti-semitic-content-report/|title=12 top UK Labour officials in Facebook groups with anti-Semitic content – report|work=The Times of Israel|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> The 20 largest pro-Corbyn Facebook groups, which have a combined membership of over 400,000, were reported to have as members 12 senior staff who work for Corbyn and shadow chancellor ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43609296 |title=Labour Party 'not connected' to abusive anti-Jewish messages|work=BBC News|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> The messages repeatedly targeted Labour MP ] and Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-anti-semitism-facebook-groups-corbyn-latest/ |title=Labour seeks to distance itself from pro-Corbyn anti-Semitic Facebook groups|publisher=i News |website=inews.co.uk|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="timesofisrael1April"/> A Labour Party spokesperson said the groups "are not officially connected to the party in any way". However, Labour MPs urged Corbyn to instruct his supporters to shut down abusive groups.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c233fc34-35af-11e8-8b98-2f31af407cc8 |title= Labour MPs urge Corbyn to shut down abusive Facebook groups|work=Financial Times|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Kate Forrester |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/activists-demand-jeremy-corbyn-clean-up-pro-labour-facebook-pages-amid-anti-semitism-row_uk_5abd0753e4b03e2a5c7a4123 |title=Activists Demand Jeremy Corbyn 'Clean Up' Pro-Labour Facebook Pages Amid Anti-Semitism Row|work=HuffPost|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> Subsequently, Corbyn deleted his own personal Facebook account that he had set up before becoming Labour leader although his official page remained.<ref>{{cite web |last=Demianyk|first=Graeme|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-facebook-page_uk_5ac1052fe4b055e50ace82be |title=Jeremy Corbyn Deletes Personal Facebook Page Amid Anti-Semitism Row |work=HuffPost|date=1 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
In June, Labour peer ] and former Israeli negotiator in peace talks Daniel Levy argued that "actually the problem is political, and therefore requires a political not simply a procedural solution".{{sfn|Hain|Levy|2019}}<ref name="HainLevy">{{cite news |last1=Hain|first1=Peter|last2=Levy|first2=Daniel|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/10/labour-antisemitism-row-hinders-palestinian-cause-peter-hain|title=Labour antisemitism row hinders Palestinian cause – Peter Hain|newspaper=]|date=10 June 2019|access-date=12 June 2019|ref=none}}</ref> In July 2019, Labour MP ] wrote that: "Expulsions alone will not solve Labour's antisemitism crisis. Political education about antisemitism can help to ensure a socialist politics based on real equality becomes the common sense across the party."{{sfn|Lewis|2019}} | |||
A group of cross party peers have asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate the groups for inciting violence. The letter was drafted by honorary president of the Conservative Friends of Israel, Lord Polak.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/942094/labour-anti-semitism-row-lord-sugar-demands-scotland-yard-investigate-facebook-groups|title=Lord Sugar DEMANDS Scotland Yard investigate pro-Corbyn groups 'inciting VIOLENCE'|first=Matthew|last=Robinson|date=6 April 2018|publisher=}}</ref> | |||
In July, Labour appointed Heather Mendick as a liaison officer to improve the party's relationships with the Jewish community.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-activist-who-defended-williamson-appointed-liaison-to-jewish-community/|title=Labour activist who defended Williamson appointed liaison to Jewish community|last=Mendel|first=Jack|date=17 July 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|work=Jewish News}}</ref> JLC chair Jonathan Goldstein objected to the appointment and said that JLC would not be engaging with Mendick.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejlc.org/jlc_responds_to_the_appointment_of_heather_mendick|title=JLC Responds to the Appointment of Heather Mendick|date=18 July 2019|website=The Jewish Leadership Council|access-date=29 November 2019|archive-date=29 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529223332/https://www.thejlc.org/jlc_responds_to_the_appointment_of_heather_mendick|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
===Jewdas Passover event=== | |||
In April, Corbyn attended a "third night" ] celebration held by the radical Jewish group ], which has suggested that allegations of anti-Semitism within Labour are a political plot aimed at discrediting the party as well as tweeting that Israel is "a steaming pile of sewage which needs to be properly disposed of."<ref name="standardjewdas">{{cite web|author=Sean Morrison |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-antisemitism-row-what-is-jewdas-and-why-is-jeremy-corbyn-under-fire-for-jewish-group-meeting-a3804856.html |title=Labour anti-Semitism row: What is Jewdas and why is Jeremy Corbyn under fire for Jewish group meeting? | London Evening Standard |publisher=Standard.co.uk |date=3 April 2018 |accessdate=18 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="guardianjewdas">{{cite news|last=Elgot|first=Jesica|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/03/jewdas-political-activists-make-fun-communal-bodies-jeremy-corbyn|title=Jewdas: political activists who make fun of establishment Judaism|work=The Guardian|date=3 April 2018|accessdate=6 April 2018}}</ref> Jewdas stated that "Jeremy Corbyn accepted our invitation to join the Jewdas community Seder. Jeremy was a 10/10 guest and provided delicious ] from his allotment."<ref name="jewdasstatement">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewdas.org/enough-is-enough/|title= Our Statement On Our Seder|publisher=Jewdas|date=3 April 2018|accessdate= }}</ref> Corbyn was criticised by the Jewish Leadership Council for attending the event.<ref name="guardianjewdas"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Pfeffer|first=Anshel|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-no-one-gets-to-say-who-are-good-jews-not-even-jews-1.5976112|title=No One Gets to Say Who Are Good Jews. Not Even Jews|work=Haaretz|date=4 April 2018|accessdate=6 April 2018}}</ref> The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jonathan Arkush, said: "If Jeremy Corbyn goes to their event, how can we take his stated commitment to be an ally against anti-Semitism seriously?"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43624231|title=Labour anti-Semitism row: Corbyn defends appearance at Jewdas event|work=BBC News|date=3 April 2018|accessdate=6 April 2018}}</ref> A number of Labour MP's criticised his decision to attend: ] tweeted "This is deliberately baiting the mainstream Jewish community".<ref>{{cite news|last=Castle|first=Stephen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/03/world/europe/uk-jeremy-corbyn-jewdas.html|title=Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Leader, Defends Sharing Seder With Jewdas|work=The New York Times|date=3 April 2018|accessdate=6 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
Later in July, Labour issued an online leaflet entitled "No Place For Antisemitism" alongside related documents and videos, as the launch of a programme of educating members on oppression and social liberation, and to help them confront racism and bigotry. This was promoted to all party members by a Corbyn email.<ref name="auto8" /><ref name="auto6" /> | |||
Charlotte Nichols, Women's Officer of Young Labour and member of Jewdas, wrote in ''Labour List'': "It is not for non-Jewish people, in criticising Corbyn's attendance, to determine what is and isn't a legitimate expression of the Jewish faith. Many of the criticisms I've seen are themselves anti-Semitic. For those in the community who want to paint Jeremy’s attendance as an act of provocation, rather than an attempt to listen, engage, and share our festival with us, it's actually just alienating many young Jewish people further and validating Jewdas' very existence."<ref name="Nichols">{{cite news |last=Nichols|first=Charlotte|url=https://www.labourlist.org/2018/04/why-im-glad-corbyn-came-to-the-jewdas-seder/|title=Why I’m glad Corbyn came to the Jewdas Seder|work= |location= |publisher=''Labour List''|date=3 April 2018|accessdate=23 May 2018}}</ref> ] released a statement in response saying: "We totally reject the attempt by community leaders and others to determine who is the 'right kind of Jew' and welcome his attempts to engage across the community."<ref name="ijv"/> | |||
====John A. Hobson's foreword==== | |||
Actor and comedian ] pointed out that "the same people who had been shouting that if Corbyn was serious about tackling anti-Semitism, he had to get out there and meet Jews were suddenly shouting: 'Hold on! Not those Jews!'"<ref>{{cite web|last=Rajagopalan |first=Gopalan |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/religion/2018/04/calling-jewdas-bad-jews-won-t-solve-labour-s-anti-semitism-problem |title=Calling Jewdas “bad” Jews won’t solve Labour’s anti-Semitism problem |publisher=Newstatesman.com |date=2018-04-04 |accessdate=18 April 2018}}</ref> Schneider tweeted "'Boo! Corbyn needs to get out and meet some Jews!' (Corbyn spends Passover with some Jews at Jewdas) 'Boo! Not those Jews!'". Comedian ] said that "They are just Jews who disagree with other Jews. Which means: Jews ... To make out that it's somehow antisemitic for him to spend Seder with them just because they're far left is balls".<ref name="Elgot">{{cite web|author=Jessica Elgot |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/03/jeremy-corbyn-called-irresponsible-after-attending-radical-jewish-event |title='I learned a lot': Corbyn defends taking part in radical Jewish event | Politics |publisher=The Guardian |date= |accessdate=18 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
In 2011, Corbyn had written the foreword for a republication of the 1902 book '']'', by ], which contains the assertion that finance was controlled "by men of a single and peculiar race, who have behind them many centuries of financial experience" who "are in a unique position to control the policy of nations". In his foreword, Corbyn called the book a "great tome" and "brilliant, and very controversial at the time". Corbyn was criticised for his words in 2019, after his foreword was reported by Conservative peer ].<ref>, The Times, 1 May 2019</ref><ref>, The Times, ], 30 April 2019</ref><ref name="Guardian20190501">, ''The Guardian'', Heather Stewart and Sarah Marsh, 1 May 2019</ref> Corbyn responded that the language used to describe minorities in Hobson's work is "absolutely deplorable", but asserted that his foreword analysed "the process which led to the ]" which he saw as the subject of the book and not Hobson's language.<ref name="Guardian20190501"/> | |||
Hobson was also cited and praised by previous Labour leaders.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/05/02/labours-warped-world-view-anti-semitism-acceptable-form-racism/|title=In Labour's warped world view, anti-Semitism is an acceptable form of racism|first=Nick|last=Timothy|date=2 May 2019|access-date=7 June 2019|website=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> In 2005, ] had said in a ] speech: "This idea of liberty as empowerment is not a new idea, J. A. Hobson asked, 'is a man free who has not equal opportunity with his fellows of such access to all material and moral means of personal development and work as shall contribute to his own welfare and that of his society?'"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/dec/13/labour.uk|title=Gordon Brown on liberty and the role of the state|date=13 December 2005|access-date=7 June 2019|website=The Guardian}}</ref> ] had described Hobson as "probably the most famous Liberal convert to what was then literally ']'."<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller|first=Phil|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/the-times-launches-yet-another-desperate-smear-against-corbyn|title=The Times launches yet another desperate smear against Corbyn |work=]|date=1 May 2019|access-date=2 May 2019}}</ref> | |||
===Other incidents and suspensions=== | |||
In April 2018, Roy Smart was suspended from the party and dropped as a local council candidate for the St James' ward on ] in the ], after it was discovered that in 2015 he had shared posts on social media which urged followers to "question the Holocaust" and linking to a "Holocaust deprogramming course" website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-43618007 |title=Labour drops council candidate in anti-Semitism row |date=2 April 2018 |website=bbc.co.uk |accessdate=4 April 2018}}</ref> He had also shared several conspiracy theories, including that the "] Jewish mafia" was being behind the ], that "Jewish money" was running the British government.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/labour-suspends-candidate-accused-sharing-12291477 |title=Labour suspends candidate accused of sharing 'question the Holocaust' Facebook posts |date=2 April 2018 |website=mirror.co.uk |accessdate=4 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/04/02/labour-drops-council-candidate-suspends-posted-series-anti-semitic/ |title=Labour drops council candidate and suspends him after he posted series of anti-Semitic messages online |first=Kate |last=McCann |date=2 April 2018 |website=telegraph.co.uk |accessdate=4 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Disciplinary processes, outcomes and staff claims=== | |||
In the same month, Rossendale Councillor Pam Bromley was suspended over alleged antisemitic posts on Facebook dating back to April 2016, though she denies being anti-semitic,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-43652692 |title=Councillor Pam Bromley suspended over 'anti-Semitic Facebook post' |website=bbc.co.uk |date=6 April 2018 |accessdate=11 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rossendalefreepress.co.uk/news/labour-councillor-suspended-party-after-14498820 |title=Labour councillor suspended from party after being accused of anti-Jewish messages |website=rossendalefreepress.co.uk |first=Stefan |last=Jajecznyk |date=6 April 2018 |accessdate=11 April 2017}}</ref> saying that "The allegation that I am anti-Semitic, based on a tiny sample of Facebook posts taken out of context and dating back up to 12 months, is absolutely ridiculous." She added that she welcomed the investigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/NEWS/16147325.Councillor_hits_back_over___39_anti_Semitism__39__accusations/|title=Councillor hits back over 'anti-Semitism' accusations|website=Lancashire Telegraph}}</ref> In May 2016, two fellow councillors had been suspended but reinstated following an investigation that cleared them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/16141536.Labour_councillor_suspended_over_allegedly___39_anti_Semitic__39__social_media_posts/ |title=Labour councillor suspended over allegedly 'anti-Semitic' social media posts |website=lancashiretelegraph.co.uk |first=Bill |last=Jacobs |date=6 April 2018 |accessdate=11 April 2017}}</ref> | |||
====Disciplinary ==== | |||
In April 2018, the new Labour General Secretary, ], announced that a team of lawyers had been seconded to handle disciplinary cases and that a new post of in-house general counsel would "advise on disciplinary matters and improvements to our processes".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-hire-team-of-lawyers-to-tackle-antisemitism-case-backlog-1.462561|title=Labour hire team of lawyers to tackle antisemitism case backlog|last=Harpin|first=Lee|date=17 April 2018|access-date=15 April 2019|work=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref> | |||
In September 2018, the NEC approved a doubling of the size of the party's key disciplinary body, the NCC, in order to speed the handling of antisemitism claims.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/19/labour-nec-double-size-key-disciplinary-body-antisemitism-claims|title=Labour NEC backs plan to speed up handling of antisemitism claims|last=Stewart|first=Heather|date=19 September 2018|access-date=15 April 2019|work=The Guardian}}</ref> | |||
===Israeli Labour party cut ties with Corbyn=== | |||
In April 2018, the ] led by ] announced it would cut ties with Corbyn and his office due to their handling of antisemitism, but still retain ties with the UK Labour Party as a whole. In a letter to Corbyn, Gabbay wrote "my responsibility to acknowledge the hostility that you have shown to the Jewish community and the antisemitic statements and actions you have allowed".<ref>, 10 April 2018</ref> | |||
In February 2019, Formby noted that the Governance and Legal Unit had suffered during 2018 from a high level of staff sickness and departures. She said that the unit was now back to full strength and that its size would be more than doubled.<ref name=thejc_harpin_20190211>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-s-jennie-formby-admits-she-has-seen-evidence-of-antisemitism-in-the-party-under-her-watch-1.479904|title=Just 12 out of hundreds of cases of Labour antisemitism since April led to expulsion, Jennie Formby says|last=Harpin|first=Lee|date=11 February 2019|access-date=15 April 2019|work=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref> | |||
===Meeting with the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies=== | |||
In April 2018, Corbyn met with Jewish community leaders to discuss antisemitism in the Labour Party. Following the meeting, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies issued a statement saying "We are disappointed that Mr Corbyn's proposals fell short of the minimum level of action which our letter suggested. In particular, they did not agree in the meeting with our proposals that there should be a fixed timetable to deal with antisemitism cases; that they should expedite the long-standing cases involving ] and ]; that no MP should share a platform with somebody expelled or suspended for antisemitism; that they adopt the full ] definition of antisemitism with all its examples and clauses; that there should be transparent oversight of their disciplinary process."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/corbyn-meeting-board-jlc-1.463017 |title=Anger after JLC and Board meeting with Corbyn}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43887223 |title=Corbyn anti-Semitism meeting 'disappointing', Jewish leaders 7say}}</ref> Corbyn described the meeting as "positive and constructive" and re-iterated that he was "absolutely committed" to rooting out antisemitism in the Labour Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-antisemitism-jewish-leaders-meeting-a8320641.html|title=Jewish leaders call meeting with Jeremy Corbyn 'disappointing and a missed opportunity'|date=24 April 2018|publisher=}}</ref> | |||
Later in the month, ] accepted an invitation to examine Labour's processes in order to increase transparency although this did not take place due to the announcement of the ]'s investigation.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/27/labour-mp-chris-williamson-party-too-apologetic-over-antisemitism-complaints |title=Corbyn set for clash with Watson over MP's antisemitism remarks |last=Mason|first=Rowena|work=The Guardian|date=27 February 2019|access-date= 2 March 2019}}</ref> Formby asked that a request by ] ] to Labour parliamentarians, asking that complaints about antisemitism be copied to him for monitoring, be disregarded on the grounds that this would disrupt the official process and be in breach of data protection law.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47425319 |title=Labour anti-Semitism: Tom Watson clashes with party boss |date=2 March 2019|access-date=2 March 2019|work=BBC}}</ref> | |||
==Rebuttals== | |||
In September 2017, general secretary of ], ] said that the antisemitism row was nothing more than an attempt to undermine Corbyn by his political opponents saying "No, I've never recognised that. I believe it was mood music that was created by people who were trying to undermine Jeremy Corbyn". He stated that in 47 years as a Labour member he had never heard any antisemitic language at any meeting he had attended. Adding "Unfortunately at the time there were lots of people playing games, everybody wanted to create this image that Jeremy Corbyn's leadership had become misogynist, had become racist, had become anti-Semitic and it was wrong".<ref name="McCluskey">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41405625|title=Labour: Len McCluskey says party does not have anti-Semitism issue|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=26 September 2017|accessdate=10 October 2017}}</ref> | |||
In May, Labour NEC member ] wrote that leaked emails "...suggest that former compliance unit officials from the Labour right may have delayed action on some of the most extreme and high-profile antisemitism cases, including Holocaust denial, allowing a backlog of cases to build up that would damage the party and Jeremy's leadership." He also accused former General Secretary ] and his team of delaying action on handling antisemitism cases, and allowing a backlog of cases to build up that would damage the party and Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.{{sfn|Lansman|2019}} | |||
In August 2015, dozens of prominent Jewish activists signed an open letter criticising the '']'' for what they viewed as the newspaper's "character assassination" of Corbyn. They wrote "Your assertion that your attack on Jeremy Corbyn is supported by ‘the vast majority of British Jews' is without foundation. We do not accept that you speak on behalf of progressive Jews in this country. You speak only for Jews who support Israel, right or wrong." They continued, "There is something deeply unpleasant and dishonest about your ] ] technique. Jeremy Corbyn's parliamentary record over 32 years has consistently opposed all racism including antisemitism." Signatories to the letter included ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="thejc1"/> | |||
In July 2019, a Labour spokesperson said that the rate at which antisemitism cases had been dealt with had increased fourfold after Formby took her position in May 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/07/labour-in-fresh-antisemitism-row-over-use-of-ndas-against-staff-whistleblowers|title=Labour split over NDA warnings about antisemitism claims|last=Sparrow|first=Andrew|date=7 July 2019|access-date=7 July 2019|work=The Guardian}}</ref> In August 2019, ] said that Labour's processes had greatly improved since April 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jewish-voice-for-labour-report-ehrc-investigation-labour-party-antisemitism-1.487235|title=Jewish Voice for Labour urges EHRC to ignore antisemitism that is merely 'abusive and insulting'|last=Weich|first=Ben|date=7 August 2019|access-date=7 August 2019|work=Jewish Voice for Labour}}</ref> | |||
A number of left-wing Jewish groups have disputed the antisemitism claims. These include ],<ref name="jewishvoiceforlabour"/><ref name="MansonLevy">{{cite news |last1=Manson|first1=Jenny|last2=Levy|first2=Raphael|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/28/jewish-voice-for-labour-is-not-an-anti-zionist-group|title=Jewish Voice for Labour is not an anti-Zionist group|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=28 September 2017|accessdate=22 May 2018}}</ref> ],<ref name="jfjfp1">{{cite web |url=http://jfjfp.com/alleging-antisemitism-is-labour-rights-defining-narrative-now/|title=Alleging antisemitism is Labour right’s ‘defining narrative now’|publisher=JFJFP|date=19 January 2017|accessdate= }}</ref> ],<ref name="jewishsocialist2"/> ]<ref name="jewdas">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewdas.org/enough-is-enough/|title=Statement on “Labour’s problem with antisemitism”|publisher=Jewdas|date=29 March 2018|accessdate=26 May 2018}}</ref> and ];<ref name="ijv"/> all of whom have said that accusations of antisemitism against the Labour Party have a twofold purpose: firstly to conflate antisemitism with criticism of Israel in order to deter such criticism and secondly to undermine the Labour leadership since Corbyn was elected leader in 2015.<ref name="Bock">{{cite news |last=Bock|first=Pauline|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/01/ken-loach-labour-s-anti-semitism-witchhunt-corbyn-opportunity-and-lessons-1968|title=Ken Loach on Labour’s anti-Semitism “witchhunt”, the Corbyn opportunity and lessons from 1968|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=31 January 2018|accessdate= }}</ref><ref name="Chacko">{{cite news |last=Chacko|first=Ben|url=https://www.labourlist.org/2018/04/the-morning-star-doesnt-hate-israel-were-proud-to-oppose-all-forms-of-racism/|title=The Morning Star doesn’t hate Israel – we’re proud to oppose all forms of racism|work= |location= |publisher=''Labour List''|date=20 April 2018|accessdate=27 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="Cowles">{{cite news |last=Cowles|first=Ben|url=https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/corbyn-no-anti-semite-interview-jewish-voice-labour|title=Audio Interview ‘Corbyn is no anti-semite’ - An interview with Jewish Voice for Labour|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=28 April 2018|accessdate=27 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
Later in July, NEC agreed to speed up determination of the most serious cases. This would be accomplished by giving a special panel, composed of the General Secretary and NEC officers, the authority to consider the cases and expel members. The panel would replace the process requiring the cases to be referred to the quasi-judicial NCC. The rule change would be submitted for approval to Labour Conference in September 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://labourlist.org/2019/07/exclusive-independent-complaints-process-motion-withdrawn-by-watson/|title=Exclusive: Independent complaints process motion withdrawn by Watson|last=Rodgers|first=Sienna|date=23 July 2019|work=]|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> | |||
In April 2016, Richard Kuper, spokesperson for the group ], expressed the view that while "there is some antisemitism in and around the Labour party – as there is in the wider society in Britain" and "there is clearly also a coordinated, willed and malign campaign to exaggerate the nature and extent of antisemitism as a stick to beat the Labour party."<ref name="White">{{cite news |last=White|first=Ben|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/ben-white/shifty-antisemitism-wars|title=Shifty antisemitism wars|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=22 April 2016 |accessdate=14 December 2017}}</ref> | |||
In June 2020, following ]'s election as leader, it was reported that "a trusted ally of the Labour leader" had been appointed a "management enforcer" to oversee the management of allegations of antisemitism. According to a party source, "For anyone seeking to stay in their jobs it would not be sensible to disobey the new manager's requests. The manager has also been given the power to step in and make decisions himself about cases."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/starmer-plans-to-reform-party-equality-and-human-rights-commission-report-labour-antisemitism-1.500754|title=Revealed: Starmer's blueprint to reform Labour following EHRC antisemitism report|last=Harpin|first=Lee|date=18 June 2020|access-date=18 June 2020|work=Jewish Chronicle}}</ref> | |||
In the same month, the ] released a statement which expressed the view that anti-semitism accusations were being 'weaponized' in order to "attack the Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour party with claims that Labour has a "problem" of antisemitism". It continued to say "A very small number of such cases seem to be real instances of antisemitism. Others represent genuine ] and support for ] but expressed in clumsy and ambiguous language, which may unknowingly cross a line into antisemitism. Further cases are simply forthright expressions of support for Palestinian rights, which condemn Israeli government policy and aspects of Zionist ideology, and have nothing whatsoever to do with antisemitism." The statement summarised "The Jewish Socialists' Group sees the current fearmongering about antisemitism in the Labour Party for what it is – a conscious and concerted effort by right-wing political forces to undermine the growing support among Jews and non-Jews alike for the Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, and a measure of the desperation of his opponents."<ref name="jewishsocialist1">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsocialist.org.uk/news/item/statement-on-labours-problem-with-antisemitism-from-the-jewish-socialists-g|title=Statement on “Labour’s problem with antisemitism”|publisher=Jewish Socialists' Group|date=28 April 2016|accessdate=6 January 2018}}</ref> | |||
====Disciplinary outcomes==== | |||
Later in the month, 82 "Jewish members and supporters of the Labour party and of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership" wrote an open letter to '']'' stating that they "do not accept that antisemitism is 'rife' in the Labour party" and that "these accusations are part of a wider campaign against the Labour leadership, and they have been timed particularly to do damage to the Labour party and its prospects in ]." The Jewish members and supporters included ], ], Professor ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="theguardian1">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/29/labour-antisemitism-and-where-jeremy-corbyn-goes-from-here|title=Labour, antisemitism and where Jeremy Corbyn goes from here|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=29 April 2016|accessdate=1 June 2018}}</ref> | |||
In February 2019, Corbyn reiterated, <blockquote>"As leader ... I wish to set out my own commitment along with that of the wider shadow cabinet as the leaders of Labour in parliament to root out antisemitism. I am determined we will defeat racism wherever we see it and I know that antisemitism is one of the oldest, nastiest and most persistent forms of racism."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/angry-split-sees-shadow-ministers-rage-over-antisemitism-in-front-of-jeremy-corbyn-11635712|title=Angry split sees shadow ministers rage over antisemitism in front of Jeremy Corbyn|last=McCann|first=Kate|work=Sky News|date=13 February 2019|access-date=13 February 2019}}</ref></blockquote> A week later, he said in Parliament, "(Antisemitism has) no place whatsoever in any of our political parties, in our lives, in our society".<ref name="auto4">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47307036|title=Prime Minister's Questions: The key bits and the verdict|last=Wheeler|first=Brian|date=20 February 2019|access-date=21 February 2019|work=BBC}}</ref> | |||
Also in February, Formby announced to Labour MPs that, of the complaints about antisemitism received by the party from April 2018 to January 2019, 400 related to individuals who were not party members. In a further 220 cases, Labour had found that there was insufficient evidence of a breach of party rules. Some of the remaining 453 complaints, i.e. those with sufficient evidence of a breach of party rules, related to years-old social media posts. These complaints received over the ten-month period represented 0.06% of Labour's 540,000 membership.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rodgers|first=Sienna|url=https://www.labourlist.org/2019/02/jennie-formby-provides-numbers-on-labour-antiSemitism-cases/|title=Jennie Formby provides numbers on Labour antisemitism cases|work=]|date=11 February 2019|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48923671|title=Three Labour peers resign whip over 'anti-Semitism'|date=9 July 2019|access-date=19 July 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref> Investigations had resulted in 12 expulsions and 49 resignations from the party and 187 formal warnings, while some more recent complaints were still under investigation.<ref name=thejc_harpin_20190211/> Some Labour MPs questioned the data's accuracy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/furious-labour-mps-attack-false-antisemitism-figures-released-by-general-secretary-1.479908|title=Furious Labour MPs attack false antisemitism figures released by general secretary|newspaper=The Jewish Chronicle|last=Harpin|first=Lee|date=11 February 2019|access-date=11 February 2019}}</ref> | |||
In April 2016, independent researcher Jamie Stern-Weiner's review of the cases of antisemiticism suggests, even some of these examples were tendentiously represented in the national media, so that in some cases at worst crude or tone-deaf comments about "Zionists" were treated as equivalent to antisemitic conspiracy theory and Holocaust denial.{{sfn|Seymour|2018}}<ref name="Stern-Weiner">{{cite news |last=Stern-Weiner|first=Jamie|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/jamie-stern-weiner/jeremy-corbyn-hasn-t-got-antisemitism-problem-his-opponents-do|title=Jeremy Corbyn hasn’t got an ‘antisemitism problem’. His opponents do.|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=27 April 2016|accessdate=27 May 2017}}</ref> As of May 2016, just 0.4% of the parliamentary party, 0.07% of the councillors, and 0.012% of the membership had been suspended for antisemitism, which was a total of 56 just people.{{sfn|Seymour|2018}}<ref name="Jones">{{cite news |last=Jones|first=Thomas|url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2016/05/04/thomas-jones/labour-and-anti-semitism/|title=Labour’s Antisemitism Affair|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=4 May 2016|accessdate=1 June 2017}}</ref> | |||
In July 2019, Corbyn said <blockquote>"While other political parties and some of the media exaggerate and distort the scale of the problem in our party, we must face up to the unsettling truth that a small number of Labour members hold anti-Semitic views and a larger number don't recognise anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories. The evidence is clear enough. The worst cases of anti-Semitism in our party have included Holocaust denial, crude Jewish-banker stereotypes, conspiracy theories blaming Israel for 9/11 or every war on the Rothschild family, and even one member who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood. I am sorry for the hurt that has been caused to many Jewish people. We have been too slow in processing disciplinary cases of mostly online anti-Semitic abuse by party members. We are acting to speed this process up. People who hold anti-Semitic views have no place in Labour. They may be few – the number of cases over the past three years represents less than 0.1% of Labour's membership of more than half a million – but one is too many."<ref name="auto8">{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/labour-sets-up-anti-semitism-18497972|title=Labour sets up anti-Semitism website to 'educate' members to 'confront bigotry'|last1=Glaze|first1=Ben|last2=Bartlett|first2=Nicola|date=21 July 2019|access-date=21 July 2019|work=The Mirror}}</ref><ref name="auto6">{{cite web|url=https://labour.org.uk/no-place-for-antisemitism/|title=No Place For Antisemitism|access-date=21 July 2019|work=The Labour Party}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
In May 2016, Israeli historian ] argued that "charges of Jew-hatred are being deliberately manipulated to serve a pro-Zionist agenda."{{sfn|Seymour|2018}}{{sfn|Shlaim|2016}} | |||
In July 2019, Formby provided updated figures regularly publishing statistics. During the first six months of 2019, 625 complaints about members had been received, with some the subject of multiple complaints,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49064771|title=Labour anti-Semitism: Corbyn announces plan to speed up expulsions|date=22 July 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref> and 116 members suspended. A further 658 complaints were received about non-members.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/22/jeremy-corbyn-ramps-up-plans-to-expel-antisemites-from-party|title=Jeremy Corbyn ramps up plans to expel antisemites from party|last1=Elgot|first1=Jessica|last2=Stewart|first2=Heather|date=22 July 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|work=The Guardian}}</ref> Of the complaints rest, Labour decided that 100 lacked sufficient evidence and 163 showed no rule breaches, 90 received formal warnings or reminders of conduct and 97 wer referred to the NCC. 146 cases were still in process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/corbyn-outlines-plan-to-labour-s-nec-power-to-expel-antisemites-at-emergency-shadow-cabinet-meeting-1.486724|title=Corbyn outlines plan to Labour's NEC power to expel antisemites at emergency Shadow Cabinet meeting|last=Harpin|first=Lee|date=22 July 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|work=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref> NEC antisemitism panels had met six times and made 190 decisions, compared with two and eight in the same period the previous year. The NCC had concluded 28 cases and made eight expulsions with another twelve members resigning, compared with ten, seven and three in the same period the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jeremy-corbyn-calls-reform-to-speed-up-process-for-dealing-with-antisemitism/|title=Jeremy Corbyn calls for reform to speed up process to deal with antisemitism|date=22 July 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|work=Jewish News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://labourlist.org/2019/07/corbyn-proposes-new-reform-of-party-complaints-process/|title=Corbyn proposes new reform of party complaints process|last=Rodgers|first=Sienna|date=22 July 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|work=Labour List}}</ref> | |||
In January 2020, Labour reported that 149 members resigned or were expelled during 2019 as a result of disciplinary processes relating to antisemitism. Of these, 45 members were expelled, compared to ten in 2018 and one in 2017. NEC disciplinary panels heard 274 cases, compared with 28 cases in 2017. 296 members were suspended, compared to 98 in 2018, itself a big increase on the previous year. After the September 2019 annual conference gave NEC panels the power to expel, twice the number of people were expelled in two months than had been expelled during 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://labourlist.org/2020/01/new-antisemitism-data-shows-labour-is-taking-decisive-action-says-party/|title=New antisemitism data shows Labour is taking 'decisive action', says party|last=Rodgers|first=Sienna|date=28 January 2020|access-date=1 February 2020|work=Labour List}}</ref> | |||
In 2017, linguist and philosopher ] said: "I wholeheartedly support the right of anyone to criticise Israel without being branded antisemitic. That goes in particular for ]."<ref name="Sugarman2">{{cite news |last=Sugarman|first=Daniel|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jackie-walker-compares-her-labour-suspension-for-alleged-antisemitism-to-a-lynching-1.439987|title=Jackie Walker compares her Labour suspension for alleged antisemitism to a 'lynching'|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=14 June 2017|accessdate=17 July 2018}}</ref> In December 2017, ] founder ] said that he believed that antisemitism in the ] is as widespread as in the Labour party. According to Lansman, antisemitism in Labour falls into three categories: petty xenophobic remarks, old school ] type antisemitism, and antisemitism that arises from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to Lansman, the latter cause, Israeli-Palestinian conflict related antisemitism, is the main source of antisemitism in the Labour party.<ref name="Dysch">{{cite news |last=Dysch|first=Marcus|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/there-s-as-much-antisemitism-in-tory-party-as-in-labour-says-jon-lansman-1.450904|title=Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-racist, not an anti-Semite|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=26 December 2017|accessdate= }}</ref> | |||
====Claims by former staff==== | |||
In March 2018, Joseph Finlay the former Deputy Editor of '']'' magazine, and co-founder of a number of grassroots Jewish organisations, wrote a post in the '']'' defending Corbyn, describing him as "one of the leading ] in parliament" he went on to state; "Antisemitism is always beyond the pale. Labour, now a party of over half a million members, has a small minority of antisemites in its ranks, and it suspends then whenever it discovers them. I expect nothing less from an anti-racist party and an anti-racist leader." He continued, "There are many threats to Jews – and we are right to be vigilant. These threats come primarily from resurgent nationalism, anti-immigrant sentiment and a ] narrative that seeks to restore Britain to a mythical age of ethnic purity. The idea that Britain's leading anti-racist politician is the key problem the Jewish community faces is an absurdity, a distraction, and a massive error."{{sfn|Finlay|2018}} | |||
In April, Labour's lawyers wrote to its former head of disputes asking what information he had shared with the media and for his commitment to not further breach his ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Labour 'sinks to deeper low' amid claims it gagged anti-Semitism whistleblowers |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2019-07-07/labour-sinks-to-deeper-low-amid-claims-it-gagged-anti-semitism-whistleblowers/ |website=] |date=7 July 2019 |access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Labour anger at BBC over Panorama antisemitism documentary |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-anger-at-bbc-over-antisemitism-documentary-pwltvwzr3 |website=] |access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref> In July, an edition of programme ] entitled ] produced by ], included a claim by former staff that, in the first half of 2018, senior Labour figures had interfered in the complaints process while new senior officials in their department downgraded outcomes.<ref>. Retrieved 19 July 2019.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48929244|title=Labour figures 'interfered' in anti-Semitism cases|work=BBC News |date=10 July 2019|via=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Labour denied any interference. Labour added "The ''Panorama'' programme was not a fair or balanced investigation. It was a seriously inaccurate, politically one-sided polemic, which breached basic journalistic standards, invented quotes and edited emails to change their meaning."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/105223/labour-goes-war-bbc-over-panorama-probe-anti|title=Labour goes to war with BBC over Panorama probe into anti-semitism in party|last=Schofield|first=Kevin|date=11 July 2019|website=PoliticsHome.com|access-date=11 July 2019}}</ref> BBC responded that "the investigation was not pre-determined, it was driven by the evidence". Labour later submitted a formal complaint about the programme.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-submits-complaint-to-bbc-over-panorama-expose/|title=Labour submits complaint to BBC over Panorama expose|date=26 July 2019|access-date=26 July 2019|work=Jewish News}}</ref> Staff members represented by the ] voted overwhelmingly to call on the Party to be consistent in supporting ] wherever they worked and to apologise to their former colleagues.<ref>, '']'', 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.</ref> | |||
===Resignations=== | |||
In the same month, ] suggested that allegations of antisemitism within Labour are a political plot aimed at discrediting the party<ref name="standardjewdas"/> and called the recent reaction to allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party a "bout of faux-outrage is greased with hypocrisy and opportunism" saying it was "the work of cynical manipulations by people whose express loyalty is to the ] and the right wing of the Labour Party."<ref name="jewdas"/><ref name="haaretz">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/corbyn-in-new-storm-after-attending-radical-jewish-group-s-seder-1.5974851|title=U.K. Labour Party Leader Corbyn in New Storm After Attending pro-Palestinian Jewish Group's Seder|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=3 April 2018|accessdate=26 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
In August 2018, Labour MP ] resigned as Labour whip over a "culture...of nastiness". He retained his party membership, announcing that he would sit as an "independent Labour MP".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/30/frank-field-resigns-labour-whip-over-antisemitism-crisis|title=Frank Field resigns Labour whip over antisemitism crisis|date=30 August 2018|work=]|access-date=30 August 2018}}</ref> Andrew Grice and others suggested that Field left before he was deselected by his local party, as he had lost a vote of confidence in his constituency over his support for ]'s ] plans in a parliamentary vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45364407|title=Frank Field may trigger by-election|date=31 August 2018|work=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/frank-field-resignation-corbyn-labour-whip-antisemitism-racism-party-row-a8516421.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/frank-field-resignation-corbyn-labour-whip-antisemitism-racism-party-row-a8516421.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Frank Field jumped before he was pushed and Corbyn isn't racist – but Labour's problems are about to get worse anyway|last=Grice|first=Andrew|work=]}}</ref> | |||
In February, seven MPs quit Labour to form ] (latterly ]), citing their dissatisfaction with the party's leftward political direction, its approach to ] and to allegations of antisemitism. They were later joined by four more MPs, including three from the Conservative Party.<ref>{{cite news|title='Splitting headache': what the papers say about Labour party's turmoil|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/19/splitting-headache-what-the-papers-say-about-labour-partys-turmoil|work=]|access-date=19 February 2019|date=19 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220171034/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/19/splitting-headache-what-the-papers-say-about-labour-partys-turmoil|archive-date=20 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Another MP resigned from Labour to sit as an independent.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto2"/><ref name="auto3"/> One of the original seven, Lucinda Berger, said that Labour had become "sickeningly institutionally racist".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/18/chuka-umunna-and-other-mps-set-to-quit-labour-party|title=Labour: Watson tells Corbyn he must change direction to stop party splitting|last1=Mason|first1=Rowena|last2=Elgot|first2=Jessica|date=19 February 2019|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/wavertree-clp-member-in-zionist-attacks-on-luciana-berger-1.480143|title=Senior Wavertree CLP member in 'Nazi masters' attack on Luciana Berger|last=Harpin|first=Lee|website=The Jewish Chronicle|access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref> Four of the MPs had recently lost no-confidence votes,<ref name=sky20190220>{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/who-are-the-labour-mps-now-sitting-as-independents-11640943|title=Who are the Tory and Labour MPs now sitting as independents?|date=20 February 2019|access-date=20 February 2019|work=]|first=Rebecca|last=Taylor}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lfi-chair-joan-ryan-loses-local-no-confidence-vote-by-94-votes-to-92/ |title=LFI chair Joan Ryan loses local no confidence vote by 94 votes to 92|work=] |date=6 September 2018 |access-date=7 September 2018}}</ref> while two such motions against Berger had been withdrawn.<ref name=sky20190220/> Following its failure to secure any seats in ], six of its MPs resigned to sit as independents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48515505|title=Change UK splits as six of 11 MPs become independents|date=4 June 2019|website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> | |||
In April 2018, 42 senior academics wrote an open letter to '']'' condemning what they viewed as an anti-Corbyn bias in media coverage of the antisemitism debate, they suggested that "Dominant sections of the media have framed the story in such a way as to suggest that antisemitism is a problem mostly to do with Labour and that Corbyn is personally responsible for failing to deal with it. The coverage has relied on a handful of sources such as the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council and well-known political opponents of Corbyn himself." They continued: "It is not ']' to suggest that the debate on antisemitism has been framed in such a way as to mystify the real sources of anti-Jewish bigotry and instead to weaponise it against a single political figure just ahead of ]. We condemn antisemitism wherever it exists. We also condemn journalism that so blatantly lacks context, perspective and a meaningful range of voices in its determination to condemn Jeremy Corbyn." The academics included ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="theguardian2">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/02/stop-jeremy-corbyns-trial-by-media-over-antisemitism|title=Stop Jeremy Corbyn’s trial by media over antisemitism|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=2 April 2018|accessdate=2 April 2018}}</ref> Jane Dipple, one of the signatories to the letter, was investigated for sharing antisemitic posts on social media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/academic-jane-dipple-facebook-posts_uk_5ac65218e4b0337ad1e578ba |title=Academic Who Defended Jeremy Corbyn Over Anti-Semitism Storm Probed Over Facebook Posts |publisher=Huffingtonpost.co.uk |date= |accessdate=18 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
In July, three peers, ], ]. and ] resigned to sit as independents, citing dissatisfaction with the party's handling of antisemitism, Brexit, and defence policy.<ref>{{cite news|title=Three Labour peers resign whip over 'anti-Semitism'|date=9 July 2019|work=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
In April 2018, ] released a statement saying: "We support the Labour Party's expressed determination to counter antisemitism, call on the ] and ] to respond to Jeremy Corbyns invitation to meet him without preconditions and demand that other political parties take the issues of racism equally seriously."<ref name="ijv"/> | |||
In October 2019, MP ] resigned from the party, citing her worries about antisemitism and opposition to a Corbyn-led government.<ref name="auto1"/> Labour responded that "Jeremy Corbyn and Labour are fully committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community and continue to take robust action to root out antisemitism in the party and wider society."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://labourlist.org/2019/10/louise-ellman-quits-the-labour-party/|title=Louise Ellman quits the Labour Party|last=Rodgers|first=Sienna|date=16 October 2019|access-date=17 October 2019|work=]}}</ref> Motions of no confidence in Ellman had been submitted for discussion in three branches of her constituency.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-activists-warned-not-to-discuss-no-confidence-motion-in-dame-louise-ellman-on-yom-kippur-1.489774|title=Labour activists warned not to discuss no confidence motion in Dame Louise Ellman on Yom Kippur|last=Harpin|first=Lee|date=7 October 2019|access-date=16 October 2019|work=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=MacAskill|first=Ewan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/membership/2016/sep/13/louise-ellman-mp-liverpool-riverside-labour|title=Louise Ellman MP: 'A small number are intent on creating dissent'|work=The Guardian|date=13 September 2016|access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref> ] said: "he made it very clear at the last CLP meeting that she could not support a Jeremy Corbyn-led government. This inevitably meant that Louise would be triggered and was very unlikely to win any reselection process."<ref>{{cite news |last=Thorpe|first=Liam|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/louise-ellmans-local-labour-branch-17098477|title=Louise Ellman's local Labour branch responds to her resignation after 55 years in party|work= ]|date=17 October 2019|access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> | |||
In the same month, Israeli historian ] stated that "Corbyn is not an anti-Semite and the Labour Party, until his election, was a pro-Israeli bastion..." and "...there is anti-Semitism among all British parties - and much more on the right than on the left..." He continued: "It is not the Labour Party that is infested with anti-Semitism; it is the British media and political systems that are plagued by hypocrisy, paralysed by intimidation and ridden with hidden layers of ] and new chauvinism in the wake of ]."{{sfn|Pappé|Daniel|2018}} | |||
===External investigations=== | |||
Later in the same month, ], Chair of ], on ]'s '']'' in reference to the survey conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism said: "Evidence including very recent evidence commissioned by a Jewish body suggests the very worst antisemitism is still on the right, on the far right and always has been."<ref name="thejc2">{{cite news |last=Harpin|first=Lee|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/antisemitism-is-worse-on-the-right-says-jewish-voice-for-labour-s-jenny-manson-1.462994|title=Antisemitism is worse on the right says chair of Jewish Voice for Labour group|work= |location= |publisher='']''|date=24 April 2018|accessdate=23 May 2018}}</ref> ], magician, Labour Party member and Jewish Voice for Labour committee member, wrote in ''Labour List'': "A myth seems to have grown that we do not recognise that there is antisemitism in the Labour Party. Of course we recognise that there have been, and are, antisemites in our party. We challenge the 'Rothschild' libellers and ] wherever we see them. All antisemitism is incompatible with the principles of socialism on which the Labour Party rests. If it has gone unchallenged in the past, then that was an egregious mistake, and we will hold the party to its clear commitment to root out such ideas in the future."<ref name="Saville">{{cite news |last=Saville|first=Ian|url=https://www.labourlist.org/2018/04/there-are-a-lot-of-myths-about-jewish-voice-for-labour-heres-the-truth/|title=There are a lot of myths about Jewish Voice for Labour. Here’s the truth|work= |location= |publisher=''Labour List''|date=25 April 2018|accessdate=23 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
In November 2018, the ] ] announced that they had been passed an internal Labour dossier detailing 45 allegations of antisemitic hate crimes committed by Labour members and would review them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Police investigate 'antisemitic hate crime' within Labour Party|url=https://news.sky.com/story/met-police-begin-criminal-investigation-into-labour-antisemitism-claims-11542357|access-date=2 November 2018|work=Sky News|date=2 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Police probe into anti-Semitism claims against Labour members|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46070229|access-date=2 November 2018|work=BBC News|date=2 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="MastersProbe">{{cite news |last1=Masters |first1=James |title=Labour anti-Semitism allegations to be probed by police |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/02/uk/labour-anti-semitism-intl/index.html |access-date=5 November 2018 |publisher=] |date=2 November 2018}}</ref> | |||
In May 2019, following complaints submitted by JLM and the ] (CAA), the ] (EHRC) launched a formal investigation into whether Labour had "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish": specifically, whether "unlawful acts have been committed by the party and/or its employees and/or its agents, and; whether the party has responded to complaints of unlawful acts in a lawful, efficient and effective manner."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48433964|title=Watchdog launches Labour anti-Semitism probe|work=BBC News|date=28 May 2019|via=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> In 2016, Labour MP ] had expressed concern about the suitability of its chair, ], given his principal role as an equity partner at a City law firm that advises the Conservative government, ].<ref name="Miller">{{cite news |last=Miller|first=Phil|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/fears-over-conflicts-of-interest-at-top-of-watchdog-probing-labour-anti-semitism|title=Exclusive: Fears over conflicts of interest at top of watchdog probing Labour anti-semitism |work=]|date=16 July 2019|access-date=16 July 2019}}</ref> Previously, in September 2017, EHRC Chief Executive Rebecca Hilsenrath had demanded a zero tolerance approach and swift action to deal with it.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/89302/human-rights-commission-chief-labour-must-prove-it|title=Human Rights Commission chief: Labour must prove it is not racist party after anti-Semitism row|date=26 September 2017|last=Casalicchio|first=Emilio|access-date=13 July 2019|work=Politics Home}}</ref> ], former founding director of the ], raised concerns that such a statement made Hilsenrath unsuitable to lead a probe. He wrote, "Prior to investigation, is it not worrying that the CEO already claims to know what Labour needs to do?"<ref name="Miller"/> Hilsenrath later recused herself from the decision to investigate Labour as her status as "an active member of the Anglo-Jewish community" could cause a perception of bias.<ref name="Miller"/> Labour asked EHRC to communicate any interim recommendations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://labourlist.org/2019/07/selections-membership-figures-antisemitism-alice-perrys-latest-nec-report/|title=Selections, membership figures, antisemitism – Alice Perry's latest NEC report|last=Perry|first=Alice|date=29 July 2019|access-date=3 September 2019|work=]}}</ref> | |||
In May, the Palestinian-Israeli ] issued a statement on the issues of antisemitism and Jeremy Corbyn stating that they "view Corbyn as a strong opponent of antisemitism and see the attacks being made on him for what they are: attempts to discredit a left-wing politician who has put forward a manifesto seen by capitalists as too radical in favour of working class interests... The smear campaign against Corbyn is a dangerous attempt to sabotage the struggle for left and socialist solutions..."<ref name="socialistparty">{{cite news |last= |first= |url=https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/27338/09-05-2018/socialists-in-israel-palestine-reject-establishment-antisemitism-charge-against-jeremy-corbyn|title=Socialists in Israel-Palestine reject establishment antisemitism charge against Jeremy Corbyn|work= |location= |publisher=''Socialist Party''|issue=994|date=9 May 2018|accessdate=26 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
] welcomed the investigation by EHRC. The organisation produced a dossier for EHRC in response to its request for evidence in relation to its investigation. JVL held that without making public the complaints and Labour's response when EHRC shared them ahead of launching the investigation, EHRC had violated the ] which requires that they specify investigation targets and "the nature of the unlawful act" they are suspected of committing, both required by its own terms of reference.<ref name="middleeasteye">{{cite news |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/watchdog-investigating-labour-party-antisemitism-breaking-its-own-rules-says-jewish-group|title=Watchdog investigating Labour antisemitism is breaking its own rules, says Jewish group |work=]|date=2 August 2019|access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref> | |||
Later in the month, ], a former appeal court judge, wrote in '']'' dismissing the charge that the Labour Party is "institutionally" or "culturally" anti-Semitic. He wrote that "an undeclared war is going on inside the party, with pro-Israeli groups such as the Jewish Labour Movement seeking to drive out pro-Palestinian groups like the Jewish Voice for Labour by stigmatising them, and Corbyn with them, as anti-Semitic." He believes that outside bodies like the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council – "neither noted for balanced criticism of Israel" – weigh in, aided by "generous media coverage".{{sfn|Sedley|2018}}<ref name="camdennewjournal">{{cite news |last=Gulliver|first=John|url=http://www.camdennewjournal.com/article/labour-and-anti-semitism-a-view-from-the-bench|title=Labour and anti-Semitism: a view from the bench|work= |location=Camden|publisher='']''|date=10 May 2018|accessdate=26 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
===Criticism of Labour Party advocates=== | |||
===Survey evidence=== | |||
In 2019, those seeking to defend Labour and some members from what they saw as unfair or exaggerated allegations themselves came under attack. MP ] was suspended and investigated after he was recorded saying, "The party that has done more to stand up to racism is now being demonised as a racist, bigoted party. I have got to say I think our party's response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion... we have backed off too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic...We've done more to address the scourge of antisemitism than any other political party. And yet we are being traduced".<ref name="Bates 2019">{{cite web | last=Bates | first=Elizabeth | title=Chris Williamson: Labour has been too apologetic about anti-Semitism | website=Yorkshire Post | date=26 February 2019 | url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/chris-williamson-labour-has-been-too-apologetic-about-anti-semitism-1-9618191 | access-date=6 March 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303073859/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/chris-williamson-labour-has-been-too-apologetic-about-anti-semitism-1-9618191 | archive-date=3 March 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=suspended>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47393626|title=Labour MP Chris Williamson suspended in anti-Semitism row|date=27 February 2019|work=]|access-date=27 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227171732/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47393626|archive-date=27 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> As with Jackie Walker and ], efforts were made to prevent him speaking at events.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jewish-students-call-for-nottingham-university-to-cancel-chris-williamson-invitation-1.489683|title=Jewish students call for the University of Nottingham to cancel Chris Williamson invitation|last=Sugarman|first=Daniel|date=4 October 2019|access-date=4 October 2019|work=The Jewish Chronicle}}</ref> Before the 2019 general election, Labour banned Williamson from standing as a Labour candidate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/chris-williamson-banned-from-standing-as-labour-candidate-in-general-election|title=Chris Williamson banned from standing as Labour candidate in general election|last=Schofield|first=Kevin|date=6 November 2019|website=]}}</ref> | |||
====Campaign Against Antisemitism survey==== | |||
In 2015, 2016 and 2017, the ] commissioned the polling firm ] to carry out a survey into the British population's attitudes towards Jews.<ref name="CAAsurvey17">{{cite web|title=Antisemitism Barometer 2017|url=https://antisemitism.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Antisemitism-Barometer-2017.pdf|publisher=]|accessdate=27 March 2018}}</ref> | |||
Pro-Corbyn websites, such as ], were the target of an advertising boycott campaign by ], which said that ''The Canary'' regularly published "fake news" and attempts to "justify antisemitism" and that two of its writers had made antisemitic comments.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stopfundingfakenews.com/fake-news|title=The Canary|access-date=3 August 2019|work=Stop Fake News Now|archive-date=3 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803083419/https://www.stopfundingfakenews.com/fake-news|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to '']'', the campaign had been backed by ],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/how-a-group-of-friends-are-fighting-fake-news-with-a-hand-from-rachel-riley/|title=How a group of friends are fighting fake news – with a hand from Rachel Riley|last=Frot|first=Mathilde|work=Jewish News|date=3 April 2019|access-date=7 April 2019}}</ref> who campaigns against the party leadership's handling of allegations of antisemitism, while ''The Canary'' called the accusations a smear and those behind the campaign "political Zionists".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/the-canary-blames-attacks-by-political-zionists-for-failing-business-model-as-cuts-fall/|title=The Canary blames attacks by 'political Zionists' for failing business model as cuts fall|last=Tobitt|first=Charlotte|date=5 August 2019|access-date=6 August 2019|work=Press Gazette}}</ref> Research by the ] identified a number of pro-Corbyn and pro-Labour social media accounts that claimed that allegations of antisemitism in the party were "exaggerated, weaponised, invented or blown out of proportion, or that Labour and Corbyn are victims of a smear campaign relating to antisemitism".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/04/labour-antisemitism-twitter-tom-watson-rachel-riley|title=Twitter accounts at heart of Labour antisemitism battle, says report|last=Doward|first=Jamie|date=4 August 2019|access-date=5 August 2019|work=The Guardian}}</ref> | |||
The survey found that supporters of the Labour Party were less likely to hold antisemitic views than supporters of the ] or the ] (UKIP), and supporters of the ] were the least likely to hold antisemitic views. 32% of Labour supporters endorsed at least one antisemitic attitude, compared to 30% of Liberal Democrat supporters, 39% of UKIP supporters, and 40% of Conservative supporters.<ref name="CAAsurvey17"/> | |||
===Response to attack on rabbi=== | |||
Further analysis of the survey data revealed that among Labour Party supporters, the level of antisemitic prejudice had declined between 2015 and 2017.<ref name="Rogers">{{cite web|last1=Rogers|first1=Tom D.|title=YouGov polls show anti-Semitism in Labour has actually REDUCED DRAMATICALLY since Jeremy Corbyn became leader|url=https://evolvepolitics.com/yougov-polls-show-anti-semitism-in-labour-has-actually-reduced-dramatically-since-jeremy-corbyn-became-leader/|publisher=EvolvePolitics|accessdate=22 April 2018|date=29 March 2018}}</ref>F | |||
After an Israeli rabbi was attacked whilst visiting London in November, Corbyn phoned Rabbi ], chairperson of Jewish neighbourhood watch organisation ], to express his concern for and empathy with the community. He tweeted that "We must stop this scourge of antisemitism". Gluck commented that the community appreciated Corbyn's concern and that Corbyn was the only party leader who called.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weaver|first=Matthew|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/02/police-criticised-response-attack-rabbi-in-north-london|title=Police criticised over response to attack on rabbi in north London|date=2 December 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 April 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> | |||
===December election=== | |||
====Institute for Jewish Policy Research survey==== | |||
{{Main|2019 United Kingdom general election}} | |||
A major study into contemporary antisemitism in Britain was published by the ] (JPR) in September 2017. The study found that those on the political left were no more likely than average to hold antisemitic attitudes, but were more likely than average to hold anti-Israel attitudes, especially those on the far-left.<ref name="JPR 5-8">{{cite web |author1=L. Daniel Staetsky |title=Antisemitism in contemporary Great Britain A study of attitudes towards Jews and Israel |url=http://www.jpr.org.uk/documents/JPR.2017.Antisemitism_in_contemporary_Great_Britain.pdf |publisher=Institute for Jewish Policy Research |accessdate=26 December 2017 |pages=5–8 |date=September 2017}}</ref> | |||
During the ], Corbyn apologised on ITV's '']'' programme.<ref>C. Chaplain, ' (03/12/19) on ''inews.co.uk''</ref> A few days before, other members of the ], including ], ] and ], apologised for antisemitism in their party.<ref>F. Perraudin, ' (27/11/19) on '']''</ref>{{undue weight inline|date=May 2023}} | |||
===Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis=== | |||
The study stated that in general "levels of antisemitism in Great Britain are among the lowest in the world." However, it noted that among British adults a "relatively small group of about 5% of the general population can justifiably be described as antisemites: people who hold a wide range of negative attitudes towards Jews." while a larger group comprising about 30% of the population agreed with at least one antisemitic attitude. However, the study noted that this "does not mean that 30% of the population of Great Britain is antisemitic. A majority of people who agreed with just one negative statement about Jews in this survey also agreed with one or more positive statements about Jews, suggesting that the existence of one antisemitic or stereotypical belief in a person’s thinking need not indicate a broader, deeper prejudice towards Jews."<ref name="JPR 5-8"/> | |||
In his leader's interview with Corbyn, ] dedicated the first 10 minutes of the 30-minute programme entirely to discussion of Labour's relationship with the Jewish community.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2019/11/andrew-neil-prolongs-jeremy-corbyns-anti-semitism-woes |title=Andrew Neil prolongs Jeremy Corbyn's anti-Semitism woes |last=Maguire |first=Patrick |date=26 November 2019 |newspaper=New Statesman |access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref> This interview drew attention as Corbyn refused to apologise{{clarification needed|date=July 2023}} for antisemitism in Labour, even though he had repeatedly done so before.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Woodcock|first=Andrew|date=26 November 2019|title=Jeremy Corbyn refuses four times to apologise for his handling of antisemitism in Labour party during interview|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-interview-andrew-neil-antisemitism-labour-party-election-a9219091.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-interview-andrew-neil-antisemitism-labour-party-election-a9219091.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref> The UK's Chief Rabbi, ], made an unprecedented intervention in politics, warning that antisemitism was a "poison sanctioned from the top" of Labour, and saying that ] were gripped by anxiety about the prospect of a Corbyn-led government.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/26/it-reflects-despair-chief-rabbi-criticism-of-labour-strikes-a-chord |title='It reflects the despair': chief rabbi's criticism of Labour strikes a chord |date=26 November 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref> ], the Archbishop of Canterbury, the ] and the ] partially supported Rabbi Mirvis's intervention.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/26/justin-welby-chief-rabbi-labour-antisemitism |title=Justin Welby backs chief rabbi after Labour antisemitism remarks |first=Harriet |last=Sherwood |date=26 November 2019 |via=www.theguardian.com |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Burgess|first1=Kaya|last2=Zeffman|first2=Henry|last3=Andrews|first3=Kieran|date=27 November 2019|title=Faith Leaders back Chief Rabbi's Warning on Antisemitism|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/faith-groups-back-chief-rabbi-mirvis-over-labour-antisemitism-j56jmpvv6|url-access=subscription}}</ref> | |||
====JLM and the 2019 general election==== | |||
When discussing the link between political views and antisemitism, the study found that "Levels of antisemitism among those on the left-wing of the political spectrum, including the far-left, are indistinguishable from those found in the general population. Yet, all parts of those on the left of the political spectrum – including the 'slightly left-of-centre,' the 'fairly left-wing' and the 'very left-wing' – exhibit higher levels of anti Israelism than average. The most antisemitic group on the political spectrum consists of those who identify as very right-wing: the presence of antisemitic attitudes in this group is 2 to 4 times higher compared to the general population."<ref name="JPR 5-8"/> | |||
Labour's only Jewish affiliate, JLM, said they would not actively campaign for Labour except for exceptional candidates.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishlabour.uk/general_election_statement_2019#addreaction|title=General Election Statement 2019|date=31 October 2019 |website=Jewish Labour Movement |access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref> | |||
==2020== | |||
Later it continued: "When it comes to antisemitism, the very right-wing lead: 52% (46–58%) in this group hold at least one antisemitic attitude, in contrast to 30% in the general population; and 13% (10–17%) of the very right-wing hold 5–8 antisemitic attitudes, in contrast to 3.6% in the general population. Among those who identify as fairly right-wing or slightly right-of-centre, the maximal diffusion of antisemitic attitudes (the percentage of people with at least one attitude) is slightly elevated but not the stronger forms of antisemitism. The very left-wing is indistinguishable from the general population and from the political centre in this regard. In general, it should be said that, with the exception of the very right-wing, there is little differentiation across the political spectrum in relation to the prevalence of antisemitic attitudes. However, in relation to anti-Israel attitudes, the very left-wing lead: 78% (75–82%) in this group endorse at least one anti-Israel attitude, in contrast to 56% in the general population, and 23% (19–26%) hold 6–9 attitudes, in contrast to 9% in the general population. Elevated levels of anti-Israel attitudes are also observed in other groups on the political left: the fairly left-wing and those slightly left-of-centre. The lowest level of anti-Israel attitudes is observed in the political centre and among those who are slightly right-of-centre or fairly right-wing." The report however found that "....anti-Israel attitudes are not, as a general rule, antisemitic; but the stronger a person's anti-Israel views, the more likely they are to hold antisemitic attitudes. A majority of those who hold anti-Israel attitudes do not espouse any antisemitic attitudes, but a significant minority of those who hold anti-Israel attitudes hold them alongside antisemitic attitudes. Therefore, antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes exist both separately and together."<ref name="JPR p44">{{cite web |author1=L. Daniel Staetsky |title=Antisemitism in contemporary Great Britain A study of attitudes towards Jews and Israel |url=http://www.jpr.org.uk/documents/JPR.2017.Antisemitism_in_contemporary_Great_Britain.pdf |publisher=Institute for Jewish Policy Research |accessdate=26 December 2017 |page=44 |date=September 2017}}</ref> | |||
===Keir Starmer=== | |||
On 4 April, leader Starmer expressed the view that "Antisemitism has been a stain on our party" and apologised to the Jewish community, vowing to fight it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/keir-starmer-elected-labour-leader-i-will-tear-out-poison-of-antisemitism/|title=Keir Starmer elected Labour leader: 'I will tear out poison of antisemitism'|date=4 April 2020|website=Jewish News}}</ref><ref name="auto9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/keir-starmer-elected-uk-labour-chief-apologizes-to-jews-for-party-anti-semitism/|title=After Corbyn, UK Labour elects Keir Starmer, Zionist with Jewish wife, as leader|website=www.timesofisrael.com}}</ref> Starmer had previously made eliminating antisemitism in Labour one of his main campaign issues, and said he would take steps to eradicate it "on day one" of his assuming party leadership. He also said he would look to fully cooperate with EHRC's investigation into antisemitism in the party.<ref name="auto9"/> | |||
===Internal investigation into Labour's Governance and Legal Unit=== | |||
{{Main|The work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014–2019}} | |||
The following week, ] reported that the 860-page antisemitism report would be withheld on advice of counsel.<ref name="Rayner">{{cite news |last=Rayner|first=Tom|url=https://news.sky.com/story/labour-antisemitism-investigation-will-not-be-sent-to-equality-commission-11972071|title=Labour antisemitism investigation will not be sent to equality commission|work=Sky News|date=12 April 2020|access-date=12 April 2020}}</ref> The report concluded that "no evidence" had been found that antisemitism complaints were treated any differently than other forms of complaint, or of current or former staff being "motivated by antisemitic intent". The report stated that Corbyn's team inherited a lack of "robust processes, systems, training, education and effective line management" and that hostility towards Corbyn by former senior officials contributed to "a litany of mistakes" that "affected the expeditious and resolute handling of disciplinary complaints", including providing "false and misleading information" to Corbyn's office on the scale and handling of antisemitism allegations. The report urged EHRC to "question the validity of the personal testimonies" of former members of staff.<ref name="Rayner"/> Furthermore, '']'', which saw the report, stated that it said that staffers associated with Labour's right-wing sought to undermine Corbyn and prevent Labour from winning the 2017 general election in the hope that a poor result would trigger a leadership contest.<ref>{{cite news|last=Stone|first=Jon|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-leak-report-corbyn-election-whatsapp-antisemitism-tories-yougov-poll-a9462456.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-leak-report-corbyn-election-whatsapp-antisemitism-tories-yougov-poll-a9462456.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Anti-Corbyn Labour officials worked to lose general election to oust leader, leaked dossier finds|work=The Independent|date=13 April 2020|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> | |||
On 23 April, NEC met to set the terms of reference for the independent investigation into the circumstances, contents, and release of an internal report to conclude with its own report to be published by mid-July. Several amendments were passed by the NEC, including one by Rayner that referred to the offer of whistleblower protections.<ref name="Rogers2">{{cite news |last=Rogers|first=Sienna|url=https://labourlist.org/2020/04/labours-ruling-body-agrees-scope-of-investigation-into-leaked-report/|title=Labour's ruling body agrees scope of investigation into leaked report|work=Labour List|date=23 April 2020|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref> On 1 May, NEC appointed a four-person panel to investigate the report. Martin Forde QC, a barrister was chosen as chair, supported by three Labour peers: Baroness ], Lord ], and Baroness ].<ref name="Rogers3">{{cite news |last=Rogers|first=Sienna|url=https://labourlist.org/2020/05/labours-ruling-body-appoints-panel-to-investigate-leaked-report/|title=Labour's ruling body appoints panel to investigate leaked report|work=Labour List|date=1 May 2020|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref> | |||
In June, Labour revealed that it had suspended the membership of some party members to protect the integrity of its investigation.<ref name="es190620">{{cite news |last1=Kirk |first1=Tristan |title=Labour Party suspends members over internal anti-Semitism report leak |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-party-antisemitism-report-leaked-high-court-suspensions-a4474456.html |access-date=21 June 2020 |work=Evening Standard |date=19 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ms190620">{{cite news |last1=Tobin |first1=Sam |title=Labour faces legal action from one of its own members over claims party staff 'sought the victory of rival parties' |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/labour-faces-legal-action-from-one-of-its-own-members-over-claims-party-staff-sought-the-victory-of-rival-parties |access-date=21 June 2020 |work=Morning Star |publisher=MorningStar |date=19 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="novara200620">{{cite news |last1=Bastani |first1=Aaron |title=Labour Suspensions Over Leaked Antisemitism Report Include Former Senior Official Emilie Oldknow |url=https://novaramedia.com/2020/06/20/labour-suspensions-over-leaked-antisemitism-report-include-former-senior-official-emilie-oldknow/ |access-date=21 June 2020 |work=Novara Media |date=20 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref> According to '']'', former party director Emilie Oldknow, who featured prominently in the leaked documents, and Patrick Heneghan, Labour's former executive director for elections, campaigns and organisation were among those suspended.<ref name="novara200620"/> | |||
===Rebecca Long-Bailey=== | |||
In June 2020, ] was asked to resign as ] by Starmer after she shared a link to an ''Independent'' interview actor ] which contained: | |||
<blockquote>"The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on ]'s neck, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services."<ref>'People who couldn't vote Labour because of Corbyn? They voted Tory as far as I'm concerned', ''Independent'', 25 June 2020. Text of the original interview is available .</ref></blockquote> | |||
The original article stated that "the Israeli police has denied this".<ref>Text of the original ''Independent'' interview is available .</ref> Starmer said that the article should not have been shared by Long-Bailey "as it contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53183085|title=Long-Bailey sacked for sharing 'anti-Semitic article'|work=BBC News|date=25 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer sacks Rebecca Long-Bailey over 'antisemitic conspiracy theory' article|url=https://news.sky.com/story/sir-keir-starmer-sacks-rebecca-long-bailey-over-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-article-12014698|access-date=25 June 2020|website=Sky News|language=en}}</ref> ''The Independent'' amended the original article to add a note that "the allegation that US police were taught tactics of 'neck kneeling' by Israeli secret services is unfounded".<ref name="Independent250620">{{cite news |last1=Pollard |first1=Alexandra |title=Maxine Peake: 'People who couldn't vote Labour because of Corbyn? They voted Tory as far as I'm concerned' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/maxine-peake-interview-labour-corbyn-keir-starmer-black-lives-matter-a9583206.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/maxine-peake-interview-labour-corbyn-keir-starmer-black-lives-matter-a9583206.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=27 June 2020 |work=The Independent |date=25 June 2020}}</ref> Peake later stated that she was "inaccurate in assumption of American police training and its sources".<ref>{{cite tweet |user=MPeakeOfficial |number=1276200507154010113 |date=25 June 2020 |title=I feel it's important for me to clarify that, when talking to The Independent, I was inaccurate in my assumption of American Police training & its sources. I find racism & antisemitism abhorrent & I in no way wished, nor intended, to add fodder to any views of the contrary. }}</ref> The claim had been linked to a report by ], but Amnesty said that they had never reported that Israeli security forces had taught the technique.<ref name="guardian250620" /> | |||
''The Guardian'' said a "series of individual MPs condemned the decision" and some did not consider Peake's allegations to be anti-semitic. ], shadow chancellor under Corbyn, said that "criticism of practices of Israeli state is not anti-semitic". He did not believe that Long-Bailey should have been sacked and stood with her.<ref name="Independent250620" /><ref name="guardian250620">{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Peter|title=Keir Starmer sacks Rebecca Long-Bailey from shadow cabinet|date=25 June 2020|work=]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/25/keir-starmer-sacks-rebecca-long-bailey-from-shadow-cabinet|access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref> NEC member ] said: "I don't believe there is anything antisemitic in the interview and sacking Rebecca is a reckless overreaction by Keir Starmer."<ref name="Honeycombe-Foster 2020">{{cite web | last=Honeycombe-Foster | first=Matt | title=Keir Starmer to meet left-wing MP group amid fury over 'anti-semitic conspiracy theory' sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey | website=Politics Home | date=26 June 2020 | url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/keir-starmer-to-meet-leftwing-mp-group-amid-fury-over-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-sacking-of-rebecca-longbailey | access-date=27 July 2020}}</ref> | |||
===Steve Reed=== | |||
In July 2020, ] used Twitter to suggest that Conservative Party donor ] was "the puppet master to the entire Tory cabinet" in relation to the planning scandal involving Desmond and minister ]. The tweet was criticised as antisemitic for containing a "classic anti-Semitic trope about a Jewish businessman" and Conservative MPs asked Starmer to sack Reed. After Reed deleted the tweet and apologised, no further action was taken against him.<ref name="jw070720">{{cite news |last1=Moses |first1=Adam |title=Calls for Starmer to sack Reed after anti-Semitic trope {{!}} The Jewish Weekly |url=https://thejewishweekly.com/calls-for-starmer-to-sack-reed-after-anti-semitic-trope/ |access-date=7 July 2020 |publisher=Jewish Weekly |date=7 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="ll060720">{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Elliot |title=Labour's Steve Reed apologises for "puppet master" tweet |url=https://labourlist.org/2020/07/labours-steve-reed-apologises-for-puppet-master-tweet/ |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=LabourList |date=6 July 2020}}</ref> | |||
===Aftermath of 2019 ''Panorama'' programme=== | |||
In July 2020 Labour was sued for defamation by seven former members of staff who had appeared in the 2019 BBC '']'' programme ''Is Labour Anti-Semitic?'' The former staffers said senior Labour Party figures had made statements attacking their reputations and suggesting they had ulterior political and personal motives to undermine the party. When the programme aired, a Labour party spokesperson had called them "disaffected former officials" and said they had "worked actively to undermine" Corbyn and had "both personal and political axes to grind". In response to the lawsuit Starmer agreed to pay damages to the former staff members and issue a formal apology.<ref name="guardian150720">{{cite news |last1=Elgot |first1=Jessica |last2=Stewart |first2=Heather |last3=O'Carroll |first3=Lisa |title=Labour set to apologise to antisemitism whistleblowers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jul/15/labour-to-apologise-to-antisemitism-whistleblowers |access-date=2 August 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=15 July 2020}}</ref> | |||
Corbyn expressed disappointment at Starmer's decision and said that Labour was risking "giving credibility to misleading and inaccurate allegations about action taken to tackle anti-Semitism in Labour in recent years" and that the settlements were a "political decision, not a legal one". In response, the show's presenter ] sued Corbyn personally.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Panorama journalist John Ware planning to sue Jeremy Corbyn|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/panorama-journalist-john-ware-planning-to-sue-jeremy-corbyn/|website=jewishnews.timesofisrael.com|date=22 July 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-whistleblower-apology-jeremy-corbyn-political-decision-a4505646.html|title=Corbyn says whistleblower damages decision was 'political, not legal'|date=22 July 2020|website=Evening Standard}}</ref> A fundraising campaign, set up with an initial target of £20,000 to help Corbyn with legal fees, surpassed £270,000 within days.<ref name="ms260720">{{cite news |last1=Sabin |first1=Lamiat |title=Corbyn allies pledge support while legal fund donations continue amid reported 'lawfare' of former Labour staffers |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/corbyn-allies-pledge-support-while-legal-fund-donations-continue-amid-reported |access-date=28 July 2020 |work=Morning Star |date=26 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Starmer's decision prompted Labour's largest backer, the trade union ] led by ], to review its donations. McCluskey said "It's an abuse of members' money. ... It's as though a huge sign has been put up outside Labour with 'queue here with your writ and get your payment over there' ".<ref name="guardian010820">{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Michael |title=Unite sounds warning over Labour antisemitism payouts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/aug/01/unite-warns-labour-on-antisemitism-payouts |access-date=2 August 2020 |work=The Observer |publisher=The Guardian |date=1 August 2020}}</ref> | |||
===Publication of EHRC report and Corbyn suspension=== | |||
On 29 October 2020, EHRC published their report, stating, "serious failings in Labour leadership in addressing antisemitism and an inadequate process for handling antisemitism complaints".<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Quinn|first1=Ben|last2=Elgot|first2=Jessica|last3=Quinn|first3=Ben|date=29 October 2020|title=Labour responsible for unlawful acts of discrimination and harassment, EHRC antisemitism report finds – politics live|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/oct/29/uk-politics-live-ehrc-to-publish-report-into-labour-and-antisemitism|access-date=29 October 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The report found evidence of political interference into complaints of antisemitism, failure to provide training to handle complaints of antisemitism, and harassment, in breach of the ].<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 October 2020|title=Anti-Semitism report: Labour broke equalities law|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54730425|access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref> | |||
After the publication, Corbyn said his team had "acted to speed up, not hinder the process", and that the scale of antisemitism within Labour had been "dramatically overstated for political reasons". Corbyn was suspended pending investigation from Labour when he refused to retract his remarks.<ref name="BBC-suspension">{{Cite news|date=29 October 2020|title=Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn over anti-Semitism report|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54730425|access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref> | |||
==2021–present== | |||
===Exclusion of alleged far-left factions=== | |||
In July, ] voted to ban four factions that they described as on the ], including ], ], the ], and ], on the grounds that "these organisations are not compatible with Labour's rules or our aims and values". These factions had been accused of obstructing efforts to combat antisemitism. The party committee ruled that belonging to these factions was grounds for expulsion; that future complaints would be handled by an independent appeal body; and that all prospective Labour candidates would be trained by JLM.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Rowena |title=Labour votes to ban four far-left factions that supported Corbyn's leadership |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/20/labour-votes-to-ban-four-far-left-factions-that-supported-corbyns-leadership |access-date=23 July 2021 |work=] |date=20 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722095927/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/20/labour-votes-to-ban-four-far-left-factions-that-supported-corbyns-leadership |archive-date=22 July 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shalev |first1=Asaf |title=UK Labour bans far-left factions in effort to change reputation on antisemitism |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-labour-bans-far-left-factions-in-effort-to-change-reputation-on-antisemitism/ |access-date=23 July 2021 |work=] |date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722075309/https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-labour-bans-far-left-factions-in-effort-to-change-reputation-on-antisemitism/ |archive-date=22 July 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> While JLM welcomed the announcement; the bans were condemned by ] and ] for targeting left-wing elements and worsening internal tensions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Left-wing anger over expulsions from Labour Party |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57909481 |access-date=23 July 2021 |work=] |date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722084525/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57909481 |archive-date=22 July 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
===Forde Report=== | |||
The long-awaited Forde Report, written by lawyer Martin Forde in response to the dossier leaked in April 2020. '']''), was ultimately released on 19 July 2022.<ref name=forderep-20220719>{{cite web |url=https://www.fordeinquiry.org/forde-inquiry-report/ |title=Forde Inquiry Report |website=Forde Inquiry |date=19 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719121658/https://www.fordeinquiry.org/forde-inquiry-report/ |archive-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> It reported that antisemitism had been used as a factional weapon. The report said: "ather than confront the paramount need to deal with the profoundly serious issue of anti-Semitism in the party, both factions treated it as a factional weapon."<ref>{{cite news |last=Zeffman |first=Henry |date=20 July 2022 |title=Antisemitism 'used as weapon' by Jeremy Corbyn's friends and foes |work=] |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/antisemitism-used-as-weapon-by-jeremy-corbyns-friends-and-foes-jxzv80qtk |access-date=20 July 2022 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=19 July 2022 |title=Anti-Semitism used as factional weapon within Labour, says report |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62226042 |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/forde-report-labour-jeremy-corbyn-2017-election-b2126500.html|title=Anti-Corbyn Labour officials covertly diverted election cash to allies, inquiry finds|last=Stone|first=Jon|date=19 July 2022|work=The Independent|access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> It showed how senior Labour staff displayed "deplorably factional and insensitive, and at times discriminatory, attitudes" towards Corbyn and his supporters,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/19/antisemitism-factional-weapon-labour-party-forde-report-finds|title=Antisemitism issue used as 'factional weapon' in Labour, report finds|last1=Elgot|first1=Jessica|last2=Walker|first2=Peter|date=19 July 2022|work=]|access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> and revealed a "hierarchy of racism" in the party that ignored Black and Asian people.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/forde-report-labour-party-racism-b2126627.html|title=Black Labour staff suffer under party's 'hierarchy of racism', Forde report finds|last=White|first=Nadine|date=19 July 2022|work=The Independent|accessdate=20 July 2022}}</ref> | |||
===Israel–Hamas war=== | |||
Labour under Starmer suspended parliamentary candidates and MPs, including ], ], ] and ], for their alleged anti-Semitic comments during the ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Second Labour candidate suspended as Starmer insists party 'has changed' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/kate-osamor-israel-simon-danczuk-mps-antisemitism-b2495588.html |work=The Independent |date=14 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Labour's difficulties on Israel, Gaza and antisemitism |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/14/labour-party-difficulties-on-israel-gaza-and-antisemitism |work=The Guardian |date=14 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=MP demands 'full apology' from BBC after 'antisemitism' reports |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/24119172.mp-demands-full-apology-bbc-antisemitism-reports/ |work=The National |date=14 February 2024}}</ref> Jones said that Britons who had gone to Israel to fight for the ] "should be locked up".<ref>{{cite news |title=Britons who fight for Israel should be 'locked up', suspended Labour candidate said |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/02/13/rishi-sunak-latest-news-labour-rochdale-candidate-reform-uk/ |work=The Telegraph |date=13 February 2024}}</ref> Osamor wrote of an "international duty" to remember the victims of the ] and that "more recent genocides in ], ], ] and now ]" should be remembered.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mason |first1=Rowena |title=Labour suspends Kate Osamor over Gaza comments in Holocaust message |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/28/labour-suspends-kate-osamor-over-gaza-comments-in-holocaust-message |website=] |date=28 January 2024}}</ref> | |||
In August 2024, Jewish members of Labour sent a letter to Starmer, accusing him and his party of actions worsening antisemitism.<ref>{{cite news|date= 6 August 2024|title= Jewish UK Labour Party members accuse PM Starmer of worsening antisemitism|url= https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-813455|work= Jerusalem Post|access-date=}}</ref> | |||
==Statements of support == | |||
=== Labour movement === | |||
In September 2017, general secretary of ], ] said that the row "was created by people who were trying to undermine Jeremy Corbyn".<ref name="McCluskey">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41405625 |title=Labour: Len McCluskey says party does not have anti-Semitism issue |work=] |date=26 September 2017 |access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> He stated that he had never heard antisemitic language at a party meeting, adding "Unfortunately at the time there were lots of people playing games, everybody wanted to create this image that Jeremy Corbyn's leadership had become misogynist, had become racist, had become anti-Semitic and it was wrong."<ref name="McCluskey" /> | |||
In December 2017, ] founder ] identified three forms of antisemitism: petty xenophobic remarks, of which he " think there's much" in the Party; old-school ] type antisemitism, which, according to Lansman, is "extremely rare"; and the ], whereby, Lansman says, "we all understand that when that conflict heats up, it results in dreadful antisemitism."<ref>{{cite news |last=Dysch |first=Marcus |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/there-s-as-much-antisemitism-in-tory-party-as-in-labour-says-jon-lansman-1.450904 |title=There's as much antisemitism in Tory Party as in Labour, says Jon Lansman |work=] |date=26 December 2017}}</ref> | |||
In June 2019, Labour peer ] and former Israeli negotiator in peace talks Daniel Levy said that the effect of Labour's stance on antisemitism had been "to empower apologists for totally unacceptable Israeli government attacks on Palestinians and the steady throttling of their rights – allowing those apologists to scale new heights in their dishonest attempts to label criticism of such Israeli policy as 'antisemitic'".{{sfn|Hain|Levy|2019}}<ref name="HainLevy"/> | |||
In August 2019, former Deputy Leader and Shadow Home Secretary ] said that he believed that Labour had "managed to expunge the party" of antisemitism.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/national/17840355.labour-eradicated-anti-semitism-party-claims-lord-hattersley/|title=Labour has eradicated anti-Semitism from party, claims Lord Hattersley|date=16 August 2019|access-date=16 August 2019|work=News & Star}}</ref> | |||
=== Jewish activists and organisations === | |||
Some left-wing Jewish groups disputed the antisemitism claims. These include ],<ref name="jewishvoiceforlabour">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/jvl/a-jvl-statement-on-the-current-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn/|title=A statement from Jewish Labour members on the current attacks on Jeremy Corbyn|work=Jewish Voice for Labour|date=26 March 2018|access-date=1 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="MansonLevy">{{cite news |last1=Manson|first1=Jenny|last2=Levy|first2=Raphael|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/28/jewish-voice-for-labour-is-not-an-anti-zionist-group|title=Jewish Voice for Labour is not an anti-Zionist group|newspaper=]|date=28 September 2017|access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> ],<ref name="jfjfp1">{{cite web |url=http://jfjfp.com/alleging-antisemitism-is-labour-rights-defining-narrative-now/|title=Alleging antisemitism is Labour right's 'defining narrative now'|work=JFJFP|date=19 January 2017}}</ref> ],<ref name="jewishsocialist2">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsocialist.org.uk/news/item/statement-on-labours-problem-with-antisemitism-from-the-jewish-socialists-g|title=Statement on "Labour's problem with antisemitism"|work=Jewish Socialists' Group|date=28 April 2016|access-date=12 May 2018}}</ref> ]<ref name="jewdas">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewdas.org/enough-is-enough/|title=Statement on "Labour's problem with antisemitism"|work=Jewdas|date=29 March 2018|access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref> and ];<ref name="ijv">{{cite web |url=https://www.ijv.org.uk/2018/04/03/jeremy-corbyn-and-the-jewdas-seder-a-statement-by-independent-jewish-voices/|title=Jeremy Corbyn and the Jewdas Seder: A Statement by Independent Jewish Voices|work=Independent Jewish Voices|date=2 April 2018}}</ref> all of whom agreed that accusations of antisemitism against Labour had a twofold purpose: firstly, to conflate antisemitism with criticism of Israel in order to deter such criticism and, secondly, to undermine Labour leadership.<ref name="Bock">{{cite magazine |last=Bock|first=Pauline|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/01/ken-loach-labour-s-anti-semitism-witchhunt-corbyn-opportunity-and-lessons-1968|title=Ken Loach on Labour's anti-Semitism "witchhunt", the Corbyn opportunity and lessons from 1968|magazine=]|date=31 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="Chacko">{{cite news |last=Chacko|first=Ben|url=https://www.labourlist.org/2018/04/the-morning-star-doesnt-hate-israel-were-proud-to-oppose-all-forms-of-racism/|title=The Morning Star doesn't hate Israel – we're proud to oppose all forms of racism |work=Labour List|date=20 April 2018|access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="Cowles">{{cite news |last=Cowles|first=Ben|url=https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/corbyn-no-anti-semite-interview-jewish-voice-labour|title=Audio Interview 'Corbyn is no anti-semite' – An interview with Jewish Voice for Labour |work=]|date=28 April 2018|access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
In August 2015, dozens of Jewish activists signed an open letter criticising '']'' for what they viewed as its "]" of Corbyn. Signatories to the letter included ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="thejc1">{{cite news |last=Dysch |first=Marcus |url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/142553/anti-israel-activists-attack-jc-challenging-jeremy-corbyn |title=Anti-Israel activists attack JC for challenging Jeremy Corbyn |work=] |date=18 August 2015 |access-date=7 April 2017}}</ref>{{primary inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In April 2016, ], spokesperson for ], said that, while "there is some antisemitism in and around Labour – as there is in the wider society in Britain", "there is clearly also a coordinated, willed and malign campaign to exaggerate the nature and extent of antisemitism as a stick to beat Labour".{{sfn|White|2016}}{{dead link|date=May 2023}}{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In April 2016, the Jewish Socialists' Group said that antisemitism accusations were being "weaponized" in order to "attack the Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour party". It added "A very small number of such cases seem to be real instances of antisemitism. Others represent genuine ] and support for ]".<ref name="jewishsocialist1">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishsocialist.org.uk/news/item/statement-on-labours-problem-with-antisemitism-from-the-jewish-socialists-g|title=Statement on "Labour's problem with antisemitism"|work=Jewish Socialists' Group|date=28 April 2016|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Hernon | first=I. | title=Anti-Semitism and the Left | publisher=Amberley Publishing | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-3981-0224-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W5NzEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT289 | access-date=2024-10-25}}</ref> | |||
Later that month, 82 "Jewish members and supporters of Labour and of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership" wrote an open letter stating that they "do not accept that antisemitism is 'rife' in Labour" and that "these accusations are part of a wider campaign against the Labour leadership, and they have been timed particularly to do damage to Labour and its prospects."<ref name="theguardian1">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/29/labour-antisemitism-and-where-jeremy-corbyn-goes-from-here |title=Labour, antisemitism and where Jeremy Corbyn goes from here |work=] |date=29 April 2016 |access-date=1 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="israelnationalnews">{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/18940 |title=Reactions to anti-Semitism in the British Labour Party |work=] |date=29 May 2016 |access-date=2 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="Jewishnewsletter">{{cite news |url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/momentum-backs-disciplinary-panel-hopeful-who-questioned-extent-of-antisemitism/ |title=Seven women accuse veteran Israeli journalist Dan Margalit of sexual harassment |work=] |date=19 October 2018 |access-date=2 February 2019}}</ref> Signatories included ], ], ], ], Miriam Margolyes, ], ] and ].<ref name="theguardian1"/><ref name="JCletter">{{cite news |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/congregants-hit-back-after-rabbi-signs-letter-undermining-fight-against-antisemitism-1.56591 |title=Congregants hit back after rabbi signs letter 'undermining fight against antisemitism' |work=Jerusalem Chronicle |date=6 May 2016 |access-date=2 February 2019}}</ref> | |||
In December 2017, ] suggested that the allegations are aimed at discrediting the party<ref name="standardjewdas" /> and called the reaction to them a "bout of faux-outrage greased with hypocrisy and opportunism".<ref name="haaretz">{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/corbyn-in-new-storm-after-attending-radical-jewish-group-s-seder-1.5974851 |title=U.K. Labour Party Leader Corbyn in New Storm After Attending pro-Palestinian Jewish Group's Seder |work=] |date=3 April 2018 |access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
In February 2019, over 200 Jewish members and supporters of Labour signed a letter published in ''The Guardian'', calling the party "a crucial ally in the fight against bigotry and reaction" and Corbyn's campaigning consistently in support for "initiatives against antisemitism". They felt that the "disproportionate focus on antisemitism on the left, which is abhorrent but relatively rare." The signatories included ], ], Michael Rosen, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], Miriam David, ], ], ], Selma James, ], ], ], ] and Ian Saville.<ref name="theguardian4">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/20/jeremy-corbyn-labour-party-crucial-ally-in-fight-against-antisemitism|title=Jeremy Corbyn's Labour is a crucial ally in the fight against antisemitism|newspaper=]|date=20 February 2019|access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="auto5">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47322921|title=Labour anti-Semitism claims: Jewish group backs Corbyn|work=BBC|date=21 February 2019|access-date=2 March 2019}}</ref> | |||
In July 2019, ], anti-corruption campaigner and executive director of ] said, "Only a very small percentage of Labour members hold anti-semitic views and a YouGov poll in 2015 found Labour displayed the second least amount of any political party, second only to the Liberal Democrats. In 2017, two years into Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, the extent of anti-semitism in Labour had actually dropped, according to polling."<ref name="Miller"/>{{better source needed|not RS|date=May 2023}}{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In November 2019, ], the Jewish former ] and Conservative (and later Labour, until his suspension) MP, said he had never experienced antisemitism from a Labour Party member and after knowing Corbyn for 22 years did not believe he was antisemitic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/politics/article/john-bercow-interview|title=John Bercow: 'I do not believe Jeremy Corbyn is anti-Semitic'|last=Chesterton|first=George|date=8 November 2019|access-date=9 November 2019|work=GQ}}</ref> | |||
In November 2019, 14 British Jews signed a letter published in ''The Guardian'' describing allegation of antisemitism as "a political siege of Labour". Signatories included ], Lynne Segal, ], Miriam David, ], ], ] and ].<ref name="theguardian5">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/nov/17/a-vote-for-labour-is-not-a-vote-for-antisemitism|title=A vote for Labour is not a vote for antisemitism|newspaper=]|date=17 November 2019|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref>{{primary inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
=== Academics and researchers === | |||
In April 2016, independent researcher ]'s review found that some treated comments about "Zionists" as being the same as Holocaust denial and comments about antisemitic conspiracy theories.{{sfn|Seymour|2018a}}<ref name="Stern-Weiner">{{cite news |last=Stern-Weiner |first=Jamie |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/jamie-stern-weiner/jeremy-corbyn-hasn-t-got-antisemitism-problem-his-opponents-do |title=Jeremy Corbyn hasn't got an 'antisemitism problem'. His opponents do. |work=] |date=27 April 2016 |access-date=27 May 2017}}</ref>{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In May 2016, Israeli historian and Oxford University Professor of International Relations ] argued that "charges of Jew-hatred are being deliberately manipulated to serve a pro-Zionist agenda."{{sfn|Seymour|2018a}}{{sfn|Shlaim|Daniel|2016}}{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In January 2017, ] wrote, "There has been a sustained attempt made to discredit the Corbynites by alleging that they are somehow responsible for Labour having a serious problem with anti-Semitism, that the Labour left and the left outside Labour is, in fact, anti-Semitic... the allegations are politically motivated smears, perpetrated by people completely without shame, and... they do considerable damage to the real fight against anti-Semitism."{{sfn|Newsinger|2017}}{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In April 2018, 42 senior academics condemned anti-Corbyn bias and suggested that "Dominant sections of the media have framed the story in such a way as to suggest that antisemitism is a problem mostly to do with Labour and that Corbyn is personally responsible for failing to deal with it. The coverage has relied on a handful of sources such as Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish Leadership Council and well-known political opponents of Corbyn himself." Signatories included ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="theguardian2">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/02/stop-jeremy-corbyns-trial-by-media-over-antisemitism |title=Stop Jeremy Corbyn's trial by media over antisemitism |work=] |date=2 April 2018 |access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> One of the signatories, Jane Dipple of the ], was herself investigated by her university and Labour over allegedly antisemitic posts on Facebook. In August 2018 the university said that Dipple no longer worked there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/academic-jane-dipple-facebook-posts_uk_5ac65218e4b0337ad1e578ba|title=Academic Who Defended Jeremy Corbyn Over Anti-Semitism Storm Probed Over Facebook Posts|date=17 April 2018|website=HuffPost}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/16438940.university-of-winchester-says-it-no-longer-employs-lecturer-jane-dipple-who-was-subject-of-an-anti-semitism-probe/|title=Labour-supporting lecturer at heart of anti-Semitism probe 'no longer employed' by uni|website=Daily Echo|date=16 August 2018 }}</ref> | |||
Later that April, Israeli historian and political scientist ] stated that "Corbyn is not an anti-Semite and Labour, until his election, was a pro-Israeli bastion..." and "there is anti-Semitism among all British parties – and much more on the right than on the left."{{sfn|Pappé|2018}}{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In July 2018, philosopher and scholar of antisemitism ] wrote: "It's paradoxical if, at the moment Labour wakes up to the necessity of combating antisemitism in its ranks, it is shouted down because of its failure to deal with it in the past."{{sfn|Klug|2018b}} In October, he wrote: "It appears that two different objectives are being conflated by Jewish leadership: confronting antisemitism and toppling Corbyn."{{sfn|Klug|2018c}} | |||
In March 2019, ], Professor of Politics and Government at ], wrote: "the real point of contention ... is not about whether the party should tolerate anti-Semitism, but about what anti-Semitism is."{{sfn|Gordon|2019}}<ref name="qmul">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nbq6b|title=Professor Neve Gordon discusses the banned documentary film on the 'anti-Semitism in Labour debate' for Al Jazeera|agency=Queen Mary University of London|work=BBC|date=5 March 2019|access-date=12 May 2019}}</ref> | |||
In April 2019, historian and ] Professor of Politics ] wrote in the '']'' that Jeremy Corbyn "has an impressive demonstrable record of supporting Jewish communal initiatives".{{sfn|Alderman|2019a}} In May, he wrote in '']'' that "I will agree that from time to time, as backbench MP and party leader, Corbyn has acted unwisely. But the grounds for labelling him an anti-Semite simply do not exist."{{sfn|Alderman|2019b}} | |||
In October 2019, ], lead author of ''Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief'' remarked in an interview with '']'' magazine that "Both the BBC and even a paper like ''The Guardian'' have contributed to public misunderstanding of this issue. They have a moral duty to discuss the new evidence and analysis that we have offered. But both have not covered it. That is a key source of their power — they can impose silence and simply refuse to discuss their own role."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/10/labour-party-antisemitism-claims-jeremy-corbyn|title=How Labour Became "Antisemitic" |work=]|date=5 October 2019|access-date=7 October 2019}}</ref>{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
Palestinian author and academic ] wrote that the book "shows Labour is not 'institutionally racist' but the victim of an orchestrated campaign of unfounded accusations of antisemitism."{{sfn|Karmi|2019}} | |||
=== Journalists and authors === | |||
In 2018, ] and ] conclude that "(t)he debate has become toxic. It's all abuse and bullying and point-scoring. It long ago ceased to concentrate on the protection of British Jews on one hand, and the creation of a better and more equal society in Britain on the other."{{sfn|Seddon|Beckett|2018}} For ] the controversy over Labour's attitudes to Jews and antisemitism is a ] whose real conflict is one of a battle for the soul of the party waged between ] and traditional anti-imperialist ].{{sfn|Seaton|2018}} | |||
In July 2018, writer and scholar of antisemitism ] wrote: "after the battering Labour has experienced over the issue of antisemitism in the party since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader and the fact nothing the party has done has succeeded in fully placating its critics... the new code had barely seen the light of day before it was being condemned in the harshest terms by all and sundry."{{sfn|Lerman|2018a}} In September, he noted "The default mode of almost all the mainstream media is to take as given that the party is institutionally antisemitic" and "the ever wilder doubling-down on painting Corbyn an antisemite and the increasingly desperate attempts to oust him from the leadership using hatred of Jews as a weapon with which to achieve this."{{sfn|Lerman|2018b}} | |||
Writer ] wrote on his ] blog in 2018 that "...allegations that Labour is institutionally antisemitic, or that Corbyn himself is a racist, cut against, rather than with, the grain of what people already suspect to be true. Those who dislike Corbyn overwhelmingly think he's a politically correct peacenik, not a Jew-hater."{{sfn|Seymour|2018b}}{{undue inline|date=October 2023}} | |||
In early 2016, American political scientist ] said, "The only plausible answer is, it's political. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the factual situation; instead, a few suspect cases of antisemitism – some real, some contrived – are being exploited for an ulterior political motive. As one senior Labour MP said the other day, it's transparently a smear campaign."{{sfn|Stern-Weiner|Finkelstein|2016}}{{dead link|date=May 2023}} In August 2018, Finkelstein called the criticism of Corbyn and Labour 'insane' and 'hysteria' and led by powerful interests.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Norman |title=The chimera of British anti-Semitism (and how not to fight it if it were real) |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2018/08/chimera-british-semitism/ |access-date=26 August 2018 |work=Mondoweiss |date=19 August 2018}}</ref> | |||
==Surveys and studies== | |||
=== General population === | |||
In 2015, 2016 and 2017, CAA commissioned ] to survey British attitudes towards Jews.<ref name="CAAsurvey17">{{cite web |title=Antisemitism Barometer 2017 |url=https://antisemitism.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Antisemitism-Barometer-2017.pdf |work=] |access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref> The 2017 survey found that supporters of Labour were less likely to hold antisemitic views than those of the ] or the ] (UKIP), while those of the ] were the least likely to hold such views. 32% of Labour supporters endorsed at least one "antisemitic attitude", as defined by the CAA, compared to 30% for the Liberal Democrat, 39% for UKIP supporters, and 40% for Conservatives.<ref name="CAAsurvey17"/><ref name="Beware">{{Cite news|url=https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-antisemitism-political-parties |title=Beware cherry-picked stats on Labour and antisemitism|work=] FactCheck|author= Lee, Georgina| date=25 April 2018|access-date = 6 July 2020}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
A ] poll during August 2018 found the wider British public did not pay much attention to the news coverage over antisemitism in Labour. Fewer than 5% rated it as the news story they had noticed most.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clothier |first1=Will |title=Labour's antisemitism row hasn't broken through with the public |url=https://www.populus.co.uk/2018/09/labours-antisemitism-row-hasnt-broken-through-with-the-public/ |work=] |access-date=7 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116032714/https://www.populus.co.uk/2018/09/labours-antisemitism-row-hasnt-broken-through-with-the-public/ |archive-date=16 November 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
A study into contemporary antisemitism in Britain by the ] (JPR) in September 2017 reported, "Levels of antisemitism among those on the left-wing of the political spectrum, including the far-left, are indistinguishable from those found in the general population. Yet, all parts of those on the left of the political spectrum – including the 'slightly left-of-centre,' the 'fairly left-wing' and the 'very left-wing' – exhibit higher levels of anti Israelism than average." It went on, "The most antisemitic group on the political spectrum consists of those who identify as very right-wing: the presence of antisemitic attitudes in this group is 2 to 4 times higher compared to the general population."{{sfn|Staetsky|2017|p=5–8}} It continued: "However, in relation to anti-Israel attitudes, the very left-wing lead: 78% (75–82%) in this group endorse at least one anti-Israel attitude, in contrast to 56% in the general population, and 23% (19–26%) hold 6–9 such attitudes, in contrast to 9% in the general population. Elevated levels of anti-Israel attitudes are also observed in other groups on the political left: the fairly left-wing and those slightly left-of-centre. The lowest level of anti-Israel attitudes is observed in the political centre and among those who are slightly right-of-centre or fairly right-wing." The report, however, stated, "...anti-Israel attitudes are not, as a general rule, antisemitic; but the stronger a person's anti-Israel views, the more likely they are to hold antisemitic attitudes. A majority of those who hold anti-Israel attitudes do not espouse any antisemitic attitudes, but a significant minority of those who hold anti-Israel attitudes hold them alongside antisemitic attitudes. Therefore, antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes exist both separately and together."{{sfn|Staetsky|2017|p=44}} The study reported that in "surveys of attitudes towards ethnic and religious minorities... The most consistently found pattern across different surveys is heightened animosity towards Jews on the political right..." and that "The political left, captured by voting intention or actual voting for Labour, appears in these surveys as a more Jewish-friendly, or neutral, segment of the population."{{sfn|Staetsky|2017|p=42}} | |||
=== British Jews === | |||
In 2017, a poll commissioned by CAA of 1,864 British Jewish adults{{sfn|Bodkin|2017}} found that 83% (in 2016, 87%) felt that Labour was too tolerant of antisemitism among its MPs, members, or supporters.<ref name="CAS2017">{{cite web |url=https://antisemitism.uk/caa-launches-manifesto-for-fighting-antisemitism-as-poll-reveals-extent-of-antisemitism-crisis/ |title=CAA launches manifesto for fighting antisemitism as poll reveals extent of antisemitism crisis |date=27 September 2016 |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> | |||
A ] poll by ''The Jewish Chronicle'' prior to the 2017 general election found that 13% of Jews intended to vote for Labour, an increase from the 8.5% in May 2016. When asked to rank the degree of "antisemitism among the political party's members and elected representatives" between 1 (low) to 5 (high), Jews ranked Labour at 3.94, compared with 3.64 for UKIP, 2.7 for the Liberal Democrats, and 1.96 for the Conservatives.<ref name="JCMay2017"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214182940/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-support-just-13-per-cent-among-uk-jews-1.439325 |date=14 December 2017 }}, ], Marcus Dysch 30 May 2017</ref> | |||
In September 2018, a ] survey conducted for ''The Jewish Chronicle'' found that 85.9% of British Jews considered Jeremy Corbyn antisemitic, and 85.6% considered Labour to have "high" or "very high" levels of antisemitism within the party's members and elected representatives. This compares to 1.7% and 6.1% for Theresa May and the Conservative Party respectively. This was an increase from 69% who considered the party to have "high" or "very high" levels of antisemitism in 2017.{{sfn|Sugarman|2018}} | |||
=== Labour Party members === | |||
In May 2016, a ] poll found that 49% of Labour members felt that the party did not have a problem with antisemitism, 47% agreed that it was a problem, but "no worse than in other parties, while 5% thought that antisemitism is a bigger problem in Labour than in other parties.<ref>{{cite web |title=6. Political discourse and leadership|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/136/13609.htm|access-date=16 September 2018|work=Parliament|date=16 October 2016}}</ref> In March 2018, a poll showed 77% of Labour members believed the charges of antisemitism to be deliberately exaggerated to undermine the leader or stop criticism of Israel, while 19% said it was a serious issue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Labour members say anti-Semitism problem is exaggerated to damage Corbyn, polling reveals|url=http://www.itv.com/news/2018-03-31/poll-labour-party-anti-semitism/|access-date=16 September 2018|work=ITV News|date=31 March 2018}}</ref> A July 2019 poll by YouGov amongst Labour Party members found that 70% of members thought that antisemitism in the party was a "genuine" problem.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-antisemitism-row-collapse-in-grassroots-support-for-corbyn-hgzpzst7q|title=Collapse in grassroots support for Corbyn|author= Wright, Oliver |work=]|date=22 July 2019|access-date = 21 September 2019}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*] | * ] | ||
* ] | |||
*] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==Notes== | |||
{{notelist}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist |
{{Reflist}} | ||
== |
==Sources== | ||
{{refbegin| |
{{refbegin|30em}} | ||
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| date= 26 July 2018 | |||
{{refend}} | |||
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| title= Antisemitism Before and Since the Holocaust: Altered Contexts and Recent Perspectives | |||
| editor1-last = McElligott| editor1-first =Anthony | |||
| editor2-last = Herf | editor2-first =Jeffrey | |||
| editor2-link = Jeffrey Herf | |||
| publisher = ] | |||
| year =2017 | |||
| pages =253–275 | |||
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AbyaDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA268 | |||
| isbn= 978-3-319-48866-0 | |||
}} | |||
*{{Cite news |title= Lansman lances Jewish critics of Labour's new anti-Semitism code | |||
| work=] | |||
| date= 12 July 2018 | |||
|url= https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lansman-lances-jewish-critics-of-labours-new-anti-semitism-code/ | |||
| ref= {{harvid|Lansman|2018}} | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Lansman |first=Jon |title=Jeremy Corbyn pushed for action on antisemitism – but was held back by bureaucracy |url=https://labourlist.org/2019/05/jeremy-corbyn-pushed-for-action-on-antisemitism-but-was-held-back-by-bureaucracy/ |access-date=14 May 2019 |work=] |date=14 May 2019 }} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Lerman |first=Antony |title=Why turning to Jewish exceptionalism to fight antisemitism is a failing project |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/antony-lerman/why-turning-to-jewish-exceptionalism-to-fight-antisemitism-is-failing-project |access-date=22 July 2018 |work=] |date=16 July 2018a }} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Lerman |first=Antony |title=Labour should ditch the IHRA working definition of antisemitism altogether |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/antony-lerman/labour-should-ditch-ihra-working-definition-of-antisemitism-altogether |access-date=6 September 2018 |work=] |date=4 September 2018b }} | |||
*{{Cite news |title=The Labour Party, 'institutional antisemitism' and irresponsible politics | |||
| last=Lerman |first=Antony | |||
| author-link =Antony Lerman | |||
| work=] | |||
| date=22 March 2019a | |||
| url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/the-labour-party-institutional-antisemitism-and-irresponsible-politics/ | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Lewis |first=Clive |title=I know that Labour can rid itself of antisemitism – here's how |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/labour-antisemitism-crisis-education-jewish-israel-palestine-bbc-panorama-a9006666.html |access-date=24 July 2019 |work=] |date=24 July 2019 }} | |||
*{{Cite web | title=Jeremy Corbyn says antisemitism claims 'ludicrous and wrong' | |||
| last=Mason |first=Rowena | |||
| date=17 August 2015 | work= ] | |||
| url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/18/jeremy-corbyn-antisemitism-claims-ludicrous-and-wrong | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite news |last=Mendick |first=Robert |title=Jeremy Corbyn's 10-year association with group which denies the Holocaust |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/20/jeremy-corbyns-10-year-association-group-denies-holocaust/ |access-date=30 November 2017 |work=The Telegraph |date=20 May 2017 }} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Newsinger |first=John |title=Anti-Semitism row: How has it affected Labour's support? |url=http://isj.org.uk/the-labour-party-anti-semitism-and-zionism/ |access-date=1 October 2018 |work=] |issue=153 |date=2 January 2017 }} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Pappé |first=Ilan |title=The Labour Party, Israel, and antisemitism |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/corbyn-israel-palestine-how-anti-semitism-row-has-silenced-voice-gaza-massacre-962148956 |access-date=2 June 2018 |work=] |date=6 April 2018 }} | |||
*{{Cite news |title= British Jews' Corbyn problem | |||
| last= Patrikarakos |first= David |author-link = David Patrikarakos | |||
| work=] | |||
| date= 30 August 2018 | |||
|url= https://www.politico.eu/article/british-jews-labour-party-jeremy-corbyn-problem-anti-semitism/ | |||
}} | |||
*{{Cite book|title= Comrade Corbyn – Updated Edition | |||
| last = Prince | first = Rosa | |||
| publisher = ] | |||
| year =2016 | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sUZ3CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT111 | |||
| isbn= 978-1-785-90004-4 | |||
}} | |||
*{{Cite book|title= The Left's Jewish Problem: Jeremy Corbyn, Israel and Anti-Semitism | |||
| last = Rich | first = Dave | |||
| author-link = Dave Rich | |||
| publisher = ] | |||
| year =2018 | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WmxaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT37 | |||
| isbn= 978-1-785-90428-8 | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite web|last=Robertson|first=Geoffrey|title=IHRA definition of antisemitism is not fit for purpose|url=https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/news/article/ihra-definition-of-antisemitism-is-not-fit-for-purpose|access-date=1 September 2018|work=Doughty Street|date=31 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901113519/https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/news/article/ihra-definition-of-antisemitism-is-not-fit-for-purpose|archive-date=1 September 2018|url-status=dead}} | |||
*{{Cite book|chapter= Ethnic Hunmour and Political Advertising | |||
| last =Sanz | first = Maria Jesús Pinar | |||
| title= Language and Humour in the Media | |||
| editor1-last = Chovanec| editor1-first = Jan | |||
| editor2-last =Ermida | editor2-first = Isabel | |||
| publisher = Cambridge Scholars Publishing | |||
| year = 2012 | |||
| pages = 211–229 | |||
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kVAsBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 | |||
| isbn= 978-1-443-83938-9 | |||
}} | |||
*{{cite magazine |title= Behind the Anti-Semitism Crisis of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party | |||
| last=Seaton|first=Matt | |||
| author-link =Ruth Picardie | |||
| magazine= ] | |||
| date= 18 August 2018 | |||
| url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/08/17/behind-the-anti-semitism-crisis-of-jeremy-corbyns-labour-party/ | |||
}} | |||
*{{Cite book |title= Jeremy Corbyn and the Strange Rebirth of Labour England | |||
| last1= Seddon |first1= Mark | |||
| author1-link = Mark Seddon | |||
| last2= Beckett |first2= Francis | |||
| author2-link = Francis Beckett | |||
| publisher= ] | |||
| year= 2018 | |||
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Un9VDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT199 | |||
| isbn=978-1-785-90423-3 | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite news |last1=Sedley |first1=Stephen |last2=Janner-Klausner |first2=Laura |last3=Bindman |first3=Geoffrey |last4=Rose |first4=Jacqueline |last5=Kahn-Harris |first5=Keith |title=How should antisemitism be defined? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/27/antisemitism-ihra-definition-jewish-writers |access-date=28 July 2018 |work=] |date=27 July 2018 }} | |||
*{{cite book | title= Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics | |||
| last= Seymour |first= Richard | |||
| author-link =Richard Seymour (21st-century writer) | |||
| publisher= ] | |||
| year=2017 | |||
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zSFaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 | |||
| isbn= 978-1-786-63299-9 | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Seymour |first=Richard |title=Labour's Antisemitism Affair |url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/04/labour-party-jeremy-corbyn-antisemitism-jewdas |access-date=28 May 2018 |work=] |date=6 April 2018a }} | |||
* {{cite web |last=Seymour |first=Richard |title=The Labour Right's pyrrhic victory |url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/21227699 |work=] |date=5 September 2018b }} | |||
* {{cite web |last1=Shlaim |first1=Avi |last2=Daniel |first2=Gwyn |title=The Labour Party, Israel, and antisemitism |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/avi-shlaim-gwyn-daniel/labour-party-israel-and-antisemitism |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=] |date=7 May 2016 }} | |||
*{{cite book | title= Antisemitism in contemporary Great Britain: A study of attitudes towards Jews and Israel | |||
| last= Staetsky |first= L. Daniel | |||
| publisher= ] | |||
| date=12 September 2017 | pages=1–82 | |||
| url=https://cst.org.uk/public/data/file/7/4/JPR.2017.Antisemitism%20in%20contemporary%20Great%20Britain.pdf | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite web |last1=Stern-Weiner |first1=Jamie |last2=Finkelstein |first2=Norman |title=The American Jewish scholar behind Labour's 'antisemitism' scandal breaks his silence |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/jamie-stern-weiner-norman-finkelstein/american-jewish-scholar-behind-labour-s-antisemitism-scanda |access-date=11 September 2018 |work=] |date=3 May 2016 }} | |||
* {{cite news |last=Sugarman |first=Daniel |title=Making Chakrabarti a peer was Corbyn's sign of contempt for Jews, says Howard Jacobson |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/making-chakrabarti-a-peer-was-corbyn-s-sign-of-contempt-for-jews-says-howard-jacobson-1.440588 |access-date=30 November 2017 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=27 June 2017 }} | |||
*{{Cite news |title=More than 85 per cent of British Jews think Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic | |||
| last= Sugarman |first= Daniel | |||
| work=] | |||
| date= 13 September 2018 | |||
|url= https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/more-than-85-per-cent-of-british-jews-think-jeremy-corbyn-is-antisemitic-1.469654 | |||
}} | |||
*{{Cite news |title= Labour denies new election poster is anti-semitic | |||
| last=Tempest|first=Matthew | |||
| author-link = Matthew Tempest | |||
| work=] | |||
| date= 28 January 2005 | |||
|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jan/28/advertising.politics | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite news |last=Tran |first=Mark |title=Labour opens inquiry into antisemitism allegations at Oxford student club |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/17/labour-condemns-antisemitism-oxford-university-labour-club-claims |access-date=30 November 2017 |work=The Guardian |date=17 February 2016 }} | |||
* {{cite web |last=White |first=Ben |title=Shifty antisemitism wars |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/ben-white/shifty-antisemitism-wars |access-date=14 December 2017 |work=] |date=22 April 2016 }} | |||
*{{cite news | title=Dalyell steps up attack on Levy | |||
| last=White | first=Michael | |||
| newspaper=] | |||
| date=6 May 2003 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/06/race.politics | |||
}} | |||
*{{Cite book|title= From Ambivalence to Betrayal: The Left, the Jews, and Israel | |||
| last = Wistrich | first = Robert S. | |||
| author-link = Robert S. Wistrich | |||
| publisher = ]/] | |||
| year =2012 | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yBvt4Fwc5XoC&pg=PA205 | |||
| isbn= 978-0-803-24083-4 | |||
}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
==Further reading== | == Further reading == | ||
{{refbegin|40em}} | |||
*], Antisemitic anti-Zionism: the root of Labour's crisis; A submission to the Labour Party inquiry into antisemitism and other forms of racism, June 2016. | |||
* Allington, Daniel. "Judeophobic Antisemitism among British Voters, 2016-2020." ''Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism'' 3.2 (2020) . | |||
*Lesley Klaff, K (2016). Jeremy Corbyn: Why the British Labour Party is no longer a safe place for Jews. ''International Relations and Diplomacy,'' 4 (7), 427–433, 2016. | |||
* Bolton, Matthew. "Conceptual Vandalism, Historical Distortion: The Labour Antisemitism Crisis and the Limits of Class Instrumentalism." ''Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism'' 3.2 (2020) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104041307/http://journals.academicstudiespress.com/index.php/JCA/article/view/55 |date=4 November 2020 }}. | |||
*], Antisemitism in Britain: Continuity and the Absence of a Resurgence?, pp. 253–276 Chapter in ''Antisemitism Before and Since the Holocaust: Altered Contexts and Recent Perspectives,'' McElligott, Anthony, Herf, Jeffrey Herf, Palgrame MacMillan, IBSN: 978-3-319-48866-0, 2017. | |||
* {{cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Rob |title=Antisemitism: The Far Right, Zionism And The Left |year=2019 |publisher=] |isbn=978-19-1292-600-8 }} | |||
*Dave Rich, ], ], 2016. | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Fine |first1=Robert |author1-link=Robert Fine |last2=Spencer |first2=Philip |title=Antisemitism and the left: On the return of the Jewish question |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2MwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT9 |publisher=] |year=2017 |isbn=9781526104984 }} | |||
*Colin Schindler, ''From Zionist to Corbynist: The Evolution of Britain’s Labour Left,'' ], Volume 63, 2016 – Issue 2, | |||
*{{Cite book|title=The British Labour Movement and Zionism, 1917–1948 | |||
* A. Sivanandan, Liz Fekete, Jenny Bourne, Submission from the IRR to the Labour Party Inquiry into anti-Semitism and other forms of racism, including Islamophobia, ], 30 September 2016 | |||
| last = Gorny| first =Joseph | |||
| publisher = ] | |||
{{Jeremy Corbyn}} | |||
| year =2013 | |||
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CVHdAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 | |||
| isbn=978-1-135-16926-8 | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite web |title=First-ever: 40+ Jewish groups worldwide oppose equating antisemitism with criticism of Israel |url=https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/first-ever-40-jewish-groups-worldwide-oppose-equating-antisemitism-with-criticism-of-israel/ |access-date=2 September 2018 |work=Jewish Voice for Peace |date=17 July 2018 |ref={{harvid|Jewish Voice for Peace|2018}} }} | |||
* {{cite book|last1=Philo|first1=Greg|last2=Berry|first2=Mike|last3=Schlosberg|first3=Justin|last4=Lerman|first4=Antony|last5=Miller|first5=David|url=https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745340661/bad-news-for-labour/|title=Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief|date=September 2019|publisher=]}} | |||
* {{cite book|editor=Stern-Weiner, Jamie|url=http://v.versobooks.com/Anti-Semitism_and_the_Labour_Party.pdf|title=Anti-Semitism and the Labour Party|date=November 2019|publisher=Verso|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204095908/http://v.versobooks.com/Anti-Semitism_and_the_Labour_Party.pdf|url-status=dead}} | |||
* {{cite journal |last= Schindler|first=Colin |author-link = Colin Shindler|title=From Zionist to Corbynist: The Evolution of Britain's Labour Left |journal=]|volume=63|issue=2 |year=2016|pages=38–41 |doi=10.1080/0449010X.2016.1202579 }} Colin Schindler is emeritus professor at the ], and the founding chair of the European Association of Israel Studies. | |||
* {{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Johnson (political theorist) |title=Antisemitic anti-Zionism: the root of Labour's crisis |journal=Labour Party Inquiry into Antisemitism and Other Forms of Racism |date=June 2016 |url=http://www.bicom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Prof-Alan-Johnson-Chakrabarti-Inquiry-submission-June-2016.pdf |access-date=7 October 2018 }} Alan Johnson is a British political theorist and activist. | |||
* {{cite book |last=Rich |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Rich |title=The Left's Jewish Problem: Jeremy Corbyn, Israel and Anti-Semitism |date=2016 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-78590-120-1 |title-link=The Left's Jewish Problem: Jeremy Corbyn, Israel and Anti-Semitism }} | |||
* {{cite journal |last1=Sivanandan|first1=Ambalavaner|last2=Fekete|first2=Elizabeth|last3=Bourne|first3=Jenny |title=Submission from the Institute of Race Relations to the Labour Party Inquiry into anti-Semitism and other forms of racism, including Islamophobia |journal=]|volume=58|issue= 2|date=30 September 2016 |pages=64–69|doi=10.1177/0306396816657724|s2cid=152023856}} ] was Director Emeritus of the ]; E. Fekete is its director; Jenny Bourne is co-editor of ''Race & Class''. | |||
* , ], 21 July 2018 | |||
* {{cite book|last=Sabbagh|first=Karl|url=https://www.skyscraperpublications.com/the-antisemitism-wars|title=The Antisemitism Wars|date=November 2018|publisher=Skyscraper|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204204343/https://www.skyscraperpublications.com/the-antisemitism-wars|url-status=dead}} | |||
*{{cite journal |title='Mayhew's outcasts': anti-Zionism and the Arab lobby in Harold Wilson's Labour Party | |||
| last=Vaughn |first=James R. | |||
| journal=Israel Affairs | |||
| year=2015 | |||
| volume=21 | |||
| pages=1–25 | |||
|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273313408 | |||
}} | |||
*{{Cite book|title= Ernest Bevin | |||
| last = Weiler | first = Peter | |||
| publisher = ] | |||
| year =2016 | |||
| orig-year =1993 | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ydEeDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT195 | |||
| isbn= 978-1-317-19842-0 | |||
}} | |||
{{refend}} | |||
{{Labour Party (UK)}} | |||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 12:10, 30 November 2024
This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Needs to extend coverage for the post-October 7, 2023 period. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2024) |
Antisemitism within the Labour Party of the United Kingdom (UK) dates back to its establishment. One early example was comments about "Jewish finance" during the Boer War. In the 2000s, controversies arose over comments by Labour politicians regarding an alleged "Jewish lobby", a comparison by Ken Livingstone of a Jewish journalist to a concentration camp guard, and a 2005 Labour attack on Jewish Conservative Party politician Michael Howard.
Following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as party leader in September 2015, allegations of antisemitism within the party grew. Incidents involving Naz Shah in 2014 and Livingstone in 2016 resulted in suspension from party membership pending investigation. In response, Corbyn established the Chakrabarti Inquiry, which concluded that while the party was not "overrun by anti-Semitism or other forms of racism", it found an "occasionally toxic atmosphere" and "clear evidence of ignorant attitudes".
In 2017, Labour Party rules were amended to categorize hate speech, including antisemitism, as a disciplinary matter. In 2018, Corbyn faced scrutiny for his 2012 response to an allegedly antisemitic mural and for his association with Facebook groups, mainly pro-Palestinian, containing antisemitic posts. Labour's NEC (NEC) adopted a definition of antisemitism for disciplinary purposes in July of that year, aligning with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition, with modified examples related to criticism of Israel. In September 2018, the National Executive Committee (NEC) incorporated all 11 IHRA examples, unamended, into the party's code of conduct.
In May 2019, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched an inquiry into whether Labour had "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish". In October 2020, EHRC published its report, determining that the party was "responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination". It reported 23 instances of political interference and concluded that Labour breached the Equality Act in two cases. Corbyn was subsequently suspended from Labour and the party whip was removed on 29 October 2020 "for a failure to retract" his assertion that the scale of antisemitism within Labour had been overstated.
20th century
Second Boer War and "Jewish finance"
See also: History of the Jews in South Africa and Rothschild banking family of England § Involvement in finance and industryIn the late 19th century, antisemitism was common throughout British society. This intensified during the Second Boer War (1899–1902) and came to include the labour movement, dismaying socialist Jews. Liberal MP John Burns' was prone to antisemitic outbursts when airing his views on the war, and labour movement figures opposed to the war, such as Henry Hyndman, blamed "Jewish capitalists" for starting it, which angered other members of the Social Democratic Federation. Liberal journalist J. A. Hobson wrote that the gold mines in South Africa were "almost entirely in their hands", and Labour Party founder Keir Hardie stated that Jewish financial houses were part of a secretive imperialist cabal that promoted war. According to Denis Judd and Keith Surridge in The Boer War: A History, the Independent Labour Party, the Trade Union Congress, and Robert Blatchford's The Clarion blamed "Jewish capitalists" for being "behind the war and imperialism in general".
Palestine
Antisemitic attitudes were not prominent in the 1980s Labour Party. Paul Kelemen ascribed the shift in Labour's views to Israel's increasingly right-leaning politics and to the left's opposition to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. He found no evidence that antisemitism played a role in the left's changing perceptions of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in that period. Daniel L. Staetsky, stated that in the 1980s, parts of the political left assumed pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel positions, and faced accusations of antisemitism within Labour.
2000–2015
"Israel lobby" accusations
In 2003, Labour MP Tam Dalyell claimed, referring to the Israel lobby in the United States, that "there is far too much Jewish influence in the United States" and that "a cabal of Jewish advisers" was directing American and British policy on Iraq, stating that six of seven hawkish advisers to President George Bush were Jewish, close to Ariel Sharon's Likud, and also singling out Michael Levy, chief fundraiser for Tony Blair and his Middle East envoy for nine years. Eric Moonman stated he did not think that Dalyell, a close associate of Richard Crossman, was antisemitic, but that his language could be taken as supportive of such views.
In 2010, Labour MP Martin Linton alleged that a malevolent Israel lobby operated in the UK, saying "There are long tentacles of Israel in this country who are funding election campaigns and putting money into the British political system for their own ends", while his Jewish fellow Labour MP Gerald Kaufman said that right-wing Jewish millionaires had large stakes in the Conservative Party. Community Security Trust spokesman Mark Gardner responded: "Anybody who understands antisemitism will recognise just how ugly and objectionable these quotes are, with their imagery of Jewish control and money power." In 2015, Kaufman said that "Jewish money, Jewish donations ... support from the Jewish Chronicle" had led to "a big group of Conservative MPs who are pro-Israel whatever (its) government does", referring to the Conservative Friends of Israel; Corbyn condemned Kaufman's remarks at the time as "completely unacceptable".
2005
In 2005, Labour politician Ken Livingstone was accused of antisemitism after he asked Evening Standard reporter Oliver Finegold if he had been "a German war criminal". When the reporter said he was Jewish, Livingstone said "Just like a concentration camp guard, you are just doing it because you are paid to, aren't you?" and asserted that he (Finegold) worked for the "reactionary bigots... who supported fascism" at the Daily Mail. The Evening Standard was then a sister paper of the Mail, which had been supportive of fascism in the 1930s.
Election
In the run-up to the 2005 United Kingdom general election, Labour, under Tony Blair, tested posters which TBWA, Labour's advertising agency, later said originated from Campaign Director Alastair Campbell. One depicted the faces of Conservative Party leader Michael Howard and Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin, who are Jewish, superimposed upon flying pigs. The slogan was "The Day Tory Sums Add Up" and the poster illustrated the adynaton, when pigs fly, used for something that never happens. A second poster was of Howard swinging a pocket watch on its chain with the slogan "I can spend the same money twice!" somewhat suggestive of stage hypnosis, where the subject is persuaded to accept false suggestions as true. Conservative backbencher Ann Widdecombe had suggested Howard, whose father was born in Romania, had an image problem in that he had "something of the night about him". Labour strategists leapt at this by then depicting Howard as a Dracula figure swinging a hypnotic watch. The pose was said by The Jewish Chronicle to be reminiscent of fictional Jewish, criminal, characters, such as the moneylender, Shylock, from The Merchant of Venice and the master pickpocket, Fagin, from Oliver Twist. The posters were not used and Labour denied any antisemitic intent. They prompted protests from some Jewish groups but the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ) declined to raise the issue.
Corbyn's backbench record
Jeremy Corbyn was a patron of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, and had campaigned extensively for Palestinian rights during his 32 years as a Parliament backbencher.
In August 2015, as Corbyn emerged as a front-runner in Labour's leadership election, The Jewish Chronicle devoted its front page to seven questions regarding Corbyn's associations with those it described as "Holocaust deniers, terrorists and some outright antisemites", although Corbyn said he met with them in his search for Middle East peace. These included his relationship with Islamist militant organisations Hezbollah and Hamas, organisations that Corbyn called "friends" (although he has stated he disagrees with their views); and his failure to object to what The Jewish Chronicle described as antisemitic banners and posters at London Quds Day rallies supported by the organisation, Stop the War Coalition, of which Corbyn was national chair from 2011 to 2015. Two of the questions related to "Deir Yassin Remembered", an organisation commemorating the massacre of over 100 Palestinian villagers in 1948 and founded by Holocaust denier Paul Eisen. Up to 2013, Corbyn and Gerald Kaufman, a Jewish Labour MP, attended "two or three" of the group's annual events. Corbyn has said that this had taken place before Eisen had made his views known publicly, and that he would not have associated with him had he known. It was reported that Eisen's views were known in 2005 and that he had written an essay on his website in 2008 entitled "My life as a Holocaust denier".
2016
Shah, Livingstone and Walker comments
In April 2016, after it was revealed that Labour MP Naz Shah had, during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict and before becoming an MP, shared a graphic of Israel superimposed on the U.S. with the caption "Solution for Israel-Palestine conflict – relocate Israel into United States", adding the comment, "Problem solved". She was suspended pending investigation, but reinstated after agreeing to apologise for bringing the party into disrepute. By May 2016, Labour had suspended 56 members for statements alleged to be antisemitic, pending investigation; these accounted for 0.4% of the parliamentary group, 0.07% of Labour councillors, and 0.012% of the Party membership. The graphic was created by American political scientist Norman Finkelstein, who described the controversy as "obscene". Referring to those on the Labour right allegedly using the scandal to undermine Corbyn, Finkelstein asked "What are they doing? Don't they have any respect for the dead? ... All these desiccated Labour apparatchiks, dragging the Nazi holocaust through the mud for the sake of their petty jostling for power and position. Have they no shame?"
Livingstone defended Shah and said he had never heard antisemitic comments from Labour members. Livingstone added: "When Hitler won his election in 1932 his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews." After a year-long suspension, a hearing in April 2017 by the National Constitution Committee (NCC) determined he was guilty of prejudicial and detrimental conduct and suspended him from standing for office or representing the party for a further year. In May 2018, he resigned from the party, saying the issues surrounding his suspension had become a distraction. In a statement Livingstone said, "I do not accept the allegation that I have brought Labour into disrepute – nor that I am in any way guilty of antisemitism. I abhor antisemitism, I have fought it all my life and will continue to do so."
In May 2016, Momentum vice-chair Jackie Walker was investigated by the party over private comments she made on Facebook exaggerating the role of Jews in the Atlantic slave trade. Walker said her words had been taken out of context. No further action was taken following the investigation. Momentum chair Jon Lansman defended her, describing the media as "a 'lynch mob' whose interest in combating racism is highly selective". Following that year's Party Conference, at which Walker asked in a training session why Holocaust Memorial Day did not include pre-1940 genocides such as the Atlantic slave trade, she was removed from her Momentum position, while remaining on its steering committee, after TSSA union general secretary Manuel Cortes said their funding would be reconsidered otherwise. Lansman called Walker's comments "ill-informed, ill-judged and offensive", but not antisemitic. The party suspended her pending investigation. Walker said that she "utterly condemn antisemitism", that her words were taken out of context, and that "I would never play down the significance of the Shoah. Working with many Jewish comrades, I continue to seek to bring greater awareness of other genocides, which are too often forgotten or minimised. If offence has been caused, it is the last thing I would want to do and I apologise." She was expelled from the party for misconduct in March 2019.
Inquiries
Following the suspensions, Corbyn commissioned an inquiry into antisemitism and other forms of racism in April 2016, led by barrister Shami Chakrabarti, former head of the human rights advocacy group Liberty. She said she joined Labour to show that she had members' interests and values at heart. The inquiry had two deputy chairs: Jan Royall and David Feldman, Director of the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism. In 2007, Feldman was a signatory to Independent Jewish Voices, which in May 2016 described some allegations of antisemitism within Labour as "baseless and disingenuous". Chakrabarti said he distanced himself from this comment.
In June, the inquiry reported that it had found "no evidence" of systemic antisemitism in Labour, save for an "occasionally toxic atmosphere", and made 20 recommendations, including outlawing offensive terms and improving disciplinary procedures. Responses included both acceptance and criticism. Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) chair Jeremy Newmark said, "It's a strong platform for the party to ... set a gold standard in tackling racism and anti-Semitism." BDBJ said: "We hope that the implementation of this report will be rigorous and swift." Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called for a "full and unhesitating implementation of the report's findings".
Chakrabarti was Labour's sole nomination to the House of Lords in David Cameron's August 2016 Resignation Honours. She became a peer in September and the following month was appointed Shadow Attorney General. Commentators were immediately more critical, with the report being described as a "whitewash for peerage scandal" by BDBJ. British author Howard Jacobson called the inquiry "a brief and shoddy shuffling of superficies", and suggested that the peerage was showing contempt for those who had objected.
In April 2018, Chakrabarti accepted that some recommendations had not been implemented and said that Labour Party General Secretary Jennie Formby would make this a priority.
Following allegations of antisemitism within the Oxford University Labour Club, Jan Royall chaired an inquiry by Labour Students. The party's NEC accepted the report in May 2016. The report found "no evidence the club is itself institutionally anti-Semitic", still reporting a "cultural problem" in which (antisemitic) "behaviour and language that would once have been intolerable is now tolerated".
In October, the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee held an inquiry into antisemitism in the United Kingdom. The committee found "no reliable, empirical evidence to support the notion that there is a higher prevalence of antisemitic attitudes within Labour than any other party." It was critical of Corbyn's response to antisemitic incidents against Labour MPs and described the Chakrabarti inquiry as "ultimately compromised". The report also found that "the failure of Labour to deal consistently and effectively with anti-Semitic incidents in recent years risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement are institutionally anti-Semitic".
2017
General election
During the 2017 general election campaign, JLM chairman Jeremy Newmark said that "Jeremy Corbyn appears to have failed to understand the nature of contemporary anti-Semitism in the same way that it's understood by most of its target group". Labour MP Wes Streeting criticised the party's record, saying "I don't think many Jewish voters in my constituency have been very impressed with the way Labour as a whole have responded", but denied that Corbyn was antisemitic. According to polling in 2015, politicians' attitudes towards Israel influenced the vote of three out of four British Jews.
It is estimated that 26% of Jewish voters voted for Labour. Analysis by election analysts academics Stephen Fisher et al., suggested that, in the five UK constituencies where more than 10% of the population (2011) identify as Jewish – Finchley and Golders Green (21%), Hendon (17%), Hertsmere (14%), Hackney North and Stoke Newington (11%) and Bury South (10%) – Labour's vote share at the 2017 general election increased by seven share points on average, almost three points less than the national average. This included an above-average swing to Labour in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
Hate speech
During the 2017 Labour Party Conference, new rules on hate speech were adopted, as proposed by JLM and supported by Corbyn. Previously, party members could not be disciplined for "the mere holding or expression of beliefs and opinions". Under the new rules, those who express antisemitic or other forms of hate speech, including racism, Islamophobia, sexism and homophobia, or other "conduct prejudicial to the Party", could be disciplined.
Public letter
In November 2017, Jewish authors Howard Jacobson, Simon Schama, and Simon Sebag Montefiore in a letter to The Times, said "We are alarmed that during the past few years, constructive criticism of Israeli governments has morphed into something closer to antisemitism under the cloak of so-called anti-Zionism", further stating "Although anti-Zionists claim innocence of any antisemitic intent, anti-Zionism frequently borrows the libels of classical Jew-hating," and adding "Accusations of international Jewish conspiracy and control of the media have resurfaced to support false equations of Zionism with colonialism and imperialism, and the promotion of vicious, fictitious parallels with genocide and Nazism".
2018
Relationship with the Jewish community
In March 2018, BDBJ and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) issued an open letter stating that Corbyn was "repeatedly found alongside people with blatantly anti-Semitic views", concluding that Corbyn "cannot seriously contemplate anti-Semitism, because he is so ideologically fixed within a far-left worldview that is instinctively hostile to mainstream Jewish communities". Hundreds of protestors outside Parliament Square Labour Party antisemitism, demanding that Corbyn do more to tackle anti-Jewish feeling. Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) organised a smaller counter-demonstration.
In April 2018, Corbyn attended a "third night" Passover Seder celebration held in his constituency by radical Jewish group Jewdas. JLC criticised Corbyn for attending the event, while BDBJ said: "If Jeremy Corbyn goes to their event, how can we take his stated commitment to be an ally against anti-Semitism seriously?" Charlotte Nichols, Young Labour's women's officer and Jewdas member, commended Corbyn for attending the event, arguing that it was "absolutely right" for Corbyn to "engage with the community at all levels" and that many of the event attendees "are absolutely part of the 'mainstream community'".
In April 2018, following a meeting with Corbyn to discuss antisemitism in Labour, JLC and BDBJ said "We are disappointed that Mr Corbyn's proposals fell short of the minimum level of action which our letter suggested. In particular, they did not agree in the meeting with our proposals that there should be a fixed timetable to deal with antisemitism cases; that they should expedite the long-standing cases involving Ken Livingstone and Jackie Walker; that no MP should share a platform with somebody expelled or suspended for antisemitism; that they adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism with all its examples and clauses; that there should be transparent oversight of their disciplinary process". Corbyn described the meeting as "positive and constructive" and re-iterated that he was "absolutely committed" to rooting out antisemitism in Labour.
In April 2018, the Israeli Labor Party, JLM's sister party, led by Avi Gabbay, announced it would cut ties with Corbyn and his office due to their handling of antisemitism, but retain ties with Labour as a whole. In a letter to Corbyn, Gabbay wrote of "my responsibility to acknowledge the hostility that you have shown to the Jewish community and the antisemitic statements and actions you have allowed".
In August 2018, Corbyn said that antisemitism was a "problem that the Labour Party is working to overcome". He said that criticism of Israel may stray into antisemitism at times, but denied that all forms of anti-Zionism were inherently racist, and pledged to root out antisemitism within the party, saying: "People who dish out anti-Semitic poison need to understand: You do not do it in my name. You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement." In a video release a few days later, Corbyn apologised again, saying, "I acknowledge there is a real problem of antisemitism that Labour is working to overcome. I am sorry for the hurt that has been caused to many Jewish people". In the same month, Corbyn denied that he or Labour posed an "existential threat".
In September 2018, at Labour Conference, Corbyn said he wants Labour and the Jewish community to "work together and draw a line" under antisemitism. He went on to attack the Conservative Party for accusing Labour of "anti-Semitism one day, then endorse Viktor Orbán's hard-right government the next day".
March–April
Controversies erupted about incidents in Jeremy Corbyn's backbench record.
Freedom for Humanity mural
Main article: Freedom for HumanityThe 2012 Freedom for Humanity was a street mural painted in east London by American artist Mear One. The artwork depicted what Mear One described as an "elite banker cartel" of the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the Morgans and others sitting around a Monopoly-style board game on the backs of men with dark complexions. The temporary mural was removed by Tower Hamlets council following complaints by residents. Mayor Lutfur Rahman said "the images of the bankers perpetuate antisemitic propaganda about conspiratorial Jewish domination of financial and political institutions". In response, Mear One denied that the mural was antisemitic; he said that the mural was about "class and privilege", and pointed out that the figures depicted included both "Jewish and white Anglos".
Corbyn, responding to a Facebook post from the artist that contained an image of the mural and was written before it had been criticised, saying, "Tomorrow they want to buff my mural Freedom of Expression," had written: "Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller destroyed Diego Viera's mural because it includes a picture of Lenin," an apparent reference to Nelson Rockefeller's destruction of Diego Rivera's Man at the Crossroads fresco in 1934.
In March 2018, Labour MP Luciana Berger asked Corbyn why he had questioned the removal of a mural showing a member of the Rothschild family as it did. Corbyn said, "I sincerely regret that I did not look more closely at the image I was commenting on, the contents of which are deeply disturbing and antisemitic". "The defence of free speech cannot be used as a justification for the promotion of antisemitism in any form." Karen Pollock of the Holocaust Educational Trust said that the mural was "indefensible" as it "was blatantly anti-Semitic, using images commonly found in anti-Semitic propaganda". Jeremy Gilbert argued that this accusation was based on a logical fallacy, saying that the allegation "amounts to a mere argument from resemblance: because anti-capitalist discourse and anti-Semitic discourse share some structural features, they are fundamentally the same". According to Deborah E. Lipstadt, echoed in local media, the Jewish caricatures resembled the imagery used by Der Stürmer in Nazi Germany.
Comments about certain Zionists
In a January 2013 meeting in Parliament, UK Palestinian Authority representative Manuel Hassassian said that Jews are "the only children of God ... because nobody is stopping Israel building its messianic dream of Eretz Israel ". Pro-Israel activists at the meeting then challenged Hassassian. In August 2018, MailOnline released footage of comments that Corbyn had made a few days after this event at Friends House in Euston, convened by the Palestinian Return Centre. He defended Hassassian's comments, which, he said, were "dutifully recorded by the thankfully silent Zionists" in the audience. Corbyn went on to say that these "Zionists" had two problems: "One is that they don't want to study history and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don't understand English irony either. Manuel does understand English irony and uses it very, very effectively so I think they need two lessons which we can help them with".
His comments were accused by some of coded antisemitism, including by Labour MPs Luciana Berger, Wes Streeting, Mike Gapes and Catherine McKinnell. Conservative MPs reported Corbyn to the parliamentary standards watchdog over the comments. Deborah Lipstadt asserted that Corbyn had crossed the line from anti-Zionism to antisemitism. Corbyn's remarks were defended by shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who argued that the comments were taken out of context. A Labour spokesperson said that parts of the speech which contexualised Corbyn's language were "edited out of the footage ... He had been speaking about Zionists and non-Zionist Jews and very clearly does not go on to use Zionists as any kind of shorthand for Jews".
Facebook groups
In March 2018, it was reported that, in 2014, Corbyn and some of his staff had been members of three private Facebook groups, including "Palestine Live" and "History of Palestine", containing antisemitic posts. A spokesman said that Corbyn had been added to the first two groups by others, had little involvement in them, and had either left them already or left following the reports. Labour stated that a full investigation would be undertaken and action taken against any member involved.
At the beginning of April, The Sunday Times reported that it had uncovered over 2,000 examples of antisemitic, racist, violent threats and abusive posts in Corbyn-supporting private Facebook groups, including frequent attacks on Jews and Holocaust-denying material. The 20 largest pro-Corbyn private Facebook groups, with combined membership of over 400,000, were reported to have as members 12 senior staff who worked for Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Many of the posts criticised Labour MP Berger and Jonathan Arkush, president of BDBJ. A Labour Party spokesperson said the groups "are not officially connected to the party in any way". Labour MPs urged Corbyn to instruct his supporters to shut down groups containing abusive posts. Subsequently, Corbyn deleted his personal Facebook account, which he had set up before becoming Labour leader, although his official page remained.
Corbyn's responses
In March 2018, in response to claims that he may be seen as antisemitic, Corbyn stated, "I'm not an anti-Semite in any form" and that he challenges "anti-Semitism whenever it arises and no anti-Semitic remarks are done in my name or would ever be done in my name". In the same month, Corbyn said that he would not tolerate antisemitism "in and around" Labour. "We must stamp this out from our party and movement", he said. "We recognise that anti-Semitism has occurred in pockets within Labour, causing pain and hurt to our Jewish community in Labour and the rest of the country. I am sincerely sorry for the pain which has been caused, and pledge to redouble my efforts to bring this anxiety to an end". The following month, writing in the Evening Standard, Corbyn said, "We have not done enough fully to get to grips with the problem, and for that the Jewish community and our own Jewish members deserve an apology. My party and I are sorry for the hurt and distress caused".
Christine Shawcroft resignation
In March 2018, Christine Shawcroft, the recently appointed head of the Party's disputes panel, resigned after it emerged she had opposed the suspension of Peterborough council candidate Alan Bull, for what she called "a Facebook post taken completely out of context and alleged to show anti-Semitism". She later said that she had not seen the Facebook post in question. Bull, in 2015, had shared in a closed Facebook group an article suggesting that the Holocaust was a hoax to "invite discussion and debate". Bull later said "I'm not an anti-Semite, I am not a Holocaust denier – I support equal rights for Palestinian people".
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition
Main article: Working Definition of AntisemitismIn December 2016, Labour adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. It was criticised for this in 2017 by JVL and in 2018 by writer and scholar of antisemitism Antony Lerman.
Revision
In July 2018, Labour's NEC (NEC) adopted a new code of conduct defining antisemitism for disciplinary purposes, intended to make the process more efficient and transparent. It included the IHRA definition, but amended or omitted four of the eleven examples, all relating to Israel, and added three others.
BDBJ and JLC said that the new rules "only dilute the definition and further erode the existing lack of confidence that British Jews have in their sincerity to tackle anti-Semitism within the Labour movement". MP Margaret Hodge called Corbyn a "fucking anti-Semite and a racist." Law lecturer Tom Frost said the code ignored the Macpherson Principle that "A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person." On 16 July, over 60 British rabbis said that Labour had "chosen to ignore the Jewish community", and that it was "not Labour's place to rewrite a definition of antisemitism". Later in July, in an unprecedented move, three UK Jewish newspapers, The Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News and Jewish Telegraph, carried a joint editorial saying that a Corbyn government would be an "existential threat to Jewish life" in the UK, which David Patrikarakos said was the most drastic step taken by the Anglo-Jewish community since Oliver Cromwell allowed Jews back into the country in the 1650s. Former chief rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks in turn stated that Labour's antisemitism was causing British Jews to consider leaving the country.
Defence
Human rights solicitor Geoffrey Bindman said, "The new code of conduct on antisemitism seeks to establish that antisemitism cannot be used as a pretext for censorship without evidence of antisemitic intent in line with the view of the all-party Commons home affairs select committee in October 2016 that the IHRA definition should only be adopted if qualified by caveats making clear that it is not antisemitic to criticise the Israeli government without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent... Far from watering down or weakening it, Labour's code strengthens it by addressing forms of discrimination that the IHRA overlooked." Geoffrey Robertson QC made a similar point. Brian Klug said "The IHRA code is a living document, subject to revision and constantly needing to be adapted to the different contexts in which people apply its definition. This is the spirit in which the drafters of Labour's code have approached their task." Historian Geoffrey Alderman wrote: "This Labour Party row will not be settled by relying on a flawed and faulty definition of antisemitism."
Outcome and media review
In September, all 11 examples were accepted by the NEC, while Jeremy Corbyn said that they would not prevent criticism of the Israeli government or advocating Palestinian rights.
Also in September, the Media Reform Coalition examined over 250 articles and broadcast news segments covering the issue, and found over 90 examples of what it considered to be misleading or inaccurate reporting. The research found evidence of "overwhelming source imbalance", in which Labour's critics dominated coverage that failed to include those defending the code or critiquing the IHRA definition, and omitted contextual facts about the IHRA definition, concluding these were "systematic reporting failures" disadvantaging Labour leadership.
In July, JVL asked its members for help in delivering an "expanded programme" of antisemitism training to party members in response to what it called a "growing number of requests".
In 2018, JLM was invited to provide antisemitism awareness training to those subject to disciplinary proceedings but declined as they did not believe training was an appropriate sanction.
August: Holocaust remembrance
In January 2010, during the UK's Holocaust Memorial week, Corbyn co-chaired a meeting in the House of Commons, with the main talk by anti-Zionist Auschwitz survivor Hajo Meyer entitled, "The Misuse of the Holocaust for Political Purposes", in which Israel was compared to Nazis. Meyer said "Judaism in Israel has been substituted by the Holocaust religion, whose high priest is Elie Wiesel." In August, MP Louise Ellman told the BBC that she was "absolutely appalled" at Corbyn for chairing Meyer's talk. When asked about his involvement, Corbyn said, "Views were expressed at the meeting which I do not accept or condone. In the past, in pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people and peace in Israel/Palestine, I have on occasion appeared on platforms with people whose views I completely reject. I apologise for the concerns and anxiety that this has caused".
In January 2011, a motion was submitted to rename Holocaust Memorial Day to "Genocide Memorial Day", supported by 23 MPs, mainly from Labour and including Corbyn. Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust said, "Holocaust Memorial Day already rightly includes all victims of the Nazis and subsequent genocides, but the Holocaust was a specific crime, with anti-Semitism at its core. Any attempt to remove that specificity is a form of denial and distortion." Labour responded by saying that "this was a cross-party initiative, jointly sponsored by a senior Conservative MP, to emphasize the already broader character of Holocaust Memorial Day. It is not our policy to seek a name change for this important commemoration".
2019
In February and July 2019, Labour issued information on investigations into complaints of antisemitism against individuals, with around 350 members resigning, being expelled or receiving formal warnings, equating to around 0.06% of the party's membership. In February, nine MPs resigned from the party, citing Labour's leftward political direction and its handling of allegations of antisemitism and of Brexit – most of them then formed The Independent Group.
Peter Willsman comments
In May 2019, Labour NEC member Peter Willsman asserted that the Israeli embassy were "behind all this antisemitism" and were "the ones whipping it all up". He added: "They caught somebody in Labour. It turns out they were an agent in the Israeli Embassy", referring to The Lobby.
Training and education
In March, Labour announced that a short course in antisemitism would be developed by the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism and that Jewish communal organisations would be consulted. The intention would be to enrol staff, NCC, and NEC members on the course. JLM, which had provided volunteer-led training for the past three years, then withdrew its training provision for branches.
In June, Labour peer Peter Hain and former Israeli negotiator in peace talks Daniel Levy argued that "actually the problem is political, and therefore requires a political not simply a procedural solution". In July 2019, Labour MP Clive Lewis wrote that: "Expulsions alone will not solve Labour's antisemitism crisis. Political education about antisemitism can help to ensure a socialist politics based on real equality becomes the common sense across the party."
In July, Labour appointed Heather Mendick as a liaison officer to improve the party's relationships with the Jewish community. JLC chair Jonathan Goldstein objected to the appointment and said that JLC would not be engaging with Mendick.
Later in July, Labour issued an online leaflet entitled "No Place For Antisemitism" alongside related documents and videos, as the launch of a programme of educating members on oppression and social liberation, and to help them confront racism and bigotry. This was promoted to all party members by a Corbyn email.
John A. Hobson's foreword
In 2011, Corbyn had written the foreword for a republication of the 1902 book Imperialism: A Study, by John A. Hobson, which contains the assertion that finance was controlled "by men of a single and peculiar race, who have behind them many centuries of financial experience" who "are in a unique position to control the policy of nations". In his foreword, Corbyn called the book a "great tome" and "brilliant, and very controversial at the time". Corbyn was criticised for his words in 2019, after his foreword was reported by Conservative peer Daniel Finkelstein. Corbyn responded that the language used to describe minorities in Hobson's work is "absolutely deplorable", but asserted that his foreword analysed "the process which led to the first world war" which he saw as the subject of the book and not Hobson's language.
Hobson was also cited and praised by previous Labour leaders. In 2005, Gordon Brown had said in a Chatham House speech: "This idea of liberty as empowerment is not a new idea, J. A. Hobson asked, 'is a man free who has not equal opportunity with his fellows of such access to all material and moral means of personal development and work as shall contribute to his own welfare and that of his society?'" Tony Blair had described Hobson as "probably the most famous Liberal convert to what was then literally 'new Labour'."
Disciplinary processes, outcomes and staff claims
Disciplinary
In April 2018, the new Labour General Secretary, Jennie Formby, announced that a team of lawyers had been seconded to handle disciplinary cases and that a new post of in-house general counsel would "advise on disciplinary matters and improvements to our processes".
In September 2018, the NEC approved a doubling of the size of the party's key disciplinary body, the NCC, in order to speed the handling of antisemitism claims.
In February 2019, Formby noted that the Governance and Legal Unit had suffered during 2018 from a high level of staff sickness and departures. She said that the unit was now back to full strength and that its size would be more than doubled.
Later in the month, Lord Falconer accepted an invitation to examine Labour's processes in order to increase transparency although this did not take place due to the announcement of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's investigation. Formby asked that a request by Deputy Labour Leader Tom Watson to Labour parliamentarians, asking that complaints about antisemitism be copied to him for monitoring, be disregarded on the grounds that this would disrupt the official process and be in breach of data protection law.
In May, Labour NEC member Jon Lansman wrote that leaked emails "...suggest that former compliance unit officials from the Labour right may have delayed action on some of the most extreme and high-profile antisemitism cases, including Holocaust denial, allowing a backlog of cases to build up that would damage the party and Jeremy's leadership." He also accused former General Secretary Iain McNicol and his team of delaying action on handling antisemitism cases, and allowing a backlog of cases to build up that would damage the party and Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.
In July 2019, a Labour spokesperson said that the rate at which antisemitism cases had been dealt with had increased fourfold after Formby took her position in May 2018. In August 2019, JVL said that Labour's processes had greatly improved since April 2018.
Later in July, NEC agreed to speed up determination of the most serious cases. This would be accomplished by giving a special panel, composed of the General Secretary and NEC officers, the authority to consider the cases and expel members. The panel would replace the process requiring the cases to be referred to the quasi-judicial NCC. The rule change would be submitted for approval to Labour Conference in September 2019.
In June 2020, following Keir Starmer's election as leader, it was reported that "a trusted ally of the Labour leader" had been appointed a "management enforcer" to oversee the management of allegations of antisemitism. According to a party source, "For anyone seeking to stay in their jobs it would not be sensible to disobey the new manager's requests. The manager has also been given the power to step in and make decisions himself about cases."
Disciplinary outcomes
In February 2019, Corbyn reiterated,
"As leader ... I wish to set out my own commitment along with that of the wider shadow cabinet as the leaders of Labour in parliament to root out antisemitism. I am determined we will defeat racism wherever we see it and I know that antisemitism is one of the oldest, nastiest and most persistent forms of racism."
A week later, he said in Parliament, "(Antisemitism has) no place whatsoever in any of our political parties, in our lives, in our society".
Also in February, Formby announced to Labour MPs that, of the complaints about antisemitism received by the party from April 2018 to January 2019, 400 related to individuals who were not party members. In a further 220 cases, Labour had found that there was insufficient evidence of a breach of party rules. Some of the remaining 453 complaints, i.e. those with sufficient evidence of a breach of party rules, related to years-old social media posts. These complaints received over the ten-month period represented 0.06% of Labour's 540,000 membership. Investigations had resulted in 12 expulsions and 49 resignations from the party and 187 formal warnings, while some more recent complaints were still under investigation. Some Labour MPs questioned the data's accuracy.
In July 2019, Corbyn said
"While other political parties and some of the media exaggerate and distort the scale of the problem in our party, we must face up to the unsettling truth that a small number of Labour members hold anti-Semitic views and a larger number don't recognise anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories. The evidence is clear enough. The worst cases of anti-Semitism in our party have included Holocaust denial, crude Jewish-banker stereotypes, conspiracy theories blaming Israel for 9/11 or every war on the Rothschild family, and even one member who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood. I am sorry for the hurt that has been caused to many Jewish people. We have been too slow in processing disciplinary cases of mostly online anti-Semitic abuse by party members. We are acting to speed this process up. People who hold anti-Semitic views have no place in Labour. They may be few – the number of cases over the past three years represents less than 0.1% of Labour's membership of more than half a million – but one is too many."
In July 2019, Formby provided updated figures regularly publishing statistics. During the first six months of 2019, 625 complaints about members had been received, with some the subject of multiple complaints, and 116 members suspended. A further 658 complaints were received about non-members. Of the complaints rest, Labour decided that 100 lacked sufficient evidence and 163 showed no rule breaches, 90 received formal warnings or reminders of conduct and 97 wer referred to the NCC. 146 cases were still in process. NEC antisemitism panels had met six times and made 190 decisions, compared with two and eight in the same period the previous year. The NCC had concluded 28 cases and made eight expulsions with another twelve members resigning, compared with ten, seven and three in the same period the previous year.
In January 2020, Labour reported that 149 members resigned or were expelled during 2019 as a result of disciplinary processes relating to antisemitism. Of these, 45 members were expelled, compared to ten in 2018 and one in 2017. NEC disciplinary panels heard 274 cases, compared with 28 cases in 2017. 296 members were suspended, compared to 98 in 2018, itself a big increase on the previous year. After the September 2019 annual conference gave NEC panels the power to expel, twice the number of people were expelled in two months than had been expelled during 2018.
Claims by former staff
In April, Labour's lawyers wrote to its former head of disputes asking what information he had shared with the media and for his commitment to not further breach his non-disclosure agreement. In July, an edition of programme Panorama entitled "Is Labour Anti-Semitic?" produced by John Ware, included a claim by former staff that, in the first half of 2018, senior Labour figures had interfered in the complaints process while new senior officials in their department downgraded outcomes. Labour denied any interference. Labour added "The Panorama programme was not a fair or balanced investigation. It was a seriously inaccurate, politically one-sided polemic, which breached basic journalistic standards, invented quotes and edited emails to change their meaning." BBC responded that "the investigation was not pre-determined, it was driven by the evidence". Labour later submitted a formal complaint about the programme. Staff members represented by the GMB trade union voted overwhelmingly to call on the Party to be consistent in supporting whistle-blowers wherever they worked and to apologise to their former colleagues.
Resignations
In August 2018, Labour MP Frank Field resigned as Labour whip over a "culture...of nastiness". He retained his party membership, announcing that he would sit as an "independent Labour MP". Andrew Grice and others suggested that Field left before he was deselected by his local party, as he had lost a vote of confidence in his constituency over his support for Theresa May's Brexit plans in a parliamentary vote.
In February, seven MPs quit Labour to form The Independent Group (latterly Change UK), citing their dissatisfaction with the party's leftward political direction, its approach to Brexit and to allegations of antisemitism. They were later joined by four more MPs, including three from the Conservative Party. Another MP resigned from Labour to sit as an independent. One of the original seven, Lucinda Berger, said that Labour had become "sickeningly institutionally racist". Four of the MPs had recently lost no-confidence votes, while two such motions against Berger had been withdrawn. Following its failure to secure any seats in May 2019 European Parliament election, six of its MPs resigned to sit as independents.
In July, three peers, David Triesman, Leslie Arnold Turnberg. and Ara Darzi resigned to sit as independents, citing dissatisfaction with the party's handling of antisemitism, Brexit, and defence policy.
In October 2019, MP Louise Ellman resigned from the party, citing her worries about antisemitism and opposition to a Corbyn-led government. Labour responded that "Jeremy Corbyn and Labour are fully committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community and continue to take robust action to root out antisemitism in the party and wider society." Motions of no confidence in Ellman had been submitted for discussion in three branches of her constituency. Riverside constituency Labour party said: "he made it very clear at the last CLP meeting that she could not support a Jeremy Corbyn-led government. This inevitably meant that Louise would be triggered and was very unlikely to win any reselection process."
External investigations
In November 2018, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick announced that they had been passed an internal Labour dossier detailing 45 allegations of antisemitic hate crimes committed by Labour members and would review them.
In May 2019, following complaints submitted by JLM and the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched a formal investigation into whether Labour had "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish": specifically, whether "unlawful acts have been committed by the party and/or its employees and/or its agents, and; whether the party has responded to complaints of unlawful acts in a lawful, efficient and effective manner." In 2016, Labour MP Harriet Harman had expressed concern about the suitability of its chair, David Isaac, given his principal role as an equity partner at a City law firm that advises the Conservative government, Pinsent Masons. Previously, in September 2017, EHRC Chief Executive Rebecca Hilsenrath had demanded a zero tolerance approach and swift action to deal with it. Antony Lerman, former founding director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, raised concerns that such a statement made Hilsenrath unsuitable to lead a probe. He wrote, "Prior to investigation, is it not worrying that the CEO already claims to know what Labour needs to do?" Hilsenrath later recused herself from the decision to investigate Labour as her status as "an active member of the Anglo-Jewish community" could cause a perception of bias. Labour asked EHRC to communicate any interim recommendations.
JVL welcomed the investigation by EHRC. The organisation produced a dossier for EHRC in response to its request for evidence in relation to its investigation. JVL held that without making public the complaints and Labour's response when EHRC shared them ahead of launching the investigation, EHRC had violated the Equality Act 2006 which requires that they specify investigation targets and "the nature of the unlawful act" they are suspected of committing, both required by its own terms of reference.
Criticism of Labour Party advocates
In 2019, those seeking to defend Labour and some members from what they saw as unfair or exaggerated allegations themselves came under attack. MP Chris Williamson was suspended and investigated after he was recorded saying, "The party that has done more to stand up to racism is now being demonised as a racist, bigoted party. I have got to say I think our party's response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion... we have backed off too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic...We've done more to address the scourge of antisemitism than any other political party. And yet we are being traduced". As with Jackie Walker and Labour Against the Witchhunt, efforts were made to prevent him speaking at events. Before the 2019 general election, Labour banned Williamson from standing as a Labour candidate.
Pro-Corbyn websites, such as The Canary, were the target of an advertising boycott campaign by Stop Funding Fake News, which said that The Canary regularly published "fake news" and attempts to "justify antisemitism" and that two of its writers had made antisemitic comments. According to Jewish News, the campaign had been backed by Rachel Riley, who campaigns against the party leadership's handling of allegations of antisemitism, while The Canary called the accusations a smear and those behind the campaign "political Zionists". Research by the Community Security Trust identified a number of pro-Corbyn and pro-Labour social media accounts that claimed that allegations of antisemitism in the party were "exaggerated, weaponised, invented or blown out of proportion, or that Labour and Corbyn are victims of a smear campaign relating to antisemitism".
Response to attack on rabbi
After an Israeli rabbi was attacked whilst visiting London in November, Corbyn phoned Rabbi Herschel Gluck, chairperson of Jewish neighbourhood watch organisation Shomrim, to express his concern for and empathy with the community. He tweeted that "We must stop this scourge of antisemitism". Gluck commented that the community appreciated Corbyn's concern and that Corbyn was the only party leader who called.
December election
Main article: 2019 United Kingdom general electionDuring the 2019 general election, Corbyn apologised on ITV's This Morning programme. A few days before, other members of the shadow cabinet, including Nia Griffith, Richard Burgon and John McDonnell, apologised for antisemitism in their party.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
In his leader's interview with Corbyn, Andrew Neil dedicated the first 10 minutes of the 30-minute programme entirely to discussion of Labour's relationship with the Jewish community. This interview drew attention as Corbyn refused to apologise for antisemitism in Labour, even though he had repeatedly done so before. The UK's Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, made an unprecedented intervention in politics, warning that antisemitism was a "poison sanctioned from the top" of Labour, and saying that British Jews were gripped by anxiety about the prospect of a Corbyn-led government. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Muslim Council of Britain and the Hindu Council UK partially supported Rabbi Mirvis's intervention.
JLM and the 2019 general election
Labour's only Jewish affiliate, JLM, said they would not actively campaign for Labour except for exceptional candidates.
2020
Keir Starmer
On 4 April, leader Starmer expressed the view that "Antisemitism has been a stain on our party" and apologised to the Jewish community, vowing to fight it. Starmer had previously made eliminating antisemitism in Labour one of his main campaign issues, and said he would take steps to eradicate it "on day one" of his assuming party leadership. He also said he would look to fully cooperate with EHRC's investigation into antisemitism in the party.
Internal investigation into Labour's Governance and Legal Unit
Main article: The work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014–2019The following week, Sky News reported that the 860-page antisemitism report would be withheld on advice of counsel. The report concluded that "no evidence" had been found that antisemitism complaints were treated any differently than other forms of complaint, or of current or former staff being "motivated by antisemitic intent". The report stated that Corbyn's team inherited a lack of "robust processes, systems, training, education and effective line management" and that hostility towards Corbyn by former senior officials contributed to "a litany of mistakes" that "affected the expeditious and resolute handling of disciplinary complaints", including providing "false and misleading information" to Corbyn's office on the scale and handling of antisemitism allegations. The report urged EHRC to "question the validity of the personal testimonies" of former members of staff. Furthermore, The Independent, which saw the report, stated that it said that staffers associated with Labour's right-wing sought to undermine Corbyn and prevent Labour from winning the 2017 general election in the hope that a poor result would trigger a leadership contest.
On 23 April, NEC met to set the terms of reference for the independent investigation into the circumstances, contents, and release of an internal report to conclude with its own report to be published by mid-July. Several amendments were passed by the NEC, including one by Rayner that referred to the offer of whistleblower protections. On 1 May, NEC appointed a four-person panel to investigate the report. Martin Forde QC, a barrister was chosen as chair, supported by three Labour peers: Baroness Debbie Wilcox, Lord Larry Whitty, and Baroness Ruth Lister.
In June, Labour revealed that it had suspended the membership of some party members to protect the integrity of its investigation. According to Novara Media, former party director Emilie Oldknow, who featured prominently in the leaked documents, and Patrick Heneghan, Labour's former executive director for elections, campaigns and organisation were among those suspended.
Rebecca Long-Bailey
In June 2020, Rebecca Long-Bailey was asked to resign as Shadow Secretary of State for Education by Starmer after she shared a link to an Independent interview actor Maxine Peake which contained:
"The tactics used by the police in America, kneeling on George Floyd's neck, that was learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services."
The original article stated that "the Israeli police has denied this". Starmer said that the article should not have been shared by Long-Bailey "as it contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories". The Independent amended the original article to add a note that "the allegation that US police were taught tactics of 'neck kneeling' by Israeli secret services is unfounded". Peake later stated that she was "inaccurate in assumption of American police training and its sources". The claim had been linked to a report by Amnesty International, but Amnesty said that they had never reported that Israeli security forces had taught the technique.
The Guardian said a "series of individual MPs condemned the decision" and some did not consider Peake's allegations to be anti-semitic. John McDonnell, shadow chancellor under Corbyn, said that "criticism of practices of Israeli state is not anti-semitic". He did not believe that Long-Bailey should have been sacked and stood with her. NEC member Jon Lansman said: "I don't believe there is anything antisemitic in the interview and sacking Rebecca is a reckless overreaction by Keir Starmer."
Steve Reed
In July 2020, Steve Reed used Twitter to suggest that Conservative Party donor Richard Desmond was "the puppet master to the entire Tory cabinet" in relation to the planning scandal involving Desmond and minister Robert Jenrick. The tweet was criticised as antisemitic for containing a "classic anti-Semitic trope about a Jewish businessman" and Conservative MPs asked Starmer to sack Reed. After Reed deleted the tweet and apologised, no further action was taken against him.
Aftermath of 2019 Panorama programme
In July 2020 Labour was sued for defamation by seven former members of staff who had appeared in the 2019 BBC Panorama programme Is Labour Anti-Semitic? The former staffers said senior Labour Party figures had made statements attacking their reputations and suggesting they had ulterior political and personal motives to undermine the party. When the programme aired, a Labour party spokesperson had called them "disaffected former officials" and said they had "worked actively to undermine" Corbyn and had "both personal and political axes to grind". In response to the lawsuit Starmer agreed to pay damages to the former staff members and issue a formal apology.
Corbyn expressed disappointment at Starmer's decision and said that Labour was risking "giving credibility to misleading and inaccurate allegations about action taken to tackle anti-Semitism in Labour in recent years" and that the settlements were a "political decision, not a legal one". In response, the show's presenter John Ware sued Corbyn personally. A fundraising campaign, set up with an initial target of £20,000 to help Corbyn with legal fees, surpassed £270,000 within days. Starmer's decision prompted Labour's largest backer, the trade union Unite led by Len McCluskey, to review its donations. McCluskey said "It's an abuse of members' money. ... It's as though a huge sign has been put up outside Labour with 'queue here with your writ and get your payment over there' ".
Publication of EHRC report and Corbyn suspension
On 29 October 2020, EHRC published their report, stating, "serious failings in Labour leadership in addressing antisemitism and an inadequate process for handling antisemitism complaints". The report found evidence of political interference into complaints of antisemitism, failure to provide training to handle complaints of antisemitism, and harassment, in breach of the Equality Act 2010.
After the publication, Corbyn said his team had "acted to speed up, not hinder the process", and that the scale of antisemitism within Labour had been "dramatically overstated for political reasons". Corbyn was suspended pending investigation from Labour when he refused to retract his remarks.
2021–present
Exclusion of alleged far-left factions
In July, NEC voted to ban four factions that they described as on the far-left, including Resist, Labour Against the Witchhunt, the Labour in Exile Network, and Socialist Appeal, on the grounds that "these organisations are not compatible with Labour's rules or our aims and values". These factions had been accused of obstructing efforts to combat antisemitism. The party committee ruled that belonging to these factions was grounds for expulsion; that future complaints would be handled by an independent appeal body; and that all prospective Labour candidates would be trained by JLM. While JLM welcomed the announcement; the bans were condemned by Momentum and Unite the Union for targeting left-wing elements and worsening internal tensions.
Forde Report
The long-awaited Forde Report, written by lawyer Martin Forde in response to the dossier leaked in April 2020. The work of Labour's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014–2019), was ultimately released on 19 July 2022. It reported that antisemitism had been used as a factional weapon. The report said: "ather than confront the paramount need to deal with the profoundly serious issue of anti-Semitism in the party, both factions treated it as a factional weapon." It showed how senior Labour staff displayed "deplorably factional and insensitive, and at times discriminatory, attitudes" towards Corbyn and his supporters, and revealed a "hierarchy of racism" in the party that ignored Black and Asian people.
Israel–Hamas war
Labour under Starmer suspended parliamentary candidates and MPs, including Graham Jones, Andy McDonald, Azhar Ali and Kate Osamor, for their alleged anti-Semitic comments during the Israel-Hamas war. Jones said that Britons who had gone to Israel to fight for the Israel Defense Forces "should be locked up". Osamor wrote of an "international duty" to remember the victims of the Holocaust and that "more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and now Gaza" should be remembered.
In August 2024, Jewish members of Labour sent a letter to Starmer, accusing him and his party of actions worsening antisemitism.
Statements of support
Labour movement
In September 2017, general secretary of Unite the Union, Len McCluskey said that the row "was created by people who were trying to undermine Jeremy Corbyn". He stated that he had never heard antisemitic language at a party meeting, adding "Unfortunately at the time there were lots of people playing games, everybody wanted to create this image that Jeremy Corbyn's leadership had become misogynist, had become racist, had become anti-Semitic and it was wrong."
In December 2017, Momentum founder Jon Lansman identified three forms of antisemitism: petty xenophobic remarks, of which he " think there's much" in the Party; old-school blood libel type antisemitism, which, according to Lansman, is "extremely rare"; and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, whereby, Lansman says, "we all understand that when that conflict heats up, it results in dreadful antisemitism."
In June 2019, Labour peer Peter Hain and former Israeli negotiator in peace talks Daniel Levy said that the effect of Labour's stance on antisemitism had been "to empower apologists for totally unacceptable Israeli government attacks on Palestinians and the steady throttling of their rights – allowing those apologists to scale new heights in their dishonest attempts to label criticism of such Israeli policy as 'antisemitic'".
In August 2019, former Deputy Leader and Shadow Home Secretary Lord Hattersley said that he believed that Labour had "managed to expunge the party" of antisemitism.
Jewish activists and organisations
Some left-wing Jewish groups disputed the antisemitism claims. These include JVL, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Jewish Socialists' Group, Jewdas and Independent Jewish Voices; all of whom agreed that accusations of antisemitism against Labour had a twofold purpose: firstly, to conflate antisemitism with criticism of Israel in order to deter such criticism and, secondly, to undermine Labour leadership.
In August 2015, dozens of Jewish activists signed an open letter criticising The Jewish Chronicle for what they viewed as its "character assassination" of Corbyn. Signatories to the letter included Laurence Dreyfus, Selma James, Miriam Margolyes, Ilan Pappé, Michael Rosen and Avi Shlaim.
In April 2016, Richard Kuper, spokesperson for Jews for Justice for Palestinians, said that, while "there is some antisemitism in and around Labour – as there is in the wider society in Britain", "there is clearly also a coordinated, willed and malign campaign to exaggerate the nature and extent of antisemitism as a stick to beat Labour".
In April 2016, the Jewish Socialists' Group said that antisemitism accusations were being "weaponized" in order to "attack the Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour party". It added "A very small number of such cases seem to be real instances of antisemitism. Others represent genuine criticism of Israeli policy and support for Palestinian rights".
Later that month, 82 "Jewish members and supporters of Labour and of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership" wrote an open letter stating that they "do not accept that antisemitism is 'rife' in Labour" and that "these accusations are part of a wider campaign against the Labour leadership, and they have been timed particularly to do damage to Labour and its prospects." Signatories included Miriam David, Ivor Dembina, Stephen Deutsch, Selma James, Miriam Margolyes, Charles Shaar Murray, Ian Saville and Lynne Segal.
In December 2017, Jewdas suggested that the allegations are aimed at discrediting the party and called the reaction to them a "bout of faux-outrage greased with hypocrisy and opportunism".
In February 2019, over 200 Jewish members and supporters of Labour signed a letter published in The Guardian, calling the party "a crucial ally in the fight against bigotry and reaction" and Corbyn's campaigning consistently in support for "initiatives against antisemitism". They felt that the "disproportionate focus on antisemitism on the left, which is abhorrent but relatively rare." The signatories included David Epstein, Mike Leigh, Michael Rosen, Avi Shlaim, Gillian Slovo, Annabelle Sreberny, Walter Wolfgang, Peter Buckman, Erica Burman, Keith Burstein, Miriam David, Michael Ellman, Nick Foster, Susan Himmelweit, Selma James, Ann Jungman, Frank Land, Gillian McCall, Helen Pearson and Ian Saville.
In July 2019, Andrew Feinstein, anti-corruption campaigner and executive director of Corruption Watch said, "Only a very small percentage of Labour members hold anti-semitic views and a YouGov poll in 2015 found Labour displayed the second least amount of any political party, second only to the Liberal Democrats. In 2017, two years into Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, the extent of anti-semitism in Labour had actually dropped, according to polling."
In November 2019, John Bercow, the Jewish former Speaker of the House of Commons and Conservative (and later Labour, until his suspension) MP, said he had never experienced antisemitism from a Labour Party member and after knowing Corbyn for 22 years did not believe he was antisemitic.
In November 2019, 14 British Jews signed a letter published in The Guardian describing allegation of antisemitism as "a political siege of Labour". Signatories included Antony Lerman, Lynne Segal, Jacqueline Rose, Miriam David, Brian Klug, Jonathan Rosenhead, Graeme Segal and Stephen Sedley.
Academics and researchers
In April 2016, independent researcher Jamie Stern-Weiner's review found that some treated comments about "Zionists" as being the same as Holocaust denial and comments about antisemitic conspiracy theories.
In May 2016, Israeli historian and Oxford University Professor of International Relations Avi Shlaim argued that "charges of Jew-hatred are being deliberately manipulated to serve a pro-Zionist agenda."
In January 2017, John Newsinger wrote, "There has been a sustained attempt made to discredit the Corbynites by alleging that they are somehow responsible for Labour having a serious problem with anti-Semitism, that the Labour left and the left outside Labour is, in fact, anti-Semitic... the allegations are politically motivated smears, perpetrated by people completely without shame, and... they do considerable damage to the real fight against anti-Semitism."
In April 2018, 42 senior academics condemned anti-Corbyn bias and suggested that "Dominant sections of the media have framed the story in such a way as to suggest that antisemitism is a problem mostly to do with Labour and that Corbyn is personally responsible for failing to deal with it. The coverage has relied on a handful of sources such as Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish Leadership Council and well-known political opponents of Corbyn himself." Signatories included Lynne Segal, Annabelle Sreberny, Beverley Skeggs, Gary Hall, Neve Gordon, Margaret Gallagher, Maria Chatzichristodoulou, Jill Daniels and Ruth Catlow. One of the signatories, Jane Dipple of the University of Winchester, was herself investigated by her university and Labour over allegedly antisemitic posts on Facebook. In August 2018 the university said that Dipple no longer worked there.
Later that April, Israeli historian and political scientist Ilan Pappé stated that "Corbyn is not an anti-Semite and Labour, until his election, was a pro-Israeli bastion..." and "there is anti-Semitism among all British parties – and much more on the right than on the left."
In July 2018, philosopher and scholar of antisemitism Brian Klug wrote: "It's paradoxical if, at the moment Labour wakes up to the necessity of combating antisemitism in its ranks, it is shouted down because of its failure to deal with it in the past." In October, he wrote: "It appears that two different objectives are being conflated by Jewish leadership: confronting antisemitism and toppling Corbyn."
In March 2019, Neve Gordon, Professor of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, wrote: "the real point of contention ... is not about whether the party should tolerate anti-Semitism, but about what anti-Semitism is."
In April 2019, historian and University of Buckingham Professor of Politics Geoffrey Alderman wrote in the Jewish Telegraph that Jeremy Corbyn "has an impressive demonstrable record of supporting Jewish communal initiatives". In May, he wrote in The Spectator that "I will agree that from time to time, as backbench MP and party leader, Corbyn has acted unwisely. But the grounds for labelling him an anti-Semite simply do not exist."
In October 2019, Greg Philo, lead author of Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief remarked in an interview with Jacobin magazine that "Both the BBC and even a paper like The Guardian have contributed to public misunderstanding of this issue. They have a moral duty to discuss the new evidence and analysis that we have offered. But both have not covered it. That is a key source of their power — they can impose silence and simply refuse to discuss their own role."
Palestinian author and academic Ghada Karmi wrote that the book "shows Labour is not 'institutionally racist' but the victim of an orchestrated campaign of unfounded accusations of antisemitism."
Journalists and authors
In 2018, Mark Seddon and Francis Beckett conclude that "(t)he debate has become toxic. It's all abuse and bullying and point-scoring. It long ago ceased to concentrate on the protection of British Jews on one hand, and the creation of a better and more equal society in Britain on the other." For Matt Seaton the controversy over Labour's attitudes to Jews and antisemitism is a proxy fight whose real conflict is one of a battle for the soul of the party waged between social democrats and traditional anti-imperialist socialists.
In July 2018, writer and scholar of antisemitism Antony Lerman wrote: "after the battering Labour has experienced over the issue of antisemitism in the party since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader and the fact nothing the party has done has succeeded in fully placating its critics... the new code had barely seen the light of day before it was being condemned in the harshest terms by all and sundry." In September, he noted "The default mode of almost all the mainstream media is to take as given that the party is institutionally antisemitic" and "the ever wilder doubling-down on painting Corbyn an antisemite and the increasingly desperate attempts to oust him from the leadership using hatred of Jews as a weapon with which to achieve this."
Writer Richard Seymour wrote on his Patreon blog in 2018 that "...allegations that Labour is institutionally antisemitic, or that Corbyn himself is a racist, cut against, rather than with, the grain of what people already suspect to be true. Those who dislike Corbyn overwhelmingly think he's a politically correct peacenik, not a Jew-hater."
In early 2016, American political scientist Norman Finkelstein said, "The only plausible answer is, it's political. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the factual situation; instead, a few suspect cases of antisemitism – some real, some contrived – are being exploited for an ulterior political motive. As one senior Labour MP said the other day, it's transparently a smear campaign." In August 2018, Finkelstein called the criticism of Corbyn and Labour 'insane' and 'hysteria' and led by powerful interests.
Surveys and studies
General population
In 2015, 2016 and 2017, CAA commissioned YouGov to survey British attitudes towards Jews. The 2017 survey found that supporters of Labour were less likely to hold antisemitic views than those of the Conservative Party or the UK Independence Party (UKIP), while those of the Liberal Democrats were the least likely to hold such views. 32% of Labour supporters endorsed at least one "antisemitic attitude", as defined by the CAA, compared to 30% for the Liberal Democrat, 39% for UKIP supporters, and 40% for Conservatives.
A Populus poll during August 2018 found the wider British public did not pay much attention to the news coverage over antisemitism in Labour. Fewer than 5% rated it as the news story they had noticed most.
A study into contemporary antisemitism in Britain by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) in September 2017 reported, "Levels of antisemitism among those on the left-wing of the political spectrum, including the far-left, are indistinguishable from those found in the general population. Yet, all parts of those on the left of the political spectrum – including the 'slightly left-of-centre,' the 'fairly left-wing' and the 'very left-wing' – exhibit higher levels of anti Israelism than average." It went on, "The most antisemitic group on the political spectrum consists of those who identify as very right-wing: the presence of antisemitic attitudes in this group is 2 to 4 times higher compared to the general population." It continued: "However, in relation to anti-Israel attitudes, the very left-wing lead: 78% (75–82%) in this group endorse at least one anti-Israel attitude, in contrast to 56% in the general population, and 23% (19–26%) hold 6–9 such attitudes, in contrast to 9% in the general population. Elevated levels of anti-Israel attitudes are also observed in other groups on the political left: the fairly left-wing and those slightly left-of-centre. The lowest level of anti-Israel attitudes is observed in the political centre and among those who are slightly right-of-centre or fairly right-wing." The report, however, stated, "...anti-Israel attitudes are not, as a general rule, antisemitic; but the stronger a person's anti-Israel views, the more likely they are to hold antisemitic attitudes. A majority of those who hold anti-Israel attitudes do not espouse any antisemitic attitudes, but a significant minority of those who hold anti-Israel attitudes hold them alongside antisemitic attitudes. Therefore, antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes exist both separately and together." The study reported that in "surveys of attitudes towards ethnic and religious minorities... The most consistently found pattern across different surveys is heightened animosity towards Jews on the political right..." and that "The political left, captured by voting intention or actual voting for Labour, appears in these surveys as a more Jewish-friendly, or neutral, segment of the population."
British Jews
In 2017, a poll commissioned by CAA of 1,864 British Jewish adults found that 83% (in 2016, 87%) felt that Labour was too tolerant of antisemitism among its MPs, members, or supporters.
A Survation poll by The Jewish Chronicle prior to the 2017 general election found that 13% of Jews intended to vote for Labour, an increase from the 8.5% in May 2016. When asked to rank the degree of "antisemitism among the political party's members and elected representatives" between 1 (low) to 5 (high), Jews ranked Labour at 3.94, compared with 3.64 for UKIP, 2.7 for the Liberal Democrats, and 1.96 for the Conservatives.
In September 2018, a Survation survey conducted for The Jewish Chronicle found that 85.9% of British Jews considered Jeremy Corbyn antisemitic, and 85.6% considered Labour to have "high" or "very high" levels of antisemitism within the party's members and elected representatives. This compares to 1.7% and 6.1% for Theresa May and the Conservative Party respectively. This was an increase from 69% who considered the party to have "high" or "very high" levels of antisemitism in 2017.
Labour Party members
In May 2016, a YouGov poll found that 49% of Labour members felt that the party did not have a problem with antisemitism, 47% agreed that it was a problem, but "no worse than in other parties, while 5% thought that antisemitism is a bigger problem in Labour than in other parties. In March 2018, a poll showed 77% of Labour members believed the charges of antisemitism to be deliberately exaggerated to undermine the leader or stop criticism of Israel, while 19% said it was a serious issue. A July 2019 poll by YouGov amongst Labour Party members found that 70% of members thought that antisemitism in the party was a "genuine" problem.
See also
- Antisemitism in the British Conservative Party
- Islamophobia in the British Conservative Party
- Racism in the British Conservative Party
- The Lobby (TV series)
- Respect Party
Notes
- "Mr Dalyell's career includes a close alliance with the late Richard Crossman, a passionate Zionist who believed that all gentiles – including himself – are anti-semitic at some level."
- The British Liberal Party's Baroness Tonge had, some years earlier (2006), asserted that 'The pro-Israeli lobby has got its grips on the Western world, its financial grips. I think they've probably got a grip on our party'. Likewise, Conservative MP Sir Alan Duncan in 2014 stated that despite UK rules forbidding political funding from abroad, in his view an exception was made for Israel, and later added that "the United States is in hock to a very powerful financial lobby which dominates its politics."
- When Howard made an unsuccessful bid in 1997 to become Prime Minister, it was alleged he was the victim of a widespread antisemitic whispering campaign by Conservative backbenchers and members of the constituency workers. In his 2004 comeback he argued for a programme blatantly hostile to immigrants while rebuffing accusations he was racist as impossible, since he himself was the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors.
- Kushner argues: 'A closer reading of these images, however, reveals a more nuanced situation. In the case of the two little Jewish pigs, the direct connection to the Judensau is coincidental: if anything, the images managed to make Howard and Letwin endearing. Yet if the point that the Conservative figures on tax and spending simply did not add up-hence pigs might fly-it was insensitive of the Labour spin doctors not to show some awareness that to connect Jews to pork, the subject of past Christian fascination, crude humour and physical persecution, lacked an element of sensitivity.'
References
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Further reading
- Allington, Daniel. "Judeophobic Antisemitism among British Voters, 2016-2020." Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism 3.2 (2020) online.
- Bolton, Matthew. "Conceptual Vandalism, Historical Distortion: The Labour Antisemitism Crisis and the Limits of Class Instrumentalism." Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism 3.2 (2020) online Archived 4 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
- Ferguson, Rob (2019). Antisemitism: The Far Right, Zionism And The Left. Bookmarks. ISBN 978-19-1292-600-8.
- Fine, Robert; Spencer, Philip (2017). Antisemitism and the left: On the return of the Jewish question. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526104984.
- Gorny, Joseph (2013). The British Labour Movement and Zionism, 1917–1948. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-16926-8.
- "First-ever: 40+ Jewish groups worldwide oppose equating antisemitism with criticism of Israel". Jewish Voice for Peace. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- Philo, Greg; Berry, Mike; Schlosberg, Justin; Lerman, Antony; Miller, David (September 2019). Bad News for Labour: Antisemitism, the Party and Public Belief. Pluto Press.
- Stern-Weiner, Jamie, ed. (November 2019). Anti-Semitism and the Labour Party (PDF). Verso. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- Schindler, Colin (2016). "From Zionist to Corbynist: The Evolution of Britain's Labour Left". Jewish Quarterly. 63 (2): 38–41. doi:10.1080/0449010X.2016.1202579. Colin Schindler is emeritus professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and the founding chair of the European Association of Israel Studies.
- Johnson, Alan (June 2016). "Antisemitic anti-Zionism: the root of Labour's crisis" (PDF). Labour Party Inquiry into Antisemitism and Other Forms of Racism. Retrieved 7 October 2018. Alan Johnson is a British political theorist and activist.
- Rich, Dave (2016). The Left's Jewish Problem: Jeremy Corbyn, Israel and Anti-Semitism. Biteback. ISBN 978-1-78590-120-1.
- Sivanandan, Ambalavaner; Fekete, Elizabeth; Bourne, Jenny (30 September 2016). "Submission from the Institute of Race Relations to the Labour Party Inquiry into anti-Semitism and other forms of racism, including Islamophobia". Race & Class. 58 (2): 64–69. doi:10.1177/0306396816657724. S2CID 152023856. Ambalavaner Sivanandan was Director Emeritus of the Institute of Race Relations; E. Fekete is its director; Jenny Bourne is co-editor of Race & Class.
- Comparison of IHRA and Labour Party Definitions of Antisemitism, Jewish Voice for Labour, 21 July 2018
- Sabbagh, Karl (November 2018). The Antisemitism Wars. Skyscraper. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- Vaughn, James R. (2015). "'Mayhew's outcasts': anti-Zionism and the Arab lobby in Harold Wilson's Labour Party". Israel Affairs. 21: 1–25.
- Weiler, Peter (2016) . Ernest Bevin. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-19842-0.