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User:Darkness Shines/Antisemitism in the Labour Party

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Antisemitism in the Labour Party has created controversy.[1] According to Jonathan Freedland Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was a supporter of the pro-Palestinian group Deir Yassin Remembered, founded by Holocaust denier Paul Eisen and attended an event by the group even though Eisen had admitted to being a Holocaust denier. Corbyn also praised Raed Salah, after Salah had been found guilty in court of using the antisemitic trope of the "blood libel". Freedland says that due to Corbyn the Labour party is increasing in numbers and is attracting those on the left who would previously have rejected the party, or would not have been accepted by it.[2] A party spokesman said, Jeremy has consistently spoken out against all forms of antisemitism and condemned Holocaust denial as vile and wrong." And Corbyn said had he known of Eisen's Holocaust denial he would have had nothing to do with the group.[3]

During the 2017 election campaign the chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement, Jeremy Newmark, stated 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 was also critical over 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 stated the party will not tolerate anti-Semitism in any form.[4] Streeting also said he did not believe Corbyn was antisemitic.[5]

Public Perceptions[edit]

According to a poll carried out in 2017 a majority of Jews in Britain were of the belief that the Labour Party were too tolerant on anti-Semitism. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed stated that in their opinion racist sentiments were not adequately challenged by Labour members of parliament, members of the party as well as Labour Party supporters. The poll which was held for the group, Campaign Against Antisemitism followed increasing criticism of Jeremy Corbyn’s attempts to fight anti-Jewish sentiment within the party.[6]

According to Stephan Daisley the Labour Party has, in the past, quickly taken a stance against groups where racism, sexism, and homophobia had been tolerated. However, according to Daisley anti-Semitism is now routine within the party, and that by it's own definition, the party is now "institutionally anti-Semitic".[7]

2017 Conference Controversy[edit]

During the 2017 Labour party conference new rules were introduced to combat antisemitism within the party, some party activists made the accusation that Labour were policing “thought crime”. Deputy leader Tom Watson, promised there would be an investigation on how the party provided a platform at a conference fringe event to, Miko Peled, who stated that people ought to be allowed to question if the Holocaust happened.[8] Watson in response said, “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”[9] Delegates at the event also made the demand that the Jewish Labour Movement be expelled from the party over their support for the state of Israel.[10]

Inquiries[edit]

Jeremy Corbyn on 29 April 2016 launched an internal inquiry following antisemitic comments made by Naz Shah and Ken Livingstone, both of whom were suspended pending investigation, were published in the media. The report was widely criticized and described as a 'whitewash'[11] Leading the inquiry was Shami Chakrabarti, who joined the Labour Party on the same day she was appointed to chair the investigation. Two deputy chairs, Jan Royall, who was at the time holding an investigation into antisemitism at Oxford University’s Labour club, and David Feldman, who Chakrabarti had to defend due to Feldman being a signatory to Independent Jewish Voices, which has claimed that some of the allegations of antisemitism within Labour were “baseless and disingenuous”.[12]

British author Howard Jacobson 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."[13] Jacobson also suggested that Corbyn nominating Chakrabarti for a peerage was a way to show contempt at those who had raised issues over antisemitism in the party.[14]

Following allegations of antisemitism from the Oxford University Labour Club an inquiry was launched by the Labour party’s national student organisation.[15] Chaired by Jan Royall the National Executive Committee accepted the report in May 2016, some of the report was published but the full report was deemed confidential until Royall leaked it.[16]

In 2016, the 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 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”.[17] 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,"[18]

Refs[edit]

  1. ^ Beauchamp 2016.
  2. ^ Freedland 2016.
  3. ^ Mendick 2017.
  4. ^ Josephs 2017.
  5. ^ Hope 2017.
  6. ^ Bodkin 2017.
  7. ^ Daisley 2017.
  8. ^ Elgot 2017.
  9. ^ Weaver & Elgot 2017.
  10. ^ Donaldson 2017.
  11. ^ ToI Staff 2016.
  12. ^ Asthana 2016.
  13. ^ Jacobson 2017.
  14. ^ Sugarman 2017.
  15. ^ Tran 2016.
  16. ^ Hirsh 2017, p. 82.
  17. ^ Boffey & Sherwood 2016.
  18. ^ ITV 2016.

Bibliography[edit]

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