At the beginning of the year, the newspaper Jewish News held a dinner awards ceremony in honour of those members of the Jewish community who had made an important contribution to British society during the last year. The attendees at the event were happily enjoying their dinner when it was announced that the Leader of the Labour Party would be presenting an award. There was a hushed silence, some of the diners started to get a bout of indigestion and some were making plans for a quick exit, until it was announced that it was the Leader of the Labour Party from 1994-2007. Tony Blair walked into the hall to loud cheers and loud banging.
The above epitomises the revulsion that Mr. Corbyn is held in by 90% of the Jewish community. This is because, as the Community Security Trust has pointed out there is a correlation between increases in anti-Semitism in British society and Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, the fact that he has done nothing to root out anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and because of his past dubious alliances with people holding anti-Semitic views such as his support for Stephen Sizer, a vicar who was suspended from the Church of England for using social media to spread ideas which clearly were anti-Semitic. As the Jewish Leadership Council has written: “Again and again, Jeremy Corbyn has sided with anti-Semites rather than Jews.”
Most shamefully Corbyn has become the poster boy for anti-Semites; no different from Oswald Mosley who actually started his political career as a Labour MP and who was the poster boy for anti-Semites in the 1930s.
Yesterday, Parliament debated anti-Semitism with particular emphasis on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. The question has to be asked, can things change? Not as long as Corbyn remains Leader of the Labour Party. Indeed, the Labour MP John Mann has stated that he does “not know if Corbyn is an anti-Semite or not.” It is only logical to conclude that such an individual is unable to be a ‘militant ally against Anti-Semitism.’
Corbyn talks a good talk, but as the saying action goes “action speaks louder than words.” His activists threaten to deselect Labour MPs who attended the Jewish Community’s demonstration against anti-Semitism outside Parliament last month and what is Corbyn’s stance on this matter, utter silence. Ken Livingstone has still not been expelled for claiming Hitler supported Zionists, and holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists and other fruitcakes either remain in the Party or many of those that have been suspended from the Party on basis of their anti-Semitism have been quietly readmitted, all on his watch.
So where does Left wing anti-Semitism comes from? Well, if the extreme right points the finger to Jews as being part of the revolutionary class, there are those on the left who regard Jews as part of the capitalist class and thus part of the class enemy in their warped thinking. And while criticism of Israel is perfectly acceptable as is criticism of the policies of the governments of the United Kingdom, the problem is that too many on the left can’t control themselves and their criticism of Israel morphs into criticism of Jews, and becomes anti-Semitic.
It leads, for example, to Mr. Corbyn calling Hamas his friends. An organisation that in its charter calls for the murder of Jews or to left wing anti-Zionists using holocaust denial to justify their hatred for Israel. What is going on is a convergence of thinking between the far right and it would seem now the mainstream left as Momentum has almost complete control of the Labour Party.
Until Labour sorts out its anti-Semitism problem, the Conservative Party will become the natural political home for most of Britain’s Jews because just as in the 1960s, one could not expect members of the Black community to vote Conservative when the N word was being routinely in Party circles, so in 2018, Labour can’t expect to receive support from Jewish voters as long as anti-Semitism thrives in the Party.
Ze’ev Portner been a member of the Labour Party for over three decades, but feels that he has no political home anymore and is unable to support Labour as long as Jeremy Corbyn remains Leader. The English Channel.
