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| Corbyn, antisemitism and a week that tugged at Labour's frayed fabric | Corbyn, antisemitism and a week that tugged at Labour's frayed fabric |
| (25 days later) | |
| It has been a week in which Labour’s post-election truce has been shattered. An ugly row about antisemitism reignited ill-concealed tensions between the party’s left and right which Jeremy Corbyn has been unable to quell despite repeated interventions. | It has been a week in which Labour’s post-election truce has been shattered. An ugly row about antisemitism reignited ill-concealed tensions between the party’s left and right which Jeremy Corbyn has been unable to quell despite repeated interventions. |
| The right of the party has repeatedly highlighted examples of antisemitism within Labour around the country, newly emboldened by a conviction that the instances of abuse simply cannot be defended. Corbyn supporters and allies, meanwhile, sought to rally around the leader at a time at a time when easily found social media postings demonstrate how toxic the issue has become. | The right of the party has repeatedly highlighted examples of antisemitism within Labour around the country, newly emboldened by a conviction that the instances of abuse simply cannot be defended. Corbyn supporters and allies, meanwhile, sought to rally around the leader at a time at a time when easily found social media postings demonstrate how toxic the issue has become. |
| Tensions were already high because of divisions over Corbyn’s response to the Skripal attack. Then Luciana Berger, a Liverpool MP, said last Friday she had asked the leader’s office for a response to a story that had first surfaced in November 2015 and on which he had never before commented: why had he appeared to raise concern about the destruction of an east London mural that clearly had antisemitic overtones, an image that includes several apparently Jewish bankers sitting at a table, dining on the backs of the poor? Labour MPs critical of Corbyn say the issue had periodically been raised in party meetings, claiming the lack of response forced Berger to go public. | Tensions were already high because of divisions over Corbyn’s response to the Skripal attack. Then Luciana Berger, a Liverpool MP, said last Friday she had asked the leader’s office for a response to a story that had first surfaced in November 2015 and on which he had never before commented: why had he appeared to raise concern about the destruction of an east London mural that clearly had antisemitic overtones, an image that includes several apparently Jewish bankers sitting at a table, dining on the backs of the poor? Labour MPs critical of Corbyn say the issue had periodically been raised in party meetings, claiming the lack of response forced Berger to go public. |
| Corbyn and Blair: are they really so very different? | Marina Hyde | |
| That Friday, the focus of the leader’s office was elsewhere. As Berger’s complaint surfaced, a decision was taken to sack Owen Smith after he had called for a second referendum on Brexit. But that was not enough to make the mural issue go away: Corbyn and the leader’s office ended up having to issue four statements of ever-increasing apology (starting with a disastrous assertion that he was defending it on the grounds of free speech) over the following three days. | That Friday, the focus of the leader’s office was elsewhere. As Berger’s complaint surfaced, a decision was taken to sack Owen Smith after he had called for a second referendum on Brexit. But that was not enough to make the mural issue go away: Corbyn and the leader’s office ended up having to issue four statements of ever-increasing apology (starting with a disastrous assertion that he was defending it on the grounds of free speech) over the following three days. |
| By that time the atmosphere had reached a feverish pitch. Jewish groups organised an “Enough is Enough” march on parliament at an event attended by around 50 MPs on Monday. Some of the MPs, such as David Lammy, were abused for going. Lammy was threatened with deselection on a Tottenham constituency Facebook group. Earlier that day, Corbyn condemned antisemitism as “an evil”, the “socialism of fools” but also acknowledged “that antisemitism has surfaced within the Labour party, and has too often been dismissed as simply a matter of a few bad apples”. He said there had been 300 cases since 2015. | By that time the atmosphere had reached a feverish pitch. Jewish groups organised an “Enough is Enough” march on parliament at an event attended by around 50 MPs on Monday. Some of the MPs, such as David Lammy, were abused for going. Lammy was threatened with deselection on a Tottenham constituency Facebook group. Earlier that day, Corbyn condemned antisemitism as “an evil”, the “socialism of fools” but also acknowledged “that antisemitism has surfaced within the Labour party, and has too often been dismissed as simply a matter of a few bad apples”. He said there had been 300 cases since 2015. |
| It was not too difficult to find examples. On Thursday last week, Labour suspended Alan Bull – who until then had been a candidate for May’s elections to Peterborough city council – after the Jewish Chronicle contacted the party to ask why he had been selected despite the fact he had linked on Facebook to an article headlined “International Red Cross report confirms the Holocaust of 6 million Jews is a hoax” last June. | It was not too difficult to find examples. On Thursday last week, Labour suspended Alan Bull – who until then had been a candidate for May’s elections to Peterborough city council – after the Jewish Chronicle contacted the party to ask why he had been selected despite the fact he had linked on Facebook to an article headlined “International Red Cross report confirms the Holocaust of 6 million Jews is a hoax” last June. |
| Among other disputed postings is one dated August 2016 that talks about “a Jew paid by Rothschild who owns Israel and also controls mosadd [sic] who kill people for Israel and Zionism ... people like JFK”. Bull denies antisemitism and says the postings were doctored, although he had been the subject of multiple complaints locally since the summer. However, until the Jewish Chronicle intervened the party did not react. | Among other disputed postings is one dated August 2016 that talks about “a Jew paid by Rothschild who owns Israel and also controls mosadd [sic] who kill people for Israel and Zionism ... people like JFK”. Bull denies antisemitism and says the postings were doctored, although he had been the subject of multiple complaints locally since the summer. However, until the Jewish Chronicle intervened the party did not react. |
| The story might have been much smaller, but for the near-simultaneous row about Corbyn and the mural, and the story rapidly took on a wider significance. Matthew Mahabadi, a sitting councillor in Peterborough, said he made his first complaint to the Eastern regional party in November when he was surprised to discover Bull had been selected as a candidate, and said he would resign rather than sit in the same group as Bull. | The story might have been much smaller, but for the near-simultaneous row about Corbyn and the mural, and the story rapidly took on a wider significance. Matthew Mahabadi, a sitting councillor in Peterborough, said he made his first complaint to the Eastern regional party in November when he was surprised to discover Bull had been selected as a candidate, and said he would resign rather than sit in the same group as Bull. |
| Nothing happened, Mahabadi says. In March, Bull along with other prospective Labour candidates attended the council chamber as an observer. Mahabadi and a colleague Richard Ferris chose to wear T-shirts with the slogan “Labour councillors against antisemitism” after which the two were summoned to a meeting with council colleagues, where they say they were asked if they were “bringing the party into disrepute”. | Nothing happened, Mahabadi says. In March, Bull along with other prospective Labour candidates attended the council chamber as an observer. Mahabadi and a colleague Richard Ferris chose to wear T-shirts with the slogan “Labour councillors against antisemitism” after which the two were summoned to a meeting with council colleagues, where they say they were asked if they were “bringing the party into disrepute”. |
| Mahabadi, speaking to the Guardian, says: “It’s very frustrating it’s taken pressure for the media to get action. He [Bull] should have been expelled.” He says the party’s antisemitism problem has been allowed “to fester under Corbyn. I think he needs to make a stand. I don’t think he’s done enough until now.” | Mahabadi, speaking to the Guardian, says: “It’s very frustrating it’s taken pressure for the media to get action. He [Bull] should have been expelled.” He says the party’s antisemitism problem has been allowed “to fester under Corbyn. I think he needs to make a stand. I don’t think he’s done enough until now.” |
| But not everybody agrees. A blogpost last week written by Tony Greenstein, a former Labour member who was expelled in February but remains close to some in the party, said Bull was a victim of “fake antisemitism” and “malicious allegations” from “two far-right Labour councillors”, meaning Ferris and Mahabadi. Mahabadi rejects these claims. | But not everybody agrees. A blogpost last week written by Tony Greenstein, a former Labour member who was expelled in February but remains close to some in the party, said Bull was a victim of “fake antisemitism” and “malicious allegations” from “two far-right Labour councillors”, meaning Ferris and Mahabadi. Mahabadi rejects these claims. |
| That was not all. Christine Shawcroft, a Corbyn supporter and longstanding party leftist, who had only just become chair of Labour’s powerful disputes panel, was forced to resign after an email sent to colleagues on the leftwing caucus on Labour’s ruling NEC leaked. In a message she sent to people she thought of as allies, Shawcroft said she was concerned to hear about Bull’s suspension, argued that the original Facebook post had been “taken completely out of context”, and warned there were “elements of the local party [that] wanted him suspended”. She argued he should simply be reinstated. | That was not all. Christine Shawcroft, a Corbyn supporter and longstanding party leftist, who had only just become chair of Labour’s powerful disputes panel, was forced to resign after an email sent to colleagues on the leftwing caucus on Labour’s ruling NEC leaked. In a message she sent to people she thought of as allies, Shawcroft said she was concerned to hear about Bull’s suspension, argued that the original Facebook post had been “taken completely out of context”, and warned there were “elements of the local party [that] wanted him suspended”. She argued he should simply be reinstated. |
| Corbyn asked her to step down as panel chair, and she was forced to apologise. But Shawcroft remains a member the NEC, prompting 39 Labour politicians led by Siobhain McDonagh MP to submit an open letter saying it was “highly offensive” to the Jewish community that she remained on the governing body at all – another example of how personalised the subject has become. On Friday, Shawcroft hit back on Facebook, saying she was “not a Holocaust denier” and the row is “being stirred up to attack Jeremy”. | Corbyn asked her to step down as panel chair, and she was forced to apologise. But Shawcroft remains a member the NEC, prompting 39 Labour politicians led by Siobhain McDonagh MP to submit an open letter saying it was “highly offensive” to the Jewish community that she remained on the governing body at all – another example of how personalised the subject has become. On Friday, Shawcroft hit back on Facebook, saying she was “not a Holocaust denier” and the row is “being stirred up to attack Jeremy”. |
| The Bull case, though, is just one one of a string of complaints that are clogging up Labour’s slow-moving disciplinary system, in which cases take two years or longer to conclude, and which is now one of the most important issues facing the party’s new general secretary and Corbyn ally, Jennie Formby, when she starts in post next week. The most notable case is that of Ken Livingstone, the former London mayor who has been suspended since April 2016, after giving interviews arguing that Hitler supported Zionism in the early 1930s. | The Bull case, though, is just one one of a string of complaints that are clogging up Labour’s slow-moving disciplinary system, in which cases take two years or longer to conclude, and which is now one of the most important issues facing the party’s new general secretary and Corbyn ally, Jennie Formby, when she starts in post next week. The most notable case is that of Ken Livingstone, the former London mayor who has been suspended since April 2016, after giving interviews arguing that Hitler supported Zionism in the early 1930s. |
| There are 70 others too, each of which is the subject of a fraught local battle in which an aspect of the defence of the individual accused is that they are a victim of internal politicking. It is an idea that has a wider resonance: the group Labour Against the Witch-hunt promises to counter “the cynical protest” by the party’s Campaign Against Antisemitism next week, and accuses those calling out antisemitism as “hellbent on continuing to undermine Jeremy Corbyn”. | There are 70 others too, each of which is the subject of a fraught local battle in which an aspect of the defence of the individual accused is that they are a victim of internal politicking. It is an idea that has a wider resonance: the group Labour Against the Witch-hunt promises to counter “the cynical protest” by the party’s Campaign Against Antisemitism next week, and accuses those calling out antisemitism as “hellbent on continuing to undermine Jeremy Corbyn”. |
| On top of all this remains Jeremy Corbyn, presiding over a fractious party, coming into local elections where some Labour candidates in areas with a strong Jewish population say they are facing a hostile reception on the doorsteps after this week’s events. In response, there is a recognition at the top that the party’s disciplinary processes need to be professionalised and depoliticised, and that there needs to be wider party-led political education on the issue. | On top of all this remains Jeremy Corbyn, presiding over a fractious party, coming into local elections where some Labour candidates in areas with a strong Jewish population say they are facing a hostile reception on the doorsteps after this week’s events. In response, there is a recognition at the top that the party’s disciplinary processes need to be professionalised and depoliticised, and that there needs to be wider party-led political education on the issue. |
| There is clear frustration at the conduct of some in the party who undoubtedly damage the brand – but also unhappiness among those who say the antisemitism issue is being used as a device to attack Corbyn. With parliament in recess and the local elections looming, antisemitism may drop down the news agenda, but it is unlikely to be far below the surface until the party can show it can fairly and effectively deal with allegations as they emerge. | There is clear frustration at the conduct of some in the party who undoubtedly damage the brand – but also unhappiness among those who say the antisemitism issue is being used as a device to attack Corbyn. With parliament in recess and the local elections looming, antisemitism may drop down the news agenda, but it is unlikely to be far below the surface until the party can show it can fairly and effectively deal with allegations as they emerge. |
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