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| Jeremy Corbyn expected to make speech on Labour's antisemitism crisis | Jeremy Corbyn expected to make speech on Labour's antisemitism crisis |
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| Jeremy Corbyn is expected to make a speech next week to address Labour’s ongoing crisis over antisemitism, amid increasing divisions in the party over how to tackle the issue. | Jeremy Corbyn is expected to make a speech next week to address Labour’s ongoing crisis over antisemitism, amid increasing divisions in the party over how to tackle the issue. |
| The Labour leader had reportedly planned initially to speak on Friday, with London’s Jewish Museum approached as a venue. The museum told the Jewish Chronicle it had been approached, but that no agreement had yet been reached. | The Labour leader had reportedly planned initially to speak on Friday, with London’s Jewish Museum approached as a venue. The museum told the Jewish Chronicle it had been approached, but that no agreement had yet been reached. |
| Corbyn’s office said only that no speech was taking place on Friday. However, a party source said there was a plan for him to speak on antisemitism, and it was a matter of finding an “appropriate” venue, with the expectation this would happen next week. | Corbyn’s office said only that no speech was taking place on Friday. However, a party source said there was a plan for him to speak on antisemitism, and it was a matter of finding an “appropriate” venue, with the expectation this would happen next week. |
| Abigail Morris, the Jewish Museum’s chief executive, told the Jewish Chronicle that it would be very open to hosting the speech if it was “done carefully and sensitively”. She said the apparent plan would be to invite representatives of the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council. | Abigail Morris, the Jewish Museum’s chief executive, told the Jewish Chronicle that it would be very open to hosting the speech if it was “done carefully and sensitively”. She said the apparent plan would be to invite representatives of the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council. |
| After the initial story was published she said that an event was more likely to take place next week. | After the initial story was published she said that an event was more likely to take place next week. |
| Such an event would mark a significant moment in Labour’s attempts to get to grips with an issue that has seen widespread concern among many Jewish groups, as well as accusations that Corbyn has avoided confronting the problem. | Such an event would mark a significant moment in Labour’s attempts to get to grips with an issue that has seen widespread concern among many Jewish groups, as well as accusations that Corbyn has avoided confronting the problem. |
| Illustrating the tensions surrounding the plan, Stephen Pollard, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, tweeted on Thursday that he had received many messages from people “all saying the same thing: if [the Jewish museum] hosts Corbyn next week, they will never set foot in it again.” | Illustrating the tensions surrounding the plan, Stephen Pollard, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, tweeted on Thursday that he had received many messages from people “all saying the same thing: if [the Jewish museum] hosts Corbyn next week, they will never set foot in it again.” |
| Last week the three biggest Jewish newspapers in Britain published unprecedented joint front-page editorials saying a Corbyn government would pose an “existential threat” to Jewish life in the UK. | Last week the three biggest Jewish newspapers in Britain published unprecedented joint front-page editorials saying a Corbyn government would pose an “existential threat” to Jewish life in the UK. |
| It followed the decision by Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) to adopt the text defining antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the most commonly used international standard, but not all the associated examples. | It followed the decision by Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) to adopt the text defining antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the most commonly used international standard, but not all the associated examples. |
| Two Labour MPs, Margaret Hodge and Ian Austin, have received disciplinary letters after condemning the decision, with the party alleging they did so abusively. | |
| The row has spilled also over into ongoing elections for the NEC following comments by Peter Willsman, a Corbyn ally who was recorded suggesting that Jewish “Trump fanatics” could be behind accusations of antisemitism in the party’s ranks. | |
| Momentum, the Corbyn-supporting grassroots group, has since removed its support for Willsman to return to the NEC. This prompted the head of the Fire Brigades Union, Matt Wrack, to accuse Jon Lansman, Momentum’s founder, of “bottling it” and “cowardly” behaviour. | Momentum, the Corbyn-supporting grassroots group, has since removed its support for Willsman to return to the NEC. This prompted the head of the Fire Brigades Union, Matt Wrack, to accuse Jon Lansman, Momentum’s founder, of “bottling it” and “cowardly” behaviour. |
| Momentum removed Willsman from its “JC9” slate for re-election. Willsman apologised for the remarks and agreed to take part in equality training, but remains a candidate and has not been directly criticised by Corbyn. | Momentum removed Willsman from its “JC9” slate for re-election. Willsman apologised for the remarks and agreed to take part in equality training, but remains a candidate and has not been directly criticised by Corbyn. |
| Wrack, who is a senior member of Momentum, told the Guardian that the decision to remove Willsman from the Momentum slate was “inept, cowardly and completely arbitrary”. He said: “I listened to that recording of Willsman. It was an angry rant, and not antisemitic at all.” | Wrack, who is a senior member of Momentum, told the Guardian that the decision to remove Willsman from the Momentum slate was “inept, cowardly and completely arbitrary”. He said: “I listened to that recording of Willsman. It was an angry rant, and not antisemitic at all.” |
| He added: “Corbyn will not survive in government if we bottle it at the first sign of pressure as Momentum seems to have done on this occasion.” | He added: “Corbyn will not survive in government if we bottle it at the first sign of pressure as Momentum seems to have done on this occasion.” |
| Corbyn’s office has been described by activists as “under siege” from a stream of allegations of insensitivity to antisemitism that have intensified over the last week. | Corbyn’s office has been described by activists as “under siege” from a stream of allegations of insensitivity to antisemitism that have intensified over the last week. |
| On Wednesday, the Guardian disclosed that John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, praised the founding of a controversial anti-Zionist network that has been accused of antisemitism, saying it had given a voice to Jews who condemned Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinians. McDonnell said on Wednesday he did not endorse all of the group’s views. | On Wednesday, the Guardian disclosed that John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, praised the founding of a controversial anti-Zionist network that has been accused of antisemitism, saying it had given a voice to Jews who condemned Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinians. McDonnell said on Wednesday he did not endorse all of the group’s views. |
| Corbyn also faced criticism after it emerged he had compared the longevity of the situation in Gaza with the Nazi sieges of Soviet cities during the second world war. He told a rally outside parliament in 2010: “I was in Gaza three months ago. I saw … the psychological damage to a whole generation, who’ve been imprisoned for as long as the siege of Leningrad and Stalingrad took place.” | Corbyn also faced criticism after it emerged he had compared the longevity of the situation in Gaza with the Nazi sieges of Soviet cities during the second world war. He told a rally outside parliament in 2010: “I was in Gaza three months ago. I saw … the psychological damage to a whole generation, who’ve been imprisoned for as long as the siege of Leningrad and Stalingrad took place.” |
| A party spokesman said Corbyn was not comparing the actions of Israelis with Nazis but the conditions of civilian populations in besieged cities in wartime. | A party spokesman said Corbyn was not comparing the actions of Israelis with Nazis but the conditions of civilian populations in besieged cities in wartime. |
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