Once the political home for many British Jews, the Labour Party now faces a systemic anti-Semitism crisis. Leader Jeremy Corbyn fundamentally altered the Labour Party in 2015. His rise to leadership was accompanied by an affinity for Britain’s radical leftists and Marx supporters, including fervent anti-Zionists and pro-Palestinian sympathizers.
However, Corbyn and other Labour members have been accused of much more than merely criticizing the right-leaning government of Israel. Allegations range from Corbyn’s ties to Deir Yassin Remembered, an anti-Israel organization led by a Holocaust denier, to Corbyn’s hosting a 2010 panel wherein Israelis were compared to Nazis. At National Review last month, David Harsanyi wrote that a 2018 review of online posts by Labour Party Parliament members found “examples of Holocaust denial, crude stereotypes of Jewish bankers, conspiracy theories blaming 9/11 on Israel, and even one individual who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood.”
Equally as concerning is Corbyn’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist groups that specifically call for the destruction of Israel. In a 2009 speech in London, Corbyn notably described these groups as his “friends.” His ultimate apology for that comment was overshadowed by his voluntary attendance at a 2012 Qatar conference that featured Palestinian militants previously imprisoned by Israel for perpetuating terror attacks against civilians. Corbyn described the terrorists’ comments as “fascinating and electrifying.”
In 2011, Corbyn famously blamed the “Zionist lobby” for procuring the deportation of the Islamist cleric notorious for promoting the infamous blood libel conspiracy, Raed Salah. The blood libel helped fuel the Nazis’ genocidal, anti-Jewish crusades during the Holocaust. Salah was convicted in Israel for inciting violence and racism with statements like “whoever wants a more thorough explanation, let him ask what used to happen to some children in Europe, whose blood was mixed in with the dough of the (Jewish) holy bread.” Corbyn defended Salah, stating that it was “time that Western governments stood up to the Zionist lobby which seems to conflate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.”
Last month, Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, made an unprecedented intervention in the United Kingdom’s political arena. He spelled out the anti-Jewish racism that has fully enveloped the Corbyn-led Labour Party.
On Sunday, the Simon Wiesenthal Center named Corbyn as its top anti-Semite of 2019. Rabbi Marvin Hier, head of the Center, warned that if Corbyn wins, he would “make Britain a pariah on the world stage,” adding that “to have a person seeking the highest office who ignored anti-Semitism for years, who did everything in his power to encourage it, is shocking.”
Last year, Corbyn’s Labour Party refused to accept the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) internationally endorsed definition of anti-Semitism. Instead, the Party constructed a revised version, omitting the description of the “dual loyalties” trope as anti-Semitic. The amended version also intentionally left out the notion that comparing Israeli policy to that of the Nazis is inherently anti-Semitic.
Public outrage has recently forced Corbyn to apologize to the United Kingdom’s Jewish community. Corbyn stated he was “sorry for everything that has happened,” referring to the heightening tensions between the Labour Party and British Jews. The apology did not include a pledge to recognize the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism, however.
David Harsanyi perfectly summarized the dire threat Jeremy Corbyn poses to Britain when he wrote that “Corbyn hasn’t merely ‘tolerated’ anti-Semitic attitudes. He has actively transformed Labour into a safe haven for Jew hatred.” Corbyn’s watered-down apology cannot overturn the years of blatant and dangerous anti-Semitic rhetoric that has fueled the Labour Party under his leadership. Britain’s Jewish community must duly consider the chief rabbi’s unprecedented warnings and take a stand against Corbyn’s possible election.
Maya Carlin is an M.A. candidate in counter-terrorism and homeland security at IDC Herzliya’s Lauder School of Government in Israel. She is also associate producer and analyst at the Center for Security Policy, located in Washington D.C.