Corbyn shared stage with academic who said Israel uses Holocaust “to justify its murder”
Jeremy Corbyn courted yet more controversy this week, as he shared a stage with a Palestinian academic who says Israel uses the Holocaust “to justify its murder of Palestine”.
Dr. Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK until 2008, lined up with Corbyn for photos at the Labour Friends of Palestine fringe event on Monday, as the new Labour leader said his views on the Middle East remained unchanged.
Zomlot made the inflammatory claims on BBC radio last year, shortly after Islamic State, or ISIS, had filmed and published the beheading of an American freelance photographer James Foley.
At first Zomlot appeared to question the Holocaust itself, using the word “fabricated” in the 24 August recording. He later clarified that Israel was using both the Holocaust and the brutal murder of Western journalists by ISIS to justify its actions against Palestinians.
Citing Israeli ministers’ defence of “expansion, colonialism, occupation and siege,” Zomlot says: “They are fabricating all these stories about beheading journalists in Iraq… as if they are fabricating also the story of the Holocaust, that it happened in Europe, not the story itself, but the reason why they are doing this, and using so many other examples to justify their murder of a nation.”
Zomlot is co-founder and coordinator of the Palestine Strategy Group and has worked at the United Nations, the London School of Economics and the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
