Jeremy Corbyn condemns ‘appalling’ anti-Semitic abuse at Jewish MP
Labour leader laments stream of 'disgusting prejudice' levelled at Alex Sobel, after his speech to parliament for Holocaust Memorial Day
Jeremy Corbyn has condemned “appalling” anti-Semitic abuse targeted at a Jewish MP, following his speech to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in parliament.
The Labour leader urged people to call out the ‘disgusting prejudice’ aimed at Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds North West.
The Jewish politician had addressed the House of Commons last week with an emotional speech – retelling the story of his family’s trauma in the Holocaust.
He said the Holocaust casts a “dark spectre” over his family with “all the relatives I never met, that never survived, the children they never had”.
His voiced cracked as he recalled asking his Tel Aviv-born father why his great aunt had numbers tattooed on her arm.
Sobel’s remarks came during a debate focused on Holocaust Memorial Day, but this was overshadowed by a stream of anti-Semitic abuse he received.
A video of the speech was posted on Channel 4’s Facebook page which received nearly 120,000 views. Abuse was posted in the comments section, with one user writing: “Lies lies lies… increase sympathy for apartheid Israel whilst over 70% of the world see them for who they are…….Good luck marrying into a zionist family, you are not one of them nor in their little elite club”.
Other abusive remarks called his story “b******s*”, “fake news”, and told him to “give it a rest”.
Labour’s leader Jeremy Corbyn took to Twitter to condemn the hateful responses to his speech, saying: “Appalling that Alex Sobel has received a stream of antisemitic abuse online after Channel 4 posted a video of his speech to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. We must root out this disgusting prejudice from our society.”
Appalling that @AlexSobel has received a stream of antisemitic abuse online after Channel 4 posted a video of his speech to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. We must root out this disgusting prejudice from our society.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 24, 2018
A Jewish Labour Movement spokesperson said: “Sadly, Jewish Labour MPs are subject to an abhorrent volume of antisemitic abuse. It is encouraging that Jeremy Corbyn, along with many other Labour figures have expressed their solidarity with Alex and condemned this abuse.”
Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, the Leeds North West MP said: “When I started as an MP, I was advised to ‘never read the comments’ – but when you see several hundred comments underneath a video of a speech that is so personal, it is hard not to scratch the itch. I was amazed how quickly I was dehumanised and my family stories were dismissed by those who like to hide behind social media. As an MP, I expect to receive a certain amount of abuse, especially online, but it did highlight to me the danger of such a mentality and its potential impact on vulnerable people.”
You can watch Alex’s speech here:
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.
