Jeremy Corbyn condemns Ken Livingstone’s claim that Hitler backed Zionism
The embattled Labour leader criticised the former Mayor's remarks and the equation of Hitler and Zionism
Jeremy Corbyn has condemned Ken Livingstone’s controversial claims that Adolf Hitler initially backed Zionism.
The Labour leader has come under intense pressure following the remarks by the former London mayor, a close ally who was suspended from the party amid the furore caused by his claim.
Appearing before a House of Commons Home Affairs Committee inquiry into anti-Semitism, Mr Corbyn was asked whether he agreed with Mr Livingstone that the anger over his comments had been whipped up by “embittered Blairites”.
The Labour leader responded: “No I think we have to condemn the way he made the remarks and the remarks themselves and the equation of Hitler and Zionism at the same time.”
Mr Corbyn said Mr Livingstone’s remarks were “wholly unacceptable and totally wrong”. He was suspended from the party within hours and his case was being investigated, he said.
The Labour leader also expressed regret at his choice of words at a press conference launching a Labour report into anti-Semitism which led to claims he was drawing a parallel between Israel and the Islamic State terror group.
Mr Corbyn told the event that Jews were “no more responsible for the actions of Israel” than Muslims were for the “various self-styled Islamic states or organisations”.
The Labour leader said: “It would have been better, with hindsight – and many things are much better with hindsight, as every one of us around this table is well aware – if I had said Islamic countries rather than states.”
At the press conference last week, Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth walked out after an activist accused her of “working hand in glove” with The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Corbyn said he “was not aware she had left at that stage” and added that the comments from Marc Wadsworth which prompted her walkout were “inappropriate and wrong”.
The Labour leader also expressed regret about previously calling Hezbollah and Hamas as his “friends”.
“It was inclusive language I used which, with hindsight, I would rather not have used,” he said. “I regret using those words. I have done so on many occasions.”
Mr Corbyn told the committee he was “alarmed” at reports of anti-Semitic comments made by Labour members since his election as leader in 2015. He said that “appropriate action” had been taken by the party’s compliance unit and fewer than 20 activists had been suspended while their cases were investigated.
Asked if he had ever witnessed anti-Semitism during his time in the party, Mr Corbyn said: “A long time ago, there were sometimes anti-Semitic remarks made. I am talking about when I first joined the party. Over the past years? No. And in my own constituency never, under any circumstances.”
Mr Corbyn said he was “content” at the reinstatement as a Labour member of the vice-chair of the left-wing Momentum pressure group, Jackie Walker, who was suspended earlier this year after saying Jews were the “chief financiers of the slave trade”.
“Jackie Walker is a woman of black Jamaican heritage and European Jewish heritage,” he said. “I think she is somebody that does have a deep understanding of issues of racism that have affected her and her family in her life.”
He said he was not present at the compliance meeting at which Ms Walker explained her comments and did not know what she said, but added: “I am content that she has now been reinstated in the party and that she will now make a positive contribution.”
The committee chairman, Labour MP Keith Vaz, asked Mr Corbyn if he accepted that Jewish groups were “fearful” that he was “fostering a period in the party where anti-Semitism exists”.
Mr Corbyn said: “I think that is deeply unfair and deeply wrong. It’s absolutely the last thing I would want to do.”
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.
