Oxford Uni Labour Club ‘anti-Semitism’ report due this week
Baroness Jan Royall to present findings of investigation launched in February.
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
A report into claims of intimidation of Jewish students at Oxford University Labour Club will be presented to the party’s governing body this week.
Baroness Jan Royall, Labour’s former leader in the House of Lords, will present the findings of an investigation launched at the end of February.
The probe was launched after the club’s former co-chair Alex Chalmers resigned, claiming the many of its members had some “kind of problem with Jews”. His move came after it endorsed a motion supporting Israel Apartheid Week.
It is not known whether the report will be made public after it is presenting to the national executive committee on Tuesday. Jeremy Corbyn’s office have previously said its findings would be fed into the wider inquiry into anti-Semitism he announced two weeks ago.
Chalmers said at the time the club had become “increasingly riven by factional splits, and despite its avowed commitment to liberation, the attitudes of certain members of the club towards certain disadvantaged groups was becoming poisonous”.
He also claimed Students had used the term “Zio” with “casual abandon” and defended the tactics of terror group Hamas.
Labour Students had originally conducted an inquiry into the allegations surrounding Oxford, announcing plans to publish it within days – something which never happened after it was announced the findings would be fed into the Royall probe.
Writing in Jewish News, Former shadow cabinet members Michael Dugher and Rachel Reeves called at the time for the Students report to be published “immediately in the interests of transparently”. Doing so, they insisted, would “demonstrate beyond all doubt the seriousness with which we take these allegations”.
Labour Friends of Israel also expressed concern that the Royall investigation would also look into allegations and counter allegations around the Labour Youth Elections.
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