Protesters ‘bait and goad’ Labour Friends of Israel at conference
Three cases of anti-Semitic language and harassment have been formally reported to the party.
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
Cases of anti-Semitic language and harassment against those manning Labour Friends of Israel’s stand at conference have been formally reported to the party.
Three separate incidents took place at the stall at the Liverpool Convention Centre, LFI’s chair Joan Ryan confirmed to Jewish News.
Aaron Simons wrote on Twitter than he was approached by a man who indulged in “small talk” before adding: “Wasn’t there a Jewish plot to oust Jeremy Corbyn?”
Ryan herself said she reported anti-Semitic rhetoric after one visitor to the stall pressed her for 20 minutes on the group’s work and what it was doing about the “borders”.
“The woman said ‘you could do a lot more about the borders. Groups like this are very rich. They have a lot of money and power’. I told her she was being anti-Semitic. She said it is the truth.” A video was later placed online covering the final minutes of their conversation by which time Ryan was late for the tribute to MP Jo Cox.
After she had gone into the hall, its claimed, the woman returned with a man and started taking pictures of Ryan’s 22-year-old staffer.
“I was happy to discuss the situation rationally but there’s no place for behaviour like that at conference. They’re trying to bait and goad,” said Ryan. She said, however, there had been “a steady stream” of people signing up for LFI’s email updates through the first day.
It came on the same day that leaflets were handed out outside the Momentum conference claiming the Jewish Labour Movement acts as a “representative of a foreign power” and calling for it to be disaffiliated. The leaflets carried the name of the Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.
Ilford North MP Wes Streeting said the claim was not “ambiguous… this is classic anti-Semitic troupe”.
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