300 Labour members apologise for ‘normalised anti-Jewish oppression’
search
home page

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here
More issues

300 Labour members apologise for ‘normalised anti-Jewish oppression’

Hard-hitting open letter acknowledges “currents of unchallenged” antisemitism in the left-wing of British politics.

By Jewish News Reporter February 28, 2019, 1:13 pm Edit
Jeremy Corbyn. Photo credit: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Jeremy Corbyn. Photo credit: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Almost 300 Constituency Labour Party members have signed an open letter acknowledging “currents of unchallenged and somewhat normalised anti-Jewish oppression” in the left-wing of British politics.
CLP members across the country admitted “our collective failure to-date” and urged colleagues to help put an end to the “bunker mentality” and start naming and shaming online antisemites “wreaking havoc” for Labour.
Signatories said they supported Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his leadership’s socialist programme while standing for anti-racist principles, and offered to work with the Jewish community “to expose and isolate antisemites” online.
However, the letter also acknowledged that “part of the difficulty” has been that those seeking to criticise Israel legitimately have been labelled as antisemitic.
In it, they said: “We sincerely apologise to the Jewish community, and our Jewish comrades in the party, for our collective failure on this issue to date. A small minority of antisemites are wreaking havoc in the Labour movement, alienating Jewish people, and sabotaging the project.”
In a snub to those who say the crisis has been manufactured to smear Corbyn, they added: “There is a much wider problem of denial about the problem, including shouting down those who raise it or take action.”
Pledging to “work with the party to urgently assign resources, in consultation with the Jewish community, to expose and isolate antisemites active online,” the signatories suggested “a dedicated page on the Labour Party website addressing antisemitism”.
They also urged the party to “address both new and outstanding cases in a timely manner and raise up Jewish voices speaking out about their experiences”.
Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

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.

Read more

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.

read more: