Chakrabarti: Better to make human rights arguments without Nazi references
Labour's shadow attorney general who conducted an investigation into antisemitism in the party makes comments on Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday show
It is better to make human rights arguments without referring to Nazis, the chairman of Labour’s anti-Semitism inquiry has suggested.
Shami Chakrabarti, who is shadow attorney general for England and Wales, chaired an inquiry into anti-Semitism in 2016, but the issue has continued to raise hackles, with Jewish Labour MP Margaret Hodge condemning party leader Jeremy Corbyn as a “racist anti-Semite” over the summer.
Speaking on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show, Baroness Chakrabarti was reminded of her report into anti-Semitism, where she said “it’s always incendiary to compare the actions of Jewish people or institutions to those of Hitler or the Nazis”.
Ms Ridge asked the Labour peer whether Mr Corbyn’s comparison of Palestinians being under Israeli occupation was acceptable under her own definition.
Baroness Chakrabarti said her aim was to guide people making “very important arguments” in how to do so without “just automatically getting people’s backs up”.
Defending Mr Corbyn as a “lifelong human rights defender” who was “quite right to draw people’s attention to the plight of the Palestinians”, she nevertheless stood by her advice.
She said: “I think that it is better, if possible – given the rise of the far right, given the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe – it is better to make those human rights arguments without comparison to the Nazis.”
Ms Ridge also pressed her on the re-election of Peter Willsman to Labour’s National Executive Committee despite a bizarre rant where he blamed Jewish “Trump fanatics” for the anti-Semitism row.
Baroness Chakrabarti said she stood by her previous comments that there was a real issue of anti-Semitism, even though some people would not have experienced it personally.
“Well guess what?” she said. “If you’re not Jewish you are not going to necessarily have personally experienced it and maybe you have been insensitive to it or maybe you are just speaking from your own personal experience.
“The thing about racism of any kind or frankly misogyny or any other kind of discrimination or hate, the thing about it is that you’ve got to try and listen to the broader experience.
“You’ve got to try to understand things that you have not experienced yourself and that’s what I was trying to advocate then and continue to advocate now.”
Adding she would “possibly” have felt more comfortable had Mr Willsman not been re-elected, she said people should be given the chance to “reflect and learn and change and be more sensitive”.
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.
