Chris Williamson: ‘A hostile foreign government has mobilised its assets in UK’
Former Labour MP launches extraordinary Twitter attack against 'hostile' Israeli diplomats, and claims to have won his legal battle against his ex-party
Former Labour MP Chris Williamson has launched an astonishing attack on “hostile” Israeli diplomats in a video posted to his Twitter account, in which he claimed to have won his legal battle against the Party.
Contrary to reports last month, he said Labour had been ordered to pay his legal costs for “unlawfully” re-suspending him, and promised to use the money to set up a fund for those he said had been subject to “manufactured antisemitism smears”.
Williamson lost his deposit in Derby North last week after winning only 635 seats while standing as an independent. Labour had earlier suspended him after he said the Party had been too apologetic when it came to antisemitism.
In his latest broadside, posted to Twitter, he said: “A hostile foreign government has mobilised its assets in the UK – which Israeli diplomats call their ‘power multiplier’ – in an attempt to prevent a Corbyn-led Labour government.”
He added: “Their secondary goal was always to blunt the internationalism in our movement and normalise Zionism in the Labour Party. They’ve done this by terrifying activists, coordinating with anti-Corbyn journalists and MPs, and using faith organisations, many of them charities, to promote the antisemitism narrative.
“First they said ‘anti-Zionism is antisemitism,’ then they said ‘anti-capitalism is antisemitism.’ In this election they’ve sought to prevent dozens of anti-imperialist socialists from standing for Labour.”
He continued: “Instead of fighting interference in our election, and calling out this outrageous assault on our democracy, the Labour Party has internalised the narrative promoted by the far-right Israeli government.”
In the video posted online on Tuesday, he added that he would not let “apologists for apartheid” dictate what it means to be anti-racist before vowing to use the money raised by crowd-funding to set up the Left Legal Fighting Fund.
Williamson claimed that his High Court victory was won “weeks ago” but said: “I’m announcing it now as I hoped to spare Labour adverse publicity during the election.”
CONCLUSIVE
I defeated Labour's broken bureaucracy in the High Court: they must now pay all my costs, which will help establish a Left Legal Fighting Fund.
Whilst the decision came weeks ago, I'm announcing it now as I hoped to spare Labour adverse publicity during the election. pic.twitter.com/ANu7Yhwrmq
— Chris Williamson #GTTO (@DerbyChrisW) December 17, 2019
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.
