Wednesday, September 05, 2018
Labour fail to completely clear anti-semitism hurdle
If there was a prize for scoring own goals then Jeremy Corbyn would win it hands down. For just as the Labour NEC finally adopted the all internationally recognised definitions of anti-Semitism, the Labour leader pitched in with an attempt to introduce caveats that would have undermined the whole exercise.
As the Independent reports, Corbyn, in a rare defeat, was forced to withdraw a further statement, because he lacked support, which argued it should not be “regarded as anti-Semitic to describe Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist”.
That still left those campaigning for change with what they wanted, but the fact that it was the Labour leader who was behind such a toxic amendment effectively devalued the whole exercise. The Jewish Leadership Council accused Corbyn of attempting to undermine the IHRA definition and said its first assessment was based on a disingenuous presentation of what had been agreed.
They and others also attacked the caveat that was agreed by the NEC, a statement which “ensures this will not in any way undermine freedom of expression on Israel or the rights of Palestinians”. Labour Against Antisemitism, described the “freedom of expression” statement as “a get out of jail card”:
“There can be no caveats, no conditions and no compromises with racism,” a spokesman said.
“The NEC has been told repeatedly that it needs to adopt the IHRA in full, without caveats or conditions, if it wants the Labour Party to begin the process of dealing with its antisemitism crisis.
“It has ignored the requests of the Jewish community and denied the fundamental right of that community to define its own discrimination.”
Labour Friends of Israel echoed the criticism, saying: “A ‘freedom of expression on Israel’ clause is unnecessary and totally undermines the other examples the party has supposedly just adopted.”
After initially welcoming the decision, the Jewish Leadership Council accused Mr Corbyn of attempting to undermine the IHRA definition and said its first assessment was based on a disingenuous presentation of what had been agreed.
Chief executive Simon Johnson said: “It has now become absolutely clear that the leader of the party attempted shamefully to undermine the entire IHRA definition.
“The ‘free speech caveat’ drives a coach and horses through the IHRA definition. It will do nothing to stop antisemitism in the party.
“Now that the NEC has undermined the definition, it is clearly more important to the Labour leader to protect the free speech of those who hate Israel than it is to protect the Jewish community from the real threats that it faces.”
Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP who branded Mr Corbyn a “racist and anti-Semite” in a confrontation in July, called it “two steps forward and one step back”.
The test now will be whether the adoption of the code leads Labour to take more effective action against members accused of anti-Semitism. It is likely though that Corbyn's attempt to water down the new definition and the NEC caveat will continue to make things difficult for Labour amongst the Jewish community.
As the Independent reports, Corbyn, in a rare defeat, was forced to withdraw a further statement, because he lacked support, which argued it should not be “regarded as anti-Semitic to describe Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist”.
That still left those campaigning for change with what they wanted, but the fact that it was the Labour leader who was behind such a toxic amendment effectively devalued the whole exercise. The Jewish Leadership Council accused Corbyn of attempting to undermine the IHRA definition and said its first assessment was based on a disingenuous presentation of what had been agreed.
They and others also attacked the caveat that was agreed by the NEC, a statement which “ensures this will not in any way undermine freedom of expression on Israel or the rights of Palestinians”. Labour Against Antisemitism, described the “freedom of expression” statement as “a get out of jail card”:
“There can be no caveats, no conditions and no compromises with racism,” a spokesman said.
“The NEC has been told repeatedly that it needs to adopt the IHRA in full, without caveats or conditions, if it wants the Labour Party to begin the process of dealing with its antisemitism crisis.
“It has ignored the requests of the Jewish community and denied the fundamental right of that community to define its own discrimination.”
Labour Friends of Israel echoed the criticism, saying: “A ‘freedom of expression on Israel’ clause is unnecessary and totally undermines the other examples the party has supposedly just adopted.”
After initially welcoming the decision, the Jewish Leadership Council accused Mr Corbyn of attempting to undermine the IHRA definition and said its first assessment was based on a disingenuous presentation of what had been agreed.
Chief executive Simon Johnson said: “It has now become absolutely clear that the leader of the party attempted shamefully to undermine the entire IHRA definition.
“The ‘free speech caveat’ drives a coach and horses through the IHRA definition. It will do nothing to stop antisemitism in the party.
“Now that the NEC has undermined the definition, it is clearly more important to the Labour leader to protect the free speech of those who hate Israel than it is to protect the Jewish community from the real threats that it faces.”
Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP who branded Mr Corbyn a “racist and anti-Semite” in a confrontation in July, called it “two steps forward and one step back”.
The test now will be whether the adoption of the code leads Labour to take more effective action against members accused of anti-Semitism. It is likely though that Corbyn's attempt to water down the new definition and the NEC caveat will continue to make things difficult for Labour amongst the Jewish community.
