The UK Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has failed to take action against hundreds of cases of anti-Semitism by party members despite more than 850 recorded complaints, the Sunday Times reported.
A hard drive obtained by the British weekly newspaper reportedly contained a confidential database of leaked emails and documents that shows how the party’s system for dealing with such complaints was “bedeviled by delays, inaction and interference from the leader’s office,” the Times claimed.
From the 863 charges—registered until March 8, 2019—454 (53 percent) are unresolved, including 249 that the party has not yet begun to investigate. Many of the members yet to be expelled from the party were investigated for posting comments, over a year ago, that read “Heil Hitler,” “F*** the Jews” and “Jews are the problem.”
Of the 409 the cases where a decision was finalized, 191 members received no further action, 145 received a formal warning and only 29 were expelled. Whilst a number of others left the party out of choice.
The party leader’s office was said to have intervened in at least 101 complaints, according to the Times, despite having previously reassured Jewish MP Margaret Hodge that his team would “never” get involved and that the process was free from political interference.
One specific case, among a host detailed by the Times report, said a sitting councilor in Lancashire was welcomed back into the party after ranting about “Jewish” media attacks and the Rothschild family—a frequent reference by those engaging in anti-Semitic rhetoric alluding to stereotypes of Jewish bankers. The unnamed individual claimed she uses the term “Jewish” as a “blanket term of description without racist connotations.”
Another anonymous individual from Manchester was readmitted into to the party despite sharing material that claimed “Jewish Israelis” were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attack in the United States.
In a different case, a Labour official said a council candidate who accused Jewish MP’s of being “Zionist infiltrators” was ruled out for suspension, as being a “candidate” gave him immunity from disciplinary action.
Speaking in response to the Sunday Times exposes, Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson dubbed it a “shocking and depressing” read, adding that the party had “not got to grips with it.”
“Lines have been selectively leaked from emails to misrepresent their overall contents,” the party said.
“The Labour Party takes complaints of anti-Semitism extremely seriously and we are committed to rooting it out. All complaints are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures. We can’t comment on individual cases,” it said.
Since Corbyn assumed leadership of the party in 2015, a series of controversies relating to his seemingly one-sided pro-Palestinian rhetoric and repeated failure to stamp out burgeoning anti-Semitism within his party has led to a tumultuous relationship with British Jewry.
In March, the London Metropolitan police arrested three individuals amid its investigation into anti-Semitic social media posts allegedly originating from members of the Labour party.
The latest controversy to envelop Corbyn erupted after it was reported that he said at a Palestinian Return Center event in 2013 that “Zionists” in Britain “clearly have two problems: they don’t appreciate history or understand English irony.”
His comments implied that “Zionists”—which some interpreted as him using a synonym for “Jews”—don’t understand British ways of thinking even though they grew up in the country.
In the last few months, nine Labour party lawmakers have quit the party, with citing concerns of growing entrenched anti-Semitism in the party ranks.
By Israel Hayom
