Labour and Anti-Semitism

None of Britain's major parties can afford to be complacent about any form of racism, be it Anti-Semitism, prejudice against Muslims, or any other type of bigotry.

I don't think any of our parties are 100% free of all of them and we all need to be on the watch to ensure our parties remain tolerant and inclusive.

However, only the most partisan Labour supporter can dispute that Labour has a particularly serious problem with Anti-Semitism, and the failure of the current party organisation to deal with it is beginning to alarm not just opponents of the leadership but even some of Jeremy Corbyn's most loyal allies.

As a case in point, the re-admission of the egregious Chris Williamson, the MP for Derby North and a man who makes John McDonnell look like Andy Pandy, has horrified more than a hundred and twenty Labour parliamentarians. Williamson had been suspended after suggesting that Labour had been "too apologetic" over Anti-Semitism but a three-person disciplinary panel voted to allow the Derby North MP back into the parliamentary party and let him off with a reprimand. Apparently (according to the Guardian) this was against the advice of the party investigators who had recommended a more serious sanction.

The Jewish Chronicle's rap sheet against Mr Williamson which you can find here gives chapter and verse for how
  • He has repeatedly sought to downplay or dismiss antisemitism in the Labour party. 
  • He has repeatedly supported and defended individuals who have made deeply controversial and sometimes overtly Anti-Semitic statements. 
  • He has gone out of his way to attack one of the Jewish community’s key representative organisations. (The Board of Deputies of British Jews.)
It's not just the Jewish Chronicle who have problems with Mr Williamson.

121 Labour MPs and peers, led by the Deputy Leader Tom Watson, have signed an open statementr which says that they could not “overstate the depth and breadth of hurt and anger felt about the readmission of Chris Williamson into the Labour party”

and adds

 “We call on Jeremy Corbyn to show leadership by asking for this inappropriate, offensive and reputationally damaging decision to be overturned and reviewed.

“Ultimately, it is for Jeremy Corbyn to decide whether Chris Williamson retains the Labour whip. He must remove it immediately if we are to stand any hope of persuading anyone that the Labour party is taking antisemitism seriously.”

Needless to say some Corbynistas are defending Williamson, accusing the people who signed the statement of not being real socialists and being out to sabotage Jeremy Corbyn, etc etc. But this argument does not hold water.

Because one of the people saying that Williamson must go is the founder of Momentum, Jon Lansman, – one of Corbyn’s oldest allies – who accused Williamson of showing “contempt” for the panel’s ruling after the Derby North MP tweeted that he had received an “avalanche” of support from grassroots members.

In response, Lansman tweeted:

“This tweet reveals not one iota of contrition nor any acknowledgement of wrongdoing following a further formal warning from the Labour party for behaviour grossly detrimental to the party. Such contempt for the party’s verdict! He has to go!” 

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