Theresa May slams Labour for fostering anti-Semitic views and for ‘turning a blind eye’ to problems
The PM attacked Labour's Tom Watson for failing to tackle the issues within the party, and giving a rendition of a Jewish song at Labour conference
THERESA May has slammed the Labour party for fostering "twisted" anti-Semitic views and for "turning a blind eye" to the problems within its own ranks.
The Prime Minister launched a blistering attack on the opposition in a speech to the Conservative Friends of Israel lunch.
She mocked Labour's deputy leader, Tom Watson, for giving a rendition of Am Yisrael Chai at the Labour friends of Israel event at their party conference.
"No amount of karaoke can make up for turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism," she insisted.
She said that the Labour Party and "their hard-left allies" had displayed unacceptable anti-Semitic views, and that they were ignoring what was happening within their own ranks.
The PM said that her Government was taking a firm stance to crack down on anti-Semitic abuse, and condemned the rise of such incidents.
"It is disgusting that these twisted views are being found in British politics," Mrs May said today.
"Of course, I am talking mainly about the Labour Party and their hard-left allies."
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"No matter what Labour say – or sing – they cannot ignore what has been happening in their party," she added.
"Anti-Semitism should have no place in politics and no place in this country. And I am proud to lead a party that takes the firmest stand against it."
The Prime Minister said her record on kicking out extremists like Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada showed she would take a tough line.
Earlier this year Shami Chakrabarti claimed that Labour was no worse than any other parties for anti-Semitism, despite having been commissioned to do an independent review into the issue.
The report was branded a "whitewash" by critics after it cleared the party of anti-Semitism.
She later went on to become a Labour peer in the House of Lords.
The Government announced plans today to adopt an international definition of anti-Semitism to help tackle abuse towards Jews.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance created the definition, which says anti-Semitism should be defined as "a perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred".
It also includes rhetorical and physical manifestations directed towards communities or individuals.
Downing Street said that it would mean abuse would be harder to overlook now, and police in the UK would also use it.
"As a government we are making a real difference and adopting this measure is a ground-breaking step," Mrs May added.
Incidents of anti-Semitic increased by 11% between January and June this year, and last week a man was jailed for writing hate-filled blogs about the Jewish MP Luciana Berger.