Labour probes 250 MORE anti-Semitism claims as MP lashes out at Jeremy Corbyn for ‘defending anti-Semites’
Ian Austin is facing action from the party after he got into a heated debate about anti-Semitism and said the party had become a 'sewer'
LABOUR is probing 252 more anti-Semitism allegations - as a second MP lashed out at Jeremy Corbyn for defending people peddling hate against Jews.
A dossier of Facebook abuse was passed from the Jewish Labour Movement to the party, the
The fresh abuse came in the days and weeks following veteran MP Margaret Hodge's blast against the Labour leader for being a racist and an anti-Semite.
Some posts claimed she was a "Zionist bitch" and was being paid by the Israeli state.
Many examples of the abuse appeared in pro-Corbyn Facebook groups, and are alleged to have stated there were parallels between Israel and the Nazis too.
A Labour source said the majority of those reported for abuse were not members.
Yesterday a close ally of Mr Corbyn accused Ms Hodge of using the Holocaust - during which members of her family died - as a "weapon" to attack the leader.
Author David Rosenberg said allegations of anti-Semitism were a "largely engineered furore" and Ms Hodge had "cynically drawn" on her family's experience to "bolster her special right to pronounce on the subject".
Meanwhile, a second MP has claimed the Labour boss was on the "extreme fringes of society" and has been "supporting and defending all kinds of extremists and in some cases, frankly, anti-Semites."
Ian Austin told Radio 4's The World this Weekend Mr Corbyn should go, and he feels "ashamed" to be in the party.
"That's why I think now that somebody with views and history like his isn't really suited to the leadership of a mainstream political party," he said.
The Dudley North MP, whose family escaped from concentration camps, said he was upset about the "leadership's refusal to deal with this properly".
"I grew up listening to my dad tell me how he'd escaped from the Holocaust and how his mum and sisters were murdered and that led to me joining Labour Party as a teenager determined to fight racism."
He denied getting into a slanging match with another Labour official - and said it was a heated conversation.
Mr Austin could now face an investigation and suspension from the party - after he said the party has become a sewer.
But shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said he defended the right for people to have strong opinions, and hoped it could be resolved amicably.
Today Marie van der Zyl, President of the Jewish Board of Deputies, said the party's response to the anti-Semitism scandal still engulfing the party, was shameful and leading the party "into a dark place".
She said he needed to lead the party "out of this deep abyss" and show it wasn't racist.
"Jeremy Corbyn is leading the Labour Party into a dark place of ugly conspiracy theories and it has become a home for overt anti-Semites and anti-Semitism," she claimed.
Ms Hodge, Mr Austin, and hundreds of members of the Jewish community are fuming at Labour's decision to adopt a new definition of anti-Semitism.
Labour has agreed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition – but crucially strip out four key examples. This means activists could escape punishment even if they compare Israeli policy to the Nazis or accuse Jews of “being more loyal to Israel” than their own country.
Campaigners are set to force a legal challenge amid fury about ditching an internationally accepted definition of what anti-Jew hate is.
Mr Corbyn put off a fresh vote to overturn the new rules - and now it won't be debated until MPs come back to Parliament in September.
Activists say they will plan a mass rally at the opening of the party's conference to protest against the party's failure to stamp out Jewish hatred too.
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The party were forced to suspend another councillor last week for calling for Jews to be executed and sharing a video which said Jews drank blood.
Damien Enticott, who sits on Bognor Regis town council, said his account had been hacked.
Labour said: "The Labour Party takes all complaints of anti-semitism extremely seriously and we are committed to challenging and campaigning against it in all its forms.
"Complaints about anti-semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken."
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