Jeremy Corbyn blasted by Jewish leaders for ‘leading’ Labour into ‘a home for anti-Semites’ – and for punishing those who speak out against it
The Board of Deputies of British Jews warned that Mr Corbyn had to take the party out of its 'deep abyss'
JEREMY Corbyn has turned Labour into a “home for overt anti-semites and anti-semitism” and punishes those who speak against it, Jewish leaders declared yesterday.
In their hardest-hitting statement yet, the Board of Deputies of British Jews said the Labour leader must take the party out of its “deep abyss” and show the world it can “return to being an anti-racist party”.
Marie van der Zyl, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, blasted: “Jeremy Corbyn is leading the Labour Party into a dark place of ugly conspiracy theories and it has become a home for overt antisemites and antisemitism.
“In 2018, Labour is not only a Party with extravagant levels of tolerance for antisemitism but one which deliberately obstructs measures to counter hatred and punishes those who speak out against it.
“Jeremy Corbyn needs to lead Labour out of this deep abyss and urgently demonstrate to the world Labour can return to being an anti-racist Party.”
The statement follows an unprecedented joint front page statement from the Jewish community’s three leading newspapers speaking out after the party failed to fully adopt an internationally-recognised definition of anti-semitism.
Ms van der Zyl said the party’s response to their message had been “utterly shameful”.
It came as the Labour leader was accused of “supporting and defending” anti-Semites by a senior backbencher facing a probe for criticising him.
Ian Austin said Labour had turned into a “much more extreme” party as he became the second MP to be threatened with disciplinary action for disagreeing with the leader.
He BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: : “He’s spent his entire time in politics on the extreme fringes of the Labour party supporting and defending all sorts of extremists and in some cases, frankly, anti-Semites.
“I’m really shocked that a party that’s got a proud tradition throughout its entire existence of fighting racism has ended up causing such huge offence and distress to the Jewish community in Britain.
“I think this could never have happened before. I’m appalled that it’s happened, I’m ashamed of the Labour Party, I really am.
“And I think if I’m honest we’re becoming a different political party - this could never have happened in the past.”
Party chiefs are probing Mr Austin for “abusive conduct” after he confronted Labour chair Ian Lavery and criticised their inaction on anti-Semitism.
Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge is also subject to an investigation for confronting Mr Corbyn.
It came as Jeremy Corbyn faces losing his allotment over the ongoing row.
Barnet Council have called for the Labour leader to be thrown off his patch in East Finchley, four miles from his Islington home.
The idea was put forward by Conservative Leader Richard Cornelius.
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In the latest official minutes of the council meeting, ex-Tory MP John Marshall asked Mr Cornelius to invite the Labour leader to discuss “the scourge of anti-Semitism, in the interests of community cohesion and wellbeing”.
Mr Cornelius replied: “This would be helpful. Margaret Hodge MP has labelled Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite. I wonder whether he should still have a Barnet allotment.”
It’s not clear whether the local council has the power to take the plot, which is run by the Barnet Allotments Federation, from Mr Corbyn.
Labour - who are now probing 250 more anti-Semitism claims - declined to comment on the allotment threat.
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