Antisemitism in the UK Labour Party
Allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom have been made since Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the party in September 2015. After comments by Naz Shah in 2014 and Ken Livingstone in 2016 resulted in their suspension from membership pending investigation, Corbyn established the Chakrabarti Inquiry. In 2017, Labour Party rules were changed to make hate speech, including antisemitic, a disciplinary matter. In February and July 2019, Labour issued information on investigations into complaints ofantisemitism against individuals, with around 350 members resigning, being expelled or receiving formal warnings. In May 2019, the Equality and Human Rights Commission announced an inquiry into whether Labour had unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish
About Antisemitism in the UK Labour Party in brief
Allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom have been made since Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader of the party in September 2015. After comments by Naz Shah in 2014 and Ken Livingstone in 2016 resulted in their suspension from membership pending investigation, Corbyn established the Chakrabarti Inquiry. In 2017, Labour Party rules were changed to make hate speech, including antisemitic, a disciplinary matter. In February and July 2019, Labour issued information on investigations into complaints ofantisemitism against individuals, with around 350 members resigning, being expelled or receiving formal warnings. In May 2019, the Equality and Human Rights Commission announced an inquiry into whether Labour had unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish. In October 2020, the EHRC published its report, finding that the party was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination. Corbyn was suspended from the Labour party and had the party whip removed on 29 October 2020 for a failure to retract his assertion that the scale of anti-Semitism within Labour had been overstated by opponents. In the late 19th century, antisemSemitism was common throughout British society, and this was reflected in political parties, including Liberals and the Labour movement. During the Second Boer War, Labour figures opposed to the war asserted that Jewish gold mining operators and financiers were a driving force behind it, with Labour leader Keir Hardie asserting that Jewish financial houses were part of a secretive cabal that promoted war.
In 1920, British Jews during the 20th century generally supported the labour movement. The UK arm of Poale Zion, a Jewish workers movement, later the Jewish Labour Movement affiliated to the Labour, gave un-imperialistic support to the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate for Palestine. In 1951, Labour’s Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin argued that he was critical of Zionist goals. Generally, Labour continued to support Israel, despite criticism of Zionism’s separatist agenda and a binational society and criticism of Israel’s separatist ambitions. In 2012, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that he would support a Palestinian state in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2013, Labour’s deputy leader Yvette Cooper said that she would support the creation of a Palestinian State in the 1960s and 1970s. She later said she would not support a Palestine state in 1950s or 1960s, citing the ‘anti-Zionist’ and ‘pro-Israel’ rhetoric of the time. In 2014, Labour released a statement saying that it was ‘deeply concerned’ about the growing anti-Israel sentiment in the UK. In 2016, the Home Affairs Select Committee of Parliament held a hearing on the issue, which concluded that there was an ‘occasionally toxic atmosphere’ in the party. In March 2018, nine MPs resigned from the party, citing Labour’s leftward political direction and its handling of allegations of antisEMitism and of Brexit – most of them then formed The Independent Group. In September of that year, the NEC added all 11 IHRA examples, unamended, to the definition of antisemsitism, and included them in the Party’s code of conduct.
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