Photo from Wikimedia Commons. The Washington Post issued a correction on a Nov. 26 tweet that described the allegations of anti-Semitism against the Labour Party as being the result of the party’s “strong statements on Palestinian rights.”
The Post’s since-deleted tweet was linking to an article about Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis writing an op-ed in The London Times earlier in the day urging people to vote against Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn in the upcoming Dec. 12 elections for prime minister. The full tweet read, “Britain’s chief rabbi blasts Labour Party for anti-Semitic ‘poison.’ The Labour Party has been hit by claims of [anti-Semitism] because of strong statements on Palestinian rights.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was among those that the Post’s characterization of the allegations against Labour as “categorically false. @UKLabour has been accused of anti-Semitism due to their support of Holocaust deniers, anti-Semitic terrorists & perpetuation of anti-Semitic stereotypes & conspiracies. Very different from strong statements on Palestinian rights. Do better, @washingtonpost.”
Categorically false. @UKLabour has been accused of anti-Semitism due to their support of Holocaust deniers, anti-Semitic terrorists & perpetuation of anti-Semitic stereotypes & conspiracies. Very different from strong statements on Palestinian rights. Do better, @washingtonpost. pic.twitter.com/Gd7QQG55MM
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 26, 2019
The Post later tweeted, “Labour members have been accused of making anti-Jewish statements, which should not have been conflated with statements on Palestinian rights.”
We've deleted a tweet that was not accurate and incorrectly summarized Post reporting.
Labour members have been accused of making anti-Jewish statements, which should not have been conflated with statements on Palestinian rights. https://t.co/iLqgBANkhg pic.twitter.com/yV1nzb8d3t
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 26, 2019
Greenblatt thanked the Post for the correction.
“Especially in a climate where #antiSemitism is on the rise in the UK, it is critical that we not diminish experiences felt by the British Jewish community,” Greenblatt wrote.
Thank you @Washingtonpost and @PostBaron for issuing this correction.
Especially in a climate where #antiSemitism is on the rise in the UK, it is critical that we not diminish experiences felt by the British Jewish community. https://t.co/Zkk9IV2Rhq
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 26, 2019
Tablet Senior Writer Yair Rosenberg similarly tweeted, “Glad to see this correction— and hope lots of folks read the excellent article itself, and learn more about the anti-Semitism on the British left that has wreaked havoc for Jews over the last few years.”
https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1199437158257438721
Pro-Israel activist Arsen Ostrovsky, on the other hand, tweeted, “I am more interested how such major f— up happened in first place and what steps [will be] taken to ensure there will not be a repeat!”
You don’t say you geniuses!
I am more interested how such major fu&k up happened in first place and what steps taken to ensure there wil not be a repeat! pic.twitter.com/WRoz6R50ku
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) November 26, 2019
Omri Ceren, national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and former managing director of The Israel Project, was more critical of the article itself.
“Easy to see why your social media team thought your story meant to conflate anti-Jewish [statements] with pro-Palestinian [statements], since it does,” Ceren wrote, noting that the article used the phrases ‘… dogged by claims of anti-Semitism’ and ‘… strong supporters of Palestinian rights.’”
Easy to see why your social media team thought your story meant to conflate anti-Jewish stmts with pro-Palestinian stmts, since it does. Here it is paragraph by paragraph, in order:
"… dogged by claims of anti-Semitism"
"… strong supporters of Palestinian rights"
"But…" https://t.co/PPux9S5Acl
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) November 26, 2019
In his op-ed, Mirvis criticized Labour’s handling of anti-Semitism in the party.
“According to the Jewish Labour Movement, there are at least 130 outstanding cases currently before the party – some dating back years and thousands more have been reported but remain unresolved,” Mirvis wrote. “The party leadership have never understood that their failure is not just one of procedure, which can be remedied with additional staff or new processes. It is a failure to see this as a human problem rather than a political one. It is a failure of culture. It is a failure of leadership. A new poison – sanctioned from the very top – has taken root in the Labour Party.”
He later added, “It is not my place to tell any person how they should vote. I regret being in this situation at all. I simply pose the following question: What will the result of this election say about the moral compass of our country?”
The BBC’s Andrew Neil asked Corbyn four times if he wanted to issue an apology to the Jewish community over the allegations of ant-Semitism against his party. Corbyn said in response, “I am determined that our society is safe for people of all faiths. I don’t want anyone to be feeling insecure, in our society and our government will protect every community against the abuse they receive on the streets, on the trains, or in any other form of life.”
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