Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) President Mike Katz announced in an Oct. 31 op-ed for the Jewish Chronicle (JC) that JLM will not be backing the Labour Party because of leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Katz wrote that Corbyn has enabled a “culture of anti-Semitism” within the party, pointing out that two Jewish members of parliament (MP), Dame Louise Ellman and Luciana Berger, suffered “relentless abuse” in the party that led to their resignations.
“Jeremy Corbyn was well aware of this bullying but did nothing to address their concerns,” Katz wrote. “When two accomplished and dedicated Jewish Labour MPs no longer see a place for themselves in the Labour Party, it’s clear that the party has lost its way. Yet many Labour activists deny the negative experiences of Jewish members and claim the issue is a politically motivated fabrication.”
Katz added that JLM has frequently tried to work with the current Labour leadership to address anti-Semitism in the party only to be “rebuffed” on multiple occasions, which is why they’ve decided to only campaign “for exceptional candidates” who support JLM.
“Our Labour values have not changed, nor have our support for Labour policies,” Katz wrote. “But we can’t support a Leader who has failed so utterly to tackle racism in his Party and ensure it is a safe space for us.”
A Labour spokesperson told the UK Independent, “The Labour Party is fully committed to the support, defense and celebration of the Jewish community and continues to take robust action to root out anti-Semitism in the party and wider society.”
Tablet Senior Writer Yair Rosenberg tweeted, “The Jewish Labour Movement campaigned for the Labour party in the 2017 election, despite deep reservations over the party’s leadership and anti-Semitism, because they hoped things would improve. It says a lot that after two years, the Labour party didn’t fix this.”
https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1189921229240700928
At least 10 MPs have resigned from Labour in 2019; many of them said it was because of Corbyn’s failure to stamp out anti-Semitism in the party. Ellman resigned earlier in the month after a local branch of Labour discussed a vote of no-confidence against her on Kol Nidre.
