Corbyn Appears on Pro-Hezbollah Channel, Decries “Powerful Forces” Against Him

Former Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared on Al Mayadeen on July 30––a network that is reportedly supportive of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime––where he decried the “powerful forces” that were against him during his reign as Labour Party leader.

Corbyn claimed that he was attacked by the likes of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Donald Trump for providing “a different approach in dealing with foreign relations and international policies,” according to The Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post. He also said that the allegations of antisemitism against him were “shameful” and that he was singled out for his belief that the Palestinians should be able to “live in peace free from occupation.” Corbyn was temporarily suspended from the Labour Party in 2020 after the Equalities and Human Rights Commission issued a report concluding that the party under Corbyn failed to properly handle antisemitic incidents. Corbyn condemned antisemitism and all forms of racism in the Al Mayadeen interview and hinted that pro-Palestinian activism is in his future.

The former Labour Party leader also urged Britain to “recognize the historical wrong” of the Balfour Declaration, the historical document from 1917 declaring the British government’s recognition of a Jewish state in Palestine.

“Yet again we see Jeremy Corbyn peddling sinister conspiracy theories about ‘powerful forces’ whilst appearing on an extremist tv channel that employs antisemitic rhetoric and celebrates terrorists,” European Leadership Network-United Kingdom Executive Director and former Labour Party member Joan Ryan said in a statement to the Journal. Al Mayadeen has articles on their website about “Zionist lies about the Holocaust” and another calling the Holocaust the “Great Deception, according to The Jewish Chronicle (JC). “Corbyn continues to show contempt for the Jewish community and the pain he’s caused, and I reiterate my call that he should be expelled from the Labour Party for good,” Ryan added.

A Corbyn spokesperson told The JC that Corbyn’s “powerful forces” remark was referencing “forces both inside and outside of the Labour Party actively working against his leadership.” A Labour spokesperson also told The JC that Corbyn’s Al Mayadeen interview is further evidence “of Jeremy Corbyn choosing to put himself in conflict with Labour Party policy. [Labour Party Leader] Keir Starmer has made it clear what he expects from Labour MPs and Jeremy Corbyn continues to act in a way that is incompatible with that.”

The Al Mayadeen interview also featured Corbyn urging the West to stop providing military aid to Ukraine in its ongoing battle with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in March, according to The Algemeiner. Corbyn’s Ukraine remarks prompted the Simon Wiesenthal Center to tweet: “And to think this man almost became PM of UK. He cares zero about the invasion of a sovereign state. Maybe that explains why he is being interviewed by Iran-lackey Hezbollah TV.”

And to think this man almost became PM of UK. He cares zero about the invasion of a sovereign state. Maybe that explains why he is being interviewed by Iran-lackey Hezbollah TV. https://t.co/eUmLSOA7Rz

— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) August 3, 2022