Jewish Labour Lawmaker in Britain Beats Back Efforts to Oust Her from Office by Corbyn Loyalists

(JTA) — A Jewish lawmaker from London has beaten back efforts by loyalists to Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to oust her from running for her longtime Parliament seat.

Margaret Hodge has been an outspoken critic about the handling of anti-Semitism in the party. She came under fire in August 2018 for calling Corbyn a “f***ing anti-Semite and a racist.”

The party in her east London district of Barking chose Hodge to run for the seat she has held since 1994. Several pro-Corbyn branches of the Barking Constituency Labour Party had triggered an attempt to remove her, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

Corbyn, a far-left and anti-Israel politician, has faced allegations that he is fomenting anti-Semitism in Labour, though he denies the assertion.

Labour lawmaker Ruth Smeeth, the parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, raised a point of order in the House of Commons on Monday to announce that Hodge had been selected despite “an appalling attack by members of our party.”