Attacks on ‘Zionist’ Starmer, gripes over quiet turnout: the scene at a depleted JVL
Our political editor Lee Harpin found a sombre mood at the fringe event by the Jewish Voice for Labour group
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Banished from the official Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool and left holding a meeting in a venue one mile away, the leadership of the Jewish Voice For Labour group have admitted their future path is uncertain.
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, JVL’s co-founder, is given a sympathetic round of applause from the 100 elderly activists who attended Monday night’s fringe event at The Yacht Club, as she reveals she has been banned from attended this year’s Labour conference.
Hitting out at the current Labour leader in her speech, Wimborne-Idrissi claims at one stage: “I think the only thing Keir Starmer seems to support unequivocally is Zionism.”
JVL’s media officer was suspended by Labour last week, after new evidence came to light of her speaking last September at a meeting that was organised by a group now proscribed by Labour over their repeated denial of antisemitism claims.
The suspension of Wimborne-Idrissi means she is unable to take her place on Labour’s national executive committee.
She claims at Monday’s event that Labour’s investigation into the latest allegations are another sign of the way the party has cracked down on left-wing Jews who support Palestine.
Later Jo Bird, the Wirral councillor expelled from Labour last year over her support for the banned Labour Against The Witchhunt group, got up to speak at the meeting.
She claimed: “This meeting confirms again Labour is the wrong sort of party, they don’t want me or you.
“The Labour Party expels the Jews, how can you get more antisemitic than that.”
Bird added: “it’s devastating, it’s really sad, the hope we had is gone.”
JVL chair Jenny Manson also addressed the crowd, but admits support for the group is on the wane during this year’s Labour conference.
She told the audience: “I used to walk around in previous years and see JVL supporters and members everywhere. This year it’s been very quiet.”
Contemplating JVL’s future direction, Manson suggests that perhaps the word “Labour” in their name could represent workers, rather than the name of a political party moving forwards.
Members of the audience are later asked to raise their hands if they are themselves the subject of disciplinary action from Labour over antisemitism claims.
Perhaps half of those in attendance at the event – titled “The Wrong Sort of Party? The Future of Our Movement” – did so.
Manson, who once attempted to stand as Labour’s candidate in Finchley and Golders Green under supportive Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership days, also noted that the JVL event was being held on Rosh Hashanah.
She even admitted her own husband had questioned why the meeting was being held on a Jewish holiday.
After declaring that “anti-Zionism is not antisemitism”, Manson also admitted her husband had pointed out that some anti-Zionists were indeed antisemitic.
But she then claimed Starmer should face an antisemitism charge, because the Labour conference clashed with Rosh Hashanah.
Manson failed to point out the scheduling of party conferences is not under the control of the parties themselves, but is done by the Home Office.
The meeting also featured a speech from Dr Maryam Jameela, editor with The Canary, and a researcher into Islamophobia.
At one point she claimed: “The Labour Party has embraced white supremacy by refusing tackle Islamophobia.”
Alongside the JVL leadership, Jameela claimed the recently published Forde Report into the Labour Party had highlighted the existence of a hierarchy of racism in which discrimination of Muslims was overlooked.
Jameela later suggested the British political system needed to be “burned down” as it could not be reformed.
Jewish News were photographed as we left the meeting by a JVL official standing near the venue entrance.
Asked why the photograph was taken, the male said: “We know who you are.”
Earlier, as is the usual procedure at JVL meetings, journalists attending are asked to stand up and identify themselves.
In contrast to another Jewish newspaper, JN did not make themselves known to organisers as the meeting began.
On Tuesday, JVL attempted to gain media coverage by staging a press conference closer to the main conference venue, with former shadow chancellor John McDonnell expected to attend.
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