Former Labour deputy leader criticises ‘insolent denial’ of antisemitism within party

Ahead of International Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January, former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has criticised the “insolent denial” within the Labour Party when confronted with accusations of antisemitism.

The Labour peer, Lord Watson of Wyre Forest, who was critical of his party’s handling of antisemitism claims under Jeremy Corbyn, described how he struggled with the idea that liberal campaigners could be antisemitic.

However, he told peers in the House of Lords of his “great relief” that Keir Starmer “understands” the issue and has taken action to tackle it.

He spoke of a transformative experience of meeting Holocaust survivor Susan Pollak, who asked him “why my party allowed people who hate Jews to join it”.

Lord Watson said: “I wrestled with the question as to how liberal-minded people can be antisemitic? How can campaigners for a more equal society and a peaceful world be antisemites?

“And I came to understand that, at the heart of this question to some people on the liberal left, the problem was psychological.

“Not wanting to be seen as or thought of as antisemitic or to feel antisemitic, the campaigner becomes antisemitic, to the degree that they couldn’t forgive their fellow members for troubling their conscience and making them consider if they were antisemitic.

“I saw too often that when certain members were challenged on antisemitic behaviour, their response – rather than trying to understand the feelings of the members expressing hurt – their reaction was a kind of insolent denial, a closing down of the mind to the possibility that the offence being held was legitimately held.

“Yet in all other areas of their life, the member would try to understand the lived experience of a complainant.

“Even as my Jewish parliamentary colleagues began to collectively organise to express revulsion at events, they were very often treated with suspicion or criticised for, in some way, undermining the interests of their party, or worse, their country, some even being accused of dual loyalties.

“It’s a great relief to me therefore that my party is now led by Sir Keir Starmer, who understands these things, and continues to take a strong stance against antisemitism.”

His comments came as peers took note of International Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January, and discussed contemporary antisemitism, racism and other forms of bigotry.

Baroness Merron, former Labour MP and former chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, also spoke of contemporary antisemitism, describing it as “a stain on the Labour Party”.

She said: “Let me say it was a stain, not only for Labour, but we felt it was a stain for politics and our country.

“I want to acknowledge and appreciate the determination and action of Keir Starmer to root it out, something which he has done and will continue to do so.”

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent, a Jewish former Labour MP, who was a vocal critic of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and antisemitism in the party, also warned that the struggle against antisemitism in wider society is “far from over”.

She said: “I wish that this debate could be one solely of reflection and commemoration, that we could stand here today and consider the issues of anti-Jewish hate and fascist ideology confined to the dustbin of history …

“I wish that today’s debate was anchored in the past and that antisemitism was not a contemporary matter that requires your attention, but I’m afraid it is.”

Lady Anderson spoke of her concerns around a culture of antisemitism in British universities after the National Union of Students (NUS) were forced to accept their culture is hostile to Jewish students.

She said: “It is 2023 and this ancient hatred is in the newspapers nearly every day.

“This morning, the Community Security Trust published a new report detailing antisemitic incidents on university campuses across the UK.

“The last two years have seen a 22% increase in anti-Jewish hate incidents.

“There have been 150 verified and reported antisemitic incidents on British campuses in the last two years.

“For context, there are only 271,000 Jews in the UK of all ages, so this is a terrifying level of hate.

“Our universities are meant to be cathedrals – or should I say synagogues – of learning and enlightenment.

“You would hope that if there was one place where viral racism and anti-Jewish hatred was challenged and beaten it would be in our educational establishments. This is clearly not the case.”