Jewish Museum: There are ‘no plans’ to host Jeremy Corbyn speech
Message clarifies that the organisation will not be hosting an event on the party's anti-Semitism crisis, amid claims that Labour approached them
The Jewish Museum has confirmed there are “no plans” to host Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for a talk about anti-Semitism.
The announcement comes amid claims that the party was in talks with the Museum over Jeremy Corbyn using the venue to address the growing anti-Semitism crisis. Some reports suggested an event may take place early next week.
But taking to Twitter on Friday, the Museum said it “wishes to clarify that there are no plans for a Labour Party event to take place at the museum.”
The Museum was contacted by the Labour party which informed them of plans for an event with the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council, Community Security Trust and a group of rabbis, according to communal sources. However, the Museum later discovered that none of the main representative bodies of the community had been informed of the plans,
Previously Chief Executive of the Museum, Abigail Morris, said the situation was “delicate” and she did not want to agree to something that “will make things worse”.
Anti-Semitism campaigners said they would not be satisfied by “hollow promises delivered under duress”.
This comes amid a new row over anti-Semitism in the party this week, where Labour was forced to deny that leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was comparing the actions of Israelis to Nazis when he referred to the sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad during a rally speech on Gaza in 2010.
On Wednesday, Mr Corbyn apologised for sharing a platform with people who reportedly compared Israel to the Nazis, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell faced questions over his backing of the creation of an anti-Zionist group International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), which he supported in a 2008 Commons motion.
The Labour leadership’s reticence in adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition and its examples has become a flashpoint in the row over anti-Semitism in the party.
Gideon Falter, chairman of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “There has been speculation that Jeremy Corbyn wishes to address the Jewish community.
“Some have suggested that he intends to adopt the International Definition of anti-Semitism.
“Under that definition, he is an anti-Semite, as the revelations this week have shown us.
“We have seen this act before, and we are insulted that he thinks we will be satisfied by hollow promises delivered under duress.
“No matter what action Mr Corbyn promises, his track record demonstrates that he is an anti-Semite and an existential threat to British Jews.”
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