JW3 accused of being ‘terror apologists’ for hosting Corbyn debate

The man in charge of the north London Jewish community centre was targeted for inviting the Labour leader

JW3’s chief executive received abusive messages ahead of Sunday’s Labour Party debate.

Emails and Facebook messages, some of which were from members of the Jewish community, sent to Raymond Simonson, accusing him and his staff of being “apologists for terror” and branding Corbyn “a known collaborator with Hamas and Hezbollah”.

One messages referenced the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 by a right-wing Jewish extremist Yigal Amir, who was incensed by Rabin’s signing of the Oslo Peace Accords with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Simonson told Jewish News: “Having worked in the cross-communal space within our community for over 20 years, I am used to people sharing their views very strongly, and sometimes inappropriately. The Jewish community, like all communities, sadly has its own fair share of people who use over the top and even abusive language when they communicate on issues over which they feel passionate. Thankfully, these people are usually in the minority. Whilst it wasn’t pleasant to have someone try and stir up trouble, JW3 continues to celebrate both the diversity and the unity that exists within our community.”