Labour denies Jeremy Corbyn compared Israel to Nazis over Gaza
Party rejects claims the Labour leader drew an comparing between Israel's treatment of Palestinians and the sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad
Labour has denied 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.
The party issued the denial as shadow chancellor John McDonnell faced questions over his backing of the creation of a controversial anti-Zionist group in 2008.
The incidents threatened to draw Labour’s leader and his de facto deputy further into the escalating row over the handling of anti-Semitism in the party.
On Wednesday, Mr Corbyn apologised for sharing a platform with people who reportedly compared Israel to the Nazis.
Meanwhile, a member of Labour’s governing body saw support for reelection removed after he was recorded calling members of the Jewish community “Trump fanatics”.
Footage later emerged of a speech Mr Corbyn made at a rally outside Parliament in 2010 when he compared the blockade of Gaza to the sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad in the Second World War.
He told the crowd: “I was in Gaza three months ago. I saw the mortar shells that had gone through the school buildings, the destroyed UN establishments, the burnt-out schools, the ruined homes, the destroyed lives, the imprisoned people, the psychological damage to a whole generation who’ve been imprisoned for as long as the siege of Leningrad and Stalingrad took place.”
Watch the clip here:
A Labour spokesman told The Guardian: “Jeremy was not comparing the actions of Nazis and Israelis but the conditions of civilian populations in besieged cities in wartime.”
The event came six months after Mr Corbyn hosted a Holocaust Memorial Day event at which speakers are said to have likened the actions of Israel in Gaza to Hitler’s regime.
Pictured in the crowd during the speech, were protesters holding banners that read ‘Stop the Holocaust in Gaza’.
The Labour leader acknowledged that he had appeared alongside people “whose views I completely reject” and apologised for the “concerns and anxiety” that caused.
Mr McDonnell said on Thursday that he wanted the party’s approach on anti-Semitism to be resolved soon, adding: “It’s shaken us to the core.”
However, he also faced questions over his support for the controversial International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), the creation of which he backed in a 2008 Commons motion.
The IJAN’s charter asks prospective members if they “feel enraged and saddened that the holocaust against Jewish people is being used to perpetrate other atrocities?”
A Labour party spokesman said Mr McDonnell “was welcoming the creation of an organisation that represented an important strand of radical Jewish political campaigning”.
“Of course he didn’t and doesn’t endorse all of the language and views expressed in their charter,” the spokesman added.
The early day motion, of which Mr McDonnell was the lead signatory, backed “the launch of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and its founding Charter”.
Critics are reported to have said the charter breaches the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
The Labour leadership’s reticence in adopting the IHRA definition and its examples has become a flashpoint in the row over anti-Semitism in the party.
Meanwhile, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has referred Labour to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The CAA has also made a complaint to the party about comments by Mr Corbyn and his hosting of the 2010 event.
The campaign’s chairman, Gideon Falter, said: “Jeremy Corbyn has spent his political career sharing stages with anti-Semites and honouring them.
“This apology rings utterly hollow. Mr Corbyn did not merely attend the event, he chaired it, and in response to the criticism of the Jewish community in 2010 he did not apologise.”
On Wednesday, a key Jeremy Corbyn-supporting campaign group withdrew its support for a member seeking re-election to Labour’s National Executive Committee following his “deeply insensitive” comments about Jews.
Momentum added it was “inappropriate” for Peter Willsman to call some members of the Jewish community “Trump fanatics” and also suggest they were “making up” problems about anti-Semitism in the party.
The grassroots campaign group also stressed the need to acknowledge the “anger and upset” felt within the British Jewish community as it reaffirmed its commitment to “rooting out” anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and across society.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
- News
- Jeremy Corbyn
- Nazi
- Labour anti-
- gideon falter
- Campaign Against Anti-Semitism
- International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism
- John McDonnell
- international jewish anti-zionist network
- International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism (IHRA)
- Israel News