Naz Shah and John McDonnell to address Labour rally against anti-Semitism
Senior Labour figures will come together for what the JLM hope will be a 'healing and unifying moment' for the party
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
Reinstated Labour MP Naz Shah will address a rally against anti-Semitism on the fringes of the Labour Party conference alongside Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Shami Chakrabarti.
A host of figures from all wings of the party will attend the meeting, organised by the Jewish Labour Movement, in a powerful show of solidarity on the day the results of the Labour leadership are announced.
MPs Ruth Smeeth and Luciana Berger, who have both suffered anti-Semitic abuse, and former cabinet ministers Michael Dugher, Tristrum Hunt and Lucy Powell will all speak. Shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis and Rhea Wolfson, who was recently elected to the party’s ruling body on the Momentum slate, will also take to the stage, as will Baroness Royall, who conducted the party’s inquiry into allegations of intimidation at Oxford Uni Labour Club.
JLM Chair Jeremy Newmark said: “It is our hope that this will serve as a healing and unifying moment within the Party and send an unequivocal message that when leading Labour figures talk about ‘zero tolerance for antisemitism’ this must be a reality and not just a slogan.”
JLM National Director Ella Rose added: “We are delighted to be welcoming a roster of speakers from all sections of the Party.”
The rally against antisemitism and racism is being backed by an array of party affiliates and interest groups including Labour Students, LGBT Labour, Sikhs for Labour and Labour Friends of Israel.
In a separate development, as part of the implementation of recent Party reports into antisemitism, JLM will deliver an official training session for Party members at conference on the theme of “Challenging Antisemitism & Engaging Jewish Voters”.
This session will be part of the official training schedule at conference and will form the basis of training to be delivered across the country over the next year.
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