The EHRC report was unequivocally damning of his leadership, but he still can’t accept any responsibility
Andrew Rawnsley puts paid to Jeremy Corbyn’s shameful deflection of responsibility as regards antisemitism in the Labour Party, which is in part connected to the embarrassing loss he caused said Party in December 2019.
Corbyn claims antisemitism was “dramatically overstated”, yet several prominent MP’s needed security protection simply because they were Jewish. Then they quit, citing a horrendous atmosphere of hatred.
MP Luciana Berger says she is still receiving a torrent of abuse on account of being Jewish, which comes from Corbyn’s most zealous disciples. She blames Corbyn for refusing to deal with the problem. According to her, he wanted to discuss everything but antisemitism.
What planet is this man living on?
This is what happens when saintly ideologues take over respectable parties. The British are not ideologues. Regardless of politics, there is a strong solidarity among the public, which includes patriotism and a dislike of extremists.
Corbyn’s brand of zealotry, masquerading as socialism, was repulsive to the very electorate he was supposed to court, leading to his defeat in December 2019. In part, many longtime Labour voters, such as my parents, were so disgusted with the treatment of Jews that they refused to vote for Corbyn.
The fact that any politician in Britain would require security to attend a conference on account of being a Jew is a total disgrace. So is the sight of longtime party members standing down, because they face such an unhospitable environment towards Jews. This is unthinkable.
It is entirely un-British.
This country has a flawed, but in large part commendable history of providing sanctuary to Jews for at least several hundred years following Oliver Cromwell. By failing to root out the climate of hostility and violence towards British Jews, Corbyn betrayed our national culture and history.
The consequences were long overdue, and let us hope the party can start again. Politics or none, nobody in a British party should face the ugly climate of hatred that was thrown at Jews over the last 4+ years of Corbyn’s leadership.