Former British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks furiously condemned Jeremy Corbyn’s comparison between Israel and ISIS. In wake of the Chakrabarti Report, which raised questions about anti-Semitism in the British Labour Party, Corbyn tried to placate critics by claiming “our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel…than our Muslim friends are for those of various self-styled Islamic states or organisations.”
Sacks responded: “Jeremy Corbyn’s comparison of the State of Israel to ISIS is demonisation of the highest order, an outrage and unacceptable. That this occurred at the launch of the report into the Labour Party’s recent troubles with antisemitism shows how deep the sickness is in parts of left of British politics today.”
He added: “Israel is a democratic state with an independent judiciary, a free press and a diverse population of many cultures, religions and creeds. ISIS is a terrorist entity whose barbarities have been condemned by all those who value our common humanity. In the current political climate, when hate crimes are rising and political rhetoric is increasingly divisive, this is all the more shocking.”
Board of Deputies’of British Jews president Jonathan Arkush added: “It is deeply regrettable that he went on to establish some sort of equivalence between Israel and terrorist groups such as ISIS. This is completely unacceptable.”
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis considers that Mr Corbyn’s comments “however they were intended, are themselves offensive, and rather than rebuilding trust among the Jewish community, are likely to cause even greater concern.”
“Full and unhesitating implementation of the report’s findings must now follow. I call upon the Labour Party to guarantee that there will be zero tolerance of antisemitism.”
At that very anti-Semitism event, though, the Labour Party showed its true colours. A supporter of Momentum, an organization that supports Jeremy Corbyn, refused to hand a leaflet to Jewish MP Ruth Smeeth, accusing her of colluding with the right-wing media. Smeeth left the event in tears, and as Corbyn’s establishment remains mum on the issue, called for his resignation.
“Until today I had made no public comment about Jeremy’s ability to lead our party, but the fact that he failed to intervene is final proof for me that he is unfit to lead, and that a Labour Party under his stewardship cannot be a safe space for British Jews,” Ms Smeeth declared.
This comes in high contrast to Jeremy Corbyn’s defense of councillor Aysegul Gurbuz, after her anti-Semitic tweets raised a scandal in the media. Corbyn recently suffered a landslide vote of no-confidence from within his own party, as he suffers from an image of being outdated and bigoted.
