Jeremy Corbyn has broken his silence over the antisemitism row engulfing Labour, acknowledging the party has “a real problem” over the issue but strongly rejecting the idea that it poses any threat to the Jewish community in the UK.
Writing in the Guardian following increasing calls for him to take a lead and address the concerns of many Jewish groups, the Labour leader accepted that the party’s incomplete adoption of an internationally recognised definition of antisemitism had caused genuine worries.
“People who dish out antisemitic poison need to understand: you do not do it in my name,” he wrote. “You are not my supporters and have no place in our movement.”
He acknowledged some of the fiercest criticisms of his leadership on the issue, saying the party must show more empathy, should have reacted more quickly to cases of abuse, and should have done more to consult the Jewish community.
But he described as “overheated rhetoric” the argument made by three Jewish newspapers in unprecedented joint front-page editorials that a government run by him would pose “an existential threat”.
Corbyn’s intervention came hours after the backbencher Margaret Hodge angrily rejected a proposal that party disciplinary charges against her be dropped if she apologise over a confrontation in which she called Corbyn an antisemite.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
