Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has described Jewish Voice for Labour, the organisation which held a counter-demonstration to Monday’s “Enough Is Enough” protest as “good people.”
In his first interview since the latest antisemitism crisis engulfed the Labour Party, Mr Corbyn heaped praise on JVL, saying they are “committed to fighting anti-Semitism and making sure there is a Jewish voice in the party. We already have the Jewish Labour Movement. JVL was established last year and I think it is good that we have organisations within the party that are giving that voice to people.”
Mr Corbyn insisted that he has a career-long record of fighting antisemitism.
He also denied that there was any significant problem with antisemitism in organisations such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign: “I don’t think it’s a general problem. I think there are anti-Semitic people who latch onto all kinds of causes but in my experience in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign they were absolutely assiduous and specific. They’re not accepting Holocaust denial and they’re not allowing anti-Semitic behaviour to take place.”
He condemned abuse of those who attended Monday’s protest, saying: “Any abuse makes me profoundly concerned and any abuse that is done is certainly not done in my name. People have a right to speak out and a right to demonstrate and that surely is something that is intrinsic in any democratic society. I will not tolerate abuse of people for their beliefs.”
Mr Corbyn was speaking to the Jewish News
