Jeremy Corbyn is at the centre of a new antisemitism row after he was pictured with an anti-Israel activist who said that “free speech” meant Labour members should be able to ask: “Holocaust; yes or no”.
Miko Peled, who has also previously stated that “Jews have a reputation for being sleazy thieves” and has called for the complete destruction of Israel, tweeted a picture of himself with the Labour leader at the party conference in Liverpool.
He tweeted it was "brilliant to see the courageous Jeremy Corbyn, accessible, gracious & generous".
He argued Labour members should be able to question the Holocaust at a fringe event at last year's party conference, saying: "The freedom to criticise and to discuss every issue, whether it's the Holocaust: yes or no, Palestine, the liberation, the whole spectrum. There should be no limits on the discussion."
In an article for the American Herald Tribune last October, Mr Peled wrote: “One can safely argue that Israel and its multiple tentacles around the world will stop at nothing to prevent Corbyn from entering Downing Street 10 [sic].”
He went on to say that “the label ‘Holocaust denier’ is too often thrown at people who present perspectives of the Holocaust that disagree with those who would have a monopoly on the discourse, i.e. the Zionist establishment.”
A spokesman for the Labour leader said: “'Miko Peled is not attending Labour party conference.
“He does not have a pass and has not been inside conference. Jeremy has been stopped by hundreds of people in Liverpool over the last few days.”
However, Mr Peled was photographed inside Labour conference earlier this week.
Peled is shown here in a photo taken inside the secure area on Sunday afternoon. He has a pass. We saw him in the main building on Monday also. pic.twitter.com/TRdGwsv17F
— The Lurkpack (@TheLurkPack) September 26, 2018
On Tuesday evening, two police officers guarded a Holocaust Educational Trust event at Labour conference, at which a Holocaust survivor spoke.
There are two police officers stationed outside the @HolocaustUK event at #Lab18 & a security guard on the door. A holocaust survivor is speaking there.
— Hannah Al-Othman 🐝 (@HannahAlOthman) September 25, 2018
I asked the police if they were there for the event, they said yes, they were a “visible presence.”
The Labour Party in 2018.
In 2013, Elleanne Green, the founder of the Palestine Live Facebook group where posts were shared promoting Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about Israel being responsible for 9/11, talked about a meeting in the House of Commons at which Mr Peled spoke.
Ms Green called Mr Peled “an extraordinary speaker… thoughtful and gentle and utterly inspirational."
She said she was “so glad that I persuaded Jeremy Corbyn MP to take time from his busy schedule to pop in to the first half hour of the meeting – one of the very few MPs of any party for whom I have any respect left.”
Interesting that when I found @jeremycorbyn in Palestine Live his spokesperson said Corbyn didn't know Elleanne Green beyond a few FB interactions.
— David Collier (@mishtal) August 1, 2018
Here is an Elleanne Green post months BEFORE Palestine Live that says SHE PERSUADED Corbyn to go to a Miko Peled event. More lies? pic.twitter.com/723y1wE3Du
Mr Corbyn was subsequently a member of the Palestine Live Facebook group from 2014 to 2015, shortly after being elected Labour leader.