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Jeremy Corbyn 'has antisemitic views and is making Jews question their place in Britain'
Jonathan Arkush said Mr Corbyn's Labour has British Jews asking: 'Do we have a future here?'
May 31, 2018 07:29
Jonathan Arkush said Mr Corbyn's Labour has British Jews asking: 'Do we have a future here?'
May 31, 2018 07:29Jeremy Corbyn holds “antisemitic views” according to one of the UK’s most senior Jewish leaders.
Jonathan Arkush, the outgoing president of the Board of Deputies, said that Mr Corbyn “has views which are antisemitic and he has problematic views” that could drive Jews to leave Britain if he becomes prime minister.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he said that British Jews were asking: “Do we have a future here?”
Speaking about Mr Corbyn and his views, Mr Arkush said: “Delegitimising the state of Israel is antisemitic.
“[Mr Corbyn] was a chairman of Stop the War, which is responsible for some of the worst anti-Israel discourse.
“If he shares the prevalent discourse about Israel, then that view is unquestionably antisemitic.”
Mr Arkush was one the senior Jewish leaders who met Mr Corbyn in April to discuss concerns about antisemitism in the Labour Party.
He said Mr Corbyn must say he “will not accept a discourse which denies the existence of their own land to the Jewish people. I think we are all entitled to some clarity on his real views about Israel”.
Mr Arkush also criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, for not doing enough to support British Jews.
He said Mr Welby should have had a “stronger, clearer voice” when it came to speaking up.
A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said Mr Arkush’s comments should be “rejected outright”.
The spokesperson described the remarks as “personal attacks without any evidence to support them".
“Jeremy has been absolutely clear that he is a militant opponent of antisemitism and is committed to driving it out of our movement," the spokesperson said.
“Jonathan Arkush’s attempt to conflate strong criticism of Israeli state policies with antisemitism is wrong and undermines the fight both against antisemitism and for justice for the Palestinians.”
I am shocked reading Jonathan Arkush’s article. Jeremy Corbyn is not anti- Semitic, he does not hold anti- Semitic views. The examples Arkush uses do not evidence that he does. I cannot understand what Arkush is trying to achieve here but I know it isn’t about being constructive
— Rhea Wolfson (@rheawolfson) May 30, 2018
Jonathan Arkush has never spoken for me, for many other young, progressive Jews, and he doesn’t in this article
— Rhea Wolfson (@rheawolfson) May 30, 2018
Rhea Wolfson, a Jewish member of the Labour’s National Executive Committee, also rejected Mr Arkush’s comments.
She tweeted: “Jeremy Corbyn is not antisemitic, he does not hold antisemitic views.
“I cannot understand what Arkush is trying to achieve here but I know it isn’t about being constructive.”
Ms Wolfson said Mr Arkush “has never spoken" for her or "many other young, progressive Jews, and he doesn’t in this article.
"We have a lot of work to take a lot of poison out of the debate around Israel and Palestine, making blanket accusations isn’t constructive and doesn’t move towards a better debate or solutions.”
In an interview with JC two weeks ago, president-elect of the Board, Marie van der Zyl, who takes office tomorrow, said “I still think we are very lucky to live in the UK. Look at the position in France and other countries in Europe.
“It’s very much a matter of concern there is so much antisemitism in the Labour party, a party that could be in power. You cannot get away from that.”
But asked whether she expected her children to be packing their bags because of antisemitism, she replied, “I don’t want anybody to be packing their bags. But you can’t ignore this, it needs to be challenged.”
The Board and JLC had set out their demands for action by the Labour party in a letter at the end of March, she said, which included resolving its backlog of disciplinary cases and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.
