News
JLM alarm over "growing level of harassment"
Party officers write to members
November 20, 2020 10:29
Party officers write to members
November 20, 2020 10:29The Jewish Labour Movement has written to its members to acknowledge alarm at the “growing level of harassment and intimidation” being dished out to Jewish members of the party.
In a Duty of Care message written by national chair Mike Katz and national secretary Peter Mason, Jewish Labour members are urged to put their “mental and physical wellbeing first” ahead of attending party meetings.
It confirmed that the JLM is also reviewing the active dialogue it has with Labour while “we reassess our confidence in the existing structures.”
The message also urges Labour members to report incidents of antisemitism, harassment or victimisation directly to the Community Security Trust and also to JLM.
The email states: ”We are alarmed of the growing level of harassment and intimidation taking place within Party structures, which seeks to further diminish and deny the scale and impact of anti-Jewish prejudice.
“These have taken the format of motions condemning the Party’s actions in responding to the EHRC and subsequent events. In some cases, local Party officers have defied instructions by the General Secretary and allowed incompetent business to be discussed, or to continue to issue statements which undermine the Party’s ability to respond to the EHRC and create additional liabilities for the Party.”
It also confirms that while JLM are aware of members who have submitted formal complaints to Labour already, others who no longer have faith in Labour’s disciplinary processes should wait until the Party has implemented the independent disciplinary process.
The letter confirms JLM have asked Labour for “an immediate confirmation and timetable for the implementation of the independent process for handling disciplinary complaints relating to antisemitism.“
It also calls for “a suspension of NEC Antisemitism Disputes Panels hearing new cases for action or referral.”
It added: ”This weeks' events have demonstrated that many of the lessons from the experiences of Jewish members over the last five years are yet to be learnt, and that the recommendations of the EHRC’s report have been ignored by the parts of the Party responsible for overseeing their implementation."