A left-wing Labour group, whose honorary president is Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, accused the Jewish Labour Movement of “stabbing us in the back” over its motion of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn and suggested it was backed by Mossad.
The JLM motion was carried “almost unanimously” at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Sunday, after an “impassioned debate”, though the group has stopped short of officially disaffiliating from Labour.
But on Monday, the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), a left-wing pressure group within the party, published an article attacking the JLM's move, headlined 'JLM Stabs Labour in the Back'.
In it, the group called for the party to unilaterally break from JLM, claiming the group was "revived in 2015 specifically to combat Jeremy Corbyn, a longstanding supporter of the Palestinian cause".
Quoting a blog by Electronic Intifada, the LRC article suggests "Israeli intelligence" helped to "refound the dormant JLM", adding this was "confirmed" "the Al Jazeera‘s documentary The Lobby".
"It is not antisemitism in Britain, but opposition to policies carried out by the state of Israel that they see as the enemy," LRC writes of the JLM, saying the Jewish group "have declared war on Labour. Their resolution gives aid and comfort to the Tories in their hour of need.
“The JLM is a small organisation. It is believed to have a few hundred members, a tiny percentage of Labour’s total membership of half a million.
“But they can do harm far beyond their numbers. Their resolution is intended to feed the allegations of ‘institutional antisemitism’ against Labour, and as such has been eagerly gobbled up by the Tory press.
"The resolution is full of assertions without a scrap of evidence - too many to refute.
“The JLM is an affiliated organisation to the Labour Party. As such it can and does send delegates to local Parties. Yet it is campaigning to make a Labour government impossible!
“They are stabbing us in the back. That is insupportable.”
The Shadow Chancellor serves as the LRC’s president, despite calls to stand down over the organisation’s defence of then-suspended Labour member Jackie Walker.
JLM responded by accusing of LRC of “dog whistles to antisemitism”, saying it recalled Nazi propaganda that blamed Jews for Germany's defeat in the First World War.
JLM Vice-Chair Joe Goldberg said: “This article makes it clear that they will blame Jews for any failure at the ballot box, further enabling racism towards Jews.
"The language of 'betray' and 'backstabbing' are dogwhistles to antisemitism that Jews have experienced too many times to monstrous effect."
He continued: “They continue to deny and obfuscate the scale of anti-Jewish racism within the Labour Party, and attack Jews for standing up to racism, citing conspiracists and fake news as their evidence.”
“Yet the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, continues as its president.
“The Labour Party cannot in good faith claim to be acting against antisemitism and whilst its leadership in the shadow cabinet and the NEC associate themselves with this organisation.”
Labour has been approached for comment.
