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Jonathan Freedland reacts to Corbyn's attack on his early warning about Labour antisemitism
He speaks out for first time about the Labour leader accusing him of 'utterly disgusting, subliminal nastiness' in 2016
January 17, 2020 15:11
He speaks out for first time about the Labour leader accusing him of 'utterly disgusting, subliminal nastiness' in 2016
January 17, 2020 15:11Journalist Jonathan Freedland has spoken for the first time about the Jeremy Corbyn's vitriolic attack on his early warnings about Labour antisemitism.
In May 2016, Vice released a documentary about the Labour leader that included Mr Corbyn complaining about a Guardian article by Mr Freedland, headlined: "Labour and the Left have an antisemitism problem."
While speaking to his communications director - and former Guardian journalist - Seumas Milne by phone, Mr Corbyn called the article "utterly disgusting, subliminal nastiness".
He then said of Mr Freedland: "He's not a good guy at all. He seems kind of obsessed with me."
Mr Freedland, who is also a JC columnist, has now described feeling "shaken" at the outburst but also described how "telling" Mr Corbyn's reaction is in retrospect.
"I have made a point of never saying a word about this," Mr Freedland said on the podcast Corbynism - The Post-Mortem, released on Friday.
"This is the first time I have ever talked about it. I was quite shaken by it."
At the time, he was away with his family during half-term and learned about it when a friend texted simply: "Badge of honour!"
He said he found it unsettling because it was apparent from context that his former colleague Mr Milne had called him "not a good guy" when speaking to Mr Corbyn.
"It was quite unsettling," Mr Freedland said. "We had sat next to each other at the Guardian for 10, 15 years. We were very friendly... so that was a bit of a shock.
"I found it funny that somebody who is the leader of the Opposition thinks that if a columnist is writing about them, they must have a personal obsession with them."
Mr Freedland said the article now appears "timid" given the escalation of Labour's antisemitism crisis since then. "I'm almost embarassed... All I do [in the article] is very gently say, of course, I spell out: No one is saying Jeremy Corbyn is antisemite.
"It's just we've noticed there are these few things and it would be very easy for you to deal with them.
"It's almost unctuously hesitant... It's timidly flagging up - 'There's a potential problem here'."
He continued: "To have that response, it is so telling. It actually becomes part of the case file against him.
"It shows that even when he was warned there was a problem, his reaction was not to be outraged by the problem but to be outraged by the person who sounding the alarm."