Labour activist filmed comparing ‘a Jewish state’ with ‘an Aryan state’ - The Jewish Chronicle

Footage obtained by the JC shows a meeting of Labour International — a group of overseas members affiliated to the Labour Party — in which participants compared Israel to an “Aryan state” and claimed that the Holocaust had been “sometimes artificially maintained”.

“Please tell me the difference in principle between the concept of a Jewish state and the concept of an Aryan state,” activist Stuart Ward could be heard saying.

He also expressed the baseless claims that Ashkenazi people converted to Judaism in the past few hundred years, making them “relatively new Jews” with “no connection to historical Palestine”.

In another clip, guest speaker Jonathan Kuttab said: “The Holocaust has caused a trauma of unimaginable magnitude. Yes it’s been stoked by right-wing politicians and it’s being sometimes artificially maintained, but it’s real.”

Mr Kuttab later told the JC he had gone to “great lengths to explain that that trauma is a deep and understandable trauma which presently prevents any kind of resolution, since a traumatised person may see even the most generous offer of peace as a dangerous phenomenon that calls for even greater vigilance”.

The Zoom event was hosted last weekend by Labour International CLP. Another participant, who introduced himself as a Labour member, spoke in favour of a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“It seems to me nothing else would be remotely fair or even make any sense,” Malcolm Millais said.

Mr Kuttab was also recorded saying:“I talked once to a rabbi and said, ‘You’re a Zionist. You want a Jewish state. Why do you want a Jewish state? What does a Jewish state do for you? You can’t circumcise a state.’ He said, ‘I want a state where any Jew, any time, no questions asked, can go and live and be able to defend himself.’

“I said, ‘Maybe I can give you something better. How about a state where any Jew, any time, no questions asked, can go and live where he doesn’t need to defend himself.’”

Eve Drayton Hill, who chairs the group, said Mr Ward’s comments would be subject to a “review, potentially leading to a formal investigation.”

In a statement to the JC, the group said that “the views expressed by Mr Kuttab are not our policy. We support the Labour Party policy agreed at Conference and included in the 2019 manifesto.”

The group added that it was “opposed to intimidation, discrimination and hate speech, and our elected officers monitor meetings and events to ensure these do not occur. Labour International has a proud record of actively confronting and acting on antisemitism.”

Mr Ward did not reply to a request for comment.