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Labour members 'radicalised into attacking Jews and Israel after Corbyn became leader'

'They’re obsessed and they’ve been radicalised. How is this not Jeremy Corbyn’s fault?'

August 4, 2019 18:00
Jeremy Corbyn
DURHAM, ENGLAND - JULY 13: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn delivers his speech during the 135th Durham Miners Gala on July 13, 2019 in Durham, England. Over two decades after the last pit closed in the Durham coalfield the Miners Gala or Big Meeting as it is known locally remains as popular as ever with close to 200,000 people expected to attend this year. The gala forms part of the culture and heritage of the area and represents the communal values of the North East of England. The gala sees traditional colliery brass bands march through the city ahead of their respective pit banners before pausing to play outside the County Hotel building where union leaders, invited guests and dignitaries gather before they then continue to the racecourse area for a day of entertainment and speeches. Beginning in 1871 the gala is the biggest trade union event in Europe and is part of an annual celebration of socialism. This year also marks the 150th anniversary of the Durham Miners’ Association. The gala is hosted by the DMA who also provide a range of services for its members, made up from former Durham miners, including compensation claims, benefit information, tribunal representation and legal advice. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
2 min read

Labour members who said nothing about Israel became "radicalised" about Jewish people and the Jewish state after Jeremy Corbyn became leader, a landmark report has found.

The research, by prominent research David Collier, identified a pattern whereby members had previously said nothing online about Jewish people or Israel but then began to "dip their toes in anti-Israel ideology" online, culiminating in outright attacks on Jews.

Mr Collier, who has written previous reports that idenitifed antisemitism within the infamous Palestine Live Facebook group of which Mr Corbyn was a member, identified one member who posted nothing on social media about the Gaza War in 2014, then shared two articles about Israel in 2015, the year Mr Corbyn became leader, 22 in 2016 and more than 300 in 2018.

In his 200-page dossier, which has been submitted to equalities watchdog the EHRC as part of its probe into whether Labour is institutionally antisemitic, he provided 14 case studies of members whose social media activity followed similar lines.