Dame Margaret Hodge has said Labour “sullied” its attempt to adopt the internationally recognised definition of Jew-hate by adding a free speech clause.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today on Wednesday, the veteran Jewish MP said the party should have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance definition of antisemitism “no ifs, no buts.”
Instead, Labour's National Executive Committee adopted the IHRA definition with a caveat that says it will not "in any way undermine freedom of expression on Israel or the rights of the Palestinians.”
Dame Margaret said she was “saddened by the attempt at what looks to me as a get out clause.”
After Tuesday’s meeting, sources told the JC there had been an angry clash between pro-Corbyn factions and the moderate group on the NEC led by Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson.
The Labour leader tried to include a statement suggesting “it should not be considered antisemitic to describe, Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist because of their discriminatory impact, or to support another settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict” into the code.
He withdrew this when it was met with an angry reaction from a majority of NEC members.
Dame Margaret told Today the dispute and attempt to add the statement “demonstrates a reluctance on his part rather than a very public acceptance to deal with the issue.”
She added: “He should have adopted the full international definition with no if no buts. He has sullied it.”
She said the "onus is really on“ Mr Corbyn as party leader.
Shadow Attorney General Baroness Chakrabarti, who wrote a report on antisemitism within Labour in 2016, rejected Dame Margaret’s claims, saying the free speech clause was “about reassuring people that you can be a critic of Israel without being antisemitic you just need to conduct your debate in a certain way.”
“There was no sullying,” she said.
She said the statement was “not a caveat or a dilution, the words are true", claiming it was necessary because of “concerns” around free speech and the right to criticise Israel.
When pushed on whether she thought it was ok to call Israel a racist endeavour - which the IHRA definition says could be antisemitic - she said: “It depends how you do it.
“I think there has to be a space for disagreement around one of the biggest geo political problems of my lifetime.
“What is not acceptable is to deny the Jewish people to self-determination. All we are trying to do is reassure people on both sides of one of the most intractable disputes, is that we can move forward.”
Dame Margaret said the Labour leader must prove his commitment to re building trust with the Jewish community.
She said it was “outrageous” that Mr Corbyn was still taking action against MP Ian Austin “for expressing his views, while failing to take action against Pete Willsman.”
Mr Willsman, who is one of Mr Corbyn’s closest allies on Labour’s ruling body claimed Jewish “Trump fanatics” were making false claims of antisemitism in the party.
A recording obtained by the JC revealed explosive audio of Mr Willsman’s angry rant yet no action was taken against him for his comments.
Dame Margaret said: “His vile rant at a NEC meeting was so antisemitic, which Jeremy witnessed and did absolutely nothing about.”
During the interview, Baroness Chakrabarti defended Mr Corbyn over a video of him in 2013 that emerged, showing he said Zionists “don't understand English irony” despite having lived in the country for a very long time.
She said: “It has been misquoted, misrepresented and spun in a way that is unhelpful to anxious minorities in this country including the Jewish community.”
Baroness Chakrabarti pleaded with British Jews who have “been hurt” by Labour's antisemitism crisis “to come back into the room for the discussion.
“We have accepted the examples and it took so long because of genuine anxieties, however misplaced, about free speech. I will open the door and I will put the kettle on,” she said.
