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Labour wants to develop new definition of antisemitism claims shadow minister

Andrew Gwynne, Shadow Communities Secretary, said the party wanted to work with the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council on the issue

April 30, 2018 10:36
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Labour wants to work with the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council on a “broader” definition of what constitutes antisemitism, Andrew Gwynne, the party’s Shadow Communities Secretary has claimed.

Asked by BBC presenter Andrew Marr why his party was refusing to adopt the full  International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism - including the extra list of examples relating to the Jewish people and Israel - Mr Gwynne said: “We have written into the rules the international definition – but in terms of the examples we don’t think these examples go far enough.

“We want to work with the Board of Deputies and with the Jewish Leadership Council to write into Labour Party rules a much broader definition of antisemitism that goes beyond that, including terms like ‘Zio’ which quite frankly are abhorrent and insulting.”

But Mr Marr pressed Mr Gwynne on his party’s failure to adopt other areas of the IHRA definition – including those involving Jews being held collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel.