Politics
Labour councillor who said rabbi was paid to criticise Corbyn suspended by party
She is the fourth Labour councillor suspended after JC investigations
June 7, 2022 15:01
She is the fourth Labour councillor suspended after JC investigations
June 7, 2022 15:01A Labour councillor in London has been suspended by the party after the JC unearthed social media posts where she said a Rabbi was paid to criticise former party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Joy Wallace, who is affiliated with the Momentum faction on Haringey council, also called Countdown's Jewish star Rachel Riley a “witch” for opposing the former Labour leader in now-deleted posts.
In the tweet from 2020 – one of several highlighted by Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS) – Ms Wallace responded to a post which said: “Rachel Riley apologises after she weighs in on Wiley fiasco with Jedward dig.”
Ms Wallace wrote: “But not for having Corbyn in a noose on her T-shirt [referring to a controversial T-shirt worn by the Countdown star] or as a Nazi.”
Wallace also made disparaging statements about Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel, questioning her Indian heritage and saying her skin colour might be the result of "a strong sunbed."
The administrative suspension means she cannot attend any Party meetings including meetings of her own branch, constituency, annual conference or any other Party event; she cannot hold office within the Party at any level.
Wallaces' suspension comes as the party is facing questions about its vetting processes after a raft of suspensions of councillors spurred by Jewish Chronicle investigations.
Last month, another Haringey Labour councillor, Ibrahim Ali was suspended after the JC revealed he had defended the description of Isis killer Jihadi John as a “beautiful young man” while working fulltime for controversial campaigning group CAGE.
Also in May, Milton Keynes councillor Ansar Hussein was suspended after the JC exposed his allegedly antisemitic social media posts about Israel. He has since issued a statement apologising for the hurt he realised he had caused.
The day before local elections, the JC exposed a councillor in the east London borough of Newham, Belgica Guana, as having shared an article online which said: “The so-called ‘Holocaust’ is propaganda in an ongoing war between the Jews and those with the courage to stand up to them.”
Ms Guana was suspended by the party on the eve of the elections but still was re-elected to her seat.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: "The Labour Party takes all complaints of racism extremely seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken."