Tory apology for Labour antisemitism jibe

A Conservative councillor has apologised for shouting “for the many, not the Jew” at a group of Labour Party activists in a London pub.

Billy Greening, a district councillor from Horsham in Sussex, reportedly approached Guardian columnist Owen Jones, Huck Magazine editor Mike Segalov and Ash Sarkar, senior editor of Novara Media, in the Falcon pub in Battersea, South-West London on Saturday.

The group of activists, who were campaigning for Labour, said Mr Greening then shouted “for the many, not the Jew” – a play on the party’s slogan under Jeremy Corbyn.

Conservative Party councillor Billy Green just came up to me and @OwenJones84 in Clapham, and said “for the many and not the Jew.” When we called him out, he said “it’s a joke, it’s funny.”

It’s not funny. It’s antisemitism and it needs to be booted out of politics.

— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) April 14, 2018

Letter in full there. pic.twitter.com/P4o3UftZ2d

— Billy (@BrightonBilly93) April 15, 2018

Accusations of antisemitism have dogged the party under Mr Corbyn’s leadership. Last month’s Westminster protest against Jew-hate in Labour, organised by the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies, attracted more than 2,000 demonstrators.

Apologising on Twitter, Mr Greening claimed he had tried to “provoke a reaction”, adding that he wished to have a discussion about the “situation” in the Labour Party.

Mr Segalov, a Jewish Labour activist, told the Evening Standard he felt Mr Greening “did not really understand what he had done wrong”, while Mr Jones tweeted that “antisemitism isn’t funny”.