A new Antisemitism Monitoring Centre set up by the Jewish Labour Movement to record and process complaints relating to Jew-hate within Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party has already received over 600 submissions — just a week after it was launched.
An email sent by JLM to its 2,000 members suggested there was a urgent need for the service because Labour had allowed complaints of antisemitism to be “dismissed when reported, obfuscated when they entered the national press, and dragged on because that was politically easier”.
The launch of the centre — which is accessible to all Labour members regardless of whether or not they subscribe to JLM — will allow the organisation to build up a clear picture of what is happening across all areas of Mr Corbyn’s party.
The move comes amid fears that Labour’s own compliance unit, which is meant to investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct, is now operating on threadbare staffing levels following several departures in recent months.
The request to hear experiences of antisemitism in Labour is directed at either “victim or third-party observers” according to the email and JLM website.
The group is also keen to learn of alleged instances of antisemitism from both Jewish and non-Jewish members of the party.
In a statement, the JLM said: “Throughout the past three years, the Jewish Labour Movement has engaged, in good faith, with the Labour Party to try to solve the severe and ongoing crisis of Labour antisemitism.
“This has included meetings at every level of the party, including the Leader’s Office, the General Secretary and many more. We are grateful to our allies in the Labour Party and across the Jewish community who have supported us throughout this time.
“By sharing your experiences of antisemitism within the Labour Party, you are enabling JLM to build a clear picture of what is happening within all parts of the party. We will use this information to help ensure that antisemitism is property addressed, and may need to share it with relevant parties.
“We will keep fighting to eradicate antisemitism from our party, and our society, but we need your help to do so.”
Anyone wishing to add their own experience of antisemitism within Labour can do so by completing the survey before October 26.