The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) has expressed anger after it was revealed that proposed changes to how Labour deals with antisemitism complaints will be debated at the party’s annual conference on Shabbat.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, Labour’s official Jewish affiliate described the timing of the debate, to be held at the party’s conference this Saturday, as “the latest example of institutional failing” by the party on antisemitism, “adding insult to injury”.

At a meeting of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on Tuesday, it was decided that the party would change its current process for dealing with members accused of antisemitism and other types of abuse.

Under current rules, only the party’s National Constitutional Committee can expel party members, meaning that in some cases it has taken years to finally kick out members suspended for antisemitic statements.

Under the proposed rule changes, panels of NEC members would also have the ability to rule on cases and expel members when necessary.

All proposed changes to party processes are required to be debated at conference; Labour’s conference is due to run from this coming Saturday until next Wednesday.

In its statement, the JLM said that the NEC decision had been reached “without consulting us, its only Jewish affiliate, or any communal organisation.

"To add insult to injury, they will debate these changes at conference on the Jewish Sabbath, when religiously observant Jewish Labour delegates will be silenced, unable to participate in the debate.

“The Jewish community has zero confidence that proposals to hand the NEC more powers on disciplinary matters will solve this crisis.

"There have been countless examples of NEC members either engaging in antisemitism or turning a blind eye to it. It will simply streamline the process of letting antisemites off the hook.”

A Labour spokesperson called the rule change further evidence of Jeremy Corbyn’s determination to take “decisive and robust disciplinary action following complaints about a small minority of Party members.”

But a JLM source within the organisation telling HuffPost that the party had not bothered “to ask JLM and the Jewish community if they [the proposed changed] will do any good.

“They won’t. They hand power to a politburo of apparatchiks who can be told what to by Corbyn and those around him. It won’t speed up kicking out antisemites. It’ll just speed up the Party letting them off.”