Young Labour’s chairwoman has said she “utterly condemns” a tweet sent by the @YoungLabourUK twitter account which celebrated the departure of Joan Ryan from Labour.
Ms Ryan, who became the eighth Labour MP to quit the party on Tuesday night, said Jeremy Corbyn's party had "become infected with the scourge of anti-Jewish racism."
Shortly after the announcement, Young Labour sent a Tweet – which has now been deleted – which read: “Joan Ryan Gone – Palestine Lives”.
Miriam Mirwitch, who is Jewish and chairwoman of Young Labour, tweeted from her own Twitter account “to make crystal clear, I did not send the tweet about Joan Ryan from the Young Labour Twitter account and I utterly condemn it."
She vowed to continue “fighting for an open, inclusive and welcoming Young Labour,” stating that “multiple members of YL committee” have access to the Twitter account.
She wrote: “I’ll never stop fighting for an open, inclusive and welcoming Young Labour.”
To make crystal clear, I did not send the tweet about Joan Ryan from the Young Labour Twitter account and I utterly condemn it.
— Miriam Mirwitch (@mrwtch) 19 February 2019
Multiple members of YL committee have access to the account.
I'll never stop fighting for an open, inclusive and welcoming Young Labour.
The Young Labour account later retweeted a post by Asa Winstanley, the Electronic Intifada writer, who has accused Ms Mirwitch of belonging to a front group for the Israeli embassy.
Ms Mirwitch again was forced to use her personal account to condemn the retweet. She wrote: “Asa accused me of belonging to a front group for the Israeli embassy, just because I'm Jewish. I utterly oppose the Israeli government.
“It's upsetting that comrades on Young Labour committee have decided it's appropriate to RT him, on a week when I've received antisemitic abuse.”
Asa accused me of belonging to a front group for the Israeli embassy, just because I'm Jewish. I utterly oppose the Israeli government.
— Miriam Mirwitch (@mrwtch) 19 February 2019
It's upsetting that comrades on Young Labour committee have decided it's appropriate to RT him, on a week when I've received antisemitic abuse. pic.twitter.com/rtbM34tO03
The youth section of the Labour Party later apologised for sending the Tweet.
In a statement it said: “Young Labour would like to apologise for a retweet from our account yesterday.”
The group claimed not to know who sent the tweet and expressed “solidarity with our chair Miriam and others who have faced terrible abuse on Twitter over recent weeks and months.”
The Young Labour Twitter account had been criticised for a number of Tweets sent from its official account, which a number of people have access to.
Earlier this week, Ms Mirwitch criticised a tweet sent from the account after the first seven Labour MPs resigned from the party on Monday.
The Young Labour Twitter account branded the MPs who announced they were leaving Labour as “cowards” and “traitors”.
The tweet read: “Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, we’ll keep the red flag flying here.”
Ms Mirwitch, whose family are members of New West End Synagogue in Central London, responded on her personal account by saying: “This tweet is entirely inappropriate. I do not support it. I am strongly opposed to Labour splits, but the below is the incorrect response.
“A member of Young Labour National Committee proposed that we delete this tweet. As this is so contentious, members of exec are voting.”
She went on to explain that Young Labour is currently without a constitution and as a result it is “not possible for me to limit who has access to the YL Twitter.”
She said the Young Labour National Committee voted on whether the tweet should stay up and while four voted for the tweet to be deleted 14 members voted in support of the tweet, meaning she was not able to delete it.
In 2018 when Ms Mirwitch was elected as the new chair of the Young Labour movement, she said she would stay and fight against antisemitism from within the party and nothing could make her leave.
“I was elected as someone who is really open and proud of being Jewish and I had support from across the party,” she said it was proof that there was still hope for Jewish Labour activists.
