By Marcus Dysch
2 min read
"This is it. Stand up and be counted."
In eight words, Labour peer Parry Mitchell succinctly summed up on Tuesday morning why he will leave the party next month if Jeremy Corbyn remains leader.
In far angrier sentences at the end of last week, British Jewry's leading institutions provided an uncharacteristic display of their disgust with Mr Corbyn, and blasting to smithereens any lingering chances of a future working relationship with him.
There should be no illusions now; this is the end - of both the Jewish community's cordial, almost century-long relationship with the Labour Party, and quite probably of the Labour Party in its current form.
For more than a year, the community seems to have been baited by Mr Corbyn. There were the links to a Holocaust denier. The failure to mention Israel while addressing Labour Friends of Israel. The "Minister for Jews" idea. The antisemitism suspensions. Ken Livingstone.
But it was the blatant, shameless cronyism of Shami Chakrabarti's peerage that will be seen as the final straw.
What was so striking about the Jewish groups' reaction was the sheer strength of their fury and disgust.
Within minutes of the news breaking, months of pent-up frustration flowed out.
The Community Security Trust called it a "kick in the teeth". The Board of Deputies labelled it the "whitewash for peerages" scandal. The Chief Rabbi said the credibility of Ms Chakrabarti's report lay "in tatters".
Those were the polite versions. In private, senior communal figures were more forthright. One said the Chakrabarti affair was a "complete and utter stitch-up"; another labelled it simply "disgusting".
There is an underlying concern among them that the Jewish community has been played by Mr Corbyn and those around him for months. People had welcomed Ms Chakrabarti's inquiry in good faith, believing her to be a figure who would deal with them fairly .
But the imminence of her ermine-clad appearances in the Lords has served as an awakening.
It left one senior figure admitting that too much time and resource had been "wasted on the ----ing Labour Party - and for nothing".
In years of covering controversies in Westminster and the community, I cannot recall ever hearing such a response from the community's establishment. Our organisations and high-profile individuals generally work diplomatically, trying to steer away from knee-jerk reactions regardless of the provocation.
On Labour's antisemitism meltdown they have for months tip-toed around the issues, pushing back where they saw fit, but more often than not speaking of hopes for reconciliation and their desire to meet Mr Corbyn and explain their positions.
Not any more.
This will no doubt be welcome news for the many British Jews who have urged a stronger response to the Labour leadership's antagonism. Remember, in May only 8.5 per cent of the community said they would vote for Mr Corbyn's party. That number must have sunk further since.
So expect no more holding back. But also be aware. We stand six weeks away from Mr Corbyn's almost-inevitable re-election as leader. He is not going away. And the community will need a comprehensive, thought-out plan for how to deal with him and Labour when that prospect becomes a reality.
It is indeed time to stand up and be counted.
