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Out of office, Corbyn is creating an antisemitic myth to explain his defeat

In his first major interview since resigning as Labour leader, Corbyn is playing with the same antisemitic fire

June 3, 2020 10:03
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GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 22: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meets with asylum seeker brothers Somer Umeed and Areeb Umeed at Possilpark Parish Church on August 22, 2018 in Glasgow, Scotland. Jeremy Corbyn met with asylum seeker families in Glasgow threatened with eviction by Serco and called for such services to be delivered by public bodies. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
2 min read

Remember back in the day when Jeremy Corbyn said he wanted “a kinder politics”? At the time, it felt like a Stalinist or Orwellian phrase in the tradition of the Big Lie, seemingly denoting something far more serious and sinister than mere chutzpah, fake news or the usual prattle from a slippery politician. Now, the longer lasting impact of that Big Lie is being revealed: and it will help drive even deeper animosity against mainstream Jewish communities.   

An important staging post in the Big Lie has been marked by Mr Corbyn’s first major interview since he left the Labour Party leadership. The interview could not be further removed from the pre-General Election vivisection that he endured from Andrew Neil. Instead, Mr Corbyn is now firmly back in his comfort zone, managing his own mythology with the help of David Hearst, a former Guardian colleague of his chief spin doctor, Seumas Milne.

Hearst and Corbyn have more than Mr Milne in common. They were, for example, amongst the leading British cheerleaders for Sheikh Ra’ed Salah, who infamously preached a blood libel in Jerusalem.

The themes of Mr Corbyn’s interview will repeat in far-left propaganda for years to come, from university academics in sociology departments throughout the country, to street demonstrations and the mad, sad and obsessive losers who pollute social media.