Disgraceful that ITV asked on antisemitism in Labour but not on rampant antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism in the Conservative Party. Just today it was revealed that a Conservative candidate said some events in the Holocaust have been "fabricated"
#ITVDebate
#LeadersDebate
I retweeted this 5 hours ago without comment in a break in a Labour Party antisemitism panel - my 4th in the last month. In my view there is nothing in what Maxine Peake said that a Labour panel would view as antisemitic.
So
@MichaelGove
, can you explain why you retweeted in support of a man who made a joke about Jewish people wearing Star of David armbands, who alluded to Jewish blood libel about Israelis stealing Arab babies, who says homosexuality is a sin, and says Islam’s a problem in the UK?
The man who heckled Jeremy Corbyn today was Rev. Richard Cameron.
This longstanding account links to his church and says they're Richard Cameron. Here are some of his tweets.
The Tories have absolutely no leadership left to offer the British people. Any Labour MP who votes today with the Tories to leave the EU with absolutely no idea where we are heading does not deserve to be a Labour MP
This is a lie. I sat on a panel this month which imposed several expulsions under the new rapid expulsion powers which were proposed by Jeremy & approved @ Conference. C4 Fact Check must immediately remove this. They’re supposed to be checking facts not spreading untruths
NEW: Jeremy Corbyn said Labour had 'strengthened processes' for dealing with antisemitism. But
@FactCheck
has seen a leaked internal document that casts doubt on the claim.
This tweet reveals not one iota of contrition nor any acknowledgement of wrongdoing following a further formal warning from the Labour Party for behaviour grossly detrimental to the party. Such contempt for the Party’s verdict! He has to go!
I'd like to express my heartfelt thanks for the avalanche of goodwill messages from grassroots members. I can now focus on representing local people in Derby Nth and working for a Corbyn-led Labour govt to positively transform the lives of millions.
Together anything is possible!
Whilst I don’t want to comment on why we have a vacancy, Labour members in Birkenhead now have an opportunity to move on from London-based candidates parachuted into Merseyside, and to select a local working-class candidate who’s worked on the shop floor
Johnson's deal will be a wrecking ball through the lives & well-being of ordinary people across Britain. Labour MPs cannot and must not vote for it. If they do, the NEC will have no choice but to replace them with a new, socialist Labour candidate at the next election
Chuka Umunna is the ultimate creature of spin. He was massively over-promoted in turn by Labour’s left & right, by Ed Miliband but mainly by himself. He led a new centre party to oblivion, & has now joined the party he hoped to replace. Who cares?
This has been a difficult few days for
@UKLabour
& for me, but there are two things I will not give up on: the battle against antisemitism; & the battle to elect a transformative Socialist government under the leadership of
@jeremycorbyn
Solidarity with
@Baddiel
- since he’s a Jew who’s talked about being non-Zionist, there’s no possible reason to call him a “vile Israel-fanatic” other than antisemitism. There clearly should be no place for
@georgegalloway
in
@UKLabour
or in the employment of
@talkRADIO
Since I've always made it entirely clear that my attitude to that country is entirely meh, I think we can only conclude that by "Israel-fanatic" George just means Jew. Vile Jew. And that therefore he is an anti-Semite. Now let him come at me with his stupid fucking lawyers.
Rebecca is every bit as committed to ending antisemitism in the Labour Party as I am. Her sacking is a reckless over-reaction from someone who promised to end factionalism in the party and political interference in disciplinary matters. Keir has now made these tasks harder
Really honoured to now represent almost 600,000 members on the national executive of
@UKLabour
- at last the 21st century version of the Socialist party I joined 44 years ago
Galling to see non-Jewish Labour MPs weigh in and decide who is a good Jew and who isn't. This is not the way to solve antisemitism. This is not how we make the Jewish community feel welcome in our party.
This is deliberately baiting the mainstream Jewish community days after they pleaded with him to tackle antisemitism. And he must know that meeting them now will give his members the message that the group’s extreme views are ok. Irresponsible and dangerous
I welcome & fully support Jeremy's proposal to review Tom Watson's position. We need to make sure the deputy leader role is properly accountable to the membership while also unifying the party at conference. In my view, this review is absolutely the best way of doing that
#Lab19
The decision by
@TheGreenParty
to stand aside for Lib Dems in Labour-Tory marginals like Wimbledon, Portsmouth S & Warrington S represents an appalling downgrading of the climate emergency. Only a transformative Corbyn government’s Green New Deal can begin to meet that challenge
So we’ve now heard what they’re against. Did anyone hear any policies? Chuka effectively said they want to crowdsource them. I’m sorry anyone should leave
@UKLabour
but to do so with no new direction can only be destructive, a lifeline for austerity
Jeremy Hardy was a serious voice for the Left in the media as a comedian when there there was virtually no voice for the Left in a political space. He flew the flag for socialism in its darkest days in Britain. His death is a tragic loss to us all
We didn’t win the Council, but what a fantastic vote in an authority that has been gerrymandered by its former Tory leaders through social cleansing & strategic privatisation of public housing, & which
@UKLabour
had never won in its whole existence
It is chilling as we approach Monday’s Holocaust Memorial Day to awake to discover that the attempt by Kindertransport refugee, Alf Dubs, to enshrine, after Brexit, the principle of family reunion for child refugees fleeing conflict has been blocked by Johnson’s Tory party
This is one of the most absurd attacks on Jeremy to date. It couldn't be clearer that he’s talking about a persecuted community empowering themselves & the positive role that Jewish newspapers have played. To claim otherwise is ridiculous & dangerous
The truth is that
@UKLabour
has pushed the Tories further back, with results ranging from excellent to disappointing. Above all we now need unity but the Bitterites of
@ProgressOnline
, who have never accepted their own contributory failures & mistakes, have other priorities today
Astonishing that some of our MPs prefer to use the utter chaos which Tories have brought to the country and their own party to attack our own Labour leadership. We need MPs who are on our side, not this!
“Moderate, pragmatic, mainstream” is how the PM describes the Tories which are anything but - they are the total opposite. What a shower. Let’s table a vote of no confidence in this appalling Government now.
We should welcome the decision of Airbnb to remove from its website properties in Israeli settlements built in occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank. This is a positive first step but should of course be extended to Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.
Owen is spot on: when your only visible policy is stopping Brexit, refusing to have Corbyn as PM for a few weeks exposes the true Jo Swinson: perfectly happy to prop up Tory Austerity for 5 years & now to lead a renegade bunch of opportunistic chancers
It’s happened before to many people, & it will happen again to others, but the demonisation of
@jeremycorbyn
has reached new heights and is an absolute disgrace
Margaret Hodge’s latest OTT intervention makes our task clear: (1) Do what we must to rebuild trust in the Jewish Community & move on (2) Transform the party - democracy, accountability, a mass movement (3) Stop the Tory Brexit ‘plan’, force a general election & transform Britain
The Left is most certainly not behind the triggering of Margaret Hodge in Barking nor was it the result of antisemitism. I’m told it happened because members on the Right had expected her to retire & want an MP who actually lives there, not one who has always lived in Islington
I'm deeply disappointed to learn that Baroness Debbie Wilcox, former leader of Newport City Council, has tweeted clearly factional support for anti-Corbyn statements by Iain McNicol & others, & for Labour First & Progress. She's therefore clearly unsuitable for the Inquiry panel
Rosh Hashana is a time of reflection & repentance. Perhaps you should reflect on
@BorisJohnson
, your government’s treatment of the Windrush generation, & hostile environments. Let the party without sin cast the first stone
@theresa_may
Wishing all Jews in UK & abroad a very happy
#RoshHashanah
. At a time when British Jews understandably (and sadly) feeling under threat from
@jeremycorbyn
, more important than ever for all decent people to stand together and celebrate our Jewish community.
#ShanahTova
Using the evil of antisemitism as an ulterior motive is never justifiable. It would be appalling to use it to distract attention from & evade charges for alleged sexual harassment when a hearing was imminent. The complainants deserved their case to be heard.
Parliament is not big enough to accommodate the ego of George Galloway, Peterborough does not deserve another MP who puts their own interests first, and, after, Galloway’s support for the party of Nigel Farage, he deserves nothing but disrespect from every socialist in Britain
If elected as the MP for
#Peterborough
my first priority will be to help secure the full implementation of the
#Brexit
decision made overwhelmingly by the people there in 2016. I believe I’m the best placed candidate to do so and the one who’d make the biggest impact in the House
Get over yourself, David. You’re a self-hating ex-Commie Troll who works for Murdoch. I value quality objective journalism, great drama & free-to-view sport, I just think that government may now have to find a new way of making them happen. The BBC is failing at its job
@jonlansman
There’s no fool like an old fool, Jon. If you want to know what lies on the other side of your ceaseless attacks on the BBC, just tune into Fox News.
In everything Laura Murray has done on antisemitism in the Labour Party, she’s been good at listening, quick to understand, right in her instincts, courageous in her advocacy of what she thought was right & unflinching in her antiracism - more than I can say for her detractors
I speak out about antisemitism as a Jewish socialist & antiracist because of the grossly offensive material I see in cases at Labour’s NEC which I may not reveal, but which is very like what you can see in this thread and in so many online cesspits that claim to be pro-Corbyn
It is utterly gutless that the Labour Party (apart from 10 Campaign Group MPs) abstained rather than opposing the bill to ban boycotts this evening. The fact that boycotts and sanctions helped rid South Africa of apartheid somehow passed them by! I am ashamed of my party.
It is clear so far in the EU elections that Labour has lost support in both directions on Brexit. It is therefore far too early to be drawing conclusions about how we should change policy. Anyone who says otherwise decided what they were going to say before they saw the results
We are a political party. The messages we send to voters are important. Whether you agree with her politics or not, whether you think she is the best possible MP for her constituency or not, she’s suffered appalling abuse. Must we always agree with people to show solidarity?
May will fight. Many leading Tories will defend her publicly whilst voting against her. The Tories are brutal and they are liars. To each other as well as to the poor, the powerless, to disabled people, to immigrants who’ve worked here all their lives, to the homeless & jobless
This is what I said
@RichardAngell
. Your versions are lies, distortion and fake news in your factional battle. (((Not the way to fight Antisemitism)))
The trial by media of Ewa Jasiewicz for her graffiti is no way to judge anyone. “Libertate all Ghettos” and “Free Gaza and Palestine” are not antisemitic statements. The whole context, more info than Gilligan provided & her own defence must be considered as we do at Labour's NEC
But you did vote against the motion which would have allowed that, didn't you Johanna? The one which lost by one vote. You could have voted the same way as Left CLP reps & the GMB, but you chose to vote factionally instead & against what CLPs want!
I asked at today’s
@UKLabour
NEC mtg for CLPs to be able to conduct normal business online given we will have to, for the meantime at least, conduct internal s/elections this way. GS is looking at ways to do just that & will report back on appropriate procedures🌹
Max, you are the victim of appalling abuse by senior people behaving disgracefully. What is even more disgraceful is that a Labour Party official spokesperson now appears to be defending those hateful comments made in WhatsApp groups, prejudging the Forde inquiry. Solidarity!
Visiting Scotland, it’s sickening to read off-the-record briefings against Richard Leonard by right-wing Labour MSPs. It was not Jeremy Corbyn or Ed Miliband who brought about the downfall of Scottish Labour, it was the neoliberalism of New Labour
This is the most thorough & effective defence of
@jeremycorbyn
I’ve seen against the charge of antisemitism (which he certainly doesn’t diminish) from an Economist (Prof Simon Wren-Lewis) who is “no Corbyn fan, & actively campaigned against him in 2016”
I’m deeply shocked by the evidence revealed at the weekend that former Labour Party staff who are still Labour Party members may have deliberately delayed action on antisemitism. I’ve written asking the General Secretary for an immediate investigation
If we fail to prevent the US extradition of Assange then we fail not only to defend press freedom but, in the age of Trump & Putin & Bolsonaro & Erdogan, we fail to defend the people against the tyranny of their leaders
In this country we have protections for whistle-blowers, those who take personal risk to disclose wrongdoing in the public intrest. Julian Assange is not being pursued to protect US national security. He is being pursued because he has exposed wrongdoing by US administrations
Let’s pay tribute to Sayeeda Warsi for calling out Islamophobia within her party over a long period - her call for an inquiry will earn the enmity of many former “friends” but she deserves the respect of all anti-racists
1/5 It’s right to show zero-tolerance towards expressions of antisemitism, but wrong not to recognise contrition & offer the possibility of redemption. I believe Lisa Forbes made a genuine mistake, & is clearly very sorry so I welcome her election
Great news that the Tories have finally accepted the wisdom and popularity of the
@UKLabour
commitment to public ownership of the railways on the East Coast mainline
For anyone interested in the debate about the IHRA “Working Definition of Antisemitism” &
@UKLabour
’s code of conduct, who does not regard one as sacred and the other anathema, you’d do well to read this. A touch Talmudic but nothing wrong with that
I campaigned & voted for
@UKLabour
under Wilson, Callaghan, Foot, Kinnock, Smith, Blair, Brown , Miliband & Corbyn because every one of them was preferable to their Tory opponent. And if you don’t do that under Starmer, you are bat-shit crazy & right to exit serious politics
One more thing before I go. The person responsible if socialists don’t vote Labour at the next General Election is Keir Starmer. Him & all the people around him who have created a toxic party. No one forced him to do that & no one else is responsible for that situation.
Please watch this video. David Icke’s message is clearly antisemitic as are many other conspiracy theories. Please call them out when you see or hear them.
This is right. We need a serious proactive programme of political education and training about antisemitism within
@UKLabour
but we should also recognise the seriousness of the determination to stamp it out by
@JeremyCorbyn
You can agree that anti-Semitism is definitely a problem on some parts of the left and needs to be loudly denounced while also agreeing that Jeremy Corbyn’s political opponents are cynically using it as a stick with which to beat him. You can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Any remainer thinking of voting Lib Dem today should remember how they broke their election promises, joined a Tory austerity govt for 5 years & remain their friends. Don’t give Nigel Farage a giant leg up. Voting Labour is now the only way to stop a no deal Brexit!
It is astonishing that some party staff in the McNicol era were not only deeply hostile to Corbyn but to Ed Miliband, Andy Burnham & even Tom Watson (who’d organised a coup against Blair after all). We need to return to the era of impartial party staff as they were when I joined
Yes, Ben, seems right to me. Always felt like the Party machine opposed my pro-public NHS & social care policies between 2010 & 2015. Not sure I had even-handed treatment from them in either the 2010 or 2015 leadership elections.
This video deserves the widest possible audience. It makes it crystal clear to any viewer that this man is an incompetent, arrogant, lazy, nasty, dodgy piece of shit, not fit to be PM & I’m being politer than he deserves
Today we remember the Nazi genocide of European Roma, the
#Porajmos
for which after a millennium of persecution they got no compensation, no homeland, just more of the same through the Cold War, east & west, & now yet worse from neo-fascists in Italy & Hungary
Really enjoyed sharing apples dipped in honey with
@jeremycorbyn
& talking about the significance of Rosh Hashona - the Jewish New Year - before coming down to Cornwall to do the same with my grandchildren
I've written for
@Guardian
about why the
@UKLabour
Code of Conduct is the gold standard for political parties. It adopts the IHRA definition and expands on its examples, requiring a higher standard of behaviour. It should be celebrated and replicated.
This piece, uncomradely & divisive, written without talking to me, exaggerates splits on the left. Young & old are part of our movement, including those who joined after JC became leader & many others (myself included) who've been around a lot longer
1/5 Laura Murray’s done much more than her detractors to tackle antisemitism in the party. I can’t think of anyone better for this role. She’s developed wide knowledge about it, deeply wants to root it out, has engaged & worked with Jewish communities
I deplore the election of Modi just as I did that of Trump, Bolsonaro, & Erdoğan. On a day we are trying to defeat our home-grown peddlers of hate and division, no Labour MP should be welcoming their election elsewhere!
As Indian Prime Minister
@narendramodi
wins a second term we congratulate him for his message: “Our alliance represents India's diversity and our agenda is India's progress.” celebrating the country’s diversity.
I look forward to deepening our friendship and trade.
Len McCluskey is right: Labour was dying before Corbyn - going the way so many European social democratic parties that caved in to neoliberalism have gone. There can be no return!
The crowds gather in Tel Aviv to learn Arabic & protest the new racist Nation State Law, organised by the fantastic organisation linking Jews and Palestinians, Standing Together עומדים ביחד نقف معًا
THE WORLD'S LARGEST ARABIC LESSON is happening right now in Tel Aviv. We're here to learn
#Arabic
and protest the
#NationStatetBill
, which made Arabic a lower-class language in Israel. We're here to fight for the most basic thing there is: equality. JOIN US
@omdimbeyachad
TalkRadio is right to sack George Galloway for what he said. Antisemitism must be rooted out and rejected by all socialists, alongside all other forms of racism and hate speech.
Fiona Bruce was clearly repeating Tory propaganda that Labour were behind in the polls. If she had said behind in one poll, that would have been different matter.
This👇🏾is not an apology and does not address all of the issues that have been raised.
I agree with Chief Rabbi Mirvis: “challenging racism is not a matter of politics, it goes well beyond that. Wherever there is evidence of it... it must be swiftly rooted out. Hateful prejudice is always wrong, whoever the perpetrator, whoever the victim” but it begs questions
Comlete nonsense from Huff Post. I was there. The balance sheet is very healthy. We’re on an election footing without an election or the income that comes with it. Now an election looks unlikely anytime soon, we need to cut costs to build the war chest
Today, as a Tory parliamentary candidate is revealed as a Holocaust denier, I put the case in the Jewish Chronicle for politicians campaigning to eradicate all forms of racism in all parties rather than exploiting it for party political advantage
Even more shocking after the vote today, this is a *must see* summary of everything that’s despicable about BoJo & makes him unfit to represent his country in a pub quiz never mind as PM. He is a lazy, lying, self-serving, racist, homophobic nasty piece of work - a posh Trump
Boris Johnson described gay people as "bumboys", compared equal marriage to three men marrying a dog, discussed beating up a journalist with a criminal, called black people "piccaninnies" with "watermelon smiles", and was sacked twice for dishonesty.
Where is the scrutiny?
IHRA example of possible antismemitism: “Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group”. How would your comment, Michael, stack up against a similar definition/example of Islamophobia?
@BoyCharioteer
@DAaronovitch
@johngpayne
Why ? It may be something to do with the fact that no Jews are plotting to blow up women and children at Manchester concerts or mow folk down with cars in London , Few Muslims are plotting either of course, but alas a few idiots can cause much grief
Laura Murray’s done more than anyone I know (including the disgruntled ex-staffer who’s leaking these emails) to tackle antisemitism in the party. I know for a fact this ex-staffer, from the right, frustrated cases to make the Party and leadership look bad
*You can never trust a “Liberal-Democrat”* - they said they’d scrap tuition fees but raised them from £3k to £9k a year when
@joswinson
was a minister in a Tory Austerity govt. Always read the small print - they’re devious, they lie, & in power they crap on the young & the poor
The Israeli party
@UKLabour
should work closely with is Meretz whose leader Tamar Zandberg said of the Gaza shootings "A state whose soldiers shoot to kill in order to protect a fence is committing a moral crime” calling for an independent investigation. Avi Gabbay backed the IDF
Yesterday at Labour's NEC the majority voted for STV in NEC elections but against STV or AV in all other sections. Democracy is OK it seems but only if you think your faction stands to gain from it! They also voted against allowing CLPs to meet again to make decisions.
1/5 Antisemitism in Labour is a serious & complex issue which deserves fair & balanced discussion. But the contents of tonight’s Panorama exposé, some of which I’ve seen as a potential interviewee, suggest that it will fall well short of that
#Dispatches
& YouGov polling prove majority of Tory members hold racist & extreme views. We know antisemitism exists among minority of Labour members. From media coverage you’d think it was the other way around. Why is much of the media turning a blind eye to Tory racism?
Dispatches reveals Islamophobic posts written online by people identifying themselves as members of the Conservative Party.
They have been suspended pending investigation.
This league table from
@ConHome
shows Theresa May is the least favourite member of Cabinet with her own side. If only
@UKLabour
could find a way of not having to spend so much time on certain other things, attacking the Tories might actually be quite productive
Any remainer thinking of voting Lib Dem should remember how they broke their election promises, joined a Tory austerity govt for 5 years & remain their friends. Voting Lib Dem now would give Nigel Farage a giant leg up. Voting Labour is the best way to stop a no deal Brexit!
Protest against the killings yesterday of 16 Palestinians + more than 1,400 wounded by Israeli troops in the Land Day demonstrations at the Gaza border - a brutal response to a peaceful protest against illegal occupation & settlements over 51 years:
Remember that time a former chair of
@_LFI
, Lady Valerie Cocks said of
@jonlansman
"Although we now have other enemies like Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, in my opinion Lansman is even worse. The Jewish enemies always are"... pause for a minute and spot the anti-Semitism.
Yaxley-Lennon, aka a dangerous Islamophobe & racist, has new American friends with lots of money he’s using to try to reinvent himself. Please share this video. The truth will out