You recently published an attack on me and others by Jonathan Freedland (theguardian.com, 27 September) suggesting we were in part responsible for Labour’s “dark place”. In particular, it was alleged that I gave “spurious legitimacy” to Holocaust denial. Can I at least make one thing clear? In a BBC interview, where speech overlapped, my words have been twisted to suggest that I think it is acceptable to question the reality of the Holocaust. I do not. The Holocaust is as real a historical event as the second world war itself and not to be challenged. In Primo Levi’s words: “Those who deny Auschwitz would be ready to remake it.” The terrible pictures I first saw as a nine-year-old are ingrained on my memory, as they are for all my generation. Like readers of this paper, I know the history of Holocaust denial, its place in far right politics and the role of people like David Irving. To imply that I would have anything in common with them is contemptible. There are many, Jews and non-Jews alike, who challenge Freedland’s judgment on the allegations of antisemitism. The Jewish Socialists’ Group wrote “accusations of antisemitism are being weaponised to attack the Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party”. My full response is available online at the website of Jewish Voice for Labour.
Ken Loach
London
