Jeremy Corbyn met senior figures from the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council this week to try to address concerns over antisemitism in the Labour party. Jewish leaders have said they want to see improvements in six key areas.
Leadership
The Jewish leaders at the meeting said they wanted to see Corbyn take a proactive approach in the fight against antisemitism, calling out supporters who used his name to defend their anti-Jewish remarks. Corbyn countered that he had already done so, pointing to op-eds in which he had acknowledged the scale of the problem. The Jewish leaders said they hoped now to see Corbyn fight antisemitism with the same passion as other issues.
Disciplinary cases
Labour said it expected to resolve two key outstanding cases of alleged antisemitism – involving Ken Livingstone, the former London mayor, and Jackie Walker, former vice-chair of Momentum – by July.
A key sticking point is the Jewish groups’ call for an “independent, mutually agreed ombudsman” to oversee performance in tackling antisemitism. They argued such a move would not be unusual, pointing to examples such as the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Labour has said it cannot agree to appointing a figure who is responsible to an outside body, but sources said it accepted the principle that additional expertise and independent opinion were needed and the party intended to hire an in-house general counsel.
Relations with suspended members
The JLC and BoD said no MPs or party member should share platforms with people who have been suspended or expelled for antisemitism. Labour is understood to be uncomfortable with no-platforming members suspended pending an investigation, when the cases have not yet been proved. Corbyn is said to have argued he cannot dictate who his MPs deal with, but community leaders believe he has sufficient influence to do so.
The definition of antisemitism
Jewish leaders argued Labour should adopt the full definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) – the working definition had already been agreed by Labour’s national executive committee. But sticking point at the meeting was a example given in the IHRA definition referring to “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, eg by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavour”.
Concerns were raised that this example could preclude criticism of Israel’s creation or discussing whether ethnic cleansing had occurred. It was counter-argued that the example is meant to highlight that the concept of a Jewish homeland is not in itself racist. The definition also specifically says comments must be put in context and says the “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”.
Corbyn’s team said the they would consider that point but also argued a report for the party by Shami Chakrabarti went further than the IHRA definition by banning the use of “Zio” as a term of abuse.
Engagement
The BoD and JLC wanted Corbyn to confirm he would seek dialogue with the Jewish community through its “main representative groups and not through fringe organisations who wish to obstruct the party’s efforts to tackle antisemitism”. Implicit in that demand is that Corbyn should not interact with Jewish Voice for Labour, a pro-Corbyn and anti-Israel group. However, Corbyn and his advisers made clear they intended to remain in contact with a variety of Jewish groups across the spectrum.
Process
It is understood both sides felt there had been constructive progress on restoring confidence in the party’s disciplinary processes. Labour’s general secretary, Jennie Formby, laid out plans to reform the process and beef up the party’s legal team, including hiring an in-house general counsel to advise on disciplinary matters.
