Keir Starmer tweeted today that he supports all 10 demands made by the Board of Deputies that they say all Labour leadership candidates need to sign up to in order to “begin healing its relationship with the Jewish community”. (The BoD have made zero demands of the Liberal or Conservative party where Antisemitism exists to the same degree – despite the lack of equivalent media coverage).
It requests a transparency in Labour disciplinary procedures that they request of no other political party, leaving Labour wide open to media scrutiny, while its opponents are insulated.
Another demand states that any Labour member who supports, provides a platform to or gives credence to the arguments of those expelled by the party – even if it was under trial by media – will be suspended (and they called Corbyn a Stalinist!)
That JLM – the group who ‘leaked’ their testimonies to the EHRC during the 2019 election campaign to inflict maximum damage to the Labour Party – be responsible for ‘Antisemitism training’ of the very members whose hard work they fought to undermine during the 2019 election.
That Labour can only engage with the Jewish community “through its main representational group and not through fringe organisations or Individuals” – this means that only the views of the BoD and groups like JLM can be considered by Labour with regard to the Jewish community. This in itself is prejudice against religious minorities within Judaism who would lose their voice, which is troublesome, given the Jewish population in the UK is less than 300,000 and has multiple strands and variations – not one homogenous view of god and the world.
The Daily Politik
So there we go, Labour will agree that criticism of Israel, Zionism and all things connected will be classed as anti-Semitic. Oh well at least I get to save £4 a month.
Simon Goddard
