Labour Party members: please add your full name and CLP in the form at the end of this post to have your signature added to the letter. The list will be updated daily.
Dear members of the NEC,
As members of the Labour Party, we, the undersigned, call on the party’s National Executive Committee to resist calls to adopt all eleven examples accompanying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into the party’s code of conduct on antisemitism.
The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party and as such must stand up for justice and equality and speak up against oppression. We are gravely concerned that two of the currently omitted examples in particular will be used to silence free speech on Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights and freedom.
The IHRA states that instances of antisemitism may include “Applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation”. We fear that if adopted into the party’s code of conduct, this example will be used to oppose and ban support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Criticism of BDS often centres upon it “singling out” Israel and treating it differently than other “democratic” states. However, Israel is not a democratic state. It enforces a system of apartheid in the occupied West Bank, with different roads and different legal systems and courts for Israelis and Palestinians, including the world’s only military court for children, and has recently adopted a law relegating Israeli Arabs to second class citizens in Israel proper. The BDS movement is modelled on the boycott of apartheid South Africa, the latter which had broad support on the European left. We resisted apartheid then and we must resist it now.
The IHRA further includes as an example of antisemitism “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” We fear that this will be used to silence discussion and raising awareness of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Palestinians in 1947-48 so that the Israeli state could be established as an ethno-nationalist “Jewish homeland”, as well as criticism of the current apartheid system. We ask the NEC to please note that the two parts of the example are separate issues. Claiming that the State of Israel is a racist endeavour is not the same as denying Jewish people the right to self-determination. It is denying such self-determination at the cost of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people. It is denying self-determination in the form of an ethno-nationalist state. All people and nations have an internationally recognised right to self-determination, but it is our view, and we believe it should be the view of the Labour Party, that such self-determination should be in the form of a democratic state that grants equal rights to everyone lawfully residing within its borders. That is not how the state of Israel was created. It was created through the expulsion and killing of members of one ethnic group to make room for another, and this continues to be the basis of the Israeli state today. The Nakba has been well documented by both Palestinian and Israeli scholars, and the Palestinian right of return has been formally recognised by the UN. We must be allowed to speak freely about this. Our Palestinian members must be able to speak freely about the Nakba and about the current system of apartheid and ongoing ethnic cleansing just like our Jewish members must be able to speak freely about the Holocaust. Recognising that right does not equate to denying Jewish people in Israel the right to self-determination in a fully democratic state.
As members of the NEC will be aware, the IHRA definition and examples have been used elsewhere to shut down legitimate and non-racist debate on Israel, such as at the University of Lancashire last year, where a panel on “Debunking misconceptions on Palestine and the importance of BDS” was banned by the university citing the IHRA definition, after pressure from pro-Israel groups. If all eleven examples are adopted by the NEC at its next meeting in September, many party members will face an impossible choice – be silent or face possible suspension and/or expulsion. We are deeply concerned and fearful of what will become of our party and our movement if members are not able to freely speak out against apartheid and ethnic cleansing. To endorse the BDS movement or to suggest that the the State of Israel in its historic and current form is a racist endeavour are not expressions of antisemitism. Imagine if members had been banned from speaking out in a similar way against apartheid South Africa. It is absolutely crucial – for the future of our party and the country, and for the prospect of an end to the brutal occupation of Palestine – that members of the Labour Party are able to speak freely about Israel’s crimes without fear of punishment.
Signed:
Åsa Jansson, Hove CLP
Rebecca Massey, Hove CLP
James Ellis, Hove CLP
Pam Page, Brighton Pavilion CLP
Pam Page, Brighton Pavilion CLP
Anne Barry, Brighton Kemptown CLP
Anne Mitchell, Hove CLP
Trefor Harris, Brighton Kemptown CLP
David Thomas, Hove CLP
Justyna Wroblewska, Brighton Pavilion CLP
Dr Thomas Smith, Brighton Pavilion CLP
Sarah Haddow, Brighton Kemptown CLP
Daniel Harris, Brighton Kemptown CLP
Rachael Ellis, Hove CLP
Giorgio Finella, Hove CLP
Michael Deas, Leyton and Wanstead CLP
Vin McIntyre, City of Durham CLP
Ali Brownlie Bojang, Hove CLP
Sue Simmonds, Brighton Kemptown CLP
Poppy Altmann Richmond Park CLP
Brenda Stephenson City of Durham CLP
Angela Hankin, Chair , City of Durham CLP
Andy Richards, Hove CLP.
Charlotte Austin, Bishop Auckland CLP
Paul Whittaker, Telford & Wrekin CLP
Tony Greenstein, Expelled Member of Brighton Kemptown CLP (expected to be reinstated shortly)
Pete Winstanley, City of Durham CLP
Dr Andy Thompson, Birmingham (Ladywood) CLP and Unite the Union
Penny Hajduk, Brighton Kemptown CLP
Tom Raeside, Lewisham and Deptford CLP
Chris Jackson, Hove and Portslade CLP
Judy Richards, Brighton Pavilion CLP
Roy Pennington, Brighton Kemptown CLP
Nichole Brennan, Hove and Portslade CLP
Michael Green, Brighton Kemptown CLP
Lizzie Humphreys, Kemptown and Peacehaven CLP
Tim Halpin, Kemptown and Peacehaven CLP
John Austin, Hove CLP (former Labour MP, 1992-1997 Woolwich, 1997-2010 Erith & Thamesmead)
Tim Holmes, Bristol West CLP
Lynn Gibson, Bishop Auckland CLP
William Baker, Hornsey and Woodgreen CLP
Sheila Hutchings, Brighton Pavilion CLP
Michael Coram, Hackney South & Shoreditch
John Henry, Wrexham CLP
Ray Gibson, Kemptown and Peacehaven CLP
Tony Russell, Northampton CLP
Dai Wright, West Carmarthen and South Pembrokeshire CLP
Nigel Chapman. Basingstoke CLP
John Dickie Northampton South
Frances Kelly Finchley and Golders Green CLP
Rita Griffin, Clacton CLP
Sean Kelleher, Hendon CLP
Catherine Kelleher, Hendon CLP
Dillon Kelleher Hendon CLP
Lorna Jeans Hendon CLP
Beverley Molineaux Keighley CLP
Wendy Smith nw labour clp labour rooms ls21 1hb
Julian Townsend, Camberwell and Peckham CLP
Rosalind Austin, Camberwell and Peckham CLP
Simon Kemp, Shipley CLP
Michael Griffin, Coventry North West CLP
Philip John Adams, member of Labour International
Esther Giles, Bristol North West CLP
Edward Clarke, Vauxhall CLP
Rob Jefferson, Folkestone and Hythe CLP
Rita Appleby, Chelmsford CLP
Maureen Watkinson, Rochdale Greater Manchester CLP
Thomas Fallows, Morecambe CLP
David Alan Lowton, St Helens South and Whiston CLP
Louise Pantry, Hove and Portslade CLP
Samuel Osman, City of Durham CLP
Carlos Soto, Finchley and Golders Green CLP
Sylvia Cohen, Finchley and Golders Green CLP
Rezaul Haque, Ilford North CLP
Adrienne Davis, Worthing West CLP
John Ogden, Worthing West CLP
Rosemary Bunting , Worthing West CLP
Maggie Gothard, Skipton and Ripon CLP
Stefan Smith,Leeds West CLP
Sharon Prendergast, Northampton CLP
Steve White, Northampton CLP
Bill Curran, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross CLP
Kate Knight, Hove CLP
Brian Lovett-White, Hastings and Rye CLP
Alan Wright, Worthing West CLP
Michael Wright, Worthing West CLP
Carol Wilcox, Christchurch CLP
Andrew Gunton, Northampton CLP
Silvia Vousden, Reading CLP
Thomas Li, Oxford East CLP
James Jepson, Stretford & Urmston CLP
David Avery, Hackney North CLP, personal capacity
Maureen Hindle Blackburn with Darwen CLP
Jean Thirtle, North Norfolk CLP
Allan Pearson, South Ribble CLP
Caroline Tipler Derby South CLP
Kate Thomas, Truro & Falmouth CLP
Kevin Safford, Aldershot CLP
Karen Meanwell, West Wold CLP
Mohammed Shafiq Walsall South CLP
Val Graham, Chesterfield CLP and Unison
Michelle Hesler, Women’s Officer, Hull West and Hessle CLP
Philip Aston, Wolverhampton East (personal capacity)
Janet Sillett Norwich South CLP
Louise Hersee, Hastings & Rye CLP
Richard Bridge, Rochester and Strood CLP
Juliette Emery, Worcester CLP
Daud Niazi, Ilford North CLP
Linda Lomax Louth and Horncastle CLP
Cllr. Leah Levane, Hastings and Rye CLP
Kay Green, Hastings and Rye CLP
Gilda Holzman, Harrow East CLP
Liz Byrne, Andover & NW hampshire CLP
Jay Kramer, Hastings & Rye CLP
John Beeching Bexhill and Battle CLP
Elizabeth Beeching Bexhill & Battle CLP
Gilda Holzman, Harrow East CLP
Mike Howard, Hastings & Rye CLP PEO and Retired Cllr, Hastings Borough Council
David Watson, Walthamstow CLP
Linda Bora, Chorley CLP
David White, Croydon Central CLP
Sheila Williams, City of Durham CLP
Russ Brasington, Hastings & Rye CLP
Liz Segal, Hastings & Rye CLP
Matt Morris, Hastings & Rye CLP
Mandy McKenna, N.Norfolk CLP
Colm Doherty, Finchley & Golders Green CLP
Luci Davin, Tottenham CLP
Paul Knaggs Chesterfield CLP
Nicholas Davies, Hastings & Rye CLP
Kyrsty Winch, Hastings & Rye CLP
Julia Price, Hastings & Rye CLP
Ian Richardson. Lewisham Deptford CLP
Karen Fletcher, Rother Valley CLP
Mary Davies, Barnet CLP
Maureen Cave, Tynemouth CLP
Ann Kramer, Hastings CLP
Nick Franklin
Lucy Wallis
Billie Reynolds, Reading West CLP
Michelle Harris, Warwick & Leamington Spa CLP
Ben Timberley, Erewash CLP
Andy Coombes, Stroud CLP
Simon Draper, Lincoln CLP
Steve Parry, Kemptown and Peacehaven CLP
Robert Davies, Cardiff West CLP
Matthew Strange, Bristol West clp
Harry Richardson, Chorley Rural West CLP
Chris Turner, City of Durham CLP, Labour North Regional Board Member.
John Oates, Labour International
Dainer Cooney, Bromley CLP
Joanne Hughes, Derby South CLP
Ian Humphries, East Devon CLP
Jenny Hardacre, South Cambs CLP
James Hall, South Cambs CLP
Lee Wood- Doncaster North CLP
Yarin Brokenshire – Cambridge CLP
Si Denbigh – Leeds Central CLP
Roland Laycock – Mansfield CLP
Barbara Kay Lawrence – Torfaen CLP
Patricia Sheerin – Putney CLP
Sue Shaw – Henley CLP
Geoff Moore – Henley CLP
Caroline Deans, Lewisham Deptford CLP
Cathy Coutanche Aberconwy CLP
Olwen jones East hampshire CLP
Michael C.E.Sherred – Brighton Pavilion CLP
Adrienne Davis, Worthing West CLP
John Ogden, Worthing West CLP
Elaine Tiffin, Kemp Town CLP
James Tarlton, Bristol West CLP
Su Butcher, Clacton CLP
Laura Stuart, Chipping Barnet CLP
Aida Alayarian
Natalie Kilby, Northampton
Michael Bassett, Clacton CLP
Rive Joffe – Holborn & St Pancras CLP
Lorcan Whitehead – Colchester CLP
Kevin Johnstone, Northampton CLP
Claire Copple, Northampton CLP
Craig Hedges – Truro & Falmouth CLP
Simon Lambert – South Northamptonshire CLP
Alex Braithwaite – Hove & Portslade CLP
Claire Harris – Northampton South CLP
Gary Doherty – Barrow & Furness CLP
Gail Doherty – Barrow & Furness CLP
Sian Doherty – Barrow & Furness CLP
