As Jewish members of Islington North CLP we wish to register our utter dismay that, one year on from our MP Jeremy Corbyn having the Labour Whip unjustly removed, it has still not been restored.
We feel especially strongly about this matter because the justifications claimed for Jeremy Corbyn’s initial suspension (rightly overturned by an NEC panel) were his fair and measured comments in response to the EHRC’s report on its Investigation into Antisemitism in the Labour Party, which were distorted both by the media and the party leadership to mean something entirely different.
In these comments Jeremy Corbyn clearly stated that, “Anyone claiming there is no antisemitism in the Labour Party is wrong. Of course there is, as there is throughout society, and sometimes it is voiced by people who think of themselves as on the left.” But he exonerated the vast majority of Labour members from the stain of being unjustly accused of antisemitism when he added that, in his opinion, “the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media.” We concur with those comments.
As active Jewish members in Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency we have always felt safe, welcome, and supported in everything we do in the locality and in the Party. We know much more intimately than his critics exactly how committed Jeremy Corbyn has been, throughout his time as our MP, to challenging and eradicating any form of racism, including antisemitism, from whichever quarter. We also respect and value his consistent and determined support for migrant and refugee communities.
Jeremy Corbyn is proud to represent a multicultural constituency. We have welcomed his efforts to build strong relationships with both religious and secular Jews, as he has with other minorities in our borough. And as Jews concerned about antisemitism across the world we recognise the significance of his efforts to warn of the resurgence of antisemitism alongside islamophobia and anti-Roma racism in central and Eastern Europe today.
We have been very pleased to be able to campaign alongside him in his work against racism, and also in his work for social justice and human rights at a local and global level, including justice for the Palestinian people. We share with him a belief that there is no contradiction between standing up against antisemitism and standing for justice in Israel/Palestine.
Despite the restrictions placed on our MP by having the Labour Whip removed we know that he has continued to work diligently to represent all his constituents and deal with the problems they face under a Conservative government that is responsible for magnifying the inequalities in our society.
We look forward to Jeremy Corbyn once again being able to play a full role within our Party locally and nationally. For that to happen we need him to have the Labour Whip restored without any further delay.
David Rosenberg, Julia Bard, Lynne Segal, Rob Abrams, Ruth Cohen, Katie Costello, Elana Dallas, Michael Ellman, Tony Graham, Louisa Kaplan, Jenny Kassman, Julian Lousada, Mica Nava, Jenny Richardson, Sonia Routledge, Susan Rowlands, Richard Saffron, Anabelle Sreberny, Ruth Steigman, Alexandra Stein, Annette Thomas, Peter Thomas, Gill Yudkin, John Yudkin, Pam Zinkin