Labour Party

Shana Tova – from Jeremy Corbyn

I’ve seen more than one person on social media instruct Jeremy Corbyn not to send them festive greetings for Rosh Hashanah. This is more than understandable – however it’s quite possible that Corbyn would come in for criticism if he failed to mark the occasion, given his tense relationship with the country’s Jewish communities.  Yet rather than simply producing one of his usual awkward video messages, Corbyn decided to meet up with Jewish Labour supporters to find out more about Rosh Hashanah.  The decision to include a member of JVL, Sue Lukes, can only be interpreted as a deliberate provocation – designed to further anger and alienate the very people he is supposedly trying to reach out to.

Lucy adds;

All three people with him in this video represent all that’s wrong with Corbyn’s relationship with the Jews. Lansman is well known. Rob Abrams apparently helped organise what has been termed a “Kaddish for Hamas” and Labour councillor Sue Lukes. She wrote that the 2014 and 2016 immigration Acts “reproduces the Nuremberg laws that were used to exclude Jews from all areas of public life and from their homes.”

She also called the Jewish Socialist Group’s attack on the Home Affairs Select Committee’s report on antisemitism an “utterly on point Statement”. That “on point” report complains; “The evidence it took relies heavily on the views expressed by the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jonathan Arkush, and the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis” – That’s right she’s complaining that the committee spoke to the Chief Rabbi and head of the Board of Deputies!