Jewish leaders savage Jeremy Corbyn for ‘hostile’ views on Jews
Mr Corbyn last night insisted he condemns anti-Semitism and said he would meet representatives of the Jewish community
JEREMY Corbyn was last night sensationally accused of viewing of Jewish people as a “hostile entity and class enemy” by livid community leaders.
Simmering anger erupted as the Board of Deputies of British Jews savaged the Labour leader for siding with anti-Semites “again and again”.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism separately branded Labour “racist” and said it had filed a disciplinary complaint about Mr Corbyn with the party.
It followed the Labour leader’s admission late last week that in 2012 he had defended a horrific mural in east London that depicted Jewish bankers playing monopoly on the backs of the poor.
Mr Corbyn on Friday night acknowledged his “sincere regret” that he hadn’t looked more closely at the image.
Deputy Leader Tom Watson yesterday suggested his boss hadn’t spotted the severity of the image at the time as he was seeing it on Facebook “on the move”.
But in an unprecedented attack, The Board of Deputies last night said “enough is enough” and vowed to seek answers from Labour MPs at a meeting of the parliamentary party in Westminster tonight.
In an open letter Board President Jonathan Arkush and Jewish Leadership Council chair Jonathan Goldstein said Mr Corbyn was “ideologically fixed within a far left worldview” that is “instinctively hostile to mainstream Jewish communities”.
The pair said: “When Jews complain about an obviously anti-Semitic mural in Tower Hamlets, Corbyn of course supports the artist.
“Hezbollah commits terrorist atrocities against Jews, but Corbyn calls them his friends and attends pro-Hezbollah rallies in London.
"Raed Salah says Jews kill Christian children to drink their blood. Corbyn opposes his extradition and invites him for tea at the Commons.”
They added: “Again and again, Jeremy Corbyn has sided with anti-Semites rather than Jews.
"At best, this derives from the far left’s obsessive hatred of Zionism, Zionists and Israel.
"At worst, it suggests a conspiratorial worldview in which mainstream Jewish communities are believed to be a hostile entity, a class enemy.”
Mr Corbyn last night insisted “I utterly condemn anti-Semitism” and that he would be meeting representatives of the Jewish Community in the coming weeks to try and rebuild confidence in Labour.
In a statement he said: “We recognise that anti-Semitism has occurred in pockets within the Labour Party.
"I am sincerely sorry for the pain which has been caused.”
But he refused once more to apologise for his own actions – and sources claimed he would snub tonight’s meeting.
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The bitter row threatens the biggest challenge to Jeremy Corbyn’s grip on Labour since he became leader in the summer of 2015.
Widely respected Labour backbencher Wes Streeting last night tweeted: “We should be ashamed that it’s come to this.”
The fallout is also a huge boost to the Tories ahead of the upcoming local elections given the large Jewish vote in key London seats Labour were expected to gain – such as the borough of Barnet.
The Tories last night ripped up plans for a Theresa May PR push because of the extraordinary Labour row.