British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Wednesday again refused to confront anti-Semitism in his party.
Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis has gone on for months now as numerous Labour officials, including Corbyn himself, have made anti-Semitic references. On Feb. 18, Luciana Berger, a Jewish member of Parliament, quit Labour after saying it hadn’t taken the issue seriously enough. But Corbyn’s latest error here is his failure to suspend Chris Williamson, another member of Parliament.
At stake: the publication of a recent recording in which Williamson said Labour had been “too apologetic” in its response to various anti-Semitic scandals. Although Williamson has (ironically) apologized for his remarks about being too apologetic, other Labour Party members of Parliament are not impressed. Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, described Williamson’s apology as “heavily caveated … it is not good enough.” And the Board of Deputies of British Jews issued a stinging rebuke of Corbyn, saying nothing other than Williamson’s immediate suspension from the party would be acceptable.
We reject Chris Williamson’s half-hearted apology, which appears in any case to have been written by someone else. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/D4j5G5qkSf
— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) February 27, 2019
Still, it’s not surprising Corbyn is so unwilling to act here. The Labour leader regards his party’s anti-Semitism problem as exaggerated. And Williamson, a freelance employee of Vladimir Putin and a fan of both Nicolas Maduro and Bashar Assad, is one of Corbyn’s most ardent supporters.
Yet, with the British political Left increasingly split between anti-Semitism denialists and those like Tom Watson who want to confront the issue, the party’s continued existence is now in question. Williamson’s comments can be seen below.
WATCH: Chris Williamson tells a Sheffield Momentum meeting that Labour has been “too apologetic” about anti-Semitism… pic.twitter.com/zxtKdHQPvw
— Liz Bates (@wizbates) February 26, 2019
