Under current leader Jeremy Corbyn, Britain’s Labour Party is enveloped in an anti-Semitism crisis. Somewhat anti-Semitic himself, Corbyn’s failed leadership recently led a number of Labour parliamentarians to quit the party.
Even if Corbyn doesn’t care about Jews, you would think he would be concerned about the electoral impact of this crisis. After all, the latest opinion polls show Labour is falling further behind the Conservative Party at a time when the latter is supposed to be in crisis.
But you would be wrong. Because on Monday, Corbyn’s office, known as LOTO for “leader of the opposition,” appointed Laura Murray to the party team that is supposed to be addressing complaints about anti-Semitism. It’s a very strange choice because Murray works in Corbyn’s office, and Corbyn’s office itself is central to complaints over anti-Semitism. In that sense, the decision to deploy Murray to the anti-Semitism team is the equivalent of appointing a mafia lieutenant to a police organized crime team. Or, as one Labour councillor in London, Peter Mason, put it:
If the Labour Party’s response to allegations that senior staff within LOTO are interfering with disciplinary cases on antisemitism, in what universe to they then second someone from LOTO to assist with dealing with it?
I hope this isn’t true. https://t.co/QMG5JUhaVy
— Peter Mason (@_petermason) March 4, 2019
Still, it’s even sillier than this. Because Murray’s father, Andrew Murray, is a top adviser to Corbyn who has publicly suggested that those in Labour who complain about anti-Semitism are just trying to weaken the party. Putting any Murray in a position to deal with anti-Semitism is thus, by itself, extremely odd.
Or, depending on how you look at it, extremely telling.
