From Across the Pond – October 2017
Originally posted at: http://www.cmj-usa.org/content/across-pond-october-2017
Oct
2
2
CMJ UK Correspondent reports here on a recent gathering of the Labour Party of England, led by socialist Jeremy Corbyn for the last two years. To many young people in England, 68-year-old Corbyn is venerated like a rock star. While the Labour Party was focused on the issue of England leaving the European Union under what came to be called “Brexit” – another topic came to the fore at the conference: Anti-Semitism. One Labour faction suggested that the Jewish groups within Labour be expelled! This movement is a harbinger of growing anti-Semitism across Europe. It should be a matter of prayer for us all. Here is Charles’ report:
Israel under fire at UK conference
Anti-Semitic ‘bullets’ fly at annual Labour Party gathering
By Charles Gardner
On the day we heard news of the killing of three Israelis by a Palestinian gunman in the West Bank, the UK media was also reporting on anti-Semitic ‘bullets’ being fired at the annual conference of Her Majesty’s official Opposition.
Anti-Israel sentiment has been simmering in Britain’s Labour Party ever since Hard-Leftist Jeremy Corbyn took over as leader two years ago. [Right: Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party at Chatham House, 12 May 2017. Image: Chatham House/Wikimedia]
He had earlier promised to deal with it, but little if anything has been done and things got out of hand in Brighton, an otherwise gentle seaside resort designed for rest and refreshment.
Amid reports of intimidation of a leading BBC correspondent, activists applauded panellists at a fringe meeting who likened supporters of Israel to Nazis. Delegates even demanded expulsion from the party of the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Friends of Israel – one speaker suggested Labour should be free to debate whether the Holocaust had happened! [1]
Clearly, anti-Semitism is still a big problem in Mr Corbyn’s party more than a year after he pledged to get to grips with the issue. Even the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, John Cryer, said he had tweets from party members which made his hair stand on end and were “redolent of the 1930s.” [2]
So what has happened?
All the more shocking is the fact that, until recently, Labour has been the ‘natural’ party for Britain’s 290,000 Jews – but no longer. Well, it was also once the natural party for Methodists and other non-conformist Christians who had emerged from the awakening of biblical truths following the Reformation sparked by Martin Luther 500 years ago.
