The UK Labour Party’s annual conference on foreign policy included a long list of anti-Israel proposals.
On Monday, at Britain’s Labour Party’s annual conference in Brighton, speakers called for a future government to adopt blatantly anti-Israel policies. Members of the Labour Party, lead by Jeremy Corbyn, have become notorious for anti-Semitic statements and virulently anti-Israel stances.
The gathering was laced with Palestinian flags, “Free Palestine” chants and overwhelming support for boycotts of Israeli products from Judea and Samaria. Additionally, there were calls to reject trade agreements with Israel, to halt the sale of British arms to the Jewish country, and to endorse the so-called Palestinian “right to return,” which seeks to flood Israel with the descendants of Arabs who voluntarily left or were expelled from territory that became the Jewish state.
According to a poll released on Sunday, two-thirds of Labour members do not believe the party has a “serious” problem with anti-Semitism, while more than half oppose the UK signing a trade agreement with Israel after Britain leaves the European Union.
Yet, polls show that the overwhelming majority of British Jews view Corbyn as an anti-Semite. So much so, that in July, Labour launched an educational website on anti-Semitism, along with an apology video from Corbyn admitting that his party had “a real problem with anti-Semitism.” In the video, Corbyn apologized for the “hurt that has been caused to many Jewish people” and admitted that his party’s reaction to combating anti-Semitism was too slow.
Following the conference, strong reactions from pro-Israel groups spread across the internet.
Director of Labour Friends of Israel Jennifer Gerber tweeted, “Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is the home for anti-Jewish racists and Israel haters….This is another dark day in the history of the Labour Party.”
Gerber added, “It’s no wonder the Jewish community fears the prospect of him becoming prime minister.”
Director of We Believe In Israel and a former member of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), Luke Akehurst noted that this is the second consecutive year in which Labour’s conference has debated Israel. “This cannot be unlinked to the pathological obsession with Israel and Jews which has driven the party’s anti-Semitism crisis,” he said according to the Times of Israel.
Since 2015, when Corbyn took charge of the Labour Party, it has suffered from claims that the party is anti-Semitic, leading to the suspension or expulsion of multiple members and officials. The UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission has investigated the party.
General elections in the UK are expected to take place before the end of the year.
British Jews have expressed grave apprehensions about the fate of their community should Corbyn be tapped to serve as prime minister.
