The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) almost unanimously passed a motion of no-confidence in British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Sunday following an “impassioned debate,” said the group in a statement.
JLM’s annual general meeting of its approximately 2,000 members voted that Labour consists of a “culture of anti-Semitism” that has created a “crisis.”
“Jewish members of the Labour Party have come together in anger and frustration to make it clear to the leadership that enough really must be enough,” said Labour member Ruth Smeeth. “The mood was very somber. The party has to shine a light on what’s really going on; it’s time for the Labour Party to remove itself from its own disciplinary and complaints process, and hand it to an independent body.”
The vote followed a Sunday Times report about Labour refusing to take disciplinary action in complaints of anti-Semitic incidents.
The newspaper obtained a hard drive consisting of a confidential database, in addition to leaked emails and documents demonstrating that Labour has intervened in just 101 out of 863 complaints made by March 8, 2019, with 454 cases still unresolved, including 249 where the party has yet to conduct an investigation.
In the cases where a decision was made, 191 members faced no additional action, 145 received a formal warning, and only 29 were expelled.
Members who made remarks, including “Heil Hitler,” “F*** the Jews” and “Jews are the problem,” haven’t been kicked out in spite of complaints filed against them last year, according to the report.
“The Labour Party takes all complaints of anti-Semitism extremely seriously, and we are committed to rooting it out of our party,” a spokesperson told the BBC. “All complaints about anti-Semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures.”
“Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party are fully committed to the support, defense and celebration of the Jewish community,” added the spokesperson. “One anti-Semite in our party is one too many. We are determined to tackle anti-Semitism and root it out.”
