The Jewish community has a new tool to monitor U.K. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has been mired in anti-Semitism scandals since taking over the leadership of the U.K.’s biggest opposition party.
CAMERA, a nonpartisan media watchdog, will now document Corbyn’s anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist associations on a scrolling timeline at camera.org. One result is that it will preserve a historical record of this contentious period in British politics.
“With so many troubling revelations about Corbyn’s past associations and statements, it has been difficult for people to step back and get an overall picture of the man,” said Gilead Ini, a senior CAMERA analyst. “Our timeline really gives you a sense of who Corbyn is, what he represents, and why a majority of British Jews are deeply troubled.”
A 2018 poll found that an 86 percent of British Jews, and a plurality of the general British public, believe Corbyn is anti-Semitic.
Another poll found that nearly 40 percent of British Jews would “seriously consider emigrating” if Corbyn became prime minister. Just 22 percent of British Jews say they currently feel welcome in Great Britain, and under 50 percent believe that Jews have a longterm future in the United Kingdom.
American media has been largely silently or superficial when it comes to covering the anti-Semitic scandals that are roiling the political debate in the United Kingdom, according to CAMERA.
“Our hope is that this disturbing story about Corbyn and his followers will receive more coverage in the United States,” said Ini. “Rather shockingly, a man who wants to eliminate Holocaust Memorial Day and who praises Hamas killers could be Britain’s next prime minister. That ought to be major news.”
The British Jewish community, an old but small minority in the United Kingdom, have been under threat over the last year. Incidents of recorded anti-Semitism are at close to record levels, according to Community Security Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from anti-Semitism and related threats.
To see the timeline of Corbyn’s history of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, click here.
