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London / Tel Aviv (AP) – Former British Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn was suspended from his party on Thursday over a dispute over anti-Semitic tendencies.
An independent investigation report had previously found that the party and its former chief had allowed discrimination and harassment against Jews. Corbyn, 71, known as the stubborn, dismissed the accusations as soon as possible: “I am not part of the problem.”
The party justified its action based on Corbyn’s reaction. Now we have to check whether the measure is permanent, said a party spokeswoman for the German press agency. He is no longer allowed to represent Labor in parliament, but is an independent MP. According to the PA news agency, the suspension means that he will be excluded from the party at least until the investigation into his behavior is completed.
There has been harassment and discrimination, the British Commission for Equality and Human Rights (ECHR) had previously announced in its report. The chair of the independent commission, Caroline Waters, emphasized that there were “unforgivable mistakes” that were due to a lack of will to combat anti-Semitism.
Corbyn became a Labor leader in 2015. Under the leadership of the old left, the party suffered its worst defeat since 1935 in parliamentary elections last December. He focused on social issues and for a long time did not show a clear direction on the issue of Brexit. Young voters celebrated him as a rock star for a long time, but Corbyn didn’t score highly among the general population. In April 2020 he was finally replaced by Keir Starmer.
For years, critics have accused British Social Democrats of anti-Semitic tendencies, for example in posts on social media. Several MPs left the party in protest. In 2018, Corbyn admitted that disciplinary proceedings against members of the anti-Semitic party had been carried out too slowly and timidly.
Corbyn himself was often criticized. He had refused to apologize to Jews for anti-Semitic tendencies in his party. Critics also accused the old left of unilaterally supporting the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict. Even before he became a Labor leader, he referred to the British media as “friends” of Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip and which the EU classifies as a terrorist organization among other things.
The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora welcomed the results of the investigation report. “The findings were not a surprise,” said Jogev Karasenty, head of the anti-Semitism department, the German news agency. The election of Starmer as Labor leader is a very positive development. Jewish members now felt welcome to the party and it was a positive message to Jewish communities regarding their future in Britain, Karasenty said.
“In view of the increase in anti-Semitic tendencies and acts of violence in many European countries, the clear stance of the new leadership of the Labor Party is exemplary and encouraging for Holocaust survivors,” emphasized Christoph Heubner of the International Auschwitz Committee in Berlin. .
The President of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) and Chief Rabbis of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, said: “We are delighted that Labor is dealing with its immediate past and we hope that Jews will soon feel comfortable again with one of the associate with both parties in the British political system. “
And Corbyn? He “was always determined to eradicate all forms of racism,” he responded to the investigation report. But he regrets that the change took so long. His successor Starmer spoke of a “shameful day” for Labor. The party must now submit an action plan within six weeks.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201029-99-132601 / 6
