LONDON (Reuters) – In a decisive break with the far-left wing of Britain’s opposition Labor Party, its new leader on Thursday dismissed a senior lawmaker on his leadership team for sharing an online article that he says the party contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
The firing of the new Labor leader, Keir Starmer, represented a pronounced change in the handling of anti-Semitism allegations under Jeremy Corbyn, his predecessor, who led the party to a catastrophic electoral defeat in December when voters expressed anger in part at the slow La Party response to anti-Semitism in its ranks.
It also amounted to a broader rebuke from the far left of work. The legislator who was fired, Rebecca Long-Bailey, was Mr. Starmer’s team member most closely identified with Mr. Corbyn’s leadership. Her inclusion in the “shadow” cabinet, a group made up of leading opposition lawmakers, had been seen as an attempt to unite rival factions within the party.
Starmer, who comes from Labor’s more moderate wing, asked Long-Bailey to step down from her leadership team after praising an English actress who, without citing any evidence, blamed the training of the Israeli security services for tactics. used in the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. Mr. Floyd’s death last month was a catalyst for widespread protests in the United States and elsewhere over police brutality against African Americans and other people of color.
“The tactics used by the police in the United States, kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, learned from seminars with the Israeli secret services,” actress Maxine Peake told The Independent, a British media outlet, in a article about her published on Thursday. .
Ms. Long-Bailey posted the article on Twitter, saying that “Maxine Peake is an absolute diamond.”
For many readers, the implication that Israel played a role in Mr. Floyd’s death at the hands of the police was clearly anti-Semitic. Ms Long-Bailey’s advocates pointed to an article published by Amnesty International that spoke of trips by US law enforcement officials to Israel for training. The article did not mention the police department in Minneapolis or the use of neck restraints.
“The article Rebecca previously shared contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory,” a spokesman for Mr. Starmer said in a statement. As the leader of the Labor Party, Keir has made it clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Anti-Semitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all be vigilant against it. “
Prior to her dismissal, Ms. Long-Bailey, who had directed the handling of the party’s education affairs in the hidden cabinet, said on Twitter that her article posting “was not intended to endorse all aspects.” She later said that the wording of that clarification had been approved in advance by Mr. Starmer’s office, but that her office subsequently told her to delete all of her posts on the article. Mrs. Long-Bailey will remain in Parliament.
“I had asked to discuss these matters with Keir before agreeing on what action to take, but unfortunately he had already made his decision,” she wrote on Twitter. “I am clear that I will continue to support the Labor Party in Parliament under the leadership of Keir Starmer.”
The British Jewish Board of Deputies said it had apologized to Long-Bailey, but that its response was “downright pathetic.” The organization praised Mr. Starmer’s decision to fire her.
“There can be no room for this kind of action in any party,” said the organization’s president, Marie van der Zyl, in a statement, “and it is true that after so many challenging years, Labor is now making it clear under their new leader. “
John McDonnell, a Labor lawmaker who led the party’s handling of economic affairs under Mr. Corbyn, defended Ms. Long-Bailey, saying the comments in the news article were within the bounds of criticism. acceptable to Israel.
“Throughout the discussion of anti-Semitism, it has always been said that criticism of the practices of the Israeli state is not anti-Semitic,” he wrote on Twitter. So I don’t think this article is or @RLong_Bailey should have been fired. I sympathize with her. “
In the article shared by Ms. Long-Bailey about Ms. Peake, the English actress also defended Mr. Corbyn, an implicit rebuke to Mr. Starmer who is trying to turn the page on his predecessor’s leadership. The actress said that people who choose to be reunited with Labor by Mr. Starmer should be ashamed. Ms. Long-Bailey competed with Mr. Starmer to assume leadership of the party, positioning himself as the far-left’s best hope for maintaining control of Labor.
The British Equality and Human Rights Commission has conducted a one-year investigation into anti-Semitism at work. Starmer, who was elected party leader in April, promised to implement his recommendations.
