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Jeremy Corbyn’s former chief of staff has said she is proud of Labor’s record on anti-Semitism, days before the equality watchdog is expected to release its report on the issue.
Karie Murphy, one of Corbyn’s fiercely protective inner circle, who has been accused by several former party staff of meddling in anti-Semitism cases, said she had been prompted to speak up “for the first time … [to] he set the record straight ”on the party’s handling of cases, claiming it improved during Corbyn’s tenure.
“Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, anti-Semites were removed from the Labor Party faster, more transparently and more effectively than ever. As your former chief of staff, I am proud of that record, ”she wrote in an article for The Guardian.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) is expected to release its report on the long-awaited work this week. It launched the review after whistleblowers alleged the party was institutionally anti-Semitic in handling complaints and within local party structures.
Any key figures criticized in the report, which could include Murphy, are likely to have had limited insight into their findings upfront.
Murphy said there was an “extremely successful campaign to hide the facts” about how the party handled the complaints, claiming it was “driven primarily by political opposition to Jeremy Corbyn’s socialist and internationalist policies” and procedural flaws.
“I am not speaking for the first time to dismiss the fact that anti-Semitism rears its head among a small minority in the Labor Party. Did. It was bad and the game as a whole was slow to deal with it effectively, ”he said.
But in comments fiercely opposed by the Jewish Labor Movement (JLM), Murphy said a “relentless and highly politicized media campaign” was also to blame. “It hurt the Jewish people and disturbed and confused many in our movement,” he said. “Could more have been done earlier? Yes of course. But what was done, including changes to the party’s rules and the institution of a detailed guide on antisemitism for an expanded grievance team, certainly made it easier and faster to remove antisemites from the party. “
Murphy said he was “deeply saddened” that relations with the Jewish community were so low during Corbyn’s tenure. “But it wasn’t out of wanting to try, much less tolerance of anti-Semitism.” she wrote.
Whistleblowers who worked in the Labor governance and legal unit, several of whom went public to speak on the BBC’s Panorama program, have previously said that party leadership fatally undermined their attempts to tackle anti-Semitism, alleging a constant interference in complaints, which Murphy denies. Several staff members described experiencing breakdowns as a result of the environment.
Murphy cited an audit of more than 300 complaints of antisemitism received by the party from November 2016 to February 2018, which found that only 34 had been investigated. She alleged that the changes brought about by Jennie Formby as general secretary (Formby has since left office) led to a four-fold increase in expulsions per case.
Murphy said she and other staff in the Labor leader’s office did not meddle in cases involving party members, and said she viewed it as a “faction trap” when asked for advice, a claim strongly disputed by former staff members, who have claimed were subjected to inappropriate pressure in prominent cases.
Mike Katz, president of the JLM, said that Murphy’s claims were a smear of Jewish members. “JLM referred Labor to the EHRC because our efforts to engage constructively with the party from 2015 onward had been consistently rejected and our members faced ongoing discrimination, harassment and victimization,” he said.
“At no point was there any genuine regret, system improvements or any real progress in the number of cases handled or results. Their only success in anti-Semitism was the rigor with which they protected their political allies, downplayed the issue and bombarded those who spoke out against it. Smearing the pain of our members and the wider Jewish community as part of a ‘highly politicized media campaign’ is shameful. “
