Monday, July 30, 2018

Why I struggle to see Jeremy Corbyn as a great opponent of antisemitism


The video above shows one of Jeremy Corbyn's controversial appearances on the Iranian government's television channel Press TV.

Have a listen in particular to the exchange with Mehdi, which you will find between 6:42 and 8:05.

Note that when Corbyn thinks Mehdi is saying the United States is trying to bring peace to the Middle East, he immediately picks him up.

But when Mehdi says Israel is a "disease" that must be "got rid of" from the region he allows it to go unchallenged.

I do not believe Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite. I do believe that he comes from a strand of Labour politics that sees opposition to America as an overwhelming imperative.

You can oppose Israel's policies - and they should be opposed - without being antisemitic in the slightest degree.

But if you think of what getting rid of Israel would mean for its citizens, you cannot endorse Corbyn's silence here.

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