by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld
New information on “smokescreening” by the leadership
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Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, UK, photo via Wikimedia Commons
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BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,236, July 24, 2019
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: One of
the most sensational revelations of the recently screened BBC Panorama
documentary on antisemitism within the British Labour Party is the
presence there of actual Holocaust promoters. The documentary
did not address every element of Labour antisemitism, but did provide
much new information on “smokescreening” by the leadership: the practice
of falsely claiming that it took determined action against antisemitism
when in fact it took only partial, lukewarm action.
The BBC Panorama documentary on antisemitism
within the British Labour party broadcast on July 10 had a number of
major merits. It exposed many unknown details about Jew-hatred within
the party and provided much new information about one of the important
aspects of Labour antisemitism, “smokescreening.” It also revealed that
some members of the Labour party are actual Holocaust promoters. One
former staffer interviewed said she was regularly told that “Hitler was
right” and “Hitler did not go far enough.”
“Smokescreening” is claiming that one is taking
determined action to solve a problem when one is in fact only making a
partial effort. This is the practice of a number of individuals who hold
senior positions within the Labour party. They do not openly say, “We
protect antisemites, whom we consider valuable to the party,” but this
in fact exactly what they do.
Jeremy Corbyn is a master smokescreener. He has
said on many occasions that his party will stamp out antisemitism. When
criticizing the Panorama documentary he did so again, saying:
“Antisemitism is a poison, it is vile, it is wrong… It is a poison in
our society and any other society … It is not acceptable in any form.”
Similarly, Labour Secretary General Jennie Formby
entitled an article she published in February of this year: “Eliminate
the evil of antisemitism from our movement – that is my mission.“
One former Labour staffer said in the documentary
that Formby’s claim of prioritizing the party’s antisemitism problem was
“a joke.“ Another former staffer who dealt with antisemitism complaints
said interference from Labour’s head office in the processing of those
complaints was so extreme that he considered suicide. He had planned to
do it by jumping from Formby’s office balcony.
Initially, the BBC documentary was available for
worldwide viewership. However, a few days after airing, the BBC limited
viewership to the UK. The documentary is, however, available online.
The Panorama documentary was by no means a
complete exposé of all aspects of antisemitism inside the Labour party,
so they warrant mention here. The central issue is Corbyn, a terrorist
sympathizer and self-defined “antiracist.” He has called representatives
of Hezbollah and Hamas “brothers” and “friends.” He has made donations
to a Holocaust denier and welcomed another. He is a long-term
anti-Israel inciter and antisemite.
The documentary made clear that Corbyn’s arrival
as party leader in September 2015 greatly encouraged the antisemites in
Labour to go public. A staffer said that before his arrival, complaints
about antisemitism were very limited. In a reaction to the program,
another former staffer (who did not appear on it) said that in an
average week there were dozens if not hundreds of complaints.
In analyzing the various elements of the
revelation of Labour’s antisemitism problem, attention should be paid to
the indirect role of Corbyn’s predecessor, Ed Miliband. He made
Corbyn’s ascension as leader possible. He instituted a policy that
supporters paying only £3 (about $4) could vote in the Labour leadership
contest. In the documentary, Corbyn is shown saying that 160,000 more
people received voting rights this way. Many came from the extreme
left.
Corbyn and his inner circle could easily have
stamped out antisemitic outbursts among Labourites in the more than
three years since the first significant manifestations of it, which
occurred among Labour students at Oxford University. There is much
evidence that the Labour leadership simply did not want to do so. In
fact, it afforded protection to some of the worst offenders. All in all,
since Corbyn became leader, only 15 members have been expelled due to
antisemitism. A few others, fearing they would be expelled, appear to
have left of their own volition. The House of Commons Home Affairs
Committee’s 2016 report said the Labour leadership’s lack of action
“risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement
are institutionally antisemitic.”
This has been detailed by Alan Johnson, a scholar and Labour member, who published a report entitled Institutionally Antisemitic: Contemporary Left Antisemitism and the Crisis in the British Labour Party.
The possibility of a full-fledged investigation
into antisemitism after the preliminary one by the Equality and Human
Rights Commission (EHRC) made no impression on Corbyn. This public body
has now announced a full enquiry. Only one party has ever been subjected
to such an investigation: the British National Party, a small, extreme
rightwing organization. More than 30 whistleblowers, including current
members of Labour staff, have said they will submit evidence to the
EHRC.
A crucial but underreported issue is the number of
Labour members who make antisemitic remarks. Lord Falconer, a former
high-ranking Labour minister, has said there are thousands of
antisemites among Labour members. The aforementioned statement from the
staffer about the average number of complaints per week backs this up.
Corbyn reacted to the Panoroma documentary by
saying, “It’s less than 0.1% of our membership that have ever been
involved in any accusation, never mind any resolution of the issue.” But
if Falconer is correct, there should be at least 2,000 – and probably
many more – antisemites in the party. This represents more than 0.4% of
the Labour membership, which stood at around 512,000 early in 2019.
These calculations greatly understate the reality, however. One hears
mainly about antisemitic complaints concerning Labour party office
holders and elected officials. To be more accurate, one might add
activists.
Ordinary Labour members who make antisemitic
remarks – on Facebook, for instance – are not necessarily publicly
identified as Labourites. It is thus prudent to focus on officeholders
and elected officials who have made such remarks.
As a reaction to the Panorama documentary, the
four most senior Labour leaders in the House of Lords wrote to Corbyn
offering to establish a panel to review the allegations of the former
staffers. They also offered advice on how to start a properly
independent complaints process. As the habit of “smokescreening” is
ingrained in the current Labour leadership, this suggestion could be a
partial means of getting rid of many antisemites in the party.
One positive element has emerged from the Labour
antisemitism battle. A number of MPs, including non-Jewish ones, such as
Deputy Leader Tom Watson, are actively fighting antisemitism in the
party. So too is the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), which has been part
of the Labour party for almost 100 years.
This is an extended version of an article published on July 17, 2019 in Algemeiner.
Source: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/holocaust-promoters-labour-party/
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