by Elad Benari
Jeremy Corbyn declares “absolute opposition to Zionism” at a Your Party meeting, aligning with co-founder Zarah Sultana’s anti-Israel stance.
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| Jeremy Corbyn Reuters |
Former British Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn openly declared “absolute opposition to Zionism” during a Your Party meeting held Sunday in Wandsworth, south-west London, aligning himself with the hardline anti-Israel stance promoted by MP Zarah Sultana, with whom he founded the party.
The comments were first reported by the British Jewish News website.
“The whole Zionist project was about expanding Israel forevermore, which is exactly what Netanyahu is doing with the Greater Israel project. So, yes - absolute opposition to Zionism, and absolute solidarity with the people of Palestine,” Corbyn stated.
He continued, “Zionism was a creation… I was reading about the imperial history of Zionism - actually, it first reared its head in the late 19th century, with US Zionism in 1840, influenced by British policy in the Middle East.”
Corbyn’s remarks were welcomed by a female activist who had asked for clarity on the party’s position regarding Zionism.
Corbyn added that he is currently writing “a very long article at the moment on things to do with Palestine that I’ve been involved with over the past 40 years,” and described the situation in Gaza as “genocide.”
“And now we have the genocide, and it is a genocide in Gaza. We in Your Party are absolutely in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and will be guided by them on the policies we develop and the direction we take going forward,” he said.
Corbyn, who served as Labour leader from 2015 to 2020, resigned following Labour’s worst electoral defeat since 1935.
Corbyn is notorious for his anti-Israel stance. During his time as Labour leader, Corbyn infamously stirred up controversy by calling Hamas and Hezbollah his "friends". He initially refused to apologize for those comments but later walked them back.
British Jews also voiced deep concern over his disturbing links to a wide range of extremists, spanning far-right Holocaust deniers, an antisemitic Christian minister and Islamist terrorist groups.
Corbyn was suspended from Labour following the publication of a report compiled by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which found numerous cases where the party leadership under Corbyn underplayed, belittled or ignored complaints by Jewish members, and sometimes actively interfered to support political allies.
In November of 2022, Corbyn was permanently banned from running as a candidate for the Labour party. He ran as an independent in the most recent election.
Sultana, who left Labour last summer, has been similarly outspoken. A chair of the Socialist Campaign Group, Sultana has repeatedly accused the UK government of complicity in what she called “genocide” for supplying arms to Israel.
She introduced a bill to suspend all arms sales to the Jewish state and has openly aligned herself with Palestine Action, a UK-based group involved in violent anti-Israel activities and which was recently blacklisted as a terrorist organization in the UK.
Corbyn’s declaration came amid ongoing tensions between him and Sultana over the leadership and ideological direction of Your Party. Sultana had previously stated, “I say it loudly and proudly: I’m an anti-Zionist.”
In August, she accused Corbyn of having “capitulated to the IHRA definition of antisemitism” during his tenure as Labour leader. At the time, Corbyn declined to confirm whether he identified as an anti-Zionist.
Elad Benari
Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/417658
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