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March 18, 2018 5:42 pm
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Former Officials Say ‘It’s Become Impossible to Operate as Jewish Labour Councillor’ in UK

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avatar by Benjamin Kerstein

Jeremy Corbyn (third from left), leader of the UK Labour Party, carries a “Friends of Al Aqsa” banner at a demonstration in London. Photo: Wikicommons.

New shocking incidents of antisemitism in the UK’s Labour party have been brought to light by Jewish former councillors in north London, a report in the Sunday Times revealed over the weekend.

The Labour officials reported a series of racist comments directed at them by members of Momentum, the Labour movement that supports party leader Jeremy Corbyn. “It has become impossible to operate as a Jewish councillor,” one official lamented.

Since Corbyn became leader, the Labour party has been beset with antisemitism scandals. Corbyn is ferociously anti-Israel and considered a far-Left ideologue, which enchants his followers and disturbs his detractors.

The Sunday Times report contained statements by Jewish councillors Joe Goldberg and Natan Doron, who said they had been the object of shocking and often embarrassingly vulgar antisemitic statements by the Momentum-affiliated councillors.

Goldberg said he had faced supposedly humorous references to the Holocaust, such as calling academy schools “Kristallnacht.” He was also told he practices “bagel-barrel politics.”

“This is not just on social media,” Goldberg said. “Many members have repeated to me assertions about Jews having big noses, controlling the media, and being wealthy. It has become impossible to operate as a Jewish councillor in the Haringey party without having your views and actions prejudged or dismissed in terms that relate to your ethnicity.”

Doron echoed these sentiments, saying Labour members have made direct and violent racist statements to him. “One of them started having a rant about how Israel was a Nazi country and I had no right to be offended because Israel had no right to exist,” he stated

“People are worried and scared and Haringey Labour is definitely not a safe space for Jews. This is 100% not the party I joined,” he said.

The relevant authorities were contacted, but reportedly proved less than interested in applying the party’s supposed zero-tolerance stance on antisemitism. According to Goldberg, “I complained to the Labour whip, Lorna Reith, but she told me antisemitism was a ‘debatable term.’”

In 2015, Reith apparently compared Israel to the Nazis on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Both Goldberg and Doron have since resigned their positions. Goldberg’s resignation was met by a comment from a Momentum activist, “At least [you] will have more time to count your money.”

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