British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn delivers the keynote speech at a Labour conference in Liverpool, Britain, Sept. 26, 2016. Photo: Reuters / Phil Noble.

UK activists against antisemitism expressed dismay on Monday after former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gave a speech marking the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street while standing next to a Labour activist who was suspended for criticizing an MP’s outreach to the Jewish community.

The incident was compounded by the fact that the largest Jewish organization in the Labour party was not invited to the event, the group said, nor were any other major Jewish groups.

The Battle of Cable Street was a 1936 incident in which a march by British fascists in east London was resisted by a coalition of various left-wing demonstrators, including many Jews. The demonstrators clashed heavily with police, but succeeded in preventing the march from going forward. It is now viewed in many circles as the most decisive defeat suffered by domestic fascism in Britain.

Jewish News reported Monday that Labour party members from Liverpool were outraged when they saw that Corbyn appeared at the event next to activist Hazuan Hashim, who was suspended after he criticized a local Labour MP who denounced antisemitism in the party in a UK Jewish newspaper.

The message penned by Hashim and three others was directed at Liverpool MP Paula Barker, and claimed that the MP had taken an “inaccurate and factionally motivated position on antisemitism which was used in order to personally attack and seriously undermine Labour’s socialist program during the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.”

During Corbyn’s tenure, his supporters regularly denied the existence of antisemitism in the party and blamed accusations on a conspiracy against his leadership, with the conspiracy theory often bleeding into outright prejudice.

“It makes my blood boil seeing Jeremy Corbyn give a speech at an event, that is meant to show solidarity with British Jews, alongside someone who has actively tried to harm relations with the local Jewish community in Liverpool,” one of the members said.

They added, “Hazuan Hashim should be nowhere near this event, and neither should Corbyn.”

The Jewish Labour Movement’s National Secretary Adam Langleben expressed anger that his group was not invited to the event in question, saying, “It’s outrageous that the largest Jewish organization on the left, by a considerable mile, and one of the Labour party’s oldest affiliates was not invited to participate in the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street.”

“Many of our members had family who were present and fought back against the fascists in the East End of London,” he said.

He asserted, “No single ideological tradition, community, or faith group descendent has the authority to claim sole ownership over remembering such an important piece of our collective history. Some parts of the left are far more comfortable remembering dead Jews of the past rather than standing alongside living Jews today.”

Editor’s note: this article was updated to describe the circumstances of Hazuan Hashim’s party suspension and with a comment from David Rosenberg