The Labour leader's personal secretary Nicolette Peterson urged voters to compile a list of pro-Israeli Labour MPs ahead of the 2010 general election — so they could back other candidates
August 21, 2018 07:59
Jeremy Corbyn’s long serving personal secretary once urged Labour supporters to read the JC to “show you who not to vote for”.
Nicolette Petersen, 61, who has worked for Mr Corbyn since 1994, wrote a how-to-guide to help voters rid Parliament of MPs who support Israel.
The pamphlet, which was written before the 2010 election, urged Labour supporters to support other parties if the Labour candidate was a “friend of Israel.”
She wrote:" There are several candidates who have truly shone on Palestinian issues and who will need a lot of support to keep their seats.
"Read the Jewish Chronicle online and look at websites that will show you who not to vote for: Conservative / Lib Dem / and Labour Friends of Israel list Andrew Gwynne MP (Chair), Louise Ellman, Glenis Willmott (vice chairs) and many more.
"The Director of Labour Friends of Israel, Luciana Berger, was selected from an all-women short list for Liverpool Wavertree. So, there is a lot of work to be done and no clear cut answers. If you're not going to be around to vote, organise a proxy or postal vote.
"Voting is a must. Not voting in democratic elections is about as irresponsible as finding oneself in the midst of a group of pro-Israeli people and not challenging their viewpoint. Get to it: and make your vote count!"
The guide was published in the Spring 2010 edition of the Palestinian News magazine published by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign - when Mr Corbyn was a patron of the anti-Israel group.
Responding to the report by the Sun newspaper, JC editor Stephen Pollard said: “This isn’t about helping Palestinians. It’s about attacking Jews.”
“The recommendation that activists who want to rid Parliament of Zionists use the Jewish Chronicle for a hit-list of targets exposes the truth: that they use the word Zionist as a euphemism for Jew."
A Labour Party spokesman said: “We don’t comment on staffing matters.”
Meanwhile Mr Corbyn insisted he “could not remember” sharing a “takeway meal “ with Hamas boss Khaled Mashal despite writing about the event in his Morning Star newspaper column.
Mr Corbyn told reporters on Monday: "A takeaway dinner? I don't remember any takeaway dinners.
"I have met many people from many aspects of the Palestinian cause as a way of bringing about dialogue, as a way of bringing about peace."
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