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Ex-minister Clare Short dismisses Labour antisemitism, says pro-Palestine activists are being 'picked on'

She stuns Newsnight as she says there is 'not a lot' of Jew hate in the party, as EHRC opens formal probe

May 29, 2019 08:35
Clare Short
2 min read

Ex-Labour Cabinet member Clare Short has sparked anger by saying “anyone who is sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians is called antisemitic” as she dismissed allegations the party has a problem with Jew-hate.

The veteran left-winger, who quit Tony Blair’s cabinet as International Development Secretary and later sat as an independent MP, was speaking on BBC Newsnight on Tuesday after the Equality and Human Rights Commission announced a formal inquiry into Labour antisemitism.

Asked about the number of allegations of antisemitism in Labour, Ms Short said: “What’s happened is there has been a widening of the definition of antisemitism to include criticism of Israel.

“Then anyone who is sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians is called antisemitic.”