A Jewish Voice For Labour activist has sparked anger after complaining about the “privileging of racism against Jews” compared to discrimination “against black people, Muslim people and migrants”.
Jo Bird, a Wirral Labour member and former local council candidate, made the claim in an article on Labour Briefing, the publication of the left-wing Labour Representation Committee, which is chaired by the party’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
Ms Bird, who also calls for the expulsion of activist Marc Wadsworth to be overturned and the suspension of Jackie Walker to be dropped, writes: "JVL calls for disciplinary hearings to be paused until a due process has been established based on principles of natural justice - what I call 'Jew process'.
Welcoming Wirral Constituency Labour Party's decision to affiliate with JVL, Ms Bird writes that the pro-Jeremy Corbyn Jewish group has "a central role to play both in dealing with antisemitism as well as false allegations of antisemitism”.
She adds: "We don’t receive money from the state of Israel nor its agencies."
Returning to her theme of “privileging” antisemitism, Ms Bird says: “Privileging one group over another group is divisive. It’s bad for the many as well as the Jews.”
Ivor Caplin, the new Jewish Labour Movement chair, told the JC he has now asked the Labour to investigate Ms Bird’s remarks.
Mr Caplin said: "As we have said too many times there is no hierarchy of racism. No ifs. No buts. The Labour Leadership - Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Jon Lansman, Jennie Formby - and many others have said very clearly that our party has a specific problem with antisemitism.
“Ms Bird seems to want to ignore Mr Corbyn's call for this to be dealt with.
“As with many members of JVL, she seems consumed with conspiratorial fantasies rather than any real desire to relate to how mainstream Jews feel and tackle antisemitism.
"There is only one true voice for Jews within the Labour Party and that is JLM. We have asked for the Party to investigate her comments."
In April, Jackie Walker, suspended twice by Labour in 2016 over comments in which she referred to Jews as the “chief financiers of the slave trade” and for remarks she made about Holocaust Memorial Day, used her Facebook page to claim Jews are given privileged treatment over other minority groups in British society in what she describes as a “hierarchy of race”.
A spokesperson for the Community Security Trust branded Ms Walker's quotes "a disgrace” at the time.
Last October, in an earlier article published on the JVL website titled ‘What is it to be Jew-ish?’, Ms Bird wrote about her “mixed heritage” upbringing and “being told I was Jewish because my mother is”.
Ms Bird said she later explored her Jewish identity but the turning point came when she first visited “Palestine-Israel in 2001.”
Ms Bird says she is “relaxed about my Jewish identity” insisting: “I call myself a Jaetheist, and joke that I’m not a very good Jew because I don’t practice [the religion]. I do practice solidarity though.”
