Labour has shown 'utter disregard for Anglo-Jewish community', says antisemitism definition architect

The architect of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism has said Labour’s refusal to adopt it shows an "utter disregard" for British Jews.

A row has erupted this month after the party’s national executive committee (NEC) drafted a new disciplinary policy on antisemitism which is effectively a shortened version of the IHRA definition, which outlnes certain examples of Jew hatred, particularly how criticism of Israel can spill over into antisemitism.

Mark Weitzman, the chair of IHRA’s committee on antisemitism and Holocaust denial, condemned Labour’s failure to adopt the full code, saying it was a "clear signal of the party’s refusal to deal with the reality of anti-Semitism in its ranks."

Mr Weitzman, who is also the director of government affairs at Holocaust research group the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) in California, was the principal figure in shaping and introducing the definition of antisemitism in 2015.