Jewish groups have expressed outrage that Labour has appointed an activist who defended suspended MP Chris Williamson and opposed the international definition of antisemitism as a liaison to the Jewish community.
Heather Mendick is expected to take on the task of rebuilding relations with the Jewish community, whose confidence in the party has taken repeated knocks during Labour's antisemitism crisis.
But the appointment was quickly condemned as “beyond parody” by the Jewish Leadership Council, which noted she will be doing the task one day a week for the party.
A JLC spokesperson said: “From her dismissal of the IRHA definition of antisemitism, to her support for Chris Williamson, to her accusation that antisemitism was being ‘weaponised against the Left,’ makes her appointment pitiful.”
The organisation said it “will not be engaging with Ms Mendick".
“When we met with Jeremy Corbyn last year we made it perfectly clear what was needed to rebuild trust. He has proven that he is incapable of doing those things. This is a sinister move.”
Ms Mendick’s suitability for the role has been called into question on the account that she has said antisemitism claims had been “weaponised” to attack the left in an article for the Morning Star.
She has also expressed “solidarity” with the controversial Jewish Voice for Labour’s Jenny Manson.
Ms Mendick, who is a member of momentum, participated in the ‘Democracy Roadshow’ run by Mr Williamson, who was suspended by the party after his repeated interventions in the antisemitism crisis were dubbed "Jew-baiting".
She was one of more than 200 Jewish party members to co-sign a letter in the Guardian supporting Jeremy Corbyn, after Luciana Berger’s resignation from the party over alleged “institutional antisemitism”.
A spokesperson for the Jewish Labour Movement however hit out at the decision to appoint Ms Mendick, who is a research consultant & Secretary of Hackney South Labour Party.
“The Labour leadership really does excel at making a terrible situation even worse,” a spokesperson said.
“If they think the scale of the job of rebuilding trust with the Jewish community requires just one day a week, it shows how little they understand the scale of this crisis.
“Given her past activity – from supporting Chris Williamson to campaigning against the IHRA – Ms Mendick seems ill-equipped – to put it mildly – to rebuild trust with the Community. The leadership prefers being told what they want to hear, not what they need to.
“Time is long overdue for concrete action, as set out more than a year ago by our community organisations, not pointless, ineffective gestures. That’s why JLM referred the Party to the EHRC.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on staffing matters.”
