Another signatory Rabbi David Mitchell of West London Synagogue, wrote on Facebook that he was “shocked and very disturbed by Peter Willsman’s outburst".
“How can Willsman dismiss us 68 Rabbis as Trump supporters AND how can Corbyn sit there and say nothing?” he said.
“As a Jew, I’m worried by Willsman’s utter disdain for the Jewish community, for our religious leaders and for our values. As a gay man, I’m at a loss as to how Willsman can accuse me, a Labour member until recently, of being a Trump supporter but doesn’t think twice about defending a leader who has the most dubious ‘friends’ within homophobic regimes throughout the Middle East.
"As a British voter, I’m more convinced than ever that Corbyn’s Labour would take us on a one-way trip to a polarised Britain.”
The open letter from the 68 rabbis, which included the UK heads of Reform, Masorti and Liberal Judaism, had urged Labour’s NEC to adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Association definition of Jew-hate, instead of its own which omits key examples of how criticising Israel can be antisemitic.
Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, a former Labour councillor and charedi rabbi who signed the letter, said: “I have personally have experienced some very unpleasant issues within my local Labour party… I was accused of being in the pay of the Israeli embassy. I have an affection for Israel, but in no way could you describe me as a Zionist.”
Rabbi Pinter added: “One would wonder, under Labour’s new definition, if that accusation against me would be actually considered antisemitic.
“Under the IHRA definition, it clearly is.”
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, another signatory, said: “Pete Willsman exemplifies the problem that Labour has: what started as a possibly misjudged approach to relations with the Jewish community by Labour two years ago (to put it as charitably as possible), has morphed into something very dark, and is either total political incompetence by Corbyn's inner circle combined with an astonishing arrogance to listen to anyone who does not share their world-view...or a frightening indication of a deep anti-Zionism that is now so confused with antisemitism that it has ended up as the same thing in reality
“Either way, it has to be called out and opposed. The ‘enough is enough’ slogan at the Parliament Square demo was not just a sound-bite but a good summary of why the Jewish community needs to speak as loudly and unitedly as possible, so that Pete Willsman and others are clearly identified as bigots who are not only bad for the Jewish community, but also for Labour if it wants to retain any sense of integrity.”
Rabbi Laura Janner Klausner, senior rabbi of Reform Judaism, said: “Pete Willsman stood up at a Labour NEC meeting and claimed that Jews are ‘Trump fanatics’, that 68 rabbis are lying about antisemitism, and that Jews as a whole are fabricating Labour’s antisemitism problem.
"With attitudes like this at senior levels within the party, Jeremy Corbyn has a huge job to do to convince the country that Labour is serious about tackling antisemitism.“
In his apology on Tuesday, Mr Willsman said: "Having sat on the NEC for many years, I am of course aware of appalling instances of antisemitism within our party, and am wholly determined to rooting it out of our movement.
"I do not believe antisemitism is 'widespread' in the Labour Party, and that was what my comments were trying to refer to, but we do have a problem which needs stamping out. One antisemite is one too many.
"I recognise the offensive nature of my comments and that, in diminishing the experiences of those who face antisemitism in our party and society, I showed a lack of the sensitivity required for discussions around racism."
