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"The Israeli tail wags the US dog": Corbyn's words after 2009 Syria trip where he met Assad
October 31, 2016 11:38
By, Daniel Sugarman
1 min read
ByDaniel Sugarman, Daniel Sugarman
Jeremy Corbyn accepted an all-expenses paid trip to Syria where he thanked dictator Bashar Al-Assad for housing hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees.
According to the report in the Times, the 2009 trip was organised by the Palestinian Return Centre, an organisation which has hosted events in Parliament where antisemitic rhetoric has been used, most recently one hosted last week by Baroness Tonge.
Following that meeting Baroness Tonge was suspended by the Liberal Democrats and almost simultaneously resigned from the party.
She was also on the 2009 cross-party trip to Syria, which included Conservative peer Lord Sheikh and then-MSPs Jim Tolson and Jim Hume, both Liberal Democrats. The group met President Assad.
Mr Corbyn later wrote about his trip for the Morning Star newspaper. He described meeting a group of Palestinians on the anniversary of the date “when Arthur Balfour gave his infamous declaration of support for a Jewish state of Israel".
In the same article, Mr Corbyn wrote of an apparent decision by the then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to drop demands to halt new “settlements” in the West Bank, saying “once again, the Israeli tail wags the US dog".
A spokesperson for the Labour leader said: “Jeremy has consistently spoken out against all forms of antisemitism.
“In his speech to Labour Party conference this year, he said: ‘Let me be absolutely clear: antisemitism is an evil. It led to the worst crimes of the 20th century, every one of us has a responsibility to ensure that it is never allowed to fester in our society again.
"‘This party always has and always will fight against prejudice and hatred of Jewish people with every breath in our body’.”
Responding to Mr Corbyn's statement, Dave Rich, author of The Left's Jewish Problem, said:
"This shows why generic statements condemning antisemitism, while welcome, are of limited value on their own.
"Corbyn’s language in the 2009 article was deeply problematic and reflects a way of talking, and thinking, that has become common in anti-Israel circles.
"Labour will not be able to deal with the antisemitism in its ranks unless it addresses, in specific terms, the way that modern antisemitism operates on the left, and the party and its leadership need to show much greater clarity and understanding on this issue."
A Board of Deputies spokesperson said: “The picture and reported comments paint a sorry picture and speak for themselves.
"It will be for Jeremy Corbyn to explain why he wished to meet a murderer like Assad, whose appalling reputation was well known in 2009. Once again we find ourselves questioning the company Jeremy Corbyn keeps.”
