The Labour Party’s failed handling of incidents of hatred against Jews gives credence to the suggestion the party is “institutionally antisemitic”, a parliamentary committee has found.
Jeremy Corbyn was found to not fully appreciate “the distinct nature of contemporary antisemitism”, and Labour had shown “demonstrable incompetence” in dealing with members accused of antisemitism.
Mr Corbyn and his party were heavily criticised for the handling of Ken Livingstone’s comments about Hitler, and the repeated controversy over activist Jackie Walker.
Baroness Chakrabarti’s own report into Jew-hatred in Labour was “ultimately compromised” by her failure to provide a definition of antisemitism, and her promotion to the Shadow Cabinet “threw into question” the independence of her “clearly lacking” probe, the report found.
Malia Bouattia, president of the National Union of Students, is also singled out for criticism for “failing to take sufficiently seriously the issue of antisemitism on university campuses”.
Her “choice of language suggests a worrying disregard for her duty to represent all sections of the student population and promote balanced and respectful debate”, the report states.
Ms Bouattia’s reference to Birmingham University as a “Zionist outpost” was “unacceptable” and “smacks of outright racism”.
The Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee, which had been investigating rising antisemitism in Britain since April, delivers damning findings on Labour and other political parties in a 70-page report published this morning.
It urges all political leaders to do more to tackle “pernicious” antisemitism, but states: “Despite his proud record on fighting racism, the committee is not persuaded that Mr Corbyn fully appreciates the distinct nature of contemporary antisemitism, and the fact that it is perfectly possible for an 'anti-racist campaigner' to express antisemitic views.
“His lack of consistent leadership on this issue has created what some have referred to as a 'safe space' for those with vile attitudes towards Jewish people.
“The failure of the Labour Party consistently and effectively to deal with antisemitic incidents in recent years risks lending force to allegations that elements of the Labour movement are institutionally antisemitic.”
There should be “sweeping reforms” of the party’s disciplinary procedures, and Baroness Chakrabarti’s proposed statute of limitations on investigating members accused of antisemitism should be abandoned, the report concluded.
“An abusive, antisemitic tweet sent in 2013 is no more defensible than one sent in 2016,” it added.
In broadening her inquiry to consider other forms of racism, Jewish concerns had been overlooked in some areas, the report says.
Tim Loughton MP, acting committee chair, said: “It is symbolic of the importance of this deeply felt issue that, despite the contentious, political nature of much of the debate, this report —which does not pull its punches — was agreed unanimously and without division by the committee’s members, across the parties.
“We call on all leaders of political parties to lead by example to tackle the growing prevalence of this insidious form of hate, opposing racism and religious hate in all its forms and working harder to promote inclusion and understanding among party members and the wider public, as befits the UK’s status as a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious society.”
The cross-party group – including three Labour MPs – suggested a series of reforms should be applied by parties for training and disciplining members and activists.
There was particular concern over the “volume and viciousness of antisemitism online”. MPs and peers had been targeted “countless” times. The case of Labour MP Luciana Berger was cited as an “alarming” example.
The Liberal Democrats should act more swiftly to deal with antisemitism, the committee found, and members noted the re-emergence of David Ward, a former Lib Dem MP, as a party councillor was “a surprise”.
An “amended definition of antisemitism” should be adopted by government and political parties to promote a “zero-tolerance approach while allowing free speech on Israel and Palestine to continue”, the report said.
It suggests the Macpherson definition – which essentially says an incident should be seen as antisemitic if an alleged victim believes it to be – is “a good working definition”.
The committee noted criticism of the Israeli government and state are acceptable and not antisemitic. But it found the terms “Zionist” and “Zio” were persistently used abusively and in an accusatory context, and have “no place in a civilised society”.
The term “Zionism” had been “tarnished by its repeated use in antisemitic and aggressive contexts”.
Referring to people in such a way should be considered “potentially antisemitic” by police and political groups.
Social media site Twitter had become an “inert host for vast swathes of antisemitic hate speech and abuse”, a situation the committee described as “deplorable”. MPs said the multi-billion dollar site should put more resources towards identifying abusive users.
The report said Britain remained “one of the least antisemitic countries in Europe”, but said surveys which show one in 20 adults could be regarded as clearly antisemitic in the UK were “alarming”.
Police records of antisemitic crimes were “almost non-existent” in some parts of England, including where many Jews lived. The National Police Chiefs’ council should investigate under-reporting, the committee said.
The criminal justice system’s response to dealing with hatred of Jews was largely “excellent”, but the committee urged the Jewish community to work with the Crown Prosecution Service on explaining the impact of antisemitism.
David Cameron’s work to support Holocaust education and commemoration earned a rare commendation from the committee. There was also praise for the Community Security Trust’s work.
Among those who gave evidence to the inquiry were Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis; Jonathan Arkush, the Board of Deputies president - and Ken Livingstone, who remains suspended by Labour.
