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Young Labour chair: Jews are 'scared' to speak out about antisemitism

When Jewish members speak up against hate they are labelled 'traitors', says Miriam Mirwitch

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Young Labour’s chair has said many Jews within the party are now “scared” to speak out about antisemitism, making it harder than ever to be a Jewish member of the Labour Party.

Miriam Mirwitch, who is Jewish, was speaking after she was forced to condemn a tweet sent by the Twitter account of her own organisation, @YoungLabourUK, which celebrated the departure of Joan Ryan from the party.

Ms Ryan, who became the eighth Labour MP to quit Labour on Tuesday night, said Jeremy Corbyn's party had "become infected with the scourge of anti-Jewish racism."

Shortly after the announcement about Ms Ryan's departure, Young Labour sent a tweet – which has now been deleted – which read: “Joan Ryan Gone – Palestine Lives”.

The Young Labour account later retweeted a post by Asa Winstanley, the Electronic Intifada writer, who has accused Ms Mirwitch of belonging to a front group for the Israeli Embassy.

Ms Mirwitch was again forced to clarify on Twitter and wrote: “It's upsetting that comrades on Young Labour committee have decided it's appropriate to RT him, on a week when I've received antisemitic abuse.”

The youth section of the Labour Party later apologised for sending the tweet, which was sent by one the its committee members.

But since Young Labour is without a constitution, Ms Mirwitch said she was not able to limit who has access to the Twitter account and has since called on Labour’s ruling body for help.

Speaking to the JC, she said: “People often asking me about my red lines, ‘what will it take for me to leave? And it is hard.

“The thing that upsets me the most is that when a Jewish person in the party speaks out about antisemitism they are labelled as ‘not a true socialist’ or a ‘traitor.’

“It means people are now scared to speak out about the antisemitism they suffer which is really not a good place for the party to be, especially as people are leaving.”

Ms Mirwitch said her decision to stay in the Labour Party was “difficult” and “painful,” but she does so because “if I wasn’t here there would be no one left to speak out.”

She said the Labour party needed to have more “robust measures” in place to deal with antisemitism and that the National Executive Committee needed to do more to help.

“Young Labour are dependent upon the NEC and our reps on the NEC for decisions like election rules and conferences.”

Without support from the NEC she said she is not able to change things such as who has access to the Young Labour Twitter account and what it tweets.

She said: "It is exhausting and I am not going to pretend it is great, it isn’t, but I maintain that our actual membership are much more progressive that committee members.

“The messages I get from ordinary Young Labour members shows the strength of feeling that what is happening isn’t ok. They are the reason I keep going.”

She said it was “incredibly frustrating” that more has not been done by the Labour leadership to tackle antisemitism and the lack of action was setting a bad example across the movement.

“We have called time and time again for this to happen and nothing happens which is incredibly frustrating. It is incredibly painful. I understand why people are leaving. But I can’t. I was elected by Young Labour to speak for members.”

She said she was "not surprised" that Jeremy Corbyn had not personally contacted Lucian Berger over the antisemitic abuse she has experienced from within the Labour party.

“It is not ok. We need to up our game and we have to listen to what people are saying.”

She suggested that the Jewish Labour Movement should have been asked at the start of the crisis when Labour “had the chance to deliver antisemitism training to MPs and members.

“Perhaps if leaders had listened then, then we wouldn’t be in such a mess,” she said.

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