Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of antisemitism allegations has made him “unfit for high office”, the Chief Rabbi has stated, with further warnings that the soul of the nation is at stake in next month’s general election.
In an open comment to The Times, the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis noted that as the nation takes to the polls in the following weeks, “the overwhelming majority of British Jews are gripped by anxiety”. These comments follow much debate around the view that the Labour Party, specifically Corbyn, are not doing enough to tackle anti-semitism within the party.
“The overwhelming majority of British Jews are gripped by anxiety” – Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
Following the launch of the party’s ‘race and faith manifesto’, Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said that anti-Jewish racism was ‘vile and wrong’, and that it had no place within the party.
The Chief Rabbi Mirvis has encouraged people to vote with their conscience in the general election. In an interview with Andrew Neil on the BBC earlier last week, Mr Corbyn was accused of refusing to apologise for the handling of anti-Semitic complaints within the party following Rabbi Mirvis’ comments. However, on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme, Labour peer and Kindertransport refugee Lord Dubs told the programme that the Labour Party was moving forward.
“Currently, YouGov polls put Labour on 221 behind the Conservatives at 359 seats.”
Since Corbyn took leadership of the party in 2015, there have been many criticisms for the way in which anti-Semitism has been handled within the party. There has been many high profile suspensions, including MP Naz Shah and MP Chris Williamson. Corbyn has insisted that the process for dealing with cases is constantly under review and that anti-semitism is a poison which has no place within the Labour Party.
Labour’s seen failure to deal with anti-semitism within the party has been crucial ahead of the General election on the 12th December. Currently, YouGov polls 28th November 2019 put Labour on 221 behind the Conservatives at 359 seats. Last week, the Tory candidate Amjad Bashir was also suspended from the Conservative party over anti-Semitic comments.
Safa Shahid
For more content including uni news, reviews, entertainment, lifestyle, features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved! Also like our Impact News page for more articles.
