Jeremy Corbyn apologises for Labour antisemitism ahead of meeting with Jewish leaders

Jeremy Corbyn has apologised for failing to get a grip on antisemitism in the Labour Party, ahead of a crunch meeting with Jewish community leaders.

The Labour leader said his party had “not done enough” to tackle the problem and admitted Labour’s processes for dealing with anti-Jewish abuse were “not fully fit for purpose”.

Jewish people “deserve an apology”, he said, adding that he was “sorry for the hurt and distressed caused”.

His latest apology comes ahead of a much-anticipated meeting between the Labour leadership and Jewish community groups the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council.

Mr Corbyn said he wanted to use the meeting on Tuesday to discuss the resurgence of “both old and new forms of antisemitism” and committed to “strive to understand why antisemitism has surfaced in our party”.

Writing in the Evening Standard, he said: “Antisemitism is a poison that must be challenged wherever it raises its head, across Europe and at home. Hatred and bigotry towards Jewish people has no place in our society, whether on the streets or online. And that of course goes for the Labour Party too."

He continued: “We have not done enough to get to grips with the problem, and the Jewish community and our Jewish members deserve an apology. My party and I are sorry for the hurt and distress caused.”

Admitting the party's current structures are “simply not fully fit for purpose” when it comes to dealing with anti-Jewish abuse, he outlined the steps Labour will take to address the problem. These include a “programme of political education” to help party members recognise and tackle antisemitism, and the appointment of a legal expert to advise on disciplinary matters.

Mr Corbyn also appeared to defend his decision to invite the controversial Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) group to a roundtable discussion on antisemitism that way due to take place the day after his meeting with the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council.

The group has consistently denied there is widespread antisemitism in the Labour Party and last month organised a counter-protest to the demonstration in Parliament Square against Mr Corbyn’s handling of the issue.

A number of more mainstream Jewish groups refused to take part in the meeting if JVL were present, leading to the roundtable discussion being cancelled.

But Mr Corbyn said: “I want to engage with the full range and diversity of Jewish organisations and have no truck with any attempt to divide the Jewish community into the 'right' and 'wrong' sort of Jews.

“Debate and pluralism are abiding characteristics of the Jewish community, and I celebrate them both within and without the Labour Party.”

While claiming the number of Labour members being investigated for antisemitism amounts to 0.1 per cent of the party’s membership, Mr Corbyn said: “But we must also face the uncomfortable fact that a small number of our members and supporters hold antisemitic views and attitudes, which need to be confronted and dealt with more rapidly and effectively.

He added: “The evidence is clear enough. Labour staff have seen examples of Holocaust denial, crude stereotypes of Jewish bankers, conspiracy theories blaming 9/11 on Israel, and even one member who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood.”

Mr Corbyn said there were two main sources of modern antisemitism, including people “on the fringe” of Palestinian rights groups who “can stray into antisemitic views”. Some activists are attracted to the pro-Palestine movement “because it affords an opportunity to express hostility to Jewish people in a ‘respectable’ setting,” he said.

The second area where antisemitism often emerges, he said, involves people making claims about a “conspiracy of a small shadowy elite” that props up capitalism and imperialism. Mr Corbyn said such suggestions are “only a step away” from long-standing antisemitic tropes about wealthy and powerful Jews secretly controlling the world.

The Labour leader also distanced himself from claims, made by many of his supporters, that allegations of antisemitism in the party are “smears” designed to undermine his leadership.

“When members of Jewish communities express genuine anxieties we must recognise them as we would those of any other community," he said. “Their concerns are not ‘smears’.”