Religion

UK Labour Leader To Jews: ‘I Am Your Ally’

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U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tried to assuage recent anti-Semitism accusations against his party with a Passover message to Jews, calling himself their “ally.”

The most recent anti-Semitism accusations against the Labour Party sprang up in response to a British legislator’s March 23 tweet of an anti-Semitic mural, according to the New York Times. Corbyn, who endorsed the mural in 2012, was not quick enough with his denunciation of the tweet and mural to quell rising outrage.

Jewish groups gathered to protest in front of U.K.’s parliament on March 26. Corbyn sent a letter of apology to various Jewish groups before the protests. He also delivered a Passover message on Friday to further emphasize the Labour Party’s support of the Jewish people.

“It is easy to denounce antisemitism when you see it in other countries, in other political movements. It is sometimes harder to see it when it is closer to home. We in the labour movement will never be complacent about antisemitism. We all need to do better. I am committed to ensuring the Labour Party is a welcoming and secure place for Jewish people. And I hope this Passover will mark a move to stronger and closer relations between us and everyone in the Jewish community. In the fight against antisemitism, I am your ally and I always will be. I wish you and your family a Chag Sameach,” Corbyn said his message.

As Jews across our country start to prepare for #Passover, I would like to wish everyone in the Jewish community a Chag Sameach. pic.twitter.com/vUmxnJHWGw

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) March 30, 2018

Corbyn also mentioned Passover 2018’s first night marks the 75th year Warsaw, Poland, Jews were determined to stand fast against the Nazis intended to destroy the ghetto where they were forced to live. Corbyn noted afterward a worldwide rise in anti-Semitism, taking jabs at Poland, the National Front party in France, and “far right extremists” in the U.S., before offering an admission of guilt on behalf of his own party.

Anti-Semitism is “more conspicuous, more commonplace, and more corrosive” in the Labour party than it has ever been in Jewish Labour Movement Chairwoman Luciana Berger’s memory, she said in response to Corbyn’s slow denunciation of the anti-Semitic mural, according to NYT.