LONDON — The full extent of anti-Semitism in the British Labour Party is exposed in documents leaked days before voters go to the polls to elect a new government.
Allegations against members include Holocaust denial and crude caricatures of “bent nose manipulative liars,” as well as calls for the “extermination of every Jew on the planet.”
The issue has long dogged Jeremy Corbyn, its hard-left leader, who has been accused repeatedly of failing to tackle the issue.
The leaked files from internal investigations show more than 130 cases remain outstanding, even though many were reported more than 18 months ago, according to the Sunday Times.
One member was suspended after claiming that only “thousands” of people had died in the Holocaust, according to the files. She also stereotyped Jewish people by claiming they were “rich, interested in finance and intent on controlling or exploiting others” in social media posts.
Another member was suspended last year after his comments were reported to party headquarters. “I call for the complete annihilation and extermination of every Jew on the planet,” the man is alleged to have written in a post about Israel.
An ardent Corbyn supporter was given a warning in February for a string of posts targeting high-ranking Conservative Party officials and a Jewish MP. Before he joined the Labour Party, he claimed, “I am not a Jew hater but in terms of stopping being taken over, you are well too late.”
The issue is cited as one of the reasons that many ordinary party members are turning away from Corbyn in the sort of numbers that could see Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to power with a sizable majority on Thursday.
It comes as the Simon Wiesenthal Centre placed the Labour Party at the top of its list of worst global anti-Semitic incidents in 2019.
A senior Corbyn ally said he was concerned the issue had overshadowed the party’s election messaging.
“I worry that this has had its effect,” John McDonnell, Labour’s shadow chancellor, told the BBC.
“We’ve done everything, I think, we can possibly do, we’ve apologized to the Jewish community.”
The governing Conservative Party is dealing with its own anti-Semitism allegations.
Over the weekend, it emerged that three of its candidates were being investigated for their use of social media.
“We are committed to stamping out the scourge of anti-Semitism in our society and supporting our Jewish community,” said a spokeswoman.
