Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is once again the subject of scrutiny regarding his relationship with British Jewry. As the UK election approaches next month, here's just some highlights of what's transpired over the past 48 hours regarding Corbyn's fraught relationship with the Jews.
A "car crash" of an interview
Rather than apologizing, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has doubled-down on his insistence that he's not an anti-Semite and is doing what he can to eradicate Jew-hatred within his party.
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During a BBC interview with Andrew Neil, Corbyn was asked four times whether he wanted to apologize ahead of the Dec. 12 general election, to which he responded, "What I'll say is this I am determined that our society is safe for people of all faiths."
Prince Andrew does the car crash interview of 2019.
Jeremy Corbyn: Hold my beer. pic.twitter.com/V61kJ6YI03— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) November 26, 2019
In addition to refusing to apologize for anti-Semitism, Corbyn also openly disagreed with the UK's top Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis' assessment of Corbyn's ability to clamp down on Jew-hatred within his party.
Jeremy Corbyn refuses 4 times to apologise for failure to tackle anti-Semitism in brutal car-crash Andrew Neil grilling https://t.co/d2yagVj1L7
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) November 26, 2019
Unimpressed, Neil then moved on to Brexit after the nearly 12-minute grilling.
While we have yet to see if that interview did any damage to Corbyn's chances, the jury on Twitter has already rendered its verdict, with many dubbing the conversation a "car crash interview."
Israel may halt security cooperation with the UK
In more serious news, The Daily Telegraph reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insinuated that security cooperation between the UK and Israel would cease when and if Corbyn became prime minister.
"During a visit to London in September, The Telegraph asked Mr. Netanyahu whether security cooperation could continue if Mr. Corbyn follows through on his promises to stop arms sales to Israel and to recognize a Palestinian state. 'What do you think?' Netanyahu said," according to the report.
A former MI6 officer speaking to the British paper confirmed that cooperation would likely be put "on hold," but some sort of relationship would continue quietly in the background.
Should this come to pass, it could drastically impact how both countries combat the Iranian threat since the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and MI5 are in close contact with the Israeli intelligence establishment on that issue.
The Telegraph also reported that "Israel's Mossad spy agency is believed to be the second-largest sharer of intelligence with Britain after the CIA."
WZO says British community in distress
Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization (WZO) Yaakov Hagoel, asserted that "300,000 Jews are living in fear of their own future and their own security." In a letter issued to The Jerusalem Post, Hagoel blasted Corbyn for being a "declared anti-Semite, a hater of Israel and a terrorist supporter."
He lamented that British Jews were no longer free to openly worship as they please in the UK and said he feared that a Corbyn government would only make matters worse.
Blasting the Labour Party, he said "today, a large, well-established and influential political party is giving a tailwind to bigotry against Jews, officially, without masks and without fear."
Jews on Twitter are not staying quiet
The past 24 hours have seen a flurry of activity on Jewish Twitter, where activists and laypeople alike have expressed their outrage at not only at Corbyn's disastrous interview but also over a problematic tweet by The Washington Post which conflated the anti-Semitism issue with Labour's support of a Palestinian state.
Although the paper apologized for the tweet, it ignited outrage among many Jews.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called on The Washington Post to "do better" and said their tweet was "categorically false."
Categorically false. @UKLabour has been accused of anti-Semitism due to their support of Holocaust deniers, anti-Semitic terrorists & perpetuation of anti-Semitic stereotypes & conspiracies. Very different from strong statements on Palestinian rights. Do better, @washingtonpost. pic.twitter.com/Gd7QQG55MM
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 26, 2019
Meanwhile, Tal Ofer, a Deputy at the Board of Deputies of British Jews, shared the front page of major papers – all of which shamed Corbyn for doubling down and refusing to apologize to British Jews.
Unprecedented consensus : All papers headlines today are about @jeremycorbyn refusal to apologise to British Jews for #LabourAntisemitism. #votelabourvoteracism #nevercorbyn pic.twitter.com/55iTS1QJrR
— Tal Ofer טל עופר تل عوفر (@TalOfer) November 27, 2019
And lastly, Avi Mayer, the assistant executive director and managing director of global communications at the American Jewish Committee summed up the state of affairs quite succinctly:
British voters have many valid concerns, but British Jewry is very simply in distress. I cannot recall the last time I detected such acute anxiety from a Western Jewish community on the eve of an election. I hope Britons think of their Jewish neighbors when they go to the polls.
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) November 26, 2019
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met Mirvis on Wednesday and then participated in a United Jewish Israel Appeal event in London.
"In his meeting with the chief rabbi, the president lent his support to Rabbi Mirvis's work, including the article he published recently expressing his concerns about rising anti-Semitism in the UK, and told him 'your clear voice and leadership, particularly in the last few days, fills us all with pride,'" the president's office said in a press release.
"Since the Balfour Declaration, Israel has shared a common history and common democratic values with Britain. It is because of these strong bonds that we are extremely concerned by the rise in anti-Semitism in the UK," Rivlin said, according to the press release.
Rivlin added that "zero tolerance means providing security for Jewish communities, and countering religious extremism. It means insisting that there is no room for anti-Semitism in the halls of power, and no room for incitement on social media. It means effective legislation and effective Holocaust education."
