Formal Complaints Of Antisemitism Lodged Against Six Labour MPs
Formal complaints of antisemitism have been lodged against six Labour MPs, including Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting, and party leader Keir Starmer, with both the party itself and the Equalities & Human Rights Commission. We believe it to be the second such allegation including Starmer since his sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey last week.
The complainant wishes to remain anonymous, but has sent us the text of the complaint, which they say others are welcome to use if wishing to lodge their own complaint. It reads as follows:
"To whom it may concern. I would like to lodge a formal complaint concerning antisemitism in the Labour Party: against Ed Miliband the former party leader, Margaret Hodge the Labour MP For Barking, Nia Griffith the Shadow Welsh Secretary, Stella Creasy the Labour MP for Walthamstow, Wes Streeting the Labour MP for Ilford North, and finally Keir Starmer The Labour Party leader.
Miliband, in a recent interview with Andrew Marr, which was in regard to the dismissal of former Shadow Education Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, stated. "It was a false criticism of the state of Israel". "The problem is that over the centuries when calamitous things have happened Jews have been blamed. And that's why there was an antisemitism issue in relation to this". Ed Miliband has conflated the state of Israel with Jewish people collectively. This is a clear breach of the final example of antisemitism in the IHRA definition of antisemitism: Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
The Jewish population in Israel is 74.2%. The Christian population of the United States is 73.7%. A criticism of the United States, true or false, would never be seen as racism, or hatred of Christians collectively. The state of Israel and Jews are two different entities. Yet Ed Miliband has conflated the Jewish community with Israel. This is a clear case of antisemitism under the IHRA definition.
Margaret Hodge recently retweeted and therefore endorsed Jonathan Freedland of the Guardians comment regarding his recent article. "Rebecca Long-Bailey, Maxine Peake and the age-old need to find a culprit for all the world’s ills". Again, by associating the situation in regard to Long-Bailey with blaming Jews, this conflates the state of Israel with Jewish people collectively, therefore Hodge has endorsed an antisemitic statement.
Nia Griffith in a recent interview with the BBC claimed "When people start making blanket assumptions or blanket criticisms that is very often the basis of antisemitism or racism". Griffith has conflated the state of Israel with Jewish people collectively as she has equated a criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Again this is a clear breach of the final example from the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
Stella Creasy in a recent tweet described Maxine Peake’s article as "Casual Antisemitism". As previously stated, the comment in question refers to the state of Israel and not Jews collectively... Once more by equating the two this is a clear breach of the final example of IHRA definition.
Wes Streeting recently retweeted and therefore endorsed a comment by David Schneider: "Such a relief to have a Labour Party that both understands what antisemitism is and is determined to root it out". For it to be antisemitism Jews and Israel would have to be the same entity. Again this conflation is another breach of the IHRA definition.
Finally I would like to lodge a complaint against Keir Starmer the Labour Party leader . By describing the article shared by Long-Bailey as "an antisemitic Semitic conspiracy theory".
By equating a comment about the Israeli state with antisemitism, Starmer has conflated Israel with Jewish people collectively, in clear breach of this example in the IHRA working definition which has been fully accepted by the Labour Party"