UK public figures, writer John le Carré oppose Corbyn due to antisemitism

Public letter urges Brits not to vote for Labour Party

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
British opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn holds the Political Declaration, setting out the framework for the future UK-EU relations, at his office in the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain April 2, 2019. (photo credit: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/REUTERS)
British opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn holds the Political Declaration, setting out the framework for the future UK-EU relations, at his office in the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain April 2, 2019.
(photo credit: STEFAN ROUSSEAU/REUTERS)
A diverse group of British intellectuals, artists, writers and campaigners against racism and antisemitism urged voters on Thursday in a public letter to reject Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in December’s election, because of his contribution to stoking Jew-hatred.
“The coming election is momentous for every voter, but for British Jews it contains a particular anguish: The prospect of a prime minister steeped in association with antisemitism. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour has come under formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for institutional racism against Jews. Two Jewish MPs have been bullied out of the party. Mr. Corbyn has a long record of embracing antisemites as comrades," said the letter, which was endorsed by world-famous British spy novelist John le Carré, along with distinguished historians Antony Beevor and Tom Holland, Muslims Against Antisemitism head Ghanem Nuseibeh and other notable British figures.
The jointly authored letter against Corbyn was published in the British newspaper The Guardian. 
The letter stated: "We listen to our Jewish friends and see how their pain has been relegated as an issue, pushed aside by arguments about Britain’s European future. For those who insist that Labour is the only alternative to Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit, now, it seems, is not the time for Jewish anxiety.
"But antisemitism is central to a wider debate about the kind of country we want to be. To ignore it because Brexit looms larger is to declare that anti-Jewish prejudice is a price worth paying for a Labour government. Which other community’s concerns are disposable in this way? Who would be next?”
The letter concluded that “opposition to racism cannot include surrender in the fight against antisemitism. Yet that is what it would mean to back Labour and endorse Mr. Corbyn for Downing Street. The path to a more tolerant society must encompass Britain’s Jews with unwavering solidarity. We endorse no party. However, we cannot in all conscience urge others to support a political party we ourselves will not. We refuse to vote Labour on 12 December."
Other notable signatories on the letter were Fay Weldon, Joanna Lumley, William Boyd, Simon Callow, Sathnam Sanghera, Janina Ramirez, Trevor Phillips, Jimmy Wales, Suzannah Lipscomb, Frederick Forsyth, Peter Frankopan, Dan Snow, Fiyaz Mughal, Tony Parsons, Dan Jones, Maajid Nawaz, Oz Katerji, Nick Hewer, Ed Husain and Terry Jervis.
Jimmy Wales, a British-American, is the founder of the non-profit online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Fiyaz Mughal founded the organization Tell Mama, which fights racism targeting Muslims. Frederick Forsyth is a globally famous writer of espionage and thriller novels.
Stephen Pollard, the editor-in-chief of the London-based Jewish Chronicle, wrote on Twitter in connection with the public letter: "Whatever the collective noun for a group of mensches is, this is it."


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