Poll: 38% of Brits believe Corbyn is antisemite

The poll also found that 35% agreed with the statement that "Jeremy Corbyn only seems interested in talking to those organizations deemed to be terrorists by the British government."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: OCTOBER 31, 2018 14:26
British Labour party opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn talks to reporters after a meeting with European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier at the EC headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 27, 2018 (photo credit: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS)
British Labour party opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn talks to reporters after a meeting with European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier at the EC headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 27, 2018
(photo credit: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS)
A newly published opinion poll released Wednesday showed that 38% of people in the UK believe that Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite, while 25% believe that he opposes racism and antisemitism.
Conducted by the Britain Israel Communications and Research Institute (BICOM), the poll surveyed a representative sample of the adult population in early October. In addition to the large number of respondents who believe Corbyn to be an antisemite, BICOM also found that 35% agreed with the statement that "Jeremy Corbyn only seems interested in talking to those organizations deemed to be terrorists by the British government, the EU and the US State Department," while 19% agree with the statement that "Jeremy Corbyn has worked hard to deliver peace between Israel and the Palestinians."
“We were interested to measure support for Jeremy Corbyn’s own explanations for his conduct after accusations of antisemitism," said BICOM CEO James Sorene, in a statement to the press. "The results are clear – 38 percent of people believe that Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite. It is also worth noting that the poll was carried out when this issue was no longer being reported in the news.”
The poll, conducted annually, also asked respondents about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The survey found that 49% of respondents believe Israel is an important British ally, and 48% said they do not support boycotts of Israel, a 1% increase from last year's poll. The number of respondents who support BDS, or understand why others do, increased 3% from last year's results to 14%.
“The poll results about Israel and the Palestinians are largely unchanged since last year," Sorene said. "Israel and the Palestinians have similar levels of support and opposition to boycotts of Israel remains high at 48 percent. Saudi Arabia remains the most important trading partner after Brexit, but Israel has moved up to third place at 38 percent."
BICOM is "an independent research centre producing research and analysis about Israel and the Middle East. Our aim is to increase understanding of Israel and the Middle East in the UK," according to the organization's website.