We applaud Starmer for taking the decision to suspend Corbyn even if it might be late in coming.
By JPOST EDITORIALJeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer attend a general election campaign meeting in Harlow, Britain November 5, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS / HANNAH MCKAY)
The decision on Thursday by the UK Labour Party to suspend former leader Jeremy Corbyn is right, just and long overdue.The decision was made after Corbyn rejected the findings of a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which detailed the numerous failures of the party to act on allegations of antisemitism within its ranks during his past leadership.In response, party leader Sir Keir Starmer accepted the report in full, and after apologizing to the Jewish community, announced he would implement each of the report’s recommendations.Taking to Facebook, he claimed that while he did not fully agree with it, he trusts that “its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.” He added, however, that “the scale of the problem [of antisemitism in the party] was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media.”Following these statements, a complaint was filed to Starmer by the watchdog organization Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and Corbyn was then suspended.The decision was immediately hailed by Jewish organizations across Britain. “Having presided over the descent of a proudly anti-racist party into a party that broke equalities law in its treatment of Jews, his shameless comments today showed that he remains part of the problem and is an obstruction to the resolution of the issue,” Jewish Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl said.“Labour is finally saying enough is enough – antisemitism can never be tolerated in our party. Now, we can finally move on,” Jewish Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge said.We applaud Starmer for taking the decision to suspend Corbyn even if it might be late in coming. Since taking over the helm of a party once led by the likes of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Corbyn turned the Labour Party – the former political home for a large segment of British Jewry – into a safe haven for antisemites and antisemitism.MPs became targets for antisemitic attacks and many left the party while seven employees became whistleblowers on a BBC program revealing how Labour had shown “a lack of commitment” to properly investigate antisemitism within its ranks.Jews and non-Jews alike, from across the political spectrum came out strongly against Corbyn in last year’s parliamentary election, with many warning of a Jewish departure from Britain if he won.By 2019, a poll had found that most members of the party were in denial of its rampant antisemitism. Only 23% of those surveyed agreed that the party had a “serious” antisemitism problem. Another 37% blamed the antisemitism on accusations from “political opponents who want to undermine Jeremy Corbyn.” An additional 17% blamed “the mainstream media.”Thankfully, Corbyn did not win last year and was replaced by Starmer who deserves credit for adopting an aggressive stance against any sign of antisemitism within and without the party, demonstrated by his decision on Thursday to suspend his predecessor.“I’ll say it again: those who deny there is a problem are part of the problem. Those who pretend it is exaggerated or factional are part of the problem,” Starmer said on Thursday following the publication of the EHRC report.Antisemitism is a virus that feeds on ignorance and a failure to act. When people see antisemitism acts and speech go unanswered, they think they can act in the same way without accountability. This is why every act of antisemitism needs to be reported and why every act of antisemitism needs to be confronted with forceful and immediate action.That is what Labour finally did on Thursday. It sent a message that even a former leader, no matter how high-ranking he might have been once within the party, does not have immunity and can be held accountable.It is a lesson for other countries and political parties that are also battling this virus of hate and discrimination. It is a lesson in how to finally act but also in what happens when one fails to take action at the inception and lets antisemitism grow.It will take a long time for the Labour Party to repair the damage it has caused the Jews of the United Kingdom. The suspension of Corbyn is a step in the right direction.
