Jeremy Corbyn, Official Jew Hater
Why will the left keep defending a well-documented bigot?
We now have it in writing: Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-Semite.
An investigation by the United Kingdom’s Equality and Human Rights Commission released Thursday found that the British Labour Party, under the leadership of Corbyn, broke the law in its systematic discrimination against Jews.
Created by a 2006 law intended to protect citizens of the United Kingdom from all forms of discrimination, the commission concluded that Corbyn’s high command interfered to suppress complaints about anti-Semitism inside the party and conspired to exonerate members fairly accused of anti-Semitic conduct.
The report lays responsibility squarely at Corbyn’s feet, citing "serious failings in leadership" that created "a culture within the party which, at best, did not do enough to prevent antisemitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it."
Those findings are unsurprising, given the explosion of Jew hatred on the British left following Corbyn’s takeover in the fall of 2015. As a backbencher in Parliament, Corbyn referred to Hamas and Hezbollah as "friends," invited the radical Islamic cleric and Hamas funder Raed Saleh—now behind bars for inciting terrorism—to Parliament, and laid a wreath at the grave of Palestinian terrorists who massacred Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
None of this stopped prominent American left-wingers from championing a man whose indulgence of hatred was obvious to Jews long before it was deemed a violation of law. These same figures never hesitate to blather about their own "lived experience," or to lecture that society must defer to the perceived oppression of any marginalized or minority group—any, that is, except for the Jews, who are not allowed to decide for themselves what constitutes overt and obvious anti-Semitism.
Take Squad darling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), who boycotted an event honoring the martyred Yitzhak Rabin but slobbered over Corbyn ("an honor to share such a lovely and wide-reaching conversation") on Twitter; Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), who lauded Corbyn’s political achievements as a victory over "inequality"; Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.), who praised Corbyn’s "bold vision" and "positive populism"; and, of course, the political godfather of these lawmakers, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), whom Corbyn has described as his political inspiration.
Part of their mission is making Western politics a safe space for anti-Semitism. Sanders has led by example, through vicious and dishonest attacks on Israel, apologetics for Hamas and Iran, and alliances with prominent anti-Semites such as Linda Sarsour, who served as a campaign surrogate, and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), whose endorsements he celebrated. Sanders waves away criticism by citing his own Jewish heritage—one that he invokes only as a get-out-of-jail-free card when people question his promotion of bigots.Corbyn reacted to the report by digging in his heels, reiterating his claim that Labour's anti-Semitism problem is exaggerated, forcing the party’s new leader Keir Starmer to suspend him. After all, the report made clear that illegitimate smears characterizing the discrimination as a minor problem were part of the lawbreaking discrimination that unfolded.
Many of the anti-Semites Corbyn attracted to the party remain members. Presumably the Squad members and their allies will continue to court them, and the special relationship between the American and British left will continue, united in its anti-Semitic bigotry.
From his American supporters, there has been silence and even modest support. The Democratic Socialists of America reacted to news of Corbyn’s suspension this way: "Solidarity with @JeremyCorbyn. Thank you for always being a champion for the international working class."
That only serves to underscore the fact that on the left, anti-Semitism remains the last acceptable bigotry, and that Corbyn’s will be quickly swept under the rug.
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