London: Former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says he has been reinstated to the opposition party after a three-week suspension — a decision that touched off fury from Jewish leaders angry about anti-Semitism in Labour that flourished during his tenure.
Corbyn was suspended after he said the problem of anti-Semitism in the party had been “dramatically overstated” for political reasons. His comment followed a scathing report from the UK equalities watchdog, which found “significant failings” and a “lack of leadership” in how the left-of-centre party handled allegations of anti-Semitism among its members.
Before the meeting of the National Executive Committee on Tuesday, London time, Corbyn issued a statement saying the concerns about anti-Semitism in the party were neither “overstated” nor “exaggerated”, and it must “never tolerate anti-Semitism or belittle concerns about it”.
“Our movement must now come together to oppose and defeat this deeply damaging Conservative government,” he said in a tweet.
After the Equalities and Human Rights Commission issued its report, Labour leader Keir Starmer promised “a culture change” in the party saying there would be “no more denials or excuses”.
Labour has been grappling with allegations that anti-Semitism was allowed to fester under Corbyn, a long-time supporter of Palestinians and a critic of Israel who led the party for almost five years from 2015.
But the decision was met by outrage. The Jewish Labour Movement said it appeared Corbyn’s case had been “expedited” by a “factionally aligned political committee”.
Read the article in the Brisbane Times (AP).