The head of a Jewish organization in Britain said Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn must publicly denounce his ties to terrorist groups if he wants to win back the trust of the U.K.’s Jewish community, The Telegraph reported.
Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the Islington North MP will not be taken seriously by the Jewish community until he starts giving “clear, straight answers to straight questions” and repudiates support for or links to “antisemites, racists, terrorists bodies, people for whom I would expect any serious British U.K. politicians would want to maintain a great distance. Any British politician in a senior capacity will not be taken seriously if he has any partiality towards terrorist organizations.”
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Corbyn has been linked to anti-Israel figures, including: Holocaust denier Paul Eisen; head of the Islamic Movement in Israel Raed Salah, who has been accused of “virulent antisemitism;” Muslim extremist Dyab Abou Jahjah, who has been accused of blood libels against Jews; and Rev. Stephen Sizer, who blamed Israel for the 9/11 attacks and was banned by the Anglican Church for six months for his antisemitic views.
Corbyn also infamously called members of the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah his “friends,” though he later explained that it was “diplomatic language in the context of dialogue.”
Corbyn chairs the Stop The War Coalition, which has organized rallies where Hezbollah flags are waved along with banners reading “Death to Israel.”
Arkush told The Telegraph that Corbyn’s views are “very hostile to Israel,” and that the politician’s ties to Holocaust deniers and antisemites have stirred “very deep concerns” among Jews that must be addressed immediately. He said worry about Corbyn’s stance toward Israel is both widespread in the community and “not at all exaggerated.”
He said that in the event that Corbyn wins the Labour Party race, he would demand an urgent meeting with the politician, to seek reassurances about his position on Israel.
Nearly 70 percent of British Jews are worried about the possibility of Corbyn becoming the new Labour Party leader, The Algemeiner previously reported. However, Corbyn recently said he finds the idea of his being called a racist or antisemite “beyond appalling, disgusting and deeply offensive.” He said he has spent his life opposing racism and that he will continue to do so “until my dying day.”
{Matzav.com}
