Jewish Labour MP attacks Jeremy Corbyn over 'inexcusable' jibe about British Zionists
2 min read
An angry Jewish Labour MP has hit out at Jeremy Corbyn after footage emerged of him saying British Zionists have “no sense of English irony”.
Luciana Berger said the comments were “inexcusable” and said she felt “unwelcome” in the party.
But a spokesperson for Mr Corbyn denied the 2013 jibe, about those who back the existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East, were offensive.
The footage emerged as the Labour leader battles to control the anti-Semitism scandal that has engulfed the party.
In the clip, which was unearthed by the Daily Mail, Mr Corbyn tells a London conference that British Zionists "clearly have two problems”.
“One is they don't want to study history, and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don't understand English irony either," he went on.
And he said: “They needed two lessons, which we could perhaps help them with.”
But Ms Berger fumed on Twitter: “The video released today of the leader of @UKLabour making inexcusable comments - defended by a party spokesman - makes me as a proud British Jew feel unwelcome in my own party.
“I've lived in Britain all my life and I don't need any lessons in history/irony.”
But a spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said: “He was referring to a group of pro-Israel activists misunderstanding - and then criticising - the Palestinian ambassador for a speech at a separate event about the occupation of the West Bank.”
Earlier this month the Labour leader was forced to apologise over an event he hosted in 2010 at which a participant compared Israeli government policy to Nazism.
Another clip unearthed in recent weeks appears to show Mr Corbyn doing the same, which he denies, while in another he says the BBC is “biased” towards saying Israel has a right to exist.
Mr Corbyn has also insisted he did not lay a wreath at the graves of Palestinian “martyrs” accused of being linked to the 1972 Munich Massacre, after photos emerged of him appearing to do so.
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