Theresa May demands apology from Jeremy Corbyn over ‘British Zionists’ jibe
2 min read
Theresa May has launched a blistering attack on Jeremy Corbyn over the anti-Semitism scandal that has rocked the Labour party.
The Prime Minister demanded an apology from the Labour leader over controversial 2013 remarks he made about a group of British Zionists having "no sense of English irony".
She also slammed Mr Corbyn’s failed attempt to allow Labour members the freedom to call the creation of Israel "racist", saying he should be “ashamed of himself”.
The party's National Executive Committee last night endorsed the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, plus its examples of abuse, following an outcry from Jewish groups and some of the party's own MPs about its code of conduct.
But it emerged that Mr Corbyn had pushed for a separate statement alongside the code of conduct making clear that adopting the internationally-recognised definition of anti-Jewish abuse did not mean it was "anti-Semitic to describe Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist because of their discriminatory impact".
In their first Prime Minister’s Questions clash since MPs returned from summer recess, Mrs May said: “We should all be united in our determination to tackle anti-Semitism.
“So, when the leader of the Labour party stands up he should apologise for saying that Jewish people who have lived in this country their whole lives do not understand English irony."
She added: “He’s trying to change his party so anti-Semites can call the creation of Israel racist and he should be ashamed of himself.”
But Mr Corbyn hit back: “There is no place for racism of any form in our society – on that we are all agreed and we should tackle it wherever it arises in our own parties as well, and that includes the Conservative party.”
The Labour leader came under fire last month when footage emerged of him speaking at a 2013 conference in which he said a group of British Zionists attending a conference "clearly have two problems".
He said: “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 added: “They needed two lessons, which we could perhaps help them with.”
Labour backbencher Luciana Berger branded the remarks “inexcusable” and said they had made her, as “a proud British Jew feel unwelcome in my own party”.
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