WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn calls for 'stronger and closer' links between Labour and Jewish community in Passover message
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has said this year’s Passover should mark the beginning of “stronger and closer relations” between Labour and Britain’s Jewish community.
The party leader’s message comes amid fresh anger from within and beyond Labour at the party’s failure to root out anti-Semitism from its ranks.
It comes amid calls by Labour MPs and peers for Mr Corbyn to suspend Christine Shawcroft from the party, after she defended a local election candidate who posted an article on Facebook claiming the Holocaust was "a hoax".
In a video message to mark the Jewish holiday, Mr Corbyn said Labour must “never be complacent” about tackling anti-Semitism.
"It is easy to denounce anti-Semitism when you see it in other countries, in other political movements. It is sometimes harder to see it when it is closer to home,” he said.
"We in the labour movement will never be complacent about anti-Semitism. We all need to do better.
"I am committed to ensuring the Labour Party is a welcoming and secure place for Jewish people.
"And I hope this Passover will mark a move to stronger and closer relations between us and everyone in the Jewish community.
Adding his best wishes to those celebrating the festival, in Hebrew, he said: "In the fight against anti-Semitism, I am your ally and I always will be. I wish you and your family a Chag Sameach."
Mr Corbyn also paid tribute to Jews who “battled against discrimination and faced the most horrific acts of violence and mass murder” during the Second World War.
He also called for reflection on the rise of anti-Semitism throughout the world today.
"In Poland, the government has passed laws making it illegal to acknowledge Polish complicity in the Holocaust," he added.
"They have frozen the law that returns property looted by Nazis to Holocaust survivors.
"In France, the neo-fascist National Front is on the rise and just days ago 85-year-old Holocaust survivor, Mirielle Knoll, was brutally stabbed to death in an anti-Semitic attack.
"In the US too, we see the far right extremists gathering support for their hateful ideology."
Watch the Labour leader's message below:
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
