Labour's code of conduct instead says: "Discourse about international politics often employs metaphors drawn from examples of historic misconduct. It is not anti-Semitism to criticise the conduct or policies of the Israeli state by reference to such examples unless there is evidence of anti-Semitic intent. Chakrabarti recommended that Labour members should resist the use of Hitler, Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, distortions and comparisons in debates about Israel-Palestine in particular. In this sensitive area, such language carries a strong risk of being regarded as prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the party."<doc-sep>A HOLOCAUST survivor was blocked from talking at an event hosted by Jeremy Corbyn in Parliament - where Israel was compared to the Nazis. Rubin Katz, who came to Britain at aged 14, was prevented from speaking to fellow survivor Hajo Meyer, who gave a controversial talk with the Labour boss in Parliament. 8 Mr Katz was reportedly silenced at the event hosted by Jeremy Corbyn Credit: YouTube Mr Katz's friend, Murray Freedman, who was in the room at the meeting too, told The Sun that another person at the event had said: "Get him out of my sight". He said: "Rubin was told to sit down and shut up - and that he'd have a chance to talk at the end. "Afterwards he said 'you haven't called me' and went over to the table. "A woman there said: 'Get him out of my sight'. It was pretty despicable." 8 The event where Jeremy Corbyn, seen in the blue suit, allegedly told police to throw out protesters Credit: Murray Freedman In another day of chaos over the party's deep set problem with anti-Semitism, it also emerged that Mr Corbyn: Was accused of trying to get police to throw the same Holocaust survivor out of the event Can be heard saying "carry on, carry on" when a speaker was heckled at the event Was accused of breaking his party's own guidelines on anti-Semitism when a video emerged of him comparing the siege of Leningrad to the current situation in Gaza Called for Holocaust Memorial Day to be renamed as Genocide Memorial Day Praised the release of Hamas terrorists on Iranian state TV in 2012 Labour's spiralling anti-Semitism crisis hit a new low after letters emerged which accused Mr Corbyn of trying to throw Mr Katz of the event - called 'Never Again for Anyone - Auschwitz to Gaza'. The Labour boss, who was a backbencher at the time of the event in 2010, was alleged to have used police to escort protesters from the event. 8 Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of trying to throw out protesters using police Credit: London News Pictures A letter published in the Jewish Chronicle newspaper written by Mr Rubin said: "Jeremy Corbyn walked down the aisle with a policeman pointing to those he wanted removed." Mr Katz added: "As he approached me I held up my Holocaust Memorial Day invitation and demanded to question my fellow survivor, but no questions were allowed." 8 A letter published in the Jewish Chronicle says Mr Corbyn walked down the aisle with police Credit: Jewish Chronicle The pensioner, who came to Britain at the age of 14, said that to hold such a "hate fest on that solemn day was a tragedy" which was deeply hurtful for anyone who lost friends or family in the tragedy. A Labour source disputed the version of events and said Mr Corbyn did not point out protesters to police. They said: "Correspondence with the police suggests this account is false. "Three people were removed at different times by the police after shouting at the Holocaust survivor speaking at the event." The event Mr Corbyn hosted a talk by Mr Meyer, a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, entitled The Misuse of the Holocaust for Political Purposes. A passionate anti-Zionist, he had repeatedly likened modern Israel to the way the Nazis acted. Activists at controversial Holocaust event slam Jeremy Corbyn as an anti-Semite and for closing down speech JEWISH activists who attended a controversial meeting where Israel was compared to the Nazis have labelled Jeremy Corbyn as an anti-Semite, and said he repeatedly tried to shut down debate. Murray Freedman and Richard Millett told The Sun Online that the Labour boss spent the meeting patrolling the room looking out for anyone who wanted to challenge the speaker. The pair said they feared being chucked out themselves, and were shut down when they tried to speak at the end. Mr Freedman said Mr Corbyn "called in the Parliamentary Police to eject people who wanted to make statements that were not in turn" and said he "completely closed off the speech". Labour sources disputed that Mr Corbyn had pointed people to police to try and get them taken out of the meeting. Several people were thought to have stood up to try and discuss the issues being raised. Mr Freedman added of the event, which was held on Holocaust Memorial Day: "It couldn't have been more intended to insult the memory of the people who died." Accusing Mr Corbyn of being "long on words and short on action" he added, "you can't take him seriously - he's a joke". And on whether he was an anti-Semite himself, he added: "If it looks like one, talks like one, and acts like one, what can it be?" Another Jewish activist, Richard Millett, who was also at the gathering in the Boothroyd room in Portcullis House, said Mr Corbyn had told people to "calm down and shut up". He said Mr Corbyn "had to be" an anti-Semite as he repeatedly stuck up for "hard core Jew haters". Holding such an event in Parliament where Israel was compared to the Nazis "shows Jeremy's mindset," he added. Mr Millett even accused Mr Corbyn's party of not caring about Jews because they didn't have the numbers to defend him. "At the end of the day it's about mathematics... he's advised that there are more votes in sticking up for anti-Semites than defending Jews." A Labour source disputed the accounts of the meeting. 8 The leaflet for the event in Parliament that Mr Corbyn sponsored 8 The main speaker was a Holocaust survivor called Hajo Meyer John McDonnell admits anti-Semitism row has 'shaken Labour to its core' 8 At the event Hajo Meyer spoke out against the use of 'Nazi genocide of Jews to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by the state of Israel' One of the key issues in Labour’s row is the failure to adopt an internationally-recognised code on anti-Semitism, specifically a section on making such a comparison.<doc-sep>The Jewish community believes Labour has “declared war” on it, one of the party’s MPs has claimed, as Jeremy Corbyn faced increasing pressure for hosting an event comparing the Israeli government to the Nazis on Holocaust Memorial Day. Mr Corbyn issued a personal apology on Tuesday evening after it emerged he spoke at and opened a meeting in the House of Commons in 2010 which was part of a UK tour called “Never Again for Anyone - Auschwitz to Gaza”. John Mann, the Labour MP and chairman of the all party parliamentary group on anti-Semitism, said it was “extraordinary” Mr Corbyn had taken part in a “counter, if you like a protest event” on Holocaust Memorial Day. The Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a formal complaint against Mr Corbyn with the Labour Party and demanded disciplinary action over his attendance at the event when he was a backbench MP.<doc-sep>Is Jeremy Corbyn an "existential threat" to "Jewish life" in the UK? That was the rather extraordinary claim made in an unprecedented joint editorial published on the front pages of Britain’s three leading Jewish newspapers last week. In fact, it wasn’t just extraordinary: it was hysterical, offensive and plain wrong. Do you want to know what an "existential threat" to a minority community really looks like? Come to the United States, where I’ve lived since 2015. >> Trump Says 'Islam Hates the U.S.', but Why Do Americans Hate Islam? | Opinion >> British Left's anti-Semitism Problem Didn't Start With Corbyn. It's Been Festering for a Century | Opinion Donald Trump has suggested Muslim Americans are complicit in terrorist attacks; claimed "Islam hates us"; introduced a "Muslim ban"; and appointed dozens of anti-Muslim bigots to his administration. Corbyn, of course, has neither said nor done anything comparable in relation to Britain’s Jews. Has he been slow to take action against a handful of anti-Semites inside his party? Yes. Does he suffer from an "unconscious bias" on the left that doesn’t take allegations of anti-Semitism as seriously as it takes allegations of, say, Islamophobia? Probably. Could he have been more forceful and proactive in denouncing left-wing anti-Semitism much earlier on? Definitely. But does a Corbyn-led Labour government pose a threat to the very existence of British Jewry? Don’t. Be. Silly. Again, that is not to say that there isn’t a problem of anti-Semitism on the left. The very next day after the joint editorial was published, a Labour councillor was suspended from the party after a post on his Facebook page called Jews blood-sucking "parasites." Earlier this week, a recording emerged of Peter Willsman, a Corbyn ally and member of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), angrily accusing Jewish "Trump fanatics" of fabricating evidence of anti-Semitism. This is absurd. Even Momentum, the pro-Corbyn grassroots movement, has acknowledged "the anger, upset and despair within the British Jewish community at the numerous cases of anti-Semitism in the Labour party" and said they "should not and cannot be dismissed simply as rightwing smears nor as the result of conspiracies." Open gallery view Leaflets for Momentum, the group set up to support U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, at the Labour Party annual conference. Liverpool, U.K. Sept. 28, 2016 Credit: Bloomberg Depressingly, the row over anti-Semitism in Labour has lost all sense of proportion and nuance; on the one side, those who cynically claim Corbyn is an "existential threat" to Jews and, on the other, those who shamefully claim allegations of anti-Semitism have been "stirred up" only to attack Corbyn and defend Israel. Yet there is no need to choose sides: you can commit to both defeating anti-Semitism and electing a Corbyn-led government. You can strive to protect both Jews and criticism of Israel. How so? First, listen to the victims of racism; in this case, the Jewish victims of racism. That three Jewish Labour MPs had to stand up in the House of Commons and recount the anti-Semitic abuse they were subjected to online, while complaining that they felt abandoned by their party, should be a source of shame for Labour. So too should the fact that almost eight out of 10 Labour members say they think anti-Semitism allegations have been exaggerated to damage Corbyn. To quote my friend Rachel Shabi, a Corbyn-supporting Jewish journalist, "the number of people so doggedly telling Jewish people that they’re wrong about anti-Semitism" is "jaw-dropping." When Jews say they’re the victims of racism, believe them. >> This Week UK Jews Bravely Stood Up to Labour's anti-Semitism. It Was a Tragic Failure | Opinion >> 'Traitors,' 'Enemies': The Corbyn Left Turns Conspiracist on Syria and anti-Semitism | Opinion >> It's Not anti-Semitism if You Just Hate the Bad Jews | Opinion Second, however, don’t listen to the right wing press. Are we expected to believe that conservative media outlets in the UK give a damn about anti-Semitism? The Daily Telegraph, which repeated far-right smears against George Soros on its front page? The Daily Mail, which published a now-notorious attack on Jewish refugee Ralph Miliband, father of Ed? LBC, which continues to employ former UKIP leader Nigel Farage as a presenter despite his on-air references to the "money and influence" of the "Jewish lobby"? There is no contradiction: it is perfectly possible to acknowledge that Labour has an anti-Semitism problem while also pointing out that these particular media outlets have weaponized anti-Semitism to try and smear and discredit Corbyn. Third, don’t lose sight of the bigger threat. How can Jews feel safe in a Europe in which the far right is on the march? Go to Poland, where the government has passed a law denying any Polish complicity in the Holocaust; or go to Austria, where there is a proposal to force Jews to obtain permits to buy kosher meat. In Germany, police statistics attributed nine out of 10 anti-Semitic crimes in 2017 to "members of far-right or neo-Nazi groups." The feelings of Jews matter - but facts matter, too. "Existential" threats to minority communities in Europe - whether Jewish, Muslim, gay or Roma - come from the far right, not the far left. Fourth, stop conflating Jews and Israel. This point applies as much to defenders of the Jewish state as it does to anti-Semitic bigots. The joint editorial in those three papers lambasted Labour for making a (false) distinction between "racial anti-Semitism" and "political anti-Semitism targeting Israel." Open gallery view A woman walks past a Jeremy Corbyn mural in Camden, London. June 1, 2017 Credit: Frank Augstein/AP This is positively Orwellian: political criticism of a state or ideology cannot be compared to or equated with racial or religious abuse. Much of the recent criticism of Corbyn has flowed from Labour’s refusal to incorporate all of the examples of anti-Semitism - especially those related to Israel - listed alongside the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.<doc-sep>
Jeremy Corbyn has apologised for the “concerns and anxiety caused” after taking part in an event where the actions of Israel in Gaza were compared to the Nazis. The Labour leader acknowledged he had appeared with people “whose views I completely reject” when he hosted a Holocaust Memorial Day event in 2010, while he was a backbench MP. He apologised for the “concerns and anxiety” it had caused. The main talk at the event, called Never Again for Anyone – Auschwitz to Gaza, was given by Hajo Meyer, a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. He repeatedly compared Israeli action in Gaza to the mass killing of Jewish people in the Holocaust. Corbyn said: “The main speaker at this Holocaust Memorial Day meeting was a Jewish Auschwitz survivor. Views were expressed at the meeting which I do not accept or condone. “In the past, in pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people and peace in Israel/Palestine, I have on occasion appeared on platforms with people whose views I completely reject. I apologise for the concerns and anxiety that this has caused.” The Labour MP John Mann said it was “extraordinary” for an MP to have hosted such an event. “It breaches any form of normal decency. I am not sure how he got himself into that situation but I am pleased he apologised,” he said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Talking about the broader issue of antisemitism, Mann said Labour under Corbyn should now adopt in full the definition of antisemitism accepted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Debate in the party has focused on the party’s new code of conduct on antisemitism and the fact it features the internationally accepted definition but does not replicate in full a list of examples of antisemitism published by the IHRA alongside its definition. Ann Black, who is campaigning for re-election to the Labour party’s National Executive Committee, backed Mann’s call. She said: “Barry Gardiner [the shadow international trade secretary] has said that you take the IHRA working definition as a starting point. If it’s necessary to add to it to make clear that it does not stop party members defending the rights of the Palestinians, or criticising certain sections of the Israeli government, then that is fine. “But that is the starting point and I believe Jeremy Corbyn has the ability and the authority to do it and I hope he does so.” She added: “I do not believe Jeremy Corbyn is in any way racist or antisemitic.” A party spokesman said: “Labour has adopted the IHRA definition, which is reproduced word for word in our code of conduct, and the examples are expanded on and contextualised to produce legally robust guidelines that a political party can apply to disciplinary cases. “IHRA says its text is not legally binding and therefore there is no basis to legally challenge the code of conduct.” Mann also called for Peter Willsman, an activist on the Momentum-backed “JC9” slate for re-election to the NEC, to stand down after he suggested Jewish “Trump fanatics” were behind accusations of antisemitism in Labour ranks. Willsman has apologised, acknowledging the “offensive nature of my comments”, and has referred himself for equalities training. He said: “I recognise the offensive nature of my comments and that in diminishing the experiences of those who face antisemitism in our party and society I showed a lack of the sensitivity required for discussions around racism.” 00:52 Peter Willsman dismisses Labour antisemitism claims - audio The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) referred the party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission and made a complaint to Labour about comments by Corbyn and his hosting of the event in 2010. “We charge that the party has, through years of deliberate or reckless dereliction of its duty to enforce its own rules, created an atmosphere in which Jewish members and/or associates are discriminated against,” the CAA’s letter to the equality watchdog said. The organisation also issued a fresh complaint – its third – to Labour about Corbyn. As well as the 2010 Holocaust Memorial Day event, it highlighted comments made by Corbyn in 2012 when appearing on Press TV, the Iranian state-owned broadcaster, in which he linked a massacre of 16 Egyptian policeman to Israel. Gideon Falter, the chair of the CAA, said: “The evidence shows beyond all doubt that Jeremy Corbyn is an antisemite and the Labour party has become institutionally antisemitic.