Corbyn REFUSES to say sorry as he is confronted with examples of alleged anti-Semitism in bruising interview kicking off Labour conference
- Jeremy Corbyn endured bruising interview as he kicked off Labour conference
- The Labour leader was challenged over examples of anti-Semitism in the party
- Asked to apologise to Jewish community Mr Corbyn just said he was ‘anti-racist’
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Jeremy Corbyn refused to say sorry today as he was confronted with a litany of examples of alleged anti-Semitism.
The Labour leader floundered as he tried to bat off criticism of his own conduct – and a wider wave of vile abuse that has been wracking the party.
In the bruising interview as Labour conference kicked off in Liverpool, the BBC’s Andrew Marr challenged Mr Corbyn on how he had failed to ‘notice’ that a mural he defended was an anti-Semitic trope.
He was also braced on his jibe about some ‘British Zionists’ not understanding ‘English irony’, and his attendance at a ceremony in Tunisia honouring terrorists linked to the Munich massacre.
But pressed to apologise to the Jewish community, Mr Corbyn merely insisted that he was ‘anti-racist’ and said Labour was ‘welcoming’ to all communities.
In a bruising interview as Labour conference kicked off in Liverpool, the BBC’s Andrew Marr challenged Mr Corbyn (pictured) over anti-Semitism in the party
Mr Corbyn was also pressed on his intervention in a decision to remove a mural (pictured) depicting a group of ‘hook-nosed’ men around a Monopoly board, from a wall in east London
Mr Corbyn said he had been ‘hurt’ that veteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge and former chief Rabbi Lord Sacks had branded him personally an anti-Semite.
Invited by Marr to look down the lens of the camera and personally apologise to the Jewish community for the anti-Semitism crisis, Mr Corbyn replied: ‘I’ll simply say this – I am an anti-racist and will die an anti-racist.
‘Anti-Semitism is a scourge in any society and I will oppose it all my life and I will continue to oppose it all my life.’
He insisted that under his leadership rules against anti-Semitism have been toughened up.
He added: ‘The party must be and is a safe and welcoming place for all communities.’
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Mr Corbyn was confronted by a video uncovered by MailOnline when he said some British Zionists had ‘no sense of English irony’.
He defended himself, saying that he was simply defending the Palestinian ambassador Manuel Hassassian against ‘very, very abusive’ protesters at the meeting.
He said: ‘I was upset on his behalf…about the way he had been treated. I felt I should say something in his support.’
Asked if he accepted that it was anti-Semitic, Mr Corbyn said: ‘Well, it was not intended to be anti-Semitic in any way, and I have no intention – and am opposed in every way to anti-Semitism because I can see where it leads to.
‘I can see where it leads to now, in Poland, in Hungary, in central Europe, I can see where it led to in the past.
‘We have to oppose racism in every form, and I do.’
Mr Corbyn was also pressed on his intervention in a decision to remove a mural, which depicts a group of ‘hook-nosed’ men around a Monopoly board, from a wall in east London.
When the artist complained on Facebook that it was being painted over, Mr Corbyn replied: ‘Why?’, before going on to condemn previous destruction of controversial political art.
Jewish groups condemned the image, saying it contained ‘vile anti-Semitic tropes’ such as the idea that Jewish people controlled the world.
Mr Corbyn smiled for the cameras as he arrived for the first day of the Labour conference in Liverpool today
Mr Corbyn said he had been ‘hurt’ that veteran Labour MP Margaret Hodge and former chief Rabbi Lord Sacks had branded him personally an anti-Semite
Mr Corbyn said today: ‘I was worried about the idea of murals being taken down and my thoughts were about that…the mural was taken down and I was perhaps too hasty in my judgement on that. It has been taken down and I am glad it has.’
Marr responded: ‘I would have thought it would take about one second to look at that and say that that is an anti-Semitic trope there.’
But as he pointed out that the mural was packed full of standard anti-Semitic symbols, the Labour leader said: ‘It also has other symbols in it as well doesn’t it? Like the Freemasons.’
He added: ‘I was concerned about the idea of takin down public murals, I am pleased to say it was taken down.’
Asked directly if he now thinks it is anti-Semitic, Mr Corbyn said: ‘I think it should not have been put up.’
In one particularly uncomfortable exchange, Marr said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn, are you an anti-Semite?’
Mr Corbyn replied: ‘No. Absolutely not. I have spent my whole life opposing racism in any form and I will die fighting racism in any form.’
But Marr said: ‘It is extraordinary I even had to ask that question.’
Timeline of anti-Semitic scandals which have erupted under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership
Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) has been accused of failing to tackle the racism among his supporters
The anti-Semitism scandal has dogged Labour since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader in 2015.
Here is a timeline of the controversies:
April 2016:
Labour MP Naz Shah is suspended for anti-Semitic posts – including one in which she appeared to endorse calls for Israelis to be deported to the US.
She apologised and was given a formal warning.
Ken Livingstone goes on the radio to defend Ms Shah – but sparks fresh controversy by claiming that Hitler supported Zionism.
He is suspended by Labour but refuses to apologise and has repeated the claim many times.
He eventually quits Labour two years later, saying his suspension has become a distraction.
June 2016:
A two-month inquiry by civil liberties campaigner Shami Chakrabarti finds that Labour is not overrun by anti-Semitism.
But the launch is overshadowed when Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth flees it in tears after being accused by Corbyn supporter Marc Wadsworth of colluding with the press.
Critics accuse the report of being a whitewash and Ms Chakrabarti is widely criticised for accepting a peerage from Jeremy Corbyn shortly afterwards.
October 2016:
The Home Affairs Select Committee says Labour is guilty of incompetence over its handling of anti-Semitism and of creating a safe space for people with ‘vile attitudes towards Jewish people’.
March 2018:
It is revealed that Jeremy Corbyn defended an artist who painted an anti-Semitic mural and said the offensive art should be removed.
He apologises saying he did not properly look at the picture before he made the post.
Jewish leaders take the unprecedented step of holding a demonstration outside Parliament protesting Mr Corbyn’s failure to tackle anti-Semitism.
Several Labour MPs address the crowds.
April 2018:
Marc Wadsworth is expelled from Labour after being accused of anti-Semitism.
Meanwhile, Labour Jewish MPs tell of the anti-Semitic abuse they have suffered in a powerful parliamentary debate – and round on their leader for failing to tackle it.
July 2018:
The Labour leadership sparks fresh anger by failing to fully adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism
Peter Willsman, a strong ally of Jeremy Corbyn, is secretly taped ranting that Jewish ‘Trump fanatics’ invented the anti-Semitism storm engulfing Labour.
In an angry diatribe at a meeting of Labour’s ruling executive committee, he said he was ‘amazed’ there was evidence party members hated Jews.
He claimed ‘some of these people in the Jewish community support Trump – they are Trump fanatics’ before shouting: ‘So I am not going to be lectured to by Trump fanatics making up duff information without any evidence at all.’
August 2018:
Jeremy Corbyn issues a video insisting he is committed to tackling the racism – but it is panned by Jewish leaders.
Corbynistas mount a social media campaign to get deputy Labour leader Tom Watson to quit after he criticises the party’s handling of anti-Semitism.
The Daily Mail exclusively publishes photos of Jeremy Corbyn holding a wreath at a ceremony where a terrorist linked to the Munich massacre was honoured.
The Labour leader insists he was there to honour others killed – but faces fresh calls to quit over the scandal.
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