Britain’s main Jewish newspaper has challenged far-left lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn, the current favorite to win the leadership contest for the opposition Labor Party, to prove that he is not anti-Semitic.
In an article entitled "The key questions Jeremy Corbyn must answer", the ‘Jewish Chronicle’ lists seven questions urging the leftist candidate, who is widely predicted to become the surprise winner in the leadership contest currently taking place, about pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah comments he made in the past, and stinging criticism of Israel. The newspaper says the was "overwhelming evidence of [Corbyn’s] association with, support for - and even in one case, alleged funding of - Holocaust deniers, terrorists and some outright anti-Semites".
In an editorial, the paper says there was widespread unease about Corbyn – a lawmaker from London – becoming the leader of the opposition in the House of Commons, and this was shared by the "vast majority of British Jews". The editorial adds: "If Mr. Corbyn is not to be regarded from the day of his election as an enemy of Britain’s Jewish community, he has a number of questions which he must answer in full and immediately."
The questions the newspaper asked were as follows:
1. “Did you donate, as alleged by its founder, to Deir Yassin Remembered (DYR), a group that publishes open anti-Semitism, run by Holocaust denier Paul Eisen — an organisation so extreme that even the Palestine Solidarity Campaign refuses to associate with it?
2. “Have you, as Mr Eisen claims, regularly attended DYR’s annual conference?
3. “Why have you accepted an invitation to appear at a conference on August 22 alongside Carlos Latuff, the notorious anti-Semitic cartoonist?
4. “Why did you write to the Church of England authorities to defend Rev Stephen Sizer, a vicar banned from social media because of his habit of posting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, telling them that Rev Sizer was “under attack” because he had “dared to speak out over Zionism”?
5. “Why do you associate with Hamas and Hezbollah and refer to them as your “friends”?
6. “Why have you failed to condemn the anti-Semitic posters and banners that dominate the annual Al-Quds Day rally, sponsored by the Stop The War Coalition, which you chair?
7. “Why did you describe Raead Salah, a man convicted of the blood libel, as an ‘honored citizen’?”
According to the ‘Jewish Chronicle’, Corbyn did not provide the paper with answers to these questions.
Meanwhile, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who led the Labor Party to three electoral victories, again warned of Corbyn’s election to become party leader. In ‘The Guardian’ newspaper, Blair predicted electoral mayhem for Labor if Corbyn is elected. The former PM wrote: ““If Jeremy Corbyn becomes leader, it won’t be a defeat like 1983 or 2015 at the next election. It will mean rout, possibly annihilation.
