Labour antisemitism row: Jeremy Corbyn SLATED after botched meeting
PA Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of a 'disappointing missed opportunity' in Labour's antisemitism row
In a joint statement, the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) said the Labour leader had failed to sign up to any of the concrete actions which they asked for following last month's protest against anti-Semitism outside Parliament. They said their meeting with Jeremy Corbyn this evening was a “disappointing missed opportunity” and called for more action. A statement, issued by the JLC shortly after the meeting, said: “Our meeting with Jeremy Corbyn today was a disappointing missed opportunity regarding the problem of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. "We welcomed Mr Corbyn's personal involvement in the discussion and his new comments recognising and apologising for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party but he failed to agree to any of the concrete actions we asked for in our letter to him of March 28."
Hundreds protest against anti-Semitism in Westminster Mon, March 26, 2018 The Jewish community has condemned Labour leader Corbyn’s 'systematic failure' to deal with anti-Semitism Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 11 Jewish groups have accused Corbyn of failing to tackle anti-Semitism
The statement said the proposals they had put forward last month represented the "minimum level of action" the Jewish community had expected from the Labour leadership following "two years of inactivity". They included a fixed timetable to deal with outstanding cases of anti-Semitism in the party - while expediting long-standing cases such as that of former London mayor Ken Livingstone - and "transparent oversight" of Labour's disciplinary process. "Our sole objective from this meeting was to build trust with Mr Corbyn, but this will not be possible until and unless he and the party turn their many strong words against anti-Semitism into equally strong actions in order to bring about a deep cultural change in his supporters' attitude to Jews," the statement said.
Mr Corbyn said the meeting had been “positive and constructive”. He said: “I am grateful to the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust for a positive and constructive meeting about tackling antisemitism. "I am absolutely committed to rooting out antisemitism from our party and our society.
PA Representatives of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council