By Ben Kerrigan
A chief Rabbi has attacked Jeremy’s credibility by branding him ‘unfit for office’ over handling of Labour antisemitism, says Chief Rabbi
Labour can no longer claim to be the party of equality and anti-racism, claims
Ephraim Mirvis said he had taken the unprecedented decision to break with convention and intervene in politics ahead of the general election because “the very soul of our nation is at stake”. His intervention is damaging to the chances of the Labour leader, who are already trailing the Tories on the polls, but could possibly make up the gap by election day.
In an article for The Times, he rejected Labour’s claims that the party were dealing with the problem as “a mendacious fiction”.
Mirvis claimed that the “new poison” of antisemitism that had taken root in the party was “sanctioned from the top”.
“Many members of the Jewish community can hardly believe that this is the same party that they called their political home for more than a century,” he wrote. “It can no longer claim to be the party of equality and anti-racism.
“How far is too far? How complicit in prejudice would a leader of Her Majesty’s opposition have to be to be considered unfit for office? The Chief Rabbi goes as far as describing Corbyn’s claims that his party is addressing the problem as ”mendacious fiction”. He says a Labour government will be bad news for Jews in the Uk,
The Chief Rabbi urged people to “vote with their conscience”. He said supporters of Corbyn had “hounded parliamentarians, members and even staff out of the party for challenging anti-Jewish racism”, and that 130 cases of antisemitism were outstanding against Labour members.