Outrage as British Labour leader appears to compare Israel to Islamic State

UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn seemed to draw a comparison between Israel and the Islamic State terror group on Thursday, in remarks he made during an event marking the release of a report on anti-Semitism within his party.

Corbyn was responding to the report, which concluded that while in the Labour Party there is an “occasionally toxic atmosphere,” it is “not overrun by anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or other forms of racism.”

Speaking to a crowd of Labour party activists and journalists, Corbyn said the party must not tolerate any form of racism.

“Modern anti-Semitism may not always be about overt violence and persecution, though there is too much of that even to this day. We must also be vigilant against subtler and invidious manifestations of this nasty ancient hatred and avoid slipping into its traps by accident or intent,” Corbyn said.

“Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel or the Netanyahu government than our Muslim friends are for those various self-styled Islamic states or organizations,” he added.

Asked after his speech if he was directly comparing Israel to Islamic State, Corbyn said, “Of course I’m not.”

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

His comments, however, were immediately met with anger by some within the Labour Party.

Labour councillor Sam Stopp, who represents the London district of Wembley, called for Corbyn to resign over his comments.

Cannot believe what has just happened at Corbyn press conference. Jewish MP walked out of Antisemitism report launch in tears. Disgrace.

— Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) June 30, 2016

In Israel, Labor opposition leader Isaac Herzog said “The comparison is shocking, unacceptable and a betrayal of the values that the Labor movement represents around the world.”

Added Herzog: “Corbyn represents a position of consistent hatred of Israel.”

Centrist Yesh Atid party leader MK Yair Lapid urged Israel’s Labor Party to break all ties with Corbyn’s Labour in the wake of the remarks.

Corbyn's suggestion of moral equivalence between Israel and ISIS is outrageous, unacceptable, and a betrayal of global Labour values>>

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) June 30, 2016

“It is unacceptable that on such a difficult day for the State of Israel, when an innocent young girl was murdered in a terror attack by an evil terrorist just because she was a Jew, the leader of the opposition in the UK compares Israel and ISIS, made worse by being at the launch of a report on anti-Semitism in his own party,” Lapid said in a statement.

Yesh Atid party chairman, Yair Lapid, speaks during a faction meeting at the Knesset, June 27, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Lapid added, “It is an infuriating comparison which is evidence of his ignorance. It is pure anti-Semitism. The State of Israel is governed by democratic values, morality and justice and fights every day against terror organizations which are sworn to the murder of innocents. I call upon the Labor Party in Israel to cut all ties with their counterpart in the UK until the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, is replaced.”

Corbyn's views represent a consistent hatred of Israel. Like the notorious Ernest Bevin failed, so too will Jeremy Corbyn.

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) June 30, 2016

The report into anti-Semitism within the Labour Party comes after the recent suspension of a number of activists and officials for comments made on social media, and accusations of a weak response by party leadership to anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments.

Shami Chakrabarti, the former head of civil rights group Liberty, led the inquiry, which consulted with the Jewish community and examines ways to tackle anti-Semitism and discrimination. Labour peer Baroness Royall and Pears Institute of Anti-Semitism director Professor David Feldman were vice chairs of the panel.

The 30-page document lays out 20 recommendations to enable the party to “lead by example.”

Chakrabarti said Labour members “should resist the use of Hitler, Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, distortions and comparisons in debates about Israel-Palestine in particular,” but recommended against imposing life bans on those who do.

A controversy exploded in June when Labour MP Naz Shah was suspended by the party pending an investigation into allegations that she shared anti-Semitic posts on social media before being elected.

Defending Shah in a series of interviews, Labour party veteran Ken Livingstone said that criticism of Israel’s policies was being confused with anti-Semitism, and claimed that Zionism was initially supported by Hitler.

Former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, in 2011 (AFP/Ben Stansall)

“When Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews,” he said. Livingstone has since repeatedly stood by the assertion that Hitler supported Zionism for a time.

Corbyn has been criticized in the past for referring to Lebanon’s powerful Shiite terror group Hezbollah as “friends” and urging dialogue with the Hamas Islamist terrorist group, as well as meeting representatives of both organizations.

In February, Labour launched an investigation into its Oxford University student branch after the chairman stepped down complaining that many members “have some kind of problem with Jews.”