Former British prime minister Tony Blair says the Labour Party has not done enough to address anti-Semitism in its ranks under leader Jeremy Corbyn.
“We’re supposed to be a progressive political party,” Blair says in an interview with Sky News. “How can we say it’s tolerable to have a certain level of anti-Semitism in the party?”
Blair, who led Labour from 1994 to 2007, did not directly criticize Corbyn but criticized the party leadership’s response to anti-Semitism.
“It has not been robust enough on it, and the fact that someone like Luciana Berger, who’s a smart, capable, active member of parliament doing her best for her constituents – the fact that she should even be subject to a confidence motion is shameful for the Labour Party,” he says.
Labour has been beset by anti-Semitism scandals under Corbyn, a staunch Israel critic who became party leader in 2015. Corbyn himself has faced accusations of anti-Semitism, in particular after video emerged of him saying “Zionists” do not understand English culture.
British former Prime Minister Tony Blair holds a press conference at Admiralty House, London, on July 6, 2016. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
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