Labor Party Chairman Avi Gabbay suspended ties with Chairman of the British Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday, saying the latter has failed “to adequately address the anti-Semitism within Labour Party UK.”
In a letter to Corbyn, Gabbay said “it is my responsibility to acknowledge the hostility that you have shown to the Jewish community and the anti-Semitic statements and actions you have allowed as Leader of the Labour Party UK.
“This is in addition to your very public hatred of the policies of the government of the State of Israel, many of which regard the security of our citizens and actions of our soldiers – policies where the opposition and coalition in Israel are aligned,” Gabbay wrote.
Corbyn has been accused of tolerating anti-Semitism in the Labour Party consistently since becoming chairman in 2015.
Gabbay’s decision to cut ties came less than a week after Corbyn called for the United Kingdom to “review” arms sales to Israel due to what he called “the killing and wounding of yet more unarmed Palestinian protesters yesterday by Israeli forces in Gaza,” and two days after hundreds of Jews staged a protest outside the Party’s London headquarters holding placards reading “Zero tolerance for anti-Semitism”, “Labour hold Corbyn to account” and “Anti-Semitism is racism.”
To coincide with the protest, former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair told The Spectator newspaper that Corbyn has not done enough to remove anti-Semitism from the party. “This is not a media management issue,” Blair said.
