Jeremy Corbyn and Britain’s largest political party stand strong with Palestine at annual Liverpool conference
As
soon the conference began, one thing was clear: Palestine was going
to have a significant place in the discussions and resolutions. What
was also clear was that there is a segment within the U.K. Labour
Party that is deeply Zionist, opposes Corbyn, and works within the
party to undermine him.
by
Miko Peled
The
2018 U.K. Labour conference held in Liverpool, September 23-26, will
be remembered as a turning point in U.K. relations to the Palestinian
issue. Britain, which is rightfully accused for its role in promoting
the Zionist takeover of Palestine, now seems prepared to make amends.
In his final speech, on the final day of the conference and following
many events and votes on the Palestine issue, Labour Leader Jeremy
Corbyn made it clear that a Labour government led by him would hold
Israel responsible for its human-rights violations, killing of
unarmed protesters, and detention of children. Labour also made it
clear it is ready to review the sales of British-made arms to Israel.
All of this was achieved in spite of the fact that elements within
the Labour Party have been striving to undermine Corbyn’s
leadership.
Part
5 - The Hareidi Community stands up
A rare
and extremely fruitful collaboration that I experienced during the
conference was with the U.K. Haredi, or Ultra-Orthodox, Jewish
community. In a statement published before the conference, Shraga
Stern, a local Londoner and a member of the Haredi community wrote,
“We believe that the anti-Semitism smear and witch hunt against
Jeremy Corbyn is a Zionist agenda and has all the footprints leading
to that direction. It is being promoted by the Board of Deputies and
by the self-made unelected JLC, who are a well-known pro-Israel
bodies- and it’s completely cruel and unjustified.”
Leaders
of this community came out to stand against false accusations of
anti-Semitism in the U.K. in general as well as in the Labour Party.
The Haredi community, which makes up over 20 percent of the 265,000
Jewish people who live in the U.K., came out with a clear message
refuting the claims that Jewish people in the U.K. fear for their
lives. Regardless of any individual’s political leanings, they
said, it was clear that Jeremy Corbyn has always been a friend of
U.K. Jewish people and is not in the slightest way a racist or
anti-Semite, and that Jewish people live well and have no fear of
anti-Semitism.
I had
the honor of sharing a stage with Rabbi Ahron Cohen, who drove up
from Manchester for the final day of the conference, and to stand
with Rabbi Beck, who drove up from London to express support. In
answer to a question regarding Israel’s right to exist, Rabbi Cohen
replied, “what is Israel doing there to begin with?” and
he went on to discuss the trouble that was brought on the indigenous
communities in Palestine, both Arab and Jew, as a result of the
ZIonist occupation of Palestine and the creation of Israel.
Rabbi
Beck put it in another way, “I live in the U.K. over 30 years
and I never saw a British soldier. In Israel every child sees armed
soldiers all the time. How can anyone claim that life for Jews in
Israel is better or safer than [in] the U.K.?”
The
presence of the Haredi community, as well as their unwavering
support, was a tremendous boost to Corbyn and to those in the party
who know the anti-Semitism charges are false. It was an enormous step
for the rabbis of this community — who made the effort to attend
the conference, even though it was held during the Jewish High
Holidays. It was a real pleasure to stand outside the conference hall
on a sunny day in Liverpool with these fine people and to see the
tremendous support we were getting from conference attendees as they
were leaving the hall.
Even
with its shortcomings, one must admit that the conference was an
enormous boost to the cause for justice in Palestine. Furthermore,
Jeremy Corbyn, who has been attacked by Zionist and neo-liberal
groups working in unison, is as unwilling to bend as ever. In fact,
one could argue that the U.K. may soon have a prime minister who is a
truly a decent and honest man, and a true socialist who also cares
deeply for Palestine.
***
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