On Labour anti-Semitism: 'This Wrong Must and Can Be Righted' Says Gordon Brown
Speaking at a meeting of Jewish Labour MPs in London, Mr Brown said it was 'not just a procedural issue but about the soul of the party'
The former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on the Labour party to change its policy and end anti-Semitism within the party immediately, on Sunday.
Speaking at a meeting of Jewish Labour MPs in London, Mr Brown said it was "not just a procedural issue but about the soul of the party." Labour's current leader Jeremy Corbyn has been embroiled in months of anti-Semitism scandals, one after the other, which have distanced some British Jews from the party.
''It is time to say that this wrong must and can be righted,'' he said.
''If we cannot as a movement stand up with one voice and say we will show solidarity with the Jewish community facing these attacks, facing these intimidations, facing this racism, facing this discrimination then we are not the Labour party that we aspire to be. So I say to you this. This is not simply about changing of policy, it's not just about changing the procedure. It's about who we are, it's about what we stand for, it's about what makes us tick, it's about the soul of the Labour party.''
The Labour party's ruling National Executive Committee will decide on Tuesday whether to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism in full with all its examples, at a time of internal turmoil over the issue.
- Veteran U.K. Labour Lawmaker Quits, Calls Party 'Force for anti-Semitism'
- Corbyn Slams U.S. Decision to Cut Financial Aid to UNRWA
- Doubling Down on Corbyn Criticism, Britain's Ex-chief Rabbi Says Jews Considering Leaving U.K.
Labour's leadership had originally suggested it would adopt the code in full, but gradually retreated from that position.