(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Anti-Semitism is back. The real focus of our attention should be the rise of Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the British Labour party in the United Kingdom. Much of the concern about Corbyn emanates from fresh revelations of his past activities. In 2009, for example, he called Hamas and Hizbullah "friends" and advocated removing them from the UK's terrorism list. In 2014 Corbyn visited the cemetery in Tunisia where the leaders of Black September were buried. Remember, they were responsible for the attack on the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where eleven Israeli athletes were brutally butchered. Corbyn continuously campaigned to free Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh, jailed for their role in the 1994 London bombing attacks against the Israeli Embassy in Great Britain and Jewish charity buildings. Recall both of these attacks were perpetrated on British soil and both individuals were prosecuted and found guilty in British courts. So why is Jeremy Corbyn calling this a mistrial and trying to get these two terrorists out of British prison? Corbyn is also at the heart of the debate in Britain over the definition of anti-Semitism. He's refused to accept the definition advanced by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance which is accepted by 31 countries, 24 of which are members of the European Union. Corbyn and the British Labour party reject some of the examples the definition uses: He denies that accusing Jews automatically of dual loyalty is anti-Semitic. He denies that questioning the right of the Jewish people to self-determination is a form of anti-Semitism. He rejects that it is anti-Semitic to compare Israeli policy to that of the Nazis. This kind of demonization of the Jewish people is classic anti-Semitism. If these doctrines about Israel and Jewish rights become legitimized in Great Britain, which was the fountainhead of so many democracies, then there is a real danger that they become legitimized worldwide. This is something that the State of Israel must firmly oppose and that Britain must not allow to happen. Amb. Dore Gold, former director general of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israeli ambassador to the UN, is president of the Jerusalem Center.
2018-08-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive