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*Thread* If important people in the Labour party took Keir Starmer’s pledges seriously, they would express remorse about the party’s antisemitism crisis and seek to repair the damage.
Len McCluskey, a key Corbynista figure, has another idea. 1/19
Len McCluskey, a key Corbynista figure, has another idea. 1/19
In a belligerent, insulting and threatening piece published earlier today, he chooses to side with the spinners trying to divert blame for the crisis to some of the very people who took it seriously. 2/19 https://labourlist.org/2020/04/unite-behind-keir-starmer-to-cleanse-labours-shame/
Note that his targets include Labour Against Antisemitism and John Ware, who charted the swamp for BBC Panorama. Both have used solid research and careful argumentation to make their cases. Ian Austin, a hero to many, gets a barb too. None of the three deserve dismissal. 3/19
In fact, Mr McCluskey is no one to speak about antisemitism, no one at all. His record is disturbing and beyond repair.
Just weeks after Labour’s catastrophic defeat in the general election, Andrew Marr probed him about antisemitism, a central issue in the campaign. 4/19
Just weeks after Labour’s catastrophic defeat in the general election, Andrew Marr probed him about antisemitism, a central issue in the campaign. 4/19
Not in the least chastened, McCluskey chose to rail about “despicable” people who “used it to undermine Corbyn”. He went on to name the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM). 5/19
For ill measure, McCluskey added that he wanted to work with Jewish Voice for Labour, a group entirely dedicated to protecting Labour’s antisemites and attacking their opponents.
Labour MP Wes Streeting, for one, was having none of it: 6/19
Labour MP Wes Streeting, for one, was having none of it: 6/19
"I’m absolutely convinced that those who dismissed antisemitism concerns as “mood music” and sought to downplay, dismiss and delegitimatise concerns are part of the problem - not those of us who’ve consistently challenged antisemitism.” 7/19
https://politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/109373/len-mccluskey-jeremycorbyns-opponents-used
https://politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/109373/len-mccluskey-jeremycorbyns-opponents-used
In December 2019, McCluskey rubbished a JLM report on antisemitism in the party, calling it “disgraceful”. He defended Corbyn without any qualification, when the whole nation knew Corbyn had spent a lifetime teaming up with antisemitic ”friends”. 8/19 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/unite-union-leader-len-mccluskey-dismisses-dossier-accusing-labour-of-antisemitism-x50f5n66h
In November 2019, it was the Chief Rabbi’s turn. His powerful yet measured intervention on antisemitism was “wrong and quite extraordinary”, McCluskey said, while defending Corbyn yet again as a lifelong fighter against antisemitism. 9/19 https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/len-mccluskey-chief-rabbi-wrong-to-say-corbyn-unfit-to-be-pm/
Naturally McCluskey supports boycotts and the self-styled Palestine Solidarity Campaign, a haven for fanatical Israel haters and antisemites. See this stridently worded piece for an example. 10/19 https://labourlist.org/2019/04/solidarity-has-no-borders-our-movement-must-stand-up-for-palestine/
The crisis was especially fraught in summer 2018. McCluskey chose this time to launch an attack on what he called the “truculent hostility” and “fearmongering” of Jewish community groups and newspapers, claiming he feared “a vortex of McCarthyism”. 11/19 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/anti-semitism-labour_uk_5b7573dee4b0df9b093ccbc6
In April 2018, McCluskey turned his ire to Labour MPs who were speaking up, accusing them of becoming “a dismal chorus” out to undermine Corbyn. 12/19 https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/04/corbyn-ultimatum
At that time he also raged about the Israeli Labour party, which had cut contact with Corbyn’s office. This was nothing less than a ”cynical and outrageous smear”. He added more threats to the critics. 13/19
The Chakrabarti report of 2016 was widely seen as a whitewash of the party’s developing crisis. For McCluskey, though, it was “first class”. 14/19 https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/exclusive-len-mccluskey-interview/
As for the critics in 2016, they were to be dismissed: "I believe it was mood music that was created by people who were trying to undermine Jeremy Corbyn." 15/19 https://twitter.com/bbcnewsnight/status/912750565393920001
Jewish Voice for Labour, meanwhile, was a “great organisation”. At the time, it was already clear that it was a vehicle for some of the very worst, such as Jackie Walker and Tony Greenstein. 16/19
In spring 2016, Ken Livingstone’s outrageous remarks and the suspension of Naz Shah made for disturbing news. Once again, McCluskey chose brusque dismissal - the controversises were a "cynical attempt to manipulate antisemitism for political aims". 17/19 https://tinyurl.com/t5fk58c
Entirely understandably, Keir Starmer and his team are focusing on the coronavirus crisis. But they do need to attend to antisemitism as well. It is a poison that has disfigured the party and helped to make it unelectable. 18/19
McCluskey’s outburst today shows that he still prefers belligerent denial, making him a considerable part of the problem.
Labour simply must do better than this. 19/19
Labour simply must do better than this. 19/19
