Last week Jon Lansman, founder of Momentum, made the outrageous allegation that there is as much anti-Semitism in the Conservative Party as there is in Labour. Speaking at Limmud – a conference focusing on Jewish learning and culture – Lansman also claimed that he was unaware of Jews abandoning the Labour Party. He must be either wilfully blind or delusional if he is unable to see how the behaviour of Labour MPs, councillors and Momentum troops – reminiscent of the Brownshirts in their methodology and ethos – has created an exodus of Jews from the Labour Party. I have no doubt that there is anti-Semitism in other political parties. The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are known for their unbending anti-Israel stance and anti-Semitic discourse by some members, both past and present. But Lansman’s claim that there is as much anti-Semitism in the Conservative Party as there is in Labour is dishonest, false and unhelpful. It negates the hatred of Jews and Israel that so many Labour Party MPs, councillors and members indulge in. There is also no evidence on which to base such a ridiculous assertion but there is plenty of evidence to show how the virus of anti-Semitism has rapidly spread in Labour, and continues to do so.
Despite the Conservative Party’s disgraceful abandonment of Israel at the UN, it is still a political party which Jews feel safe to belong to. I have yet to see a Conservative MP share a platform with a Holocaust denier or smile gleefully in front of a Hezbollah flag.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Labour is colossal in comparison with those in the Conservative Party. A quick glance at the Guido Fawkes website will show that there is almost a weekly tally of anti-Semitic misadventures courtesy of the Labour Party. And when anti-Semitism does occur within the Conservative Party swift action is taken to expel the culprits without resorting to insipid excuses and months of useless investigations.
At least Lansman admits there is anti-Semitism within the Labour Party, yet offers no solutions other than platitudes. He should feel embarrassed for creating the monstrosity Momentum and for evading responsibility by using the worse form of whataboutery – one that is made without evidence and without proof. Lansman, although Jewish, also invokes the nasty trope of ‘Jewish influence’ with his comment that ‘Jewish Zionists in the party are treated to unreasonable pressure from those on the political Right of the community’. With this he is danger of turning into a self-hating Jew.
If Lansman, a prominent member of the Labour Party, can also be affected by the virus of anti-Semitism, then it is unsurprising that this vicious hatred continues to flourish unchecked within its ranks. It is not conservative Jews who are forcing Jews out of the Party but its own members. Let’s not forget the enthusiastic cheers heard at the last Labour conference for expelling the Jewish Labour Movement and Labour Friends of Israel.
Momentum are a bunch of thugs – a motley conglomerate of socialists, conspiracy theorists, anarchists and Islamists united by their burning hatred of Jews and Israel. Jeremy Corbyn, Lansman and his Momentum Brownshirts have enabled anti-Semitism to proliferate in the UK. No Jew should belong to Labour or vote for Labour as long as they are in charge. Any Jews who support the Labour Party, or contribute to anti-Semitism as Lansman has done, should check their moral compass and be utterly ashamed of themselves.
