Category Archives: Antisemitism

Rebecca Long-Bailey sacking reignites Labour turmoil over antisemitism

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Swift decision by Keir Starmer is praised by Jewish groups but condemned by Labour left

Keir Starmer is facing a showdown with the left of Labour after his decisive sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey reignited the party’s internal turmoil over the issue of antisemitism.

In a swift move, Long-Bailey was summarily dismissed as shadow education secretary for sending an approving tweet about an interview in which the actor Maxine Peake said the US police tactic of kneeling on someone’s neck was taught by the Israeli secret service.

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Jewish leaders praise Keir Starmer for pledges on Labour antisemitism

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New Labour leader wins praise after setting out steps party would take to tackle issue

Keir Starmer has been praised by Jewish leaders for achieving “in four days more than his predecessor in four years” after he held a video conference to set out steps Labour would be taking to stamp out antisemitism.

Starmer, who replaced Jeremy Corbyn as party leader on Saturday, told the meeting that he had asked for all outstanding investigations into antisemitism within the party to be “on my desk at the end of the week”.

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Amazon bans sale of most editions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf

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Ban, which also includes other Nazi propaganda books, follows decades of campaigning by Holocaust charities

Amazon has banned the sale of most editions of Hitler’s Mein Kampf and other Nazi propaganda books from its store following decades of campaigning by Holocaust charities.

Booksellers were informed in recent days that they would no longer be allowed to sell a number of Nazi-authored books on the website including Hitler’s autobiographical screed and children’s books designed to spread antisemitic ideas among children.

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Auschwitz Memorial criticises Amazon for Hunters show and antisemitic books

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  • Prime show stars Al Pacino as head of band of Nazi hunters
  • Memorial wants books by Nazi Julius Streicher removed

The Auschwitz Memorial criticised Amazon on Sunday, for fictitious depictions of the Holocaust in its TV series Hunters and for selling books of Nazi propaganda.

Related: Outcry after MSNBC host compares Sanders’ Nevada win to Nazi invasion

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Does electing a leader with Jewish roots prove Jobbik has changed?

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Hungarian political party says it is no longer far right, but its shift should not be exaggerated

Hungary’s Jobbik was one of the farthest right parties in Europe. One of its MPs suggested drawing up a list of Hungary’s Jews, others had a history of racial hate speech, and the party was affiliated with the Hungarian Guard, a uniformed movement that on occasion terrorised Hungary’s Roma communities.

Recently, though, the party has a new message to voters: we’re not far right any more.

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‘Talk less, do more’: World Jewish Congress leader’s call to halt antisemitism

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Ronald Lauder’s Auschwitz memorial address will demand action against a rising tide of hatred

The president of the World Jewish Congress has accused leaders of contributing to the “drip, drip method” of spreading antisemitism, comparing it to the defamation campaigns that culminated in the Holocaust.

Ahead of the 75th anniversary on Mondayof the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ronald Lauder said that governments spent too much time talking about the dangers of antisemitism and not enough time tackling it.

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Former BBC executives criticise Orla Guerin’s Holocaust report

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Michael Grade and Danny Cohen hit out at ‘unjustifiably offensive’ News at Ten piece

The former BBC chairman Michael Grade and Danny Cohen, its former director of television, have joined criticism of the broadcaster over an “unjustifiably offensive” News at Ten report that appeared to link Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to the Holocaust.

Orla Guerin, the BBC’s international correspondent, made the reference at the end of an interview with Holocaust survivor Rena Quint ahead of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

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Leaders warn against antisemitism at World Holocaust Forum – video

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Representatives from Europe, Russia and America warned against the resurgence of antisemitism at a memorial event at the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. Prince Charles, representing Britain, said the lessons of the Holocaust were ‘searingly relevant to this day’

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New York’s Jewish community on edge after string of Hanukah attacks

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Stabbings in Monsey, Rockland county, are latest antisemitic incident in region

Jewish groups and political leaders have issued calls for increased protection in New York after a string of attacks during Hanukah left members of the region’s Jewish community on edge.

On Saturday night, an attacker stabbed five people during Hanukah festivities at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, Rockland county, about 30 miles north of New York City, in what Governor Andrew Cuomo called “an act of domestic terrorism”. The attack was the latest in a string of antisemitic incidents in the region.

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New York police boost patrols after suspected antisemitic attacks

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Police have received at least eight reports since 13 December of attacks possibly propelled by anti-Jewish sentiment

New York City is increasing its police presence in some Brooklyn neighborhoods with large Jewish populations after possibly antisemitic attacks during the Hanukkah holiday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said after the latest episode happened Friday.

Besides making officers more visible in Borough Park, Crown Heights and Williamsburg, police will boost visits to houses of worship and some other places, the mayor tweeted.

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‘Contemptible’: outrage as Rudy Giuliani attacks George Soros as ‘hardly a Jew’

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  • Trump lawyer claims he is ‘more of a Jew than Soros’
  • ADL denounces ‘dog whistle to hardcore antisemites’

Jewish groups intensified criticism on Tuesday of Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor turned president’s lawyer and freelancing Ukrainian envoy, after he attacked Jewish financier, philanthropist and Holocaust survivor George Soros for being “hardly a Jew” and failing to attend synagogue.

Giuliani also asserted he was “more of a Jew than Soros” and repeated a claim that the former US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who testified in Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry, was controlled by the financier.

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Unesco removes ‘racist’ Belgian carnival from heritage list

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Carnival of Aalst included parade float caricaturing Orthodox Jews

Unesco has removed an annual carnival in the Belgian city of Aalst from its heritage list over persistent charges of antisemitism.

In an unprecedented move, Unesco’s intergovernmental committee for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage said it was withdrawing the carnival “over recurring repetition of racist and antisemitic representations” at the event.

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Jersey City shooting at Jewish store was ‘targeted attack’ – video

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A four-hour long gun battle which left six people dead started as a targeted attack by two suspects on a Jewish kosher market in New Jersey, say officials.

Police in the New York metropolitan area were put on high alert to protect Jewish neighbourhoods after the attack

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Trump’s plan to sign antisemitism order raises fears it could stifle Israel criticism

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Executive order could redefine Judaism as a race or nationality, which critics argue is itself antisemitic

Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Wednesday targeting antisemitism on college campuses.

First reported by the New York Times, the policy would broaden the federal definition of antisemitism, according to administration officials who spoke to various news outlets on condition of anonymity. By expanding protections granted by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to people subjected to antisemitism, the order could also redefine Judaism as a race or nationality.

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The Guardian view on general election 2019: A fleeting chance to stop Boris Johnson in his tracks | Editorial

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The mood may be one of despair, but this election is critical to the country’s future. The best hope lies with Labour, despite its flaws

Britain has not faced a more critical election in decades than the one it faces on Thursday. The country’s future direction, its place in the world and even its territorial integrity are all at stake, primarily because this is a decisive election for Brexit. The choice is stark. The next prime minister is going to be either Boris Johnson, who is focused on “getting Brexit done” whatever the consequences, or Jeremy Corbyn, who with a Labour-led government will try to remodel society with a programme of nationalisation and public spending.

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Jewish groups criticize Trump for antisemitic stereotypes in speech

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Trump urged to appeal to Jewish voters in ways that don’t use ‘money references that feed age-old and ugly stereotypes’

Prominent American Jewish organizations have criticised comments made by Donald Trump in a speech to the Israeli American Council.

Related: Trump: if Jared Kushner can't achieve peace in Middle East, 'it can't be done'

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Labour antisemitism row may affect election result, says McDonnell

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Shadow chancellor says sorry to Jewish community, adding party was ‘doing everything possible’ to tackle issue

The shadow chancellor has expressed his concern that the row over antisemitism in Labour may have an effect on the election result, adding that the party had “done everything we can possibly do” to tackle the problem.

In a BBC One interview on Sunday morning, John McDonnell apologised to the Jewish community for “the suffering we’ve inflicted on them”. He added: “I say to them, we’re doing everything possible and we are going to learn more lessons and we want to be the shining example of anti-racism that the Labour party should be.”

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Corbyn apologises for antisemitism in Labour party

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Labour leader says: ‘Obviously I’m very sorry for what has happened’

Jeremy Corbyn has apologised to the Jewish community for antisemitic incidents involving Labour party members and said he was dealing with the issue.

The Labour leader said: “Obviously I’m very sorry for what has happened,” after being asked to apologise directly by presenter Philip Schofield, in an interview on ITV’s This Morning.

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Academic quits C of E body over chief rabbi’s Labour antisemitism comments

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Gus John lambasts Justin Welby’s support amid church’s ‘woeful’ record on racism

A leading campaigner against racism has resigned from a Church of England advisory body in protest at the archbishop of Canterbury’s support for the chief rabbi’s comments last week on antisemitism in the Labour party.

Gus John, a respected author and academic, said: “As a matter of principle, I cannot continue to work with the Anglican church … after the archbishop of Canterbury’s disgraceful endorsement of the chief rabbi’s unjust condemnation of Jeremy Corbyn and the entire Labour party.”

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Naomi Wolf accuses Angus Taylor of ‘antisemitic dogwhistle’ and false claim about Oxford University

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Author says she was not at Oxford with Australia’s energy minister, and his implication she was part of an ‘elite’ attacking Christmas is an ‘antisemitic dogwhistle’

The American author Naomi Wolf has accused Australia’s embattled energy minister, Angus Taylor, of an “antisemitic dogwhistle”, and of falsely claiming they were at Oxford University together.

In his maiden speech to parliament in 2013, Taylor told a story about “political correctness” and a dispute over a Christmas tree at Oxford in 1991, when he was a Rhodes scholar at the university, mentioning that Wolf lived on the same corridor.

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