A Recurring Problem for Labour

Courtesy of social media, we see a small team of Labour activists (incl. one councillor, one ex-councillor and one wannabe councillor), out leafleting for the Labour Party in Beckton.

The problem is that one of those canvassing for Labour is the same ex-councillor who was deselected by the party at the end of the last term. We can only suppose that his antisemitic contributions to local political debate no longer bar him from participation.

One of the defining characteristics of modern antisemitism is the denial of the connection of Jews to Israel/Judaea, and denial of the Jews to a national home; effectively ensuring that Jews remain forever stateless. 

Then there are those, not we hope any of those shown in the pictures on this post, for whom denial of a state is simply the precursor to the eradication Jews altogether. (The Hamas Charter spells this out requiring Jihad (art 8) on the part of the Muslims, to drive out the “Zionist invaders” (art 7). Indeed, the “Zionist project is racist, colonialist, imperialistic…”. Palestine-all of it- is forever Muslim land (arts 3, 11 and 15), and “so called peaceful solutions” are “in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement”, (art 13), and there will be “no recognition of the “Zionist entity”, (art 19 of the 2017 addendum).)

There is reference to living in “peaceful coexistence” under “the wing of Islam” in art 31, but this is somewhat contradicted by they actions and the unguarded remarks of their leaders; Ismail Haniyeh delivered a speech in the hours after October 7th,   “Today, the enemy has had a political, military, intelligence, security and moral defeat inflicted upon it, and we shall crown it, with the grace of God, with a crushing defeat that will expel it from our lands, our holy city of al Quds, (Jerusalem), our al Aqsa mosque, and the release of our prisoners from the jails of the Zionist occupation”. 

Whilst those who stand for office might not espouse such sentiments, there are others who do and some of them are still in the Labour Party.

If the Independent Group goes the same way as Respect, we can expect a number of applications from former Independent members to rejoin the Labour party. With its promises on tackling Islamophobia, removing Sunak’s definition of religious extremism and the unique commitment from the Labour Party to protect a religion as opposed to its adherents, they are certainly making moves to placate Islamist sentiment. We can only suppose that this is in an attempt to stop the hemorrhaging of support for Labour from within the Muslim community, regardless of the longer term effects on the country as a whole.

Our experience tells us that there are many Muslims who do not support the Jew-hatred of some of their coreligionists. Their reward is to be shunned at the mosques and threatened. Historically, they are abandoned by Labour in favour of a more numerous and vocal constituency.

Is that the direction for the future? Will Labour abandon principles in order to regain members? And if so, where do Muslims who believe in the principles that Labour once believed, go?