Report on Allegations of Antisemitism in Oxford Labour Club Reveals Members ‘Mocked Mourners’ of Jewish Paris Attack Victims, Called Auschwitz ‘Cash Cow’ :Ruthie Blum
A report launched following allegations of rampant antisemitism within the Oxford University Labour Club and completed 10 days ago revealed that a number of its members condoned attacks on Paris synagogues in 2014 and mocked the mourners of the victims of the Hyper Cacher supermarket massacre, Britain’s Jewish News reported on Sunday, basing its information on evidence obtained by the Sunday Times.
In addition, according to testimony in the report — conducted by members of the British Labour Party and seen by the Times — some members referred to the Auschwitz extermination camp as a “cash cow.”
The report in which these revelations came to the fore was launched following the resignation of the Oxford Labour Club’s co-chairman – who claimed some members had “some kind of problem with Jews” – and additional complaints from members of the school’s Jewish Society, who said they felt “intimidated” by the antisemitic atmosphere.
Oxford Labour Students also launched a probe into the allegations, but the findings of their investigation were not released. Nor, according to the Jewish News, were the results of the Labour Party report in question.
In an op-ed Thursday in the Jewish News, Labour MPs Michael Dugher and Rachel Reeves condemned the phenomenon of antisemitism in Britain in general and bemoaned its existence in a student Labour club in particular, while calling for the immediate release of the report’s findings:
…The Labour movement has always had a strong record of opposing discrimination and racism, including anti-Semitism. That was – and still is – central to what we believe as Labour people. That’s why we were so deeply saddened by the allegations of anti-Semitism at the Oxford University Labour Club.
The decision by Oxford Labour Students to endorse ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ was frankly ignorant, offensive and deeply unfair…
What is alleged to have happened at Oxford goes much deeper than signing up to stupid campaigns. Our primary concerns are regarding the accusations at the club of harassment and intimidation of Jewish students. If these are proven true, they need to be treated as racist incidents and dealt with appropriately and severely. Racist bullying contradicts everything Labour stands for.
A recent Community Security Trust report highlighted the seriousness of anti-Semitism throughout Britain, showing that 2015 saw the third highest number of anti-Semitic incidents ever recorded in the UK…
How we deal with allegations of anti-Semitism and racism inside our party is a big test for Labour. All eyes are on us and it is vital we lead by example. We are glad to see that the national Labour Students organisation is treating seriously accusations of anti-Semitism and has launched its own investigation. This has now been referred on to Baroness Jan Royall, which will investigate further.
We are, however, disappointed that Labour Students’ initial report has not been made public. In the interests of transparency and to demonstrate beyond all doubt the seriousness with which we take these allegations, the report should be published now…
Comments are closed.
