Top UK Jewish Group Issues ‘Ten Pledges’ Labour Party Must Take to Regain Trust of British Jews by Benjamin Kerstein

Posted By on January 13th, 2020

Britain’s leading Jewish group announced on Sunday that it was issuing “Ten Pledges” the UK Labour party must take if it is to regain the trust of the country’s Jewish community.

Labour, which was resoundingly defeated in the December 2019 general election, has been wracked by antisemitism scandals since 2015, when the party’s far-left — often violently hostile toward Israel — took control of it.

Its upcoming leadership contest is expected to be a protracted and bruising battle between Labour’s far-left and centrist wings.

“Our Ten Pledges identify the key points we believe Labour needs to sign up to in order to begin healing its relationship with our community,” said Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl in a statement.

“We expect that those seeking to move the party forward will openly and unequivocally endorse these Ten Pledges in full,” she added, “making it clear that if elected as leader, or deputy leader, they will commit themselves to ensuring the adoption of all these points.”

The Ten Pledges consist of:

  1. Resolving outstanding antisemitism cases.
  2. Bringing in an independent agency to deal with antisemitism complaints.
  3. Ensuring transparency and updates for affected parties.
  4. No readmittance for prominent offenders.
  5. Suspending any members who provide a platform for people suspended or expelled for antisemitism.
  6. Adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism without qualifications.
  7. Involving the Jewish community in an antisemitism education program.
  8. Engaging with the Jewish community and its representative groups.
  9. Specifically condemning antisemitism and antisemitic individuals.
  10. The next leader will take personal responsibility for ending Labour’s antisemitism crisis.

“We will be frank,” van der Zyl said. “The relationship between Labour and the Jewish community, once rock solid, has been all but destroyed. Rebuilding will take more than mild expressions of regret. It will take a firm public commitment to agree to a specific course of action.”

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