UK Labour Party announces new review process for antisemitism complaints

• Author: CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
• Published date: 28 September 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"We've turned our back on the dark chapter. Having closed that door, that door will never be opened again in our Labour Party to antisemitism," Labour leader Keir Starmer said.

The change passed Sunday in Brighton, England, stipulates that complaints about antisemitism will be reviewed by an independent committee. During his years at the helm of the party, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of allowing antisemitism to fester among some of the party's left-wing supporters.

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Jewish Labour supporters who spoke Sunday supported the change.

The party is "turning the page on the blight of antisemitism," said Jewish former Labour lawmaker Ruth Smeeth, who was bombarded with antisemitic death threats in 2019.

"You failed," she said to those behind the antisemitic abuse. "We're still here."

During the conference, Starmer — who has sought to rehabilitate Labour's reputation since his election to replace Corbyn in 2020 — reiterated an apology to Jews for the proliferation of antisemitism in Labour's ranks in recent years.

The change to the complaint review process, which Starmer vowed to implement in his 2020 victory speech, was recommended by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the British government's watchdog on racism. The Commission recommended the move in a 2020 report in which it accused Corbyn of being responsible for "unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination" against Jews.

Corbyn, a far-left politician who has advocated a blanket boycott of Israel, laid wreaths at monuments for Palestinian terrorists and once called the militant groups...