Corbyn was wrong to ‘capitulate' over anti-Semitism, says Sultana
Zarah Sultana, who launched a new hard-Left movement with Mr Corbyn last month, said he was wrong to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
The definition includes the examples of holding Jews responsible for the actions of Israel and comparing its policy to that of the Nazis.
On Sunday night, the Board of Deputies of British Jews accused Ms Sultana of a 'grave insult' to the Jewish community and questioned her 'wider commitment' to anti-racism.
Labour initially refused to accept the IHRA wording under Mr Corbyn, whose five-year leadership of the party was repeatedly dogged by complaints of anti-Semitism.
Following a backlash, it eventually incorporated all 11 examples in the IHRA definition in 2018, including a line warning against claiming the existence of Israel as a state was a 'racist endeavour'.
In an interview with The New Left Review, Ms Sultana was asked how Mr Corbyn's time in charge of Labour from 2015 to 2020 should be adapted for the present day.
She replied: 'I think we're in a very different political moment. We have to build on the strengths of Corbynism – its energy, mass appeal and bold policy platform – and we also have to recognise its limitations.
'It capitulated to the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which famously equates it with anti-Zionism and which even its lead author Kenneth Stern has now publicly criticised.'
Andrew Gilbert, the vice-president of the Board of Deputies, said: 'The IHRA definition has been adopted by the government and public institutions in this country and around the world, and is supported by the overwhelming majority of British Jews as it is clear and measured in defining anti-Semitism.
'Calling the recognition of the IHRA definition of antisemitism a 'capitulation' is a grave insult. Labour's real betrayal under Corbyn was unlawfully harassing and discriminating against Jews.
'Those who seek to delegitimise and mis-define the IHRA definition in this way prove themselves to be no friend to the Jewish community and also all into question their wider commitment to anti-racism, the wellbeing of the Jewish community and social cohesion.'
A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism added: 'If Jews do not have the right to define the hatred that targets them, then who does? Does Zarah Sultana think that it should be herself?'
Alex Hearn, the director of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: 'Zarah Sultana has fundamentally misrepresented the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. It is unsurprising that she opposes it, given her history.
'There should be no place in a mainstream political party for the likes of Ms Sultana, and it is surprising that the Labour Party tolerated her for so long.
'Hopefully she will remain on the fringes of politics for the remainder of her career, which is where her extremist views belong.'
In the same interview, Ms Sultana referred to Israel as a 'genocidal apartheid state' and said Sir Keir Starmer should have stopped arms sales to the country long ago.
A Labour source said: 'The electorate has twice made their view clear about a Jeremy Corbyn-led party.
'Keir Starmer's Labour Party rightly tore anti-Semitism out at its roots. Corbyn almost led the Party to extinction. We're not going back.'
Sir Keir faced a backlash over his refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, which broke out after Hamas killed around 1,200 Israelis on Oct 7 2023.
Labour has shed significant amounts of support among Muslim and Left-wing voters at every election since the start of the conflict.
Launching their party last month with the temporary name of 'Your Party', Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana made clear pro-Palestinian activism would be a central part of its policy platform.
They said: 'We believe in the radical idea that all human life has equal value. That is why we defend the right to protest for Palestine.
'That is why we demand an end to all arms sales to Israel. And that is why we will carry on campaigning for the only path to peace: a free and independent Palestine.'
Ms Sultana's remarks came as she also claimed her and Mr Corbyn's new party was currently too much of a 'boys' club'.
She is currently the only female MP out of the six independents who will eventually represent the new party in the Commons.
Alongside Mr Corbyn, the others are Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan, Iqbal Mohamed, Shockat Adam, all of whom were elected on a pro-Gaza ticket at the general election last year.
Ms Sultana insisted that the new organisation 'can't just be led by MPs', adding: 'Right now there are six of us MPs in the Independent Alliance, five of whom are men.
'This shouldn't be what our party looks like going forward, so the committee that's organising the conference should be gender balanced as well as racially and regionally diverse, all with an equal stake and voting rights. Anything less would be a boys' club.'
Later in the interview, Ms Sultana expressed her hope that her new party would represent 'a politics of fun and joy'.
'One of the best parts of Corbynism was the rallies and the music and the performances,' she said. 'We need to get that back.'
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