Labour suspensions reach 18 members as anti-Semitism row continues

The Labour party suspended another two councillors over anti-Semitism allegations on Wednesday.

This takes the number of members who’ve been suspended for alleged racism since Jeremy Corbyn became leader to 18.

Newport councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi and Renfrewshire councillor Terry Kelly were suspended by the party pending further investigations into social media posts, according to Sky News.

These suspensions mark the latest episode in an anti-Semitism row which has engulfed the Labour party in recent weeks following the suspension of former London mayor Ken Livingstone and Bradford West MP Naz Shah.

In these latest cases, published on the Guido Fawkes website, Mr Al-Nuaimi used tweets to compare Israel to the Nazis and suggested links between Israel and the so-called Islamic State.

One of the tweets, posted Feb 21 2015, read: “Jews in whose name #Israeli #Zionist regime commit war crimes should worry: it’s same arrogant mentality as #Nazis.”

In another posted on March 29 this year, Al-Nuaimi said: “ISIS Leader Al Baghdadi dies in Israeli Hospital. If confirmed, the #Israeli connection is very interesting.”

Mr Kelly used his online blog to speak out about the “Jewish lobby” in the US, suggesting it exerts strong influence on foreign policy decisions.

For example, in a blog post he wrote about US vice president Joe Biden failing to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza, Kelly said: “If you ever wondered how powerful the Jewish lobby is in America there is an example for you right there.”

On Monday, Labour suspended three councillors over comments they had posted on Facebook within hours.

The party leadership last week announced it would be launching an inquiry into anti-Semitism in Labour, which will be headed by the former head of rights group Liberty Shami Chakrabarti.

Speaking to The Guardian last week, Corbyn said: “Labour is an anti-racist party to its core and has a long and proud history of standing against racism, including antisemitism.”

He added: “I have campaigned against racism all my life and the Jewish community has been at the heart of the Labour party and progressive politics in Britain for more than 100 years.”

Source: Business International