This blog has not become involved in the antisemitism crisis that has engulfed the Labour party and does not now plan to do so. It s to be hoped that yesterday’s adoption of the full definition and all the examples from within it, will help everybody to move on.
This blog has virulently opposed, again and again, the settlement policies of the current and recent Israeli governments, as well as their treatment of Palestinians at every level. This blog supports the recognition of a Palestinian state without further delay and hopes an incoming Labour government will take steps to put the process in motion. Not for one moment can this be regarded as anti-Semitic because it is about state policy not about race. If the two sides were reversed and it was the Palestinians who had the upper hand repressing the Israelis, I would support the Israelis.
Racism is abhorrent at any level and all political parties in an open democracy should be free of it. Labour must be no exception. Neither must it be prevented from fulfilling its proper function as the official opposition at a critical moment in our country’s history, when so much affecting so many is at stake.