Home Secretary under fire for suggesting Corbyn has ‘a problem with Jews’
Home Secretary Sajid Javid is being accused of defaming Jeremy Corbyn as he seemed to imply the Labour leader is a Holocaust denier. People are calling for the opposition leader to sue the cabinet minister over his comments.
Javid is facing a barrage of criticism online after he asked a Twitter user how he could possibly question the Holocaust, before warning him not to be “misled by Corbyn.”
How can you even question the Holocaust. Please think carefully about what you are saying. Don’t be misled by Corbyn.
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) July 19, 2018
The home secretary was responding to a user who called him a “propagandist,” after Javid called Corbyn out for having a “problem with Jews.” He made the latter remark in relation to news on Thursday that Labour MP Margaret Hodge faces “action” after reportedly swearing at the opposition leader and calling him an “anti-Semite.”
Margaret Hodge’s family were murdered in the Holocaust. Instead of listening to her, Corbyn chooses to condemn her. How on earth can he claim he doesn’t have a problem with Jews? #disgracefulhttps://t.co/Lv2Rk2wTFY
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) July 19, 2018
Javid’s tweet sparked widespread backlash, with people suggesting it amounts to libel and calling for the tweet’s immediate removal. Labour MP Clive Lewis took to Twitter to question the Javid, posting: "Seriously I’d apologise, detract and wind your neck in. And whilst your at it launch an investigation into Islamophobia in your own sorry excuse for a political party."
.@sajidjavid are you seriously accusing @jeremycorbyn of being a Holocaust denier? Seriously I’d apologise, detract and wind your neck in. And whilst your at it launch an investigation into Islamophobia in your own sorry excuse for a political party https://t.co/BaQnrugTY2
— Clive Lewis (@labourlewis) July 19, 2018
this disgusting stuff really really has to stop https://t.co/XevN9r5PF1
— Owen Hatherley (@owenhatherley) July 19, 2018
Number Of Parliamentary Early Day Motions Signed to Commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day & to Condemn Anti-Semitism:Jeremy Cornyn: 38Sajid Javid: 0Don't be misled by Javid. https://t.co/sdLUGT0cXu
— Matt Thomas (@Trickyjabs) July 19, 2018
Hodge’s explosive remarks against her party leader came amid a furious row over Labour’s failure to adopt the internationally-recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism in its new code of conduct.
The conduct states “anti-Semitism is racism” but does not include four of the “working examples” given in the definition. They include accusing Jewish people of being more loyal to Israel than their home country, claiming the existence of Israel is a racist endeavor, holding Israel to higher standards than other countries, and comparing Israeli policies to those of the Nazis.
Some 40 groups of Jewish organizations opposing the conflation of anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel said the IHRA definition is of “particular concern” as it is “intentionally worded such that it equates legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism, as a means to suppress the former.”
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, however, called on Labour to embrace the whole definition, saying the party would otherwise be “on the wrong side” of the fight against racism. His position reflects that of 68 rabbis from across UK's Jewish community who signed a letter condemning, what they perceived as, Labour antisemitism.
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