Demonstrators gathered outside the British Consulate in Manhattan, organized by Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns, on the day before Yom Kippur eve to denounce England’s Labour Party chief Jeremy Corbyn‘s anti-Semitism and the hate he has engendered in Britain’s political and social systems.[https://coalitionforjewishvalues.org] [/https://amchainitiative.org/about/]
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“Holding placards such as “Corbyn: Evil Anti-Semite. For Shame!”, 30 demonstrators descended on the British Consulate in mid-Manhattan on Monday, September 17th, the day before Yom Kippur eve, to demand that British Labour Party head Jeremy Corbyn either “do tshuva” or resign. The action was not against the current Conservative Party government, but of concern that given today’s political instability in England, Labour could assume power.” [Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns press release]
(Parliament official portrait)
“Corbyn is leading Labour toward anti-Semitism, and British Jews are right to be worried. In 2009, he invited Islamist “friends from Hamas” to the House of Commons and said that the idea that the group “should be labelled as a terrorist organisation by the British government is really a big, big historical mistake.” In 2010, he hosted an event (also at the House of Commons) on Holocaust Memorial Day in which a Jewish Auschwitz survivor compared the Israeli government to the Nazi regime. In 2014, he attended a ceremony in Tunisia and reportedly laid a wreath on the grave of one the Black September terrorists who murdered eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Before the Iranian state broadcaster, Press TV, was banned in January 2012, he reportedly accepted up to £20,000 for his appearances on the channel. ” [National Review]
Video 1 : Hebrew Institute of Riverdale Associate Rabbi Ezra Seligsohn declared in a talk punctuated by chants from the demonstrators: “We are here to raise the alarm about growing anti-semitism across the world that’s embodied by the man Jeremy Corbyn. At this time, just before Yom Kippur, we speak of tshuva, repentence. There are two ways, one in our brain — we read about Jeremy Corbyn, a problematic, evil person and think we don’t want him to come to a position of power. The other is what you standing here have done, act on your beliefs — and this is full tshuva, full repentence. When Corbyn equates Israel and zionism with Nazism, we say, am yisrael chai — the Jewish people live! When he links arms with terrorists, we say, am yisrael chai! When he shares platforms with Holocaust deniers, we say, am yisrael chai!” Rabbi Seigsohn concluded by blowing a shofar, a symbol of both a call to repentance and alarm.
Video 2 : Judy Kadish, co-executive director of Americans for a Safe Israel, added: “It’s so important that we come out and stand outside the British Consulate, representing a country which is now our ally. But Jeremy Corbyn is rising to power, not despite his anti-semitism, but using it as his lever to create a following. It’s scary. Former British rabbi Jonathan Sacks said that never in his lifetime did he think this would happen again, but here it is. We will not honor a man, Jeremy Corbyn, who’s honored terrorists, whose members have told Jews supporting Israel to resign from posts in the Labour Party. He should do repentance.” The crowd shouted: Corbyn resign! Corbyn resign!”.
Video 3 : New York Board of Rabbis director Rabbi Joseph Potasnik told the crowd and hundreds of passersby: “We can actually commend Jeremy Corbyn for something no one else has done — bringing both left and right together. They agree: he’s an anti-semite. You can’t stand with Hamas, call them honorable, and think you’ll be honored. You can’t stand at the graves of the Munich Olympic terrorists and say you’re honorable. We all hope for repentance because we believe in miracles, but Corbyn won’t, so let him finally do the honorable thing and resign. We will not go away until he goes away.”
“The snap demonstration came the day after the normally low-profile British Jewish community turned out 2500 protesters against Corbyn in Manchester, a clear sign of their deep distress over the spread of anti-semitic hate in Labour with Corbyn at its helm.” [Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns press release]
Powerful words on the floor of Parliament from British Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks , on growing anti-Semitism. He ended with, “I never thought I would see this in my lifetime … that is why I cannot stay silent.”
[Where indicated, pictures and videos property of Pamela Hall]