Chief Rabbi Mirvis

I have read the report of the Equality and Human Rights Commission with much sadness.

The fact that an institution which has been so central to the governance of our country for the last century has been found to have fallen to such depths represents a historic nadir for the Labour Party and must prompt us all to ask: Why was this allowed to happen?

The impact of this report reaches well beyond the issue of Antisemitism or the Jewish community, by sending a powerful message that the politics of scapegoating and hatred will never succeed.

I am encouraged by Sir Keir Starmer’s commitment to implementing the report’s recommendations in full and his recognition today that the Labour party has failed Jewish people, its members, its supporters and the British public. The Jewish community will work together with him to rid the Labour Party of the poison of Antisemitism.

Once again, I salute all those who came forward to share their concerns about the way that complaints about Antisemitism were being handled in the party to which they had dedicated their lives, not least the whistle-blowers, whose fortitude has been so profoundly vindicated. They placed the cause of challenging prejudice ahead of their own interests and many of them paid an exceptionally high price for doing so. My hope is that all those who have suffered such painful discrimination and abuse will draw strength from the findings of this report and that we will all see, under new leadership, a very different Labour Party in the years to come. ... See MoreSee Less

7 hours ago  ·