Jeremy Corbyn calls on Labour minister to retract antisemitism comments made in Israeli settlement debate
The Islington North MP called Hamish Falconer’s response to his question "disgusting" and "shocking"
Jeremy Corbyn MP has hit out at a Labour minister for appearing to suggest he was being antisemitic for asking a question about the expansion of Israeli settlements.
During a debate on Israel’s plan to expand its E1 settlement in the West Bank, Corbyn told Hamish Falconer that the government must end the sale of arms to Israel and military cooperation until it ends the settlement policy.
Corbyn said that “hand-wringing over the E1 zone” was “important”, but that it is part of a broader plan by Israel to “squeeze” the population of Gaza into the sea or into Egypt.
The Israeli government has approved highly controversial plans to build 3,401 housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank.
He added that the UK government “is already supporting, by military means, all of the activities of the settlers, their abominable behaviour towards the Palestinian people, and the construction of massive settlements all over the west bank”.
The Islington North MP continued: “Merely condemning Israel for this occupation of E1 will achieve nothing. There has to be a policy of stopping all arms trading and military co-operation of any sort with Israel until it ends this settlement policy. Anything less will just be hand-wringing that the Israeli Government will ignore.”
In response, Falconer, a Parliamentary under-secretary at the foreign office, said: ”I do not think the policy of settlements is supported across the whole of Israel.”
He then said “If I come back to my point about antisemitism. We have to be very careful in our language.”
Falconer added that many Israelis and British Jews “can see the damage being done by violent settlement”.
In a letter to Falconer yesterday, Corbyn called his answer “disgraceful” and “shocking”, and called on him to retract his comment about antisemitism, saying he had “wilfully” misrepresented his words.
Corbyn argued it was clear that his comments referred to the Israeli government and made no mention of Jewish people.
He wrote: “It is plainly false -and frankly disgusting -to imply that my statement served to “tar communities in this country” with “the same brush.” At no point did I state that settlements are supported by the entirety of the population of Israel.
“Nor did I make any reference to British Jews at all. In levelling such a baseless accusation, you appear to have conflated the actions of Israel with the views of Jewish people -itself a textbook case of antisemitism.”
Corbyn said he will raise Falconer’s comments as a point of order in the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity, and called on him to “retract [his] shameful smear”.
He again urged Falconer to answer his question and explain when the government will end all trading and military co-operation with Israel.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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