Dear Mr Corbyn
As a British Jew and one-time Labour supporter I am troubled by your approach towards your stated goal of achieving lasting reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. I share your desired goal and as someone involved in commercial negotiations I know the way to sustainable agreement is by being tough on the issues, soft on the people and walking in the shoes of all parties to the deal to best understand their unique perspectives. As a politician motivated to achieve the near impossible you too should know this and live by it.
I don’t mind that you associate with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, the PLO as was, PFLP and other militant anti-Zionist organizations; I’m not concerned that you share conference and social media platforms with Holocaust-deniers, Jew haters, disseminators of the Blood Libel, Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theorists and other anti-Semitic propagandists; and I know I shouldn’t be upset by images of you laying a wreath and praying at the tombs of Salah Khalaf and Atef Bseisoto, individuals complicit in the Black September murders of Israeli athletes because relationship building with the enemies of the Jewish people can be justified, even lauded, if one is genuinely serious about prosecuting the cause of peace by working to change adversaries’ opinions.
However, I am concerned, deeply concerned because of the asymmetric way in which you continue to go about your business. It’s manifest from your actions and public statements that you possess an ideological abhorrence of Israel and a thorough dislike for the mainstream Jewish community in the UK. You consistently fail to condemn acts of terror perpetrated against Israeli citizens; you refuse to publicly rebuke those who make anti-Semitic comments in your presence; you appear blind or indifferent to grotesque anti-Semitic actions conducted by your friends; you seemingly relish any opportunity to offend mainstream British Jewry and most of all….you refuse to visit Israel, despite numerous invitations, to walk in their shoes and make new “friends” in the pursuit of peace.
When you compare Israel to ISIS, draw Nazi Zionist comparisons and call Netanyahu a “war criminal” do you honestly believe that you are encouraging engagement and dialogue in the furtherance of peace? No Mr Corbyn, you are indulging in puerile emotional discriminatory activism and the side of the argument you seek most to influence isn’t listening to you. Even the Israeli Labour party, the primary opposition to Likud, has suspended all connections with you. What exactly has your approach achieved thus far apart from alienating most of the Jewish community in Britain who perceive your actions to be those of a hypocrite, liar, coward and racist persuaded by nineteenth century anti-capitalist and anti-colonialist ideologies?
I’m sure I speak for many in offering you some advice before you disappear forever from the political stage. Ensure the Labour party adopts the complete IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, go to Israel as did Prince William and fully engage with the government and its citizens, ensure you are even-handed with your denunciations of violence, and persuade your friends in Hamas to cease their tragic, self-destructive campaign of terror. Only then might you start to recover some integrity, show some statesmanlike qualities and begin to achieve something worth supporting.
Your sincerely
