Last month, I praised U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer for suspending and removing the party whip from his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn after Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission found the party guilty of tolerating anti-Semitism under Corbyn's watch and Corbyn's subsequent dismissal of the report. At the time I wrote:
Assuming Labour doesn't reinstate Corbyn or otherwise resist efforts to stop anti-Semitism, Starmer will have the space necessary to compete with Boris Johnson whose incompetence in handling of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly rivals that of President Trump. In the long run, Britain will have a loyal opposition ready to responsibly assume the reigns of power should the voters be prepared to grant them such a responsibility.
Alas, Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) saw fit to reinstate Corbyn yesterday although Starmer has stood firm and won't grant him the party whip rendering him an Independent MP.
The fact the NEC saw fit to restore Corbyn's membership tells me that the Labour Party still has an anti-Semitism problem. If Corbyn tolerated harassment of Muslims in the Labour Party there is no way the NEC would entertain reinstating him. But Jews are a different matter where it concerns Labour. In which case, Starmer must continue to stand firm and be able to withstand a storm.
Yes, this will weaken Labour in the short term and blunt its criticism of the Tories' COVID policy even in light of the formerly COVID-19 positive Prime Minister Johnson going into isolation because of exposure to a close contact. But because of Corbyn's legacy, Labour is going to have to decide whether it wants to be a party which is welcoming to Jews or one that willfully singles out Jews for derision.
I hope Starmer stays the course and I hope Labour stands by him.
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