UK

Jeremy Corbyn warned that anti-Semitism row engulfing Labour is not going away

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

Jewish leaders have warned Jeremy Corbyn that the anti-Semitism row engulfing Labour is not going away and called on him to "come out of hiding".

The Board of Deputies of British Jews accused the Labour leader of refusing to face difficult questions about his response to the issue and hoping it would disappear.

President Marie van der Zyl also claimed Mr Corbyn had attempted to "divide and rule" British Jews with a "botched" plan to address some representatives at the Jewish Museum while failing to invite other key groups.

In an article for the Jewish News, she wrote: "He is clearly just hoping it will go away. I've got some bad news for him – unless he does what he needs to do, it won't."

Mrs van der Zyl said Labour must accept the international definition of anti-Semitism and all of the examples set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

She called for Mr Corbyn to "own up" to the "problematic nature" of his own past actions as well as for transparency in the party's disciplinary process.

Labour has declined to set out the party leader's summer holiday plans but Mr Corbyn was pictured in the Sun at the Lion Rock Tea Rooms in Cheddar, Somerset.

Mrs van der Zyl said it was time for him to publicly deal with the issues in the party, warning "you cannot lead through invisibility".

"I call on Jeremy Corbyn to come out of hiding and do the right thing," she wrote.

"Surely, by now, enough is enough."

GMB union general secretary Tim Roache said on Thursday it is "abundantly clear" that Labour's code of conduct on anti-Semitism must be rewritten to include all elements of the IHRA definition.

Calls by deputy leader Tom Watson for the list to be adopted in full led to a furious response from some activists, with the hashtag #resignwatson trending on Twitter.

Labour argues that anti-Semitic behaviours omitted from its list are covered elsewhere in the document in a way which will make it easier to take disciplinary action.