Like many others, Jews and non‑Jews alike, I was horrified to read your leader on Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism (The Guardian view on Labour and antisemitism: two cheers for Keir Starmer, 15 February). It is simply neither sufficient or even accurate to say, as you do, that “Mr Corbyn has a formidable record fighting against racism and in speaking up for many persecuted peoples, but in this case he was too slow and too defensive. To show how much better he was than some of his critics allowed, he should have tried harder to engage with their criticisms.”
The truth is that he was not slow or defensive. He simply did not act. He failed to engage with those who pointed out how toxic the party had become for Jews. He consistently failed to accord antisemitism the status of racism – which it undoubtedly is. He has been selective in those causes he has taken up – and rising antisemitism, including within his own party, apparently was not worth worrying about. Meanwhile, due to his inaction and failure to understand, he made absolutely miserable the lives of several Jewish MPs in his own party. To name but a few, Louise Ellman, Luciana Berger, Margaret Hodge and Ruth Smeeth all had a terrible time and had to put up with the vilest of hate campaigns on social media. Some even left the party. These women are not wimps. It was Corbyn who presided over that toxic atmosphere growing and breeding further hatred, and who did nothing to defend them from abuse.
