The Jewish Chronicle has written a front page addressed to ‘fellow British Citizens’ urging them not to vote for Jeremy Corbyn at the December 12 election.
The paper said the ‘vast majority’ of British Jews consider the Labour leader to be an antisemite and that nearly half (47%) would ‘seriously consider emigrating’ if he won the election.
Corbyn has faced frequent antisemitism allegations since becoming leader of the opposition in 2015. The Jewish Chronicle accused him of ignoring concerns of people within their community and ‘actively impeding action against the racists’.
The paper said: ‘There were some who hoped he might change as a leader. The opposite has happened. The near total inaction of Mr Corbyn and the rest of the Labour leadership in dealing with antisemitism in the party has both emboldened them and encouraged others.”
‘If this man is chosen as our prime minister, the message will be stark: that our dismay that he could ever be elevated to a prominent role in British politics, and our fears of where that will lead are irrelevant. We will have to conclude that our fears count for nothing.’
The Jewish Chronicle has been operating for 178 years. Commenting on the front page, Daniel Sugarman, a former employee, said he had been through the archives and had never seen such a direct plea before.
It comes after the Jewish Labour Movement said it would not be supporting Mr Corbyn to win the election – the first time in its 100-year history it has turned against the party.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he was ‘saddened’ by claims that Corbyn becoming prime minister would ‘harm the Jewish way of life’.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has also waded in on the row. Sharing the Jewish Chronicle front page, she urged non-Jews to oppose ‘antisemite’ Jeremy Corbyn in the forthcoming election. She said: ‘Incredibly powerful message and appalling that any community in our country has been forced to feel like this’.
In response to Jo Swinson’s post from the Jewish Chronicle, former Labour MP Mike Gapes, tweeted: ‘This is a very powerful message. As a non-Jew but a friend of our Jewish community I endorse this message. ‘I intend to defeat Corbyn’s candidate in Ilford South on December 12. If I am re-elected I will do all I can to stop Corbyn. He is not fit to be Prime Minister.’
