On the 29th of October, Jeremy Corbyn was suspended from the United Kingdom’s Labour Party following a report on antisemitism by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The allegations against Corbyn have become progressively harsher, with some going so far as to say that Labour is an “institutionally antisemitic” party.
While antisemitism is a very real issue and isn’t acceptable under any circumstances, it has been weaponised by those on the right who also legitimise and move towards the extreme right, which emphasizes blatant racism and antisemitism.
Boris Johnson has refused to apologise about his repeated racist comments when challenged in the House of Commons by Labour MP Tan Dhesi. Amongst other racist remarks, the PM had described Muslim women as “looking like bank robbers and letter boxes,” which led to a 375% increase in hate crimes against them.
The PM failed to answer questions about whether he would initiate an inquiry into “widespread and institutional Islamophobia” in the Conservative Party, as initially promised during leadership election debates. Rather, Johnson ignored important questions and simply repeated that antisemitism is rampant in the Labour Party.
Whether the allegations of antisemitism in regards to Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party are true or not, they must be treated seriously. However, Jeremy Corbyn has been smeared throughout his career and antisemitism has been, and still is, a problem within UK politics. Furthermore, we must also look at racism in the Conservative Party and hold members accountable for their hate. This goes beyond Boris Johnson.
Written by Ty
Artwork by Zara Masood
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