‘It absolutely breaks my heart to say, but I do not think the Labour party is a safe space for Jewish people any more.” Thus spoke Izzy Lenga, a Labour member interviewed in last week’s Panorama documentary on antisemitism in the party. Her words echo sentiments expressed by many Jewish MPs, members and supporters in recent months, and are a dreadful indictment of Labour’s failure to confront and root out antisemitism within its ranks.
The documentary brought to light fresh allegations about interference from Jeremy Corbyn’s office in disciplinary procedures supposed to be independent of the party’s leadership. It found that, as recently as this spring, 1,000 complaints about antisemitism had yet to be dealt with, and so far only 15 people have been expelled as a result. But the most powerful moments of the programme were in the brave testimony of party members and staff who spoke of their experience of dealing with antisemitism and its impact on their mental health.
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