Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn was just suspended by the Labour Party over remarks that he made about a report concerning Labour Party antisemitism. Corbyn said that the report was exaggerated for political reasons, which it was, and the Labour Party opted to punish him with suspension. There has been antisemitism in the Labour Party, of course, and Corbyn has never denied its existence. He, however, has not been the perpetrator and claims made in the report are overblown.

Why has Corbyn been labelled an antisemite? All paths lead to one reason: he supports Palestine and Palestineans over the Israeli apartheid state. In the UK, like the USA, this is all that it takes to be labelled as antisemitic. Even Bernie Sanders, a man who openly takes pride in his Jewish heritage, has been called antisemitic because of his criticism of Israel and support of Palestine. This needs to be made abundantly clear: being against the state of Israel does not mean being against the Jewish people. Being against a nation's government or policy has nothing to do with demonizing the citizens or the ethnicity of those citizens. The reason why those on the left oppose Israel is not because of any hatred of Jewish people, but because of Israel's brutal policies regarding the Palestineans who have been living in the land for generations. It is not antisemitic to note that Israel is a settler state and it is not antisemitic to suggest that Palestineans should be treated with decency and given full rights and political autonomy. Israeli soldiers have murdered countless Palestinean civilians and children. There should be no debate regarding the brutality that Palestineans have been subjected to by the systemic apartheid put in place by Israel.

Of course, I don't know anything about solutions to the crisis in Palestine. I am not writing this to make any real points on geopolitics because I am wholly unqualified to do so. I am writing this because Jeremy Corbyn's suspension is unjust and not based in fact or in anything that he has truly done. Corbyn has been fighting against apartheid and racism for his entire life, protesting heavily against South African policies in the 1980s. He truly stands for what he believes and moves to paint him as an antisemite are dishonest, especially since the UK government is currently being controlled by open racists who are actively moving to harm the British public and prospective immigrants. When the Labour Party suspends Corbyn, they are saying that they will tacitly stand with Israel and stop pushing back against the atrocities that they commit.

This is a move for Labour to move further to the center. This has nothing to do with Corbyn doing anything antisemitic. That is a pretext.

British politics is in a horrid state now, as it is in the United States, and things like the Corbyn suspension need to be recognized and treated as what they are.

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