Print Print    Close Close

UK's Labour Party suspends senior figure after claims anti-Semitism crisis was manufactured by Israeli Embassy

By Lukas Mikelionis

Published May 31, 2019

Fox News
Fox News Flash top headlines for May 31 Video

Britain's Labour Party was hit with another anti-Semitism row after a senior party figure was suspended after claiming that the party's issues have been manufactured by Israel.

Pete Willsman, who was on the party’s National Executive Committee, said that an open letter signed by nearly 70 rabbis across the country was “obviously organized by the Israeli embassy.”

LEFT-WING PARTIES IN US, UK STRUGGLE TO DEAL WITH RISING ANTI-SEMITISM CONTROVERSIES

The comments were revealed by LBC, which published the recording on Friday. Willsman is also heard saying some Labour staffers were working “indirectly” for the Israeli embassy.

“The rich control the papers. The rich control everything else and they know he's [Jeremy Corbyn] going to make them pay taxes,” Willsman said, referring to Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“The rich control the papers. The rich control everything else and they know he's [Jeremy Corbyn] going to make them pay taxes.”

— Pete Willsman

“One of the things about anti-Semitism is that they're using that to whip people up. They use anything. It's all total lies.”

In the recording, Willsman is also heard making an “off the record” statement that “It's almost certain who is behind all this antisemitism against Jeremy. Almost certainly it was the Israeli embassy.”

He added: “They caught somebody in the Labour Party. It turns out they were an agent in the Israeli Embassy. My guess would be, they are the ones whipping it all up.”

UK EQUALITIES BODY PROBES LABOUR PARTY OVER ANTI-SEMITISM

The recording was made by Tuvia Tenenbom, an Israeli-American author, after encountering Willsman in Oxford.

Earlier this week, Britain's human rights watchdog said it launched an investigation into whether the Labour Party is guilty of illegal anti-Semitism.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission says it is examining whether the party "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimized people because they are Jewish."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Labour denied the accusations on Tuesday and insisted that it’s “fully committed to the support, defense and celebration of the Jewish community and is implacably opposed to anti-Semitism in any form.”

Print Print    Close Close

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/world/labour-party-suspends-senior-figure-antisemitism-crisis-manufactured-israel

  • Home
  • Video
  • Politics
  • U.S.
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • World
  • Sports
  • Weather
  • Privacy
  • Terms

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. © FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Do Not Sell my Personal Information - New Terms of Use - FAQ