Labour is belatedly about to adopt the IHRA anti-Semitism definition with all its examples, according to three members of its ruling NEC. They tell me this should happen at the next full NEC meeting on 4 September. This would seem to represent a big climbdown by Labour’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in the face of great pressure from many in the Jewish community. In particular, he and his closest advisers, led by Seumas Milne, have been fervently resisting the IHRA examples which define as anti-Semitic any statement that the Israeli state is racist or that question the right of Jewish people to national self determination.
“It looks like we will adopt the IHRA wording and examples in their entirety” said a senior Labour member. But there is a but.
“There may be addendums, put into the rulebook, which weaken the force of the IHRA examples” said another NEC member.
That implies, of course, that the mainstream Jewish community may still be wary of whether Corbyn truly understands their concerns.
On the other hand, in the absence of such addendums which interpret the IHRA examples, there would be a risk that previous comments made by Corbyn and his director of strategy Seumas Milne could be seen to have breached Labour’s rule book – which they would naturally enough wish to avoid.
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