Last week Labour’s own inquiry into anti-Semitism in the party descended into chaos after Jeremy Corbyn managed to spark a new anti-Semitism row at the press conference. Discussing the findings of Shami Chakrabarti’s report, Corbyn appeared to compare Israel to Isis.
So, Corbyn faced a tough ride today as he appeared before the Home Affairs select committee on anti-Semitism. The committee — chaired by Keith Vaz — began by asking Corbyn to clarify his comments on Israel:
KV: Would you like to take this opportunity to clear this up? That you didn’t mean to compare a democratically elected government — no matter that it holds a different view to yours — with the criminals who run Daesh/Isil?
JC: At no stage did I make that comparison, and I’m disappointed that that comparison was made by the Chief Rabbi or anyone else. It would have been better if I’d said Islamic countries rather than Islamic states.
Despite Corbyn specifically referring to ‘self-styled Islamic states or organisations’ in his comments last week, the Labour leader was keen to push the idea that the blame laid with those who had misinterpreted his comments.
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