Jewish Labour Movement overwhelmingly votes no on Corbyn

Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn. (photo credit: REUTERS)

By Daniel Altman – JPost

The Jewish Labour Movement in Britain has nominated Owen Smith for the British Labour leadership with Corbyn receiving just 4% of the vote.

In a landslide vote, 92 percent of the Jewish Labour Movement has nominated Owen Smith for the Labour leadership.

Smith, the Welsh MP, is challenging Jeremy Corbyn for the party leadership. In the same vote, Corbyn received just 4% of the vote while 4% voted for ‘no nomination.’

Smith had resigned earlier this year from Corbyn’s shadow cabinet before challenging for the leadership. This has caused tensions between the two as Corbyn has criticized Smith for causing disunity within the Labour Party.

Corbyn has faced several incidents of anti-Semitism in the party since taking over as leader in September of 2015.

This led to Smith mentioning to the BBC in July: “We have had a massive problem recently with misogyny and intolerance in the party, anti-Semitism, racism and the awful way in which women in the Labour movement have been treated. It’s been appalling to witness this, heart-breaking.”

The Jewish Labour Movement nomination of Smith followed a Sunday incident in which Michael Foster, a Jewish donor to the British Labour Party, likened Corbyn’s inner circle to ‘Nazi Stormtroopers.’

Corbyn in June appeared to have made a comparison between Israel and ISIS stating: “Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel than our Muslim friends are for the self-styled Islamic State.”

Corbyn launched an inquiry into anti-Semitism within the Labour Party which critics argued whitewashed the prevalence of anti-Semitism within its ranks.

Source: Jewish Labour Movement overwhelmingly votes no on Corbyn – Diaspora – Jerusalem Post