Corbyn Under Zionist Attack Over Press TV Interview
LONDON (Dispatches) – Pro-Israeli lobbyists in Britain have seized on comments Jeremy Corbyn made on Press TV six years ago, saying they reflected the anti-Semitic feelings of the Labor leader.
They called on Corbyn on Sunday to explain his comments he made in the interview with the English-language Iranian news channel in 2012 about the Zionist regime’s alleged role in the massacre of 16 Egyptian police officers.
Corbyn said in the interview that it was in no one but Israel’s interest to sabotage close relations between the then Egyptian government and the Palestinians.
"I’m very concerned about it (the massacre) and you have to look at the big picture: in whose interests is it to destabilize the new government in Egypt? In whose interest is it to kill Egyptians, other than Israel, concerned at the growing closeness of relationship between Palestine and the new Egyptian government?” said Corbyn during the interview, adding he suspected "the hand of Israel in this whole process of destabilization.”
Recalling the comments after six years amid a widening rift over Labor’s definition of anti-Semitism, critics called on Corbyn to clarify the comments.
Ivor Caplin, chairman of the Jewish Labor Movement, a renowned pro-Israeli campaign group in Britain, said Sunday that Corbyn had to clarify the comments.
He said Corbyn needed "to provide clarity on his views on this conspiracy theory and any others he may have aired in the past.”
However, a Labor spokesman defended Corbyn’s remarks in the interview and said they had been based on evidences.
"Jeremy’s speculation about the perpetrators of the attacks on the Egyptian border guards was based on previous well-documented incidents of killings of Egyptian forces by the Israeli military,” said the spokesman.
Corbyn’s interview with the Press TV in 2012 came after Ofcom revoked broadcasting license of the Iranian news channel in the UK.
The foray into the archived interview comes amid reports that a second Labor MP is being investigated for "abusive conduct” related to the party’s new code on anti-Semitism.
Reports said that Ian Austin, the MP for Dudley North, had been sent a letter earlier this month from the party’s head office warning that he may face disciplinary action leading to suspension from the party.
Austin, son of a Jewish refugee family, clashed with the Labor party chair, Ian Lavery, during a session of the House of Commons just before the parliamentary recess, arguing that the party should change the new code to adopt a multi-national definition of anti-Semitism which bans any criticism of the Zionist regime and its actions against the Palestinians.
The MP is the second Labor lawmaker to face such disciplinary action over the anti-Semitism row. Margaret Hodge, a veteran MP known for his ardent advocacy of the occupying regime of Israel, also faces an investigation over comments she made about Corbyn when she called the Labor leader a "racist and anti-Semite”.
Corbyn has defended Labor’s new code on anti-Semitism, saying accepting demands of the critics for adoption of a broader definition of anti-Semitism would violate the rights of many Jews who are critical of Israel.
However, under immense pressure from the pro-Israeli lobbies, critics struggle to show that Corbyn’s refusal to broaden the party’s code is a sign of his deep grudge toward the occupying regime of Israel.
On Thursday, three Jewish newspapers in Britain with strong connections to the Zionist regime launched an unprecedented and coordinated attack on Corbyn, claiming a government led by him would pose an "existential threat” to Jewish life in the UK.
The Jewish News, The Jewish Chronicle and The Jewish Telegraph attacked the Labor party’s alleged "terrible record” on anti-Semitism since Corbyn became leader in 2015. They claimed that the party under Corbyn entertains "contempt for Jews and Israel” and that the Labor party was now confronted by the very real possibility of being seen as "institutionally racist.”
They called on Corbyn on Sunday to explain his comments he made in the interview with the English-language Iranian news channel in 2012 about the Zionist regime’s alleged role in the massacre of 16 Egyptian police officers.
Corbyn said in the interview that it was in no one but Israel’s interest to sabotage close relations between the then Egyptian government and the Palestinians.
"I’m very concerned about it (the massacre) and you have to look at the big picture: in whose interests is it to destabilize the new government in Egypt? In whose interest is it to kill Egyptians, other than Israel, concerned at the growing closeness of relationship between Palestine and the new Egyptian government?” said Corbyn during the interview, adding he suspected "the hand of Israel in this whole process of destabilization.”
Recalling the comments after six years amid a widening rift over Labor’s definition of anti-Semitism, critics called on Corbyn to clarify the comments.
Ivor Caplin, chairman of the Jewish Labor Movement, a renowned pro-Israeli campaign group in Britain, said Sunday that Corbyn had to clarify the comments.
He said Corbyn needed "to provide clarity on his views on this conspiracy theory and any others he may have aired in the past.”
However, a Labor spokesman defended Corbyn’s remarks in the interview and said they had been based on evidences.
"Jeremy’s speculation about the perpetrators of the attacks on the Egyptian border guards was based on previous well-documented incidents of killings of Egyptian forces by the Israeli military,” said the spokesman.
Corbyn’s interview with the Press TV in 2012 came after Ofcom revoked broadcasting license of the Iranian news channel in the UK.
The foray into the archived interview comes amid reports that a second Labor MP is being investigated for "abusive conduct” related to the party’s new code on anti-Semitism.
Reports said that Ian Austin, the MP for Dudley North, had been sent a letter earlier this month from the party’s head office warning that he may face disciplinary action leading to suspension from the party.
Austin, son of a Jewish refugee family, clashed with the Labor party chair, Ian Lavery, during a session of the House of Commons just before the parliamentary recess, arguing that the party should change the new code to adopt a multi-national definition of anti-Semitism which bans any criticism of the Zionist regime and its actions against the Palestinians.
The MP is the second Labor lawmaker to face such disciplinary action over the anti-Semitism row. Margaret Hodge, a veteran MP known for his ardent advocacy of the occupying regime of Israel, also faces an investigation over comments she made about Corbyn when she called the Labor leader a "racist and anti-Semite”.
Corbyn has defended Labor’s new code on anti-Semitism, saying accepting demands of the critics for adoption of a broader definition of anti-Semitism would violate the rights of many Jews who are critical of Israel.
However, under immense pressure from the pro-Israeli lobbies, critics struggle to show that Corbyn’s refusal to broaden the party’s code is a sign of his deep grudge toward the occupying regime of Israel.
On Thursday, three Jewish newspapers in Britain with strong connections to the Zionist regime launched an unprecedented and coordinated attack on Corbyn, claiming a government led by him would pose an "existential threat” to Jewish life in the UK.
The Jewish News, The Jewish Chronicle and The Jewish Telegraph attacked the Labor party’s alleged "terrible record” on anti-Semitism since Corbyn became leader in 2015. They claimed that the party under Corbyn entertains "contempt for Jews and Israel” and that the Labor party was now confronted by the very real possibility of being seen as "institutionally racist.”