(JTA) — Jeremy Corbyn said that British Jewish voters have nothing to fear if the Labour Party he leads wins the national elections in December.
Corbyn made the comments in an interview with The Guardian in responding to reports that Britain’s Jewish Labour Movement said it will not campaign for party lawmakers in the elections, as it has for a century, “unless in exceptional circumstances and for exceptional candidates.”
In its announcement Thursday, the organization cited Corbyn’s failure to effectively deal with anti-Semitism in the party.
Corbyn, a far-left and anti-Israel politician, has denied the assertion that he is fomenting anti-Semitism in Labour.
“Anti-Semitism and racism is an evil within our society. I’ve done everything to confront it throughout my life, and will always do so,” Corbyn told The Guardian. “We want this country to be safe for all people. An attack on a synagogue, an attack on a mosque, an attack on a church – an attack on a person walking down the street because they’re perceived to be different from the rest of us – we simply can’t tolerate it.”
Corbyn said he will shift the focus of the party to social justice and the climate emergency with the approach of the elections. The party also says it will seek to negotiate a new Brexit deal with Brussels, though no official decision would be taken until after the election.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph quoted Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly as saying that Jewish friends of his had told him “they would be out of here” if Corbyn became prime minister.
