LONDON— The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews has called on a trade union leader to apologise after he suggested Israel created the antisemitism row that has engulfed the Labour Party.
Mark Serwotka, who leads the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and is a staunch supporter of Labour Jeremy Corbyn, told a fringe event at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference that Israel could have “created a story that does not exist” in order to distract attention from “atrocities” it has committed.
Speaking at an event organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Sertwoka said he “deplored” antisemitism but claimed accusations against Corbyn were the result of “something sinister going on”.
Jennifer Gerber, director of Labour Friends of Israel, called the comments ‘’despicable,’’ adding: “For a general secretary of a major trade union to allude to conspiracy theories and blame Jews for their own persecution shows the extent of the problem we now see on the left.”
Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies, called for Serwotka to apologise, accusing him of “demeaning his office by trading in conspiracy theories and stock antisemitic tropes”.
She added: “The only reason Labour’s antisemitism crisis remains in the media is Labour’s failure to deal with it.’’ PCS members should consider whether they want to be represented by such a man.”