Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism in the U.K., applauded Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer for swiftly sacking senior party official Rebecca Long-Bailey for retweeting conspiracy theory linking Israel to George Floyd’s racist killing.
“We have been critical of Sir Keir Starmer’s early handling of incidents within the Labour Party and the fact that he has not yet announced a timetable for reforming the Party’s broken disciplinary process,’’ Falter said.
“His swift and firm action in this case appears to indicate that he is taking our comments on board and has shifted up a gear. Sir Keir’s decision to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey sends a clear message to those in the Labour Party’s ranks who still think that antisemitism is a grey area,’’ he added.
“We were disconcerted that one of Sir Keir’s first moves was to appoint her to his Shadow Cabinet given her long history of denying the extent of antisemitism in the Labour Party, but he has put that right today,’’ he said.
A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “Keir Starmer asked Rebecca Long-Bailey to step down from the shadow cabinet. The article Rebecca shared earlier today contained an antisemitic conspiracy theory. As Leader of the Labour Party, Keir has been clear that restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Antisemitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it.”
