Rabbi Mirvis said Corbyn’s claim to have dealt with all allegations of antisemitism is “a mendacious fiction” and the way that the party has handled the claims is “incompatible with the British values of which we are so proud”.

LONDON—Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of antisemitism allegations makes him “unfit for high office”, said Britain’s Chief Rabbi Efraim Mirvis ahead of next months general election in the U.K, in an article he wrote for The Times.

In an unprecedented intervention into politics, which he describes as “amongst the most painful moments” of his career, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said that “a new poison” has taken hold in Labour “sanctioned from the very top”.

He said Corbyn’s claim to have dealt with all allegations of antisemitism is “a mendacious fiction” and the way that the party has handled the claims is “incompatible with the British values of which we are so proud”.

In recent years, he said, concern over the prospect of a Labour government has overshadowed the far-right and jihadist threat in the eyes of British Jews.

“During the past few years, on my travels through the UK and further afield, one concern has been expressed to me more than any other. Of course, the threats of the far right and violent jihadism never go away, but the question I am now most frequently asked is: What will become of Jews and Judaism in Britain if the Labour Party forms the next government?” he said.

Rabbi Mirvis warned that the “very soul of our nation is at stake” in the December 12 election.