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Now, who has got a problem with discrimination?

DAVID ROSENBERG takes a closer look at the Campaign Against Antisemitism

THE Equalities and Human Rights Commission, a body created by the Labour Party when in government, has announced that it is following up dossiers of complaints about anti-semitism in the Labour Party submitted by the self-styled “Campaign Against Antisemitism” (CAA) and the Labour Party affiliate, the Jewish Labour Movement, and may launch a formal investigation to see if Labour has discriminated against people because of their ethnicity and religious beliefs.

CAA sounds plausible by its name. Let’s hope the EHRC carries out due diligence on the group, though, before going any further. 

To get a flavour of what CAA is about, the EHRC may wish to investigate CAA’s petition launched last August which started life as “Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-semite and must go.” 

It was compelled to change it to “…anti-semite and the Labour Party must act.” It also edited the original text supporting its original petition which contained the libellous claim that Corbyn had been “seeking out and giving his backing to Holocaust deniers” since he became party leader.

Nevertheless the petition attracted a large number of signatures, including many from Israel and the US. Signatories were also invited to leave comments. 

I would strongly recommend that the EHRC ask the CAA for a full list of the comments that were originally published on the petition and were left there by the CAA for several days before they were forced to remove them, after people protested and complained to the Charity Commissioners.

Here is a small sample of some of the comments that were left there by this body that is accusing others of discrimination that I gathered in a short perusal of them:

“Corbyn is a danger to the uk he hates the uk and white men he is skum.”

“He is disgrace to the people actually born and bred in this country.”

“We are an island and cannot take any more migrants, and he would welcome a million more.”

“Corbyn is a communist and terrorist supporter, he is persecuting the Jews who are peaceful people unlike the immigrants he wants to flood the country with.”

“This pond scum should not be allowed to be a public figure.”

“This man is a treasonous snake who is of grave danger to our country.”

“Jeremy is a cunt.”

“Corbyn is a dirty nazi.”

“It would not surprise me if he had Mein Kampf by the side of his bed.”

“This piece of terrorist loving anti-semite scum is poison.”

“Let’s get this bastard!”

“I would prefer for someone to shoot him.”

Given the racist abuse and death threats that the CAA accepted and tolerated on its petition until it was forced to remove the comments page, is the CAA the kind of organisation the EHRC really wants to co-operate with?

And is the Jewish Labour Movement, currently playing a game of brinkmanship with the Labour Party over whether it might disaffiliate, proud of its association with CAA in this approach to the EHRC, given the kinds of views that CAA published on its petition?

This article is written in a personal capacity.

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