Alas Smeeth & Jones... Ex-JLM Chair Endorses 'Antisemitic' Labour Candidate

Former Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement Ruth Smeeth endorsed 'antisemitic' candidate Graham Jones just twelve days before the JLM called for him to be suspended by Labour...

Just the day after having finally suspended Rochdale candidate Azhar Ali, Labour also suspended Hyndburn PPC Graham Jones after he was reported as saying 'f**k Israel'. But on the 1st February Ms Smeeth ('strictly protect') was falling over herself to happily declare him the best man for the job.

Having tried for some days, ably assisted by former MP Louise Ellman and the current Chair of JLM Mike Katz, to cling on to the hapless Rochdale candidate after he said Israel allowed its own citizens to die on 7th October, Keir Starmer barely drew breath before suspending Mr Jones simply for profanity relating to the state of Israel.

This would seem to indicate that the real problem Starmer sees relates to election deadlines, not to 'antisemitism' at all - it was too late to put up another Labour candidate in Rochdale; it is not too late in Hyndburn

It is being widely said that Jones has been suspended for 'antisemitism', however his remarks seem to only involve criticism of the state of Israel itself, which even the International Holocaust Remembrance Association has decreed is not antisemitic.

Whether Mr Jones has suddenly become antisemitic, was antisemitic at the time of the Smeeth endorsement, is not antisemitic at all, or whether Smeeth simply put her name to the endorsement because it made good PR is not yet known.

She has as yet made no comment to clarify the situation.