Prominent artists condemn Labour anti-Semitism

Nov 15, 2019 | 1:11 AM

LONDON — Twenty-four prominent British writers and entertainers, including author John LeCarre and actor Simon Callow, say they won’t vote for Labour Party candidates in next month’s election because of the party’s failure to combat anti-Semitism.

Their letter, published in The Guardian newspaper, says Labour is under investigation for institutional racism, two Jewish lawmakers have been bullied out of the party and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has a “long record of embracing anti-Semites.”

The signatories say these concerns overshadow the argument that supporting Labour is the only way to stop a hard Brexit.

They say that to ignore anti-Semitism “because Brexit looms larger is to declare that anti-Jewish prejudice is a price worth paying for a Labour government. Which other community’s concerns are disposable in this way? Who would be next?”