Senior Momentum figures have said they will act over Holocaust remarks made by activist Jackie Walker as pressure mounts on the Labour Party to suspend her.
Jeremy Newmark, chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, told the Evening Standard he has been contacted by two influential people within Momentum - the group which led Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign - who have said her comments crossed a “red line”.
Momentum’s steering group meets on Monday to decide her future within the movement.
Mr Newmark, who has called for her resignation, said: “I have received a significant number of approaches and messages of support from members of Momentum and it’s very clear to us that there is a ground swell of people inside Momentum who understand, whatever their political differences with us, that this has caused significant pain to our members at the Jewish Labour Movement. They do feel a red line has been crossed.”
Leaked video footage of Ms Walker, Momentum’s vice-chair, showed her saying she had not found a definition of anti-Semitism she could work with and questioned why Holocaust Memorial Day was not more wide-ranging to include other genocides at a training event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
The Labour Party say recommendations in the recent Shami Chakrabarti report into anti-Semitism mean they can no longer comment on the status of individual members or disciplinary action.
Mr Newmark said this approach “was not working” and said there has no official rule change within the Labour Party constitution which means they cannot comment on, or update people on complaints of anti-Semitism.
He said: “There needs to be a balance ensuring those people who complain and those who are effectively the victims and the targets of this kind behaviour are reassured that these complaints are being dealt with and pursued in an appropriate manner.”
Ilford North MP Wes Streeting, said: “It is important that there is due process but people need to be reassured that this isn’t going to be swept under the carpet. This will be properly investigated by the Labour Party.”
Last night Ms Walker told Channel 4 news that she is anti-Zionist rather than anti-Semitic, adding: “I think Zionism is a political ideology, and like any political ideology, some people will be supportive and some people won’t be supportive of it. That’s a very different thing.”
