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Theresa May Lauds Israel, Slams BDS, and Calls Out Labour’s ‘Blind Eye to Anti-Semitism’

And Britain adopts a new definition of anti-Semitism

by
Jonathan Zalman
December 13, 2016
Stefan Wermuth-Pool/Getty Images
Briths Prime Minister Theresa May in Manama, Bahrain, December 7, 2016. Stefan Wermuth-Pool/Getty Images
Stefan Wermuth-Pool/Getty Images
Briths Prime Minister Theresa May in Manama, Bahrain, December 7, 2016. Stefan Wermuth-Pool/Getty Images

During an address to her Conservative Party’s Friends of Israel, British Prime Minister Theresa May played to the crowd: She lauded Israel as “a beacon of tolerance,” rebutted the “wrong” and “unacceptable” BDS movement, dug into the opposition Labour Party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn, and hailed the 99 year-old Balfour Declaration, a key moment in the establishment of a Jewish homeland, as “one of the most important letters in history.” Israel, she said, was a “crucial” element of its post-Brexit world stage, then hailed next year’s anniversary of the Balfour Declaration as a time to mark “with pride.” Then, she received a standing ovation.

May, who became the British Prime Minister in July, also announced that Britain would be adopting a new definition of antisemitism, as outlined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Reported The Guardian:

The guidance says it could be considered antisemitic to accuse Jews of being more loyal to Israel or their religion than to their own nations, or to say the existence of Israel is intrinsically racist. Concerns about criticism of Israel as a state potentially crossing into overt antisemitism has had particular recent resonance in British politics over recent months, with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, commissioning a report into the issue in his party.

Controversy over Corbyn and his Labour party’s anti-Semitism has engulfed the embattled party for a good part of this past year.

Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.