Six Jewish Labour members blasted the Guardian‘s reporting on a case of alleged antisemitism on 3 April.
“Selectively edited”
In a letter to the Guardian, the members said that the outlet’s recent report on Jackie Walker relied on a “selectively edited” antisemitism accusation. Labour expelled Walker, the former vice chair of Momentum, on 27 March.
Walker, whose father was a Russian jew, made comments at a training session during the 2016 Labour party conference. The Jewish members, who were present at the session, said that the Guardian is now misreporting the issue:
You report that Jackie Walker “criticised Holocaust Memorial Day for only commemorating Jewish victims”, and that she complained of not having “heard a definition of antisemitism that I can work with”.
What your report does not say is that the accusation against Walker was based on selectively edited (and widely misquoted) footage leaked from a session at which participants had the right to expect confidentiality.
Not mentioned is Walker’s view, consistently explained, that Holocaust commemoration should also include victims of genocide that predate the Nazi era.
And about that “definition”: all of us raised objections to its use by the trainers, the pro-Israel Jewish Labour Movement. It was that particular and contentious definition that Walker was objecting to.
They also took issue with the Guardian‘s characterisation of the documentary film Witch Hunt. The Labour members said the report “wrongly describes” Walker as the creator of the film, which documents Walker’s story and what it calls “the attempt to smash the most hopeful movement of our lifetime”. Activist and filmmaker Jon Pullman directed the film.
Speaking to The Canary, a Guardian spokesperson said:
A substantial quote from Jackie Walker is included in the piece to which the letter refers.
Featured image via YouTube – Labour against Witchhunt
