A group of Labour members, a number of whom have been suspended or expelled from the party, is being investigated by police after it set up an “anti-Zionist action network” to discover the addresses of Jewish Labour activists and “take care of those individuals”, the JC can reveal.
The Labour in Exile Network (LIEN) vowed to unearth the “identity, location, activities and associations” of Jewish activists from the campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS).
The announcement came during the online launch event for LIEN, which was attended by 200 people and featured speeches by Jackie Walker and Marc Wadsworth, both of whom have been expelled from the Labour Party.
The group said it would target the Jewish members in order to take “action against the individuals”, referring to them as “Zionist trolls”.
Details of the “anti-Zionist action network” were posted on its website.
Jewish leaders have reported the organisation to both Kent and the Metropolitan Police.
Alex Hearn, director of LAAS, likened the comments to the language and tactics used by the “far right”, but said that Jewish members would not be “silenced or intimidated”.
He said: “LAAS is proud to have fought against hate and extremism on the left. Thanks to our hard work, people in the Labour Party know that publicly posting antisemitic material has consequences.
“Threats to our members are a sign of our success. But this was unlike the ‘normal’ threats we have encountered.
“It was part of a conference, reportedly attended by 200 people, and a working group was specifically created to target and silence members of LAAS because we report antisemitism.
“Their intentions were proudly reported on their website. This type of activities and the language used are indistinguishable from the far right. This has been reported to the police, but rest assured we will not be silenced or intimidated. We will keep fighting for the right of Jewish people to have a safe space in the Labour Party.”
He added: “Unfortunately, what this episode also demonstrates is the long-term harm created by the Labour Party’s antisemitism crisis.”
Launching LIEN online last month, chairman Norman Thomas condemned the disciplinary process that had led to the suspension of 35 Labour officers since last October as a “kangaroo court” and “madness”. “We are not going away,” he said. “This is our party. We are still the many and they are still the few.”
Speaking to the JC, Mr Thomas said he did not know about the “anti-Zionist action network” mentioned on LIEN’s website, or that it had been reported to the police.
He said: “I know nothing about it. I don’t know about calling the police. If they are doing such a thing, then I think it is a stunt and a scam.”
On its website, LIEN pledges to “campaign against the recommendations of the Equality and Human Rights Commission report which demands that antisemitism cases are outsourced and which leads to a curtailing of free speech”. It calls for the party to ditch its commitment to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and demands the reinstatement of all members “wrongly suspended or expelled”, especially former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
LIEN has vowed to campaign in the May local elections only for candidates who “publicly commit themselves to oppose the purge against the left conducted by the current leadership”.
Mr Wadsworth was expelled in 2018 after being found guilty of breaching party rules.
His expulsion came after he accused Ruth Smeeth MP at an antisemitism event of working “hand-in-hand” with the media to undermine Labour.
A former Momentum vice-chairwoman, Ms Walker was expelled in 2019 for comments made during an antisemitism training session in which she criticised Holocaust Memorial Day for only commemorating Jewish victims.
A Met Police spokesman said: “Officers are in the early stages of reviewing the circumstances to determine if any offences have been committed.”
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