Corbyn held accountable for others' remarks again

Labour's anti-Semitism row is getting more ludicrous by the day. Jeremy Corbyn is one of Britain's most prolific campaigners against anti-Semitism; he established the Chakrabarti Inquiry in 2016 to investigate allegations of anti-Semitism in Labour and has expelled dozens of members for anti-Semitic remarks. So why is he being condemned time and time again?

In 2010, Corbyn attended an event which was also attended by Hajo Meyer, a Jewish Auschwitz survivor who compared Israel to the Nazis. Corbyn since condemned the remarks, and has done more than anyone to exclude anti-Semites from the Labour party. This is despite the fact that a YouGov poll carried out in 2017 showed that anti-Semitic attitudes were far lower in the Labour Party than in the Conservatives and Ukip.

The poll also showed that Conservative members have a far greater problem with islamophobia and racism than other political parties. So why aren't we seeing Theresa May labelled an islamophobe and racist, despite the huge problem the Tories have with racism and the disgraceful handling of the Windrush scandal?

Along with this, dozens of prominent Jewish celebrities and activists have spoken out against the allegations, saying that "these accusations are part of a wider campaign against the Labour leadership and they have been timed particularly to do damage to the Labour party". These activists included Ivor Dembina, Selma James and Miriam Margolyes.

Anti-Semitism is deplorable and disgraceful in all its forms, and it is important to remember this when dealing with this serious issue. However, making baseless and damaging accusations of anti-Semitism to further a political aim, as many senior Tories are doing, is damaging to democracy itself.