The chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, has said Jews are justifiably anxious about the idea of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister, saying a “poison sanctioned from the top” has taken root in Labour.

Is the chief rabbi urging voters not to opt for Labour?

No, he was not that explicit. But writing in the Times, he asked people to “vote with their conscience”. He said supporters of Corbyn had “hounded parliamentarians, members and even staff out of the party for challenging anti-Jewish racism”, and that 130 cases of antisemitism were outstanding against Labour members.

Are there 130 cases of antisemitism outstanding in the party?

Labour insists the figure of 130 is inaccurate and says it is “taking robust action” to tackle antisemitism, including quick suspensions, a process for rapid expulsions and an education programme. However, it has not yet provided its own up-to-date figure. The estimate of 130 come from the Jewish Labour Movement, which has been tracking complaints and their resolution.

What has the reaction in Labour been?

Corbyn denied the rabbi’s claims, saying the party stood against antisemitism, which was “vile and wrong”, and all forms of racism. Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, said “everybody now accepts that we took too long to deal with” antisemitism and that regaining trust was difficult, but said Mirvis was wrong to say that anti-semitism had taken root in the party. Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said she had not found Jewish people “anxious and frightened”.

Alf Dubs, the Labour peer who was among Jewish children saved from the Nazis, told Radio 4 he felt Mirvis had “gone too far”, while acknowledging Labour had been “much too slow in getting to grips with this”.

Others in the party have been more critical. Charlie Falconer, the former shadow justice secretary, said it was a “failure of leadership” that cases had not been investigated properly and argued Labour “deserved an attack that strong”.

The Labour backbencher Jess Phillips, seeking re-election in Birmingham Yardley, said the response to the chief rabbi should be: “I’m sorry and I’ll do whatever I possibly can to win back your community’s trust.” Wes Streeting, another backbencher seeking re-election in Ilford North, said he was “ashamed” of Labour and “more sorry than words can say”.

Has Labour seen departures over the issue of antisemitism?

Yes. The Jewish Labour MPs Louise Ellman and Luciana Berger both left the party, citing antisemitic abuse and bullying, while others who quit cited solidarity with their Jewish colleagues as a factor in their decision. That group included Joan Ryan, Gavin Shuker, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Ann Coffey, Chris Leslie and Ian Austin. Three Labour peers – Ara Darzi, Leslie Turnberg and David Triesman – also quit over the issue. In October, the Jewish Labour Movement withdrew campaigning support for the party in the general election in protest. The group said it would support only “exceptional candidates”, such as its parliamentary chair, Ruth Smeeth.

What is the background to the row?

Hundreds of complaints about alleged antisemitic comments by Labour members have been submitted over the last few years to the central party, which has struggled to cope with the volume. For example, 635 complaints were made in the first six months of 2019, which resulted in eight expulsions from the party during that time period.

Many of the allegations against Labour members involve sharing social media posts that contain antisemitic tropes, such as suggesting Jews are wealthy or control the government or media. Critics of Corbyn also say that criticism of Israel among some of his supporters, for example about the treatment of the Palestinian people, can too readily tip over into a generalised condemnation that becomes antisemitic.

The party has been accused of dealing too lightly with people accused of serious antisemitism and failing to resolve complaints quickly enough. Labour’s troubled complaints unit was the subject of a BBC Panorama documentary in July, in which former staff members said they were driven to despair by the process and alleging interference by the leader’s office, which was strongly denied. Labour later submitted a complaint of bias to the BBC about the programme.

Labour says its complaints process has been overhauled under Corbyn and vastly improved. It also says that complaints connected to antisemitism amount to 0.1% of party membership and it argues that prejudice in the Conservative party is more widespread.

Is there an investigation taking place?

Yes. Aside from internal Labour investigations, in May the Equality and Human Rights Commission said it had placed Labour under formal investigation over whether the party had unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they were Jewish.

Has Corbyn himself been criticised over antisemitism?

Yes, particularly his record when he was a backbencher. For example, Corbyn has said he regrets calling members of Hamas and Hezbollah “friends” at a meeting in parliament in 2009. Last year, he accepted he had made a mistake by supporting a graffiti artist after his work, featuring several known antisemitic tropes, was removed from a wall in east London after complaints.

Last year, the UK’s three most prominent Jewish newspapers published a joint editorial saying a government led by Corbyn would pose an existential threat to Jewish life in the UK.

How has Labour dealt with candidates accused of antisemitism?

Some prospective candidates have been accused of antisemitism during the campaign. Gideon Bull stepped down in Clacton after denying he used the term “Shylock” in front of a Jewish councillor, while Kate Ramsden, who had been standing for Gordon, in Aberdeenshire, withdrew after it emerged she was being re-interviewed by Labour over posts comparing Israel to “an abused child who becomes an abusive adult”. However, other candidates criticised for antisemitism have remained in place, including Apsana Begum, who shared a post referring to “Zionist masters”. She later distanced herself from the post saying she did not share those views. Two Conservative candidates – Ryan Houghton and Amjad Bashir - have also been suspended from the Tory party over allegations of antisemitism but remain on the ballot.

What was the row over the definition of antisemitism?

Labour faced criticism from some Jewish groups after it adopted a working definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, but left out one of the 11 examples given in the definition, which said it would be antisemitic to claim “that Israel’s existence as a state is a racist endeavour”. Labour later adopted all 11 examples.