Letter praises Labour leader as ‘a principled leftist leader who is opposed to all forms of racism’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A political alliance of four Arab-dominated parties in Israel’s parliament have broken ranks with fellow legislators to announce their support for Jeremy Corbyn.

In a letter to the Guardian, the Knesset members said they commended the Labour leader for “his long-standing solidarity with all oppressed peoples around the world, including his unflinching support for the Palestinian people”.

As Palestinian Arab MPs in Israel, we salute Corbyn as a champion of peace and justice | Letter Read more

They added: “We stand in solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn and we recognise him as a principled leftist leader who aspires for peace and justice and is opposed to all forms of racism, whether directed at Jews, Palestinians, or any other group.”

The letter from the Joint List coalition contrasts with the anti-Corbyn foreign policy consensus in the Israeli government and is likely to ripple through domestic politics.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Corbyn have previously traded blows, with the Israeli prime minister saying the Labour leader deserved “unequivocal condemnation”. Even the Israeli Labor party, a sister organisation to the UK party, cut ties with Corbyn this year over his handling of antisemitism claims.

For months, Labour has been mired in allegations of antisemitism. These have recently escalated following the party’s refusal to adopt all the examples in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. Corbyn has said one of the examples has been used to “restrict criticism of Israel that is not antisemitic”. On Tuesday, Labour’s ruling body will decide whether to adopt all examples.

The Joint List, the Knesset’s third largest faction with 13 members, said it agreed with Corbyn.

“As long as efforts to curb anti-Jewish sentiment in the UK are focused on combating the disparagement of Jews merely for their membership in a minority group, they have our full support,” said the group, which includes the deputy speaker, Ahmad Tibi. But they added that the definition of antisemitism “goes far beyond anti-Jewish animus to include anti-Zionism”.

There are roughly 1.8 million Arabs in Israel, making up about 20% of the state’s population. They are mostly Palestinians and their descendants who remained in place after the 1948 war between Arabs and Jews. Hundreds of thousands of others were displaced or fled.

Arab and other minorities in Israel have felt under threat after the Knesset passed a law in July declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination, encouraging Jewish settlement, and downgrading the status of the Arabic language.

Labour’s antisemitism code exposes a sickness in Jeremy Corbyn’s party | Dave Rich Read more

The Joint List letter said Palestinian citizens of Israel have “yet to experience a single day of equality”, adding that millions more in the West Bank live under occupation and “under siege in the Gaza Strip”.

“Incredibly, instead of taking that government to task for its unadulterated racism, the British political class ignores the Palestinian historical plight,” it said. “With the Netanyahu government ramping up the racism, our struggle for survival is more precarious than ever.”

The letter was written in advance of the Knesset members’ reported trip to the European Union to lobby leaders over Trump administration cuts in millions of dollars of humanitarian aid to Palestinians and to push for a recognition of the state of Palestine.

The Joint List alliance makes up the Palestinian block in the Knesset, and includes one Jewish parliamentarian, Dov Khenin.