Corbyn knew Paul Eisen, though he did not regard him as a close associate. Corbyn condemned his views on the Holocaust – views which Eisen had been expressing since 2008. Corbyn admitted he had attended numerous public events hosted by Eisen (the most recent being in 2013), and may well have donated money to a charity he had established. Corbyn had indeed intervened on behalf of Stephen Sizer, praising his “excellent work” in “highlighting the injustices of the Palestinian Israeli situation”. He had met representatives of Hamas and Hezbollah, and had called them friends “in a collective way”. He initially denied meeting Dyab Abou Jahjah, a pro-Palestinian extremist who had written about “rejoicing” in the death of British soldiers in Iraq. But then a photo emerged of them sitting together at a speaking event in the House of commons. He also confirmed he had met Raed Salah prior to his conviction, but said Blood Libel had never been discussed in his presence.