Heads of Jewish community groups claim Corbyn failed to agree to their demands in attempt to combat antisemitism within Labour

Jeremy Corbyn’s hopes of reassuring the Jewish community over his efforts to combat antisemitism have suffered a blow after Jewish leaders labelled a meeting with the Labour leader a “disappointing missed opportunity” with little achieved.

In a joint statement read to the media outside parliament, the heads of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) and Board of Deputies (BoD) said Corbyn had failed to agree to any of their requests, set out in a letter last month.

These included stronger personal leadership, a swift resolution of party disciplinary cases such as that of Ken Livingstone, and Labour adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

None of this had been achieved, Jonathan Goldstein and Jonathan Arkush said after a two-hour meeting with Corbyn and others from the Labour party, including the general secretary, Jennie Formby.

“Words in letters and newspaper articles will never be enough,” they said. “We welcome the fact that Mr Corbyn’s words have changed, but it is action by which the Jewish community will judge him and the Labour party.”

Jeremy Corbyn: we have not done enough to tackle antisemitism Read more

The meeting was set up after a demonstration by Jewish groups outside parliament over what they felt was Corbyn’s insufficient action on the issue.

“Following that demonstration, we wrote to Mr Corbyn to set out six areas of concrete action he and the party could take to address the antisemitism that has grown under his leadership,” the statement said, saying these were “the minimum level of action the community expected after more than two years of inactivity”. It added: “We are disappointed that Mr Corbyn’s proposals fell short of the minimum level of action which our letter suggested.”

They added: “Our sole objective from this meeting was to build trust with Mr Corbyn, but this will not be possible until and unless he and the party turn their many strong words against antisemitism into equally strong actions in order to bring about a deep cultural change in his supporters’ attitude to Jews.”

In his statement following the meeting, Corbyn made no mention of differences, only that saying the meeting had been “positive and constructive”. He said: “I am absolutely committed to rooting out antisemitism from our party and our society. When members of Jewish communities express genuine anxieties, we must recognise them as we would those of any other community.”

After the meeting, spokespeople for the two Jewish groups told reporters they were surprised at the lack of action, saying Corbyn’s team had known about their specific demands for some time. They said Corbyn repeatedly hid behind “procedural excuses” by saying that he did not have the power to immediately make some of the changes.

“For us, that is frustrating,” a JLC spokesman said. “We put them very clearly in our letter. We didn’t raise anything new, and we felt they’d had plenty of time to consider whether they wanted to offer it.” He expressed surprise that Corbyn and Formby could not agree to adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, calling it “quite an easy thing for them to have said yes to”.

A spokeswoman for the BoD said another meeting was expected in July, and that in the interim, both groups expected Corbyn to act on his words: “We will be watching him every step of the way to see that they do take the actions. This isn’t asking for a lot, that as a community we ask for the protection and support of the leadership of the party.”

Before the meeting, Corbyn issued a strong condemnation of antisemitism, saying the party’s structures were unfit for purpose and that it must confront the fact that a number of members held antisemitic views. He said in the past fortnight alone, more than 20 individuals had been suspended from party membership, and more were being investigated.

Writing in the Evening Standard, Corbyn said: “We have not done enough to get to grips with the problem, and the Jewish community and our Jewish members deserve an apology. My party and I are sorry for the hurt and distress caused.”

Labour’s far left must tame itself to root out antisemitism | Keith Kahn-Harris Read more

Another key test for the leadership will be a disciplinary hearing of Labour activist Marc Wadsworth, who came to prominence at the launch of a report into Labour and antisemitism, for challenging Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth that she was working “hand in hand” with the media.

Wadsworth’s case will be heard by Labour’s national constitutional committee, a quasi-judicial body that has the power to expel members from the party. Labour Against the Witch-Hunt, a campaign group set up to protest against expulsions, has announced that it will protest against the meeting on Wednesday morning.

Labour MPs are understood to have offered to support Smeeth on her way into the hearing, which will be held in private. A decision is expected on Thursday.