Group says use of antisemitism guidelines to inhibit debate on settlers, racism and occupation risks breach of rights

A group of British Palestinian organisations, academics and authors, have asserted a right to publicly discuss issues relating to “settler colonialism, apartheid, racism and discrimination” amid the row over how the Labour party defines antisemitism.

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In a letter to the Guardian, the British Palestinians have said it was their right, and the right of those who support their cause, to raise matters about “current and past events in the life of the Palestinian people”.



The context to the letter was the Labour party’s decision in July to accept the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, but not all of the accompanying guidelines on how it should be interpreted.



Some in the party argued that, under one of the IHRA’s working examples, legitimate criticism of Israel could be thought antisemitic. Under pressure, the party has delayed a final decision until September.



The British Palestinians said in their letter: “The reality of the Palestinian people’s ongoing dispossession belongs to the public space: Palestinians have the right to impart information about these present and past injustices, as every British citizen has the right to hear this information, along with the ideas and arguments that emerge directly from it.



“Accordingly, any use by public bodies of the IHRA examples on antisemitism that either inhibits discussion relating to our dispossession by ethnic cleansing, when Israel was established, or attempts to silence public discussions on settler colonialism, apartheid, racism and discrimination, and the violent military occupation, directly contravenes core rights. First, the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, who remain protected by international laws and conventions; and second, the rights of all those British citizens who stand by our side.



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“We call on public bodies to protect and to promote accurate information about current and past events in the life of the Palestinian people, as part of Britain’s colonial debt.”



The bitter arguments about antisemitism in the Labour party, that have been raging for more than two years, show no sign of abating.

Last week three British Jewish newspapers ran identical editorials on their front pages, condemning Labour and saying a government led by Jeremy Corbyn would pose an “existential threat to Jewish life in this country”.



This week Jewish community leaders have demanded that Labour disciplines Peter Willsman, a Corbyn ally, who accused Jewish “Trump fanatics” of making up allegations of antisemitism in the party.

