Jeremy Corbyn suspended by U.K. Labour Party over anti-Semitism report
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The U.K. Labour Party has suspended its former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, after a watchdog report found that the party failed to properly take action against allegations of anti-Semitism during his time in charge.
Why it matters: It represents a strong break by Keir Starmer, Labour's current leader, from the Corbyn era and one of the party's most persistent scandals.
The state of play: The U.K.'s Equality and Human Rights Commission found that Labour was "responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination" linked to anti-Semitism, per the BBC.
- Its report found "a culture within the party which, at best, did not do enough to prevent anti-Semitism and, at worst, could be seen to accept it."
- It also found that Corbyn's office had "politically interfered" on 23 separate occasions regarding the anti-Semitism complaints.
What happened: After the report's release, Starmer caller it "a day of shame for the Labour Party" and vowed to implement a "culture change."
- Corbyn issued a statement saying that "the scale of the problem was ... dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media."
- Labour then announced Corbyn's suspension, pending investigation, "in light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them."
- Corbyn vowed to "strongly contest" his suspension.
The backdrop: Beyond Labour's wider anti-Semitism issues, Corbyn became personally involved in the scandal in 2018 when it emerged that he had expressed support for a London mural that featured a host of anti-Semitic tropes in a 2012 Facebook comment.
- The furor expanded amid the discovery of Corbyn's membership in multiple Facebook groups that feature virulently anti-Semitic posts.
