He has been suspended
A Labour councillor has been suspended from the party after retweeting a message which a member of the local Jewish community claims sought to justify the murder of worshippers at a synagogue in Jerusalem.
“There are many churches, temples and mosques in Preston – I don’t think any of them have security, but the synagogue I attend in South Manchester does. That’s how life is.” “We have a rabbi and we get together, but we [would never] go to the Flag Market and celebrate, say, [the festival of] hanukkah. Our people don’t want to be seen as Jewish. This is 2023 and we’re in Preston – so why not?” asked Rachel, who is part of the Jewish Representative Council.
At last month’s council meeting, she asked Cllr Brown whether a delay to councillors receiving training from the Solutions Not Sides organisation – which says that it aims “to tackle antisemitism, Islamophobia and polarisation around the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the UK” – had contributed to the climate in which Cllr Bax had decided to retweet Dr. Shabbir’s post.
He added: “I do understand that, nationally, there have been increases in antisemitism, [so] obviously we do need to deepen the dialogue further and I’m sorry that you’re feeling that [way]. We’ll work even harder, listening to views about those fears and anxieties even more, and do what we can to build on the…work that we have done already.”
Cllr Bax’s suspension came in the same month that the national Labour Party learned that it was no longer being monitored by the Equality and Human Rights Commission . An investigation by the watchdog into allegations of antisemitism found in 2020 that the party was responsible “for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination”.
While describing antisemitism as “a scourge” and acknowledging the need to reform what they described as an “inadequate disciplinary process” within the party, the signatories backed the veteran left wing MP’s leadership, hailing him as “a decent man who has fought hate and fascism throughout his life”.
She said at the latest full council meeting that that was why there was no longer a Jewish representative on the Preston Faith Covenant. The covenant was signed by leaders from across the spectrum of faiths in the city back in 2018.
“The council is committed to supporting Holocaust Memorial Day every year and are working hard to tackle antisemitism and discrimination in Preston. The council has a long-standing anti-racism commitment and backs campaigns such as Standing Together Against Racism, Heartstone Odyssey and Show Racism the Red Card, all of which address antisemitism.
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