London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

Jewish Labour supporter insists there's "no evidence" Labour is led by anti-Semites

Jewish Labour supporter insists there's "no evidence" Labour is led by anti-Semites

Shelagh Fogarty questions Jewish Labour supporter and political think-tank chief Jonathan Lis over his insistence that there is no evidence Labour is led by anti-Semites.

Jonathan Lis said he would never judge or condemn any Jewish person for no longer feeling able to stay in the Labour party.

He insisted: "There has to be a way we can tackle anti-Semitism while still ensuring we have a progressive government in this country which is going to protect the rights of minorities for everyone."

Mr Lis also wanted to prevent voters from the "xenophobic policies that the Conservative party stands on", referencing the Windrush scandal, and accused the party of suddenly jumping on the band-waggon.

"I find it profoundly offensive as a Jewish person when people who have promoted racist, exclusionary policies their whole careers presume to defend my interests. They simply do not," he said.


 Shelagh asked Mr Lis how he could square Jeremy Corbyn's "blind eye to that mural" which was anti-Semitic; former Labour member Luciana Berger tweeted a picture of the mural and Corbyn's response in 2018. The Labour leader has since called the image "deeply disturbing."

Mr Lis said: "I think Jeremy Corbyn has been extremely careless, particularly in the time before he became Labour leader. I don't think he was overtly malicious." He continued that his passionate campaigning on the Palestinian issue which "clouded his judgement."

Shelagh said that anti-Semitism is disgusting and she can't understand that a party who wants to fix homelessness, austerity and poverty "can fail to get a grip and say the right things about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism."

Mr Lis conceded that Mr Corbyn was "much too quick to assert bad faith on the part of his critics" when these accusations arose; "but I don't think it follows that the Labour party is necessarily institutionally anti-Semitic."

He also said that the Tory party has a long history of anti-Semitism "where the Jews were accused of being against ordinary people" and no matter what, we need a Labour government.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
×