PROMINENT Scottish activist Pete Gregson has challenged the Labour Party to expel him and 660 supporters after it launched an inquiry into his alleged anti-Semitic views.
In yet another row over anti-Semitism within Labour, Gregson, who blogs at www.kidsnotsuits.com, has made a direct challenge to the leadership, and specifically Wendy Nicholls, the chair of the Labour National Executive Committee, challenging them to expel him.
Gregson, pictured, right, strongly denies being anti-Semitic but wants to be free to criticise Israel. He has now launched a petition asking that Labour revokes its adherence to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
The petition states: “We Labour Party members declare Israel to be a racist endeavour. We are not anti-Jewish.
“We challenge our National Executive Committee to expel us from the Party, if you believe that, according to the IHRA definition you adopted on the 4th Sept, we are anti-Semitic. If you will not, we expect you to return Labour to its previous position, which allowed full freedom of speech on Israel.*
“We also call into question the adopted point 3) “Applying double standards to Israel by requiring of it a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation”. Israel cannot claim to be a democratic nation. The Haaretz newspaper noted that the number of Arabs in Israel (including Gaza and the West Bank) will exceed that of Jews by 2020. If it were a true democracy, the country would shortly be ruled by Arabs, a prospect so terrifying to Jewish leaders that they can only maintain their control through denying the 4.4 million Arabs living in the occupied areas the right to vote in national elections.
“We believe that of 550,000 members, the fact that only 45 alleged cases are active in the LBC leaked dossier shows there is no particular problem with anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. However, adopting the full IHRA will multiply the number of these cases many times over.
“Please keep the Labour Party united and abandon the added examples that stifle me from expressing my view on the racist nature of Israel and the lack of democracy there.”
Gregson’s petition had attracted 660 signatures by last night but it is not clear if every signatory is a Labour member.
He paid tribute to his supporters saying: “They have had the courage to stand by their convictions in recognising the threat posed to the Labour Party by its adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. Its founding planks of equality and social justice are at risk.
“The petition is really an open letter to Labour’s National Executive Committee challenging them to expel us signers from the Party, if they truly believe in their IHRA definition of anti-Semitism”.
Gregson, from Edinburgh, left Labour after its support for the Iraq war, but rejoined and is well known in Labour circles for his campaigns for whistleblower charters.
He said: “The Party will be tearing itself up for as long as it continues to stand by its September decision.
The National has confirmed that Gregson is under investigation for anti-Semitism. A Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously, which are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures.
“The Labour Party is wholly committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community and its organisations. We are taking action against antisemitism, standing in solidarity with
Jewish communities, and rebuilding trust.”
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