Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has come under renewed pressure after a third leading trade union called on Labour to align its definition of anti-Semitism with that of the International Holocaust Remembrance Association.
Paddy Lillis, general secretary of shopworkers’ union Usdaw, said the Labour leader should “immediately” adopt the international code.
Mr Lillis of Usdaw told Jewish News: “Jeremy Corbyn has clearly stated that there is a problem with anti-Semitism in the Labour party and he is right in his determination to tackle it.
“If we are to do that, it is essential that the party regains the trust of Jewish communities. As a first step we should immediately amend the code of conduct to adopt the full International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, including the examples.”
His intervention comes after the leaders of Unison and the GMB unions also urged Mr Corbyn to rethink his stance and end months of Labour party infighting.
Backbench MPs have been left infuriated by the party’s refusal to embrace the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism. The IHRA definition has associated examples, four of which Labour has so far not adopted in its own code of conduct.
One example is “claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavour”. The Labour leadership is understood to oppose the phrasing because it could arguably limit criticism of the creation of the state of Israel.
Unions have long had an influential role in the Labour party, and Usdaw, Unison and the GMB each hold two seats on the party’s ruling national executive.
One Labour MP said on Sunday that the unions’ interventions would have a limited effect on “influencing” Mr Corbyn but their voices could prove decisive in the event of an NEC vote on the issue.
The NEC is expected to consider a motion on accepting the IHRA definition at a meeting scheduled for September 5.
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A Labour spokesman said: “The code of conduct adopts the IHRA definition and expands on and contextualises its examples to produce robust, legally sound guidelines that a political party can apply to disciplinary cases.
“The NEC upheld the adoption of the code of conduct on anti-Semitism, but in recognition of the serious concerns expressed, agreed to reopen the development of the code, in consultation with Jewish community organisations and groups, in order to better reflect their views.”
Separately, Sajid Javid, home secretary, suggested on Sunday that Mr Corbyn should step down as party leader over a trip he made to a Tunisian cemetery in 2014, after the Mail on Sunday published an image they claimed was of Mr Corbyn holding a wreath in front of a plaque honouring the founder of Black September, the group behind the killing of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Mr Javid said: “If this was the leader of any other major political party, he or she would be gone by now.”
Labour officials said Mr Corbyn had already answered questions about his visit to the cemetery.
Mr Corbyn said last year: “I laid a wreath to all those that had died in the air attack that took place on Tunis, on the headquarters of the Palestinian organisations there . . . I was accompanied by very many other people who were at a conference searching for peace.”
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