This article originally appeared on JewishNews, you can read it here.
The chair of Labour Friends of Israel has told the General Secretary of the Labour Party it is “imperative” that Baroness Royall’s full report on anti-Semitism in the Oxford University Labour Club be published.
In a letter to Iain McNicol, Joan Ryan MP says the decision of Labour’s National Executive Committee not to publish the full account was “a mistake” and that “justice has not been seen to be done”.
Ryan’s intervention follows the culmination of an inquiry into anti-Semitism in the Labour party by former Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti. Royall’s earlier report, of which only the summary was published, looked only at Oxford.
“I remain most concerned that the truth of what occurred at Oxford University Labour Club remains unclear and that for the victims of any anti-Semitism which did occur, justice has not been seen to be done,” wrote Ryan. “I believe it is imperative that the party now publishes Jan Royall’s report in its entirety.”
The LFoI chair also asked McNicol whether allegations of anti-Semitism at by Labour members at Oxford had been investigated and whether any suspensions or disciplinary action had been taken.
The allegations stem from the Club’s decision to support Israeli Apartheid Week in February. It prompted co-chairman Alex Chalmers to resign, claiming a large proportion of members “have some kind of problem with Jews”.
He alleged that OULC members “throw around the term ‘Zio’ with casual abandon” and “express their solidarity with Hamas and explicitly defend their tactics of indiscriminately murdering civilians”. He added that one former co-chair said “most accusations of anti-Semitism are just Zionists crying wolf”.
Several Labour MPs later called for the party to sever ties with society.
Following the publication of the Chakrabarti Inquiry into anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, the Union of Jewish Students issued a statement on alleged racism at Oxford University Labour Club.
They claim that it’s “evident that the Labour Party have swept the issue of alleged anti-Semitism within OULC under the carpet”
“Many Jewish students at Oxford not only feel frustrated, but also let down by a process that, almost five months later, has failed to properly address the issues that they have raised. They were told that evidence from Jan Royall’s inquiry would be included in Shami Chakrabarti’s, but last week’s publication showed nothing of the sort.”
The statement adds, that it is “imperative that Jan Royall’s report be published in full immediately” to reassure students its a safe place for Jewish students.
UJS Campaigns Director, Josh Nagli, said: “UJS will continue to support Jewish students at Oxford in ensuring that the alleged anti-Semitsm within Oxford University Labour Club is properly addressed.”
