UK Labour Party rips into Israel amid anti-Semitism warning
At Labour Party conference, dozens of Palestinian flags wave in the jam-packed hall as delegates vote to criticize Israel's use of force during Gaza protests, urge more UK funding for the UN agency for Palestinians and back a freeze on British arms sales to Israel.
Delegates at the party's conference voted Tuesday to criticize Israel's use of force against Gaza protests, almost all of which turn violent as Gazans hurl rocks, improvised explosives, launch incendiary balloons and attempt to breach the security fence.
The party conference also urged more UK funding for the UN agency for Palestinians and back a freeze on British arms sales to Israel.
The vote came after a heated debate that saw dozens of Palestinian flags waved in the convention hall.
Labour has been riven by allegations that the party has become hostile to Jews under leader Jeremy Corbyn, a longtime supporter of Palestinians.
Foreign-affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said Labour must kick out "sickening individuals ... who use our legitimate support for Palestine as a cloak and a cover for their despicable hatred of Jewish people."
Last week, UK Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to protect British Jewish identity and Israel's right to defend itself, in an attack on Jeremy Corbyn in the run-up to his Labour Party conference.
May told a United Jewish Israel Appeal dinner she was "sickened" by the idea that some Jews questioned whether Britain was a safe place to raise their children.
Britain's former chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks recently warned that Jewish people are thinking about leaving the country because of anti-Semitism.
He told the BBC that for the first time in the 362 years Jews have been in Britain many question whether it is safe to raise children there.
He singled out Corbyn for failing to address anti-Semitic attitudes in the main opposition party, saying the Labour leader would pose a danger as prime minister unless he expresses "clear remorse" for past statements.
Sacks said "when people hear the kind of language that has been coming out of Labour, that's been brought to the surface among Jeremy Corbyn's earlier speeches, they cannot but feel an existential threat."
