In 2019, infuriated by claims that antisemitism in the Labour Party was a minor matter of a few members led astray, I set out to create a list of public or elected officials or candidates within the Labour Party who had been suspended for antisemitic behaviour. The research took so much effort that I ran out of energy to format it all and abandoned the project. However, with the release of copywriting AIs, formatting this list suddenly became much easier. While testing their capabilities, I have been able to edit the original list for publication.

It took several goes and two AIs (Chatsonic and YouChat) to get the prompts right and produce a consistent output (as I had to feed it six examples at a time to avoid overloading it), so there are slight shifts in tone, but the point that I wanted to make comes across clearly. 

    1. February 2015: Beinazir Lasharie, deputy mayor of Kennington and Chelsea, was suspended from the Labour Party after she made comments about Jewish people and money. (Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/exbig-brother-contestant-suspended-from-labour-party-over-antiisrael-facebook-posts-a3093956.html

    2. October 2015: Gerald Kaufman MP was criticised for making a comment suggesting Jewish people had donated money to the Labour Party with the intention of influencing its policies. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/03/gerald-kaufmans-jewish-money-condemned-jeremy-corbyn

    3. March 2016: Bob Campbell, Labour Party Engagement Officer for Momentum Teeside, was suspended from the Labour Party after making an antisemitic comment on social media. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/06/labour-party-suspends-member-antisemitism-claims)

    4. March 2016: Khadim Hussain, a Bradford Councillor, was suspended from the Labour Party after posting a series of Facebook posts about Israel and Hitler. (Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/khadim-hussain-former-lord-mayor-of-bradford-suspended-by-labour-party-over-antisemitism-a6948856.html

    5. March 2016: Vicki Kirby, Vice-chair of the Woking Party and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, was suspended from the Labour Party after making a series of antisemitic tweets. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/15/labour-suspends-activist-vicki-kirby-over-antisemitism-claims

    6. April 2016: Labour MP Naz Shah was suspended from the party for endorsing a suggestion that Israelis be deported to the US. She was later given a formal warning and reinstated three months later. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/27/naz-shah-suspended-labour-party-antisemitism-row

    7. April 2016: Ken Livingstone, a member of the NEC, was suspended from the Labour Party after making a series of comments about Hitler and Zionism. (Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/ken-livingstone-suspended-by-labour-for-another-year-for-hitler-comments-2017-4

    8. April 2016: Aysegul Gurbuz, a Labour Councillor in Luton, resigned after a tweet surfaced in which she said Hitler was ‘the greatest man in history’. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/12/labour-councillor-resigns-hitler-greatest-man-history-tweet)

    9. April 2016: Mohammed Shabbir, a Bradford Councillor, was suspended from the Labour Party over anti-semitism comments. (Source: http://www.bradfordzone.co.uk/labour-suspends-cllr-mohammed-shabbir-over-anti-semitism-comments/)

    10. April 2016: Former Lord Mayor of Bradford and Labour Councillor, Khadim Hussain, was suspended from the Labour Party after sharing Facebook posts implying Israel was responsible for creating ISIS and arming terrorists. He subsequently resigned from the Labour Party. (Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/khadim-hussain-former-lord-mayor-of-bradford-suspended-by-labour-party-over-antisemitism-a6948856.html

    11. May 2016: Jackie Walker, the vice-chair of Momentum, was briefly suspended from Labour Party membership in spring 2016 for making comments on Facebook concerning the alleged role of Jewish people in the Atlantic slave trade. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_UK_Labour_Party#2016)

    12. September 2016: Jackie Walker was suspended from party membership at the end of September after making comments about Holocaust Memorial Day. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/30/labour-suspends-jackie-walker-over-holocaust-comments

    13. May 2016: Labour Councillor for Preston, David Borrow, was suspended from the Labour Party after sharing a video which claimed the Holocaust was a hoax and described Adolf Hitler as a ‘great leader’. (Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-36193322)

    14. May 2016: Terry Kelly, a councillor in Renfrewshire, wrote that the ‘American Jewish lobby is extremely powerful and it has its boot on Obama’s neck’ and that the film ‘The King’s Speech’ might not win an Oscar because ‘there is a powerful Jewish lobby campaigning against the film because of its historical inaccuracy about Hitler and the anti- Semitism’. Mr Kelly was temporarily suspended in May 2016 before being reinstated a month later. (Source: https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish-labour-councillor-suspended-over-anti-semitic-allegations-1477427

    15. May 2016: Labour Councillor and former Labour Mayor of Blackburn, Salim Mulla, called Zionist Jews a ‘disgrace to humanity’, endorsed a video which blamed Israel for school shootings in the USA, and said ‘Zionism’ was orchestrating ISIS. After an initial suspension he was reinstated as a Labour member. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/02/labour-suspends-two-councillors-alleged-antisemitism)

    16. June 2016: Momentum activist Vicki Kirby was suspended from the Labour Party after making a series of tweets which included statements such as ‘Zionists can’t cope with anyone supporting rights for Palestine’ and ‘The Jews are rallying’. (Source: http://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/labour-suspend-momentum-activist-for-saying-zionists-involved-with-nazis/)

    17. July 2016: Miqdad Al-Nuaimi, a Labour Councillor in Newport, was suspended after tweeting that ‘#Israel regime and army are increasingly assuming the arrogance and genocidal character of the #Nazis’ (Source: https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/14469892.newport-councillor-miqdad-al-nuaimi-has-been-suspended-from-the-labour-party-over-alleged-anti-semitism/)

    18. August 2016: Terence Flanagan, Council candidate in Camden, was suspended by Labour after being accused of making anti-Semitic comments at a public meeting. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/22/labour-suspend-council-candidate-for-alleged-antisemitic-comments)

    19. September 2016: Zafar Iqbal, Labour Councillor in Birmingham shared a David Duke video on Facebook entitled ‘CNN Goldman Sachs and the Zio Matrix’. The Labour party accepted his apology and claim that he had have no recollection of sharing this video’ – no disciplinary proceedings were enacted. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/06/labour-councillor-suspended-over-antisemitic-facebook-post )

    20. October 2016: Andrew Slack, a councillor in Chesterfield, was suspended after sharing an anti-Semitic meme of a blood-smeared, hook-nosed Israeli soldier. The meme said ‘Israel was created by the Rothschilds’. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/18/labour-councillor-suspended-over-antisemitic-meme)

    21. October 2016: A Labour council candidate was removed from the party’s candidate list in Bradford after making antisemitic remarks such as “teachers are brainwashing us and our children into thinking the bad guy was Hitler” and “What have the Jews done good in this world?” (Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-42009240)

    22. October 2016: Pam Bromley, a Labour Councillor in Lancashire, posted links to an antisemitic article entitled ‘World War 3: Trump Begins Paying His Homage to Rothschilds,’ commenting ‘we must remember that Rothschilds are a powerful financial family (like the Medicis) and represent capitalism and big business’. Bromley is still a Labour councillor and no disciplinary action has been taken. (Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-47856912

    23. January 2017: Ilyas Aziz, Labour councillor in Nottingham, was reinstated by the party after sharing posts from Neo-Nazi David Icke and a page called ‘Israel – Rothschilds’ Frankenstein Monster’. (Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-antisemitism-jewish-councillor-ilyas-aziz-faces-disciplinary-action-nottingham-a7608181.html)

    24. February 2017: John Clarke, Black Notley Parish Council, was suspended by the Labour party due to allegations of anti-Semitism. (Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/labour-suspend-councillor-over-antisemitism-allegations)

    25. March 2017: Afzal Khan, then a Labour MEP and now the MP for Manchester Gorton, compared Israel to Nazis, with no disciplinary action taken. (Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-antisemitism-row-afzal-khan-israel-nazi-germany-a7662096.html)

    26. March 2017: Alison Gove-Humphries, a Labour council candidate in Birmingham, was deselected after sharing allegedly ‘anti-Semitic’ Facebook posts. (Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/19/labour-candidate-deselected-facing-anti-semitism-allegations/)

    27. April 2017: Mike Sivier, author of the far-left Vox Political blog, was suspended as a Labour candidate after claiming there is a ‘conspiracy’ between Jews and those who defend them in the UK. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/26/labour-suspends-council-candidate-over-antisemitism-remarks)

    28. April 2017: Terry Couchman, a Labour council candidate in Wiltshire, was suspended after ranting on social media about ‘ZioNazi stormtroopers of IsraHell’ and ‘fake Jews of IsraHell and the USA’. (Source: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/exclusive-labour-suspended-over-zionazi-storm-troopers-posts/)

    29. August 2017: Luke Cresswell, a Labour Councillor in Suffolk, tweeted an image of a blood-soaked Israeli flag, accused Israel of genocide and captioned the image ‘Moses must be proud of you’. Though initially suspended, he was then re-admitted, and subsequently selected as a councillor. (Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/aysegul-gurbuz-labour-councillor-suspended-after-praising-hitler-on-social-media-a6977611.html)

    30. April 2017: Melanie Melvin, Labour member, was asked to leave the party after claiming that the sarin gassing of civilians in Syria was staged by the BBC with the help of the Israeli lobby. (Source: https://antisemitism.uk/melanie-melvin-leaves-labour-after-claiming-sarin-gassing-was-filmed-by-the-bbc-at-pinewood-on-the-orders-of-mrs-may-and-the-israeli-lobby/)

    31. May 2017: Tayyib Nawaz, former Chair of Manchester Labour Students, resigned after tweets surfaced where he claimed ‘Hitler was Jewish’ and Israel was comparable to ISIS. (Source: https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-candidate-tweeted-anti-israel-conspiracy-theory-1.438433)
    32. May 2017: Bethany Barker, a young Labour activist, resigned after a number of racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic tweets surfaced. (Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bethany-barker-labour-student-jeremy-corbyn-resigns-racist-tweets_uk_5911de3ce4b050bdca5faf2a)
    33. May 2017: Tim Lezard, Vice Chair of Stroud CLP, was suspended from the party for alleged anti-semitic social media posts. (Source: https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/tim-lezard-suspended-over-antisemitism-allegations-1.444228)

    34. September 2017: Max Tasker, a Labour Councillor in North Wales, posted Youtube videos to his facebook page with entitled: ‘Is ISIS good for the Jews?’, ‘Not for the immature! Zionist Antichrist will rule the [New World Order]’ and ‘Ukraine’s anti-Russian stance is a Zionist masterplan’. (Source: https://antisemitism.org/andrew-murray-close-adviser-to-jeremy-corbyn-reportedly-offered-advice-on-stopping-investigation-into-max-tasker-using-his-unite-union-e-mail-address/)

    35. November 2017: Billy J Wells, Facebook user accused of making anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments on social media. (Source: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/labour-drop-council-candidate-who-posted-about-rich-families-of-the-zionist-lobby/)
    36. January 2018: Labour slammed for allowing suspended MP candidate who made sick anti-Israel slurs back into the party, saying she has no case to answer. (Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6925684/labour-slammed-for-allowing-suspended-mp-candidate-who-made-sick-anti-israel-slurs-back-into-the-party-saying-she-has-no-case-to-answer/)
    37. March 2018: Jeremy Corbyn admits he was wrong to support a graffiti artist whose work contained several known antisemitic tropes which were then scrubbed from a wall in London’s East End. (Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-criticised-by-labour-mp-for-appearing-to-defend-anti-semitic-painting_uk_5ab5280ee4b054d118e27934)
    38. March 2018: Christine Shawcroft, head of Labour Party’s disputes panel, resigns after opposing the suspension of a Peterborough council candidate who was accused of Holocaust denial. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/28/christine-shawcroft-labour-disputes-panel-chair-resigns-antisemitism-case)
    39. March 2018: Two Jewish Labour councillors in Haringey resigned, citing overwhelming anti-Semitic abuse. (Source: https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/haringey-councillors-say-it-is-now-impossible-to-be-a-jewish-labour-councillor-1.460947)

    40. April 2018, Roy Smart, Tunbridge Wells Councillor, was suspended after a leaked email revealed he compared a Jewish colleague to Hitler. (Source: https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/tunbridge-wells-councillor-roy-smart-suspended-over-hitler-email-1.466820)

    41. April 2018: Rossendale Councillor Pam Bromley was suspended after allegedly sharing an antisemitic post on Facebook. (Source: https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/16264169.rossendale-councillor-pam-bromley-suspended-after-facebook-post-allegedly-shared/)

    42. April 2018: Sameh Habeeb, council candidate in Northwood Hills, was suspended after allegedly sharing an anti-semitic post on Facebook. (Source: https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/labour-suspend-candidate-accused-of-antisemitic-facebook-post-1.464232)

    43. April 2018: Newcastle Councillor Dipu Ahad was suspended after being caught on camera calling a Jewish councillor a “Zio-Nazi.” (Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-councillor-dipu-ahad-caught-14488938)

    44. May 2018: Anne Kennedy, Northfields Ward Councillor, was suspended over anti-semitic comments. (Source: https://www.dunstabletoday.co.uk/news/politics/dunstable-councillor-suspended-over-anti-semitic-claims-1-8502904)

    45. May 2018: Stevenage council candidate Irfan Javed was suspended when he shared a picture on Facebook in 2014 which has been called antisemitic. (Source: http://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage-labour-candidate-irfan-javed-suspended-amid-allegations-of-antisemitism-1-5501527)
    46. May 2018: Ben Lloyd-Shogbesan, a councillor for the Lye Valley ward was suspended by Labour after being accused of making anti-Semitic comments at a public meeting. (Source:https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-city-councillor-suspended-labour-3638028)
    47. July 2018: Damien Enticott, a Labour councillor for the Kingsdown and Hampton ward, was suspended from the party over alleged anti-Semitic comments. (Source: https://www.jpost.com/International/UK-Labour-activist-faces-backlash-over-ISIS-is-run-by-Israel-remarks-449685)
    48. July 2018: Mary Lockhart, a member of Labour’s ruling body, was suspended for alleged anti-Semitic comments. (Source: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16388286.labour-suspend-fife-councillor-mary-lockhart-israeli-spy-plot-claim/)
    49. August 2018: George McManus, a member of the National Policy Forum, was suspended after he attacked the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson, in an email, accusing him of making “outrageous smears” against Jeremy Corbyn and “leading a witch-hunt against anti-Semites”. (Source: https://www.ft.com/content/f8ed0c2c-9980-11e8-ab77-f854c65a4465)
    50. August 2018: Councillor Ioan Jones was suspended from the Labour Party for allegedly comparing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/18/jim-sheridan-suspended-from-labour-over-antisemitism-row-comments)
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