Corbyn in secret Pali Facebook group

[Fernando]

Labour suspends party members in 'antisemitic' Facebook group

Nothing surprising there, but....

Jeremy Corbyn was active in closed group Palestine Live but says he did not see offensive posts and left in 2015

No, I don't suppose he inhaled, either!

Labour has suspended several party members who posted in a closed Facebook group which featured a number of antisemitic messages. The party’s compliance unit is working through a dossier on the group, of which Jeremy Corbyn was once a member, that was compiled by a campaigner.

Some of the posts on Palestine Live appear to include links to Holocaust denial myths, allegations of Israel’s involvement in the 9/11 and 7/7 terror attacks and the training of Islamic State fighters, and conspiracy theories involving the Rothschild family.

It is understood that disciplinary procedures, including suspensions, have been initiated against a number of members of Palestine Live where they have been found to be Labour members, though it appears that at least one, who had been presenting as a Labour member, was not.

Corbyn posted several times in the group after being tagged in posts. He left the group in 2015, around the time he became Labour leader, although the party has not confirmed whether it was before or after he won the leadership contest, or what motivated his departure.
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Corbyn said his posts were limited to some replies, including “a suggestion on the vote on recognising Palestine, which I supported, and inviting a doctor to speak at an event”.

Corbyn said he had not seen the other antisemitic posts on the group. “Had I seen it, of course, I would have challenged it straight away, but I actually don’t spend all my time reading social media,” he said during a visit to Derbyshire.

“I have never trawled through the whole group. I have never read all the messages on it. I have removed myself from it,” he told the Press Association. “Obviously, any antisemitic comment is wrong. Any antisemitism in any form is wrong.”

The Palestine Live group was founded in 2013 and was set up in a way that allowed administrators to add people to the group without their consent. It is understood that Corbyn believes he may have been added to the group by an acquaintance, who simultaneously added him as a Facebook friend when he was a backbench MP.

The Labour MPs Clive Lewis and Chris Williamson were members of the group, as were two former Liberal Democrat politicians, Baroness Jenny Tonge and the former MP David Ward.

Jacqueline Walker, a former Momentum steering group member, is also a member of the Facebook group. Walker has been suspended from the Labour party twice over allegations of antisemitism.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/08/labour-suspends-party-members-in-antisemitic-facebook-group

[Fernando]

Scathing article about this in the Mail on Sunday

DAN HODGES: Last week Corbyn and his anti-Semitic pals smashed the moral compass to pieces but the most terrifying thing of all? Nobody even cares

Collier’s research revealed Corbyn had engaged with the group, had been lauded by its members, and had organised meetings at the Commons for members via the site. In response, Corbyn’s office claimed he had been added to the group without his knowledge or consent.
The Labour leader said he didn't see any offensive posts while in the group, and claims he left in 2015

When it was pointed out he had posted on the site, they backtracked and claimed he had only responded to individual posts in which he’d been mentioned. Then it was pointed out he had in fact ‘favoured’ various pieces of general content. At which point Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell appeared on television to claim Corbyn had left the group as soon as its vile nature had been brought to his attention.

Unfortunately, Corbyn himself had already undermined that defence, admitting he had only left the site when he was elected Labour leader. So his office finally fell back on the line that he had not personally seen or engaged with any anti-Semitic content directly.

At this point the reaction was instantaneous and savage. An instantaneous and savage silence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-5485917/DAN-HODGES-Corbyn-anit-Semetic-pals-smashed-moral-compass.html#ixzz59RkEQp7M