Labour activist suspended over shocking anti-Semitic homophobic posts
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
A Labour activist has been suspended for posting anti-Semitic homophobic cartoons about Jewish men “enjoying anal sex” with kids.
A Labour member identified by the party as Laura Stuart was suspended over online posts.
The activist faced complaints over shocking posts on social media, some of which were made under the Twitter handle ‘GazaBoatConvoy’.
West Hendon Labour councillor Adam Langleben went public with the complaint, originally made several months ago, after the party allegedly failed to take any action.
He wrote: “There is a member of the Labour Party in the constituency where I am a councillor. She is an antisemite. I put in a complaint in July and to date no action has been taken.
“She continues to attend meetings and take part in street stalls. I believe in due process and I had hoped that my formal complaint would lead to a swift and speedy conclusion… but it has not.
“I am hoping that by sharing these images it will apply and people sharing will apply the necessary pressure for action to be taken.”
The graphics and cartoons included shocking anti-Semtic depictions of Jewish people.
One was also homophobic, featuring a stereotype of a gay Jewish man sat at a computer in his underwear, bearing a Star of David and a Pride flag.
The cartoon included messages in garbled Hebrew, referring to him as a “Jewish homo” who loves “anal sex with kids”.
His desk is decorated with a large sex toy and anal beads.
Meanwhile in blog posts the activist wrote:”There is a never-ending escalation of demands by very powerful LGBT lobby groups.
“The frequent changes in UK law is evidence of this; from legalising homosexuality, civil partnerships and changing the legal definition of marriage, through demands on the church to comply with same-sex “marriage”, to compulsory teaching of LBGT/western gender ideology in schools.
“The desire for humans to exceed the limits is unceasing, which is why our Creator put limits on our behaviour. Who knows humans better than the One who Created us?”
Within hours of his posts, the Labour Party confirmed that the member would be suspended – despite failing to deal with the complaint adequately in several months before Mr Langleben went public.
A spokesperson said: “Laura Stuart has been suspended from Labour Party pending an investigation.”
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The Jewish Chronicle reports that a second email from the Labour Party attempted to retract the identification of Ms Stuart and amend the statement.
It said: “A Labour Party member has been suspended from Labour Party pending an investigation into this case. The Labour Party is committed to challenging and campaigning against antisemitism in all its forms.”
Mr Langleben added: “I am hearing multiple reports from the media that the member I posted about last night has been suspended from the Labour Party. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen.”
However, he received a number of abusive anti-Semitic posts targeting him after going public with the report.
The alleged failings within the party come less than 18 months on from a report into anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
In the 2016 report Baroness Chakrabarti, now the Shadow Attorney General, recommended that the Labour Party enforce a strict ‘zero tolerance’ policy for anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia and sexism.
The code of conduct states: “Any behaviour or use of language which targets or intimidates members of ethnic or religious communities, or incites racism, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, or undermines Labour’s ability to campaign against any form of racism, is unacceptable conduct within the Labour Party.”
It’s not the first time the party has been accused of failing to take action.
Labour was forced to suspend Member of Parliament Jared O’Mara last month.
The MP was suspended over online posts made under his name.
The comments dated from 2002 to 2004, when O’Mara was a local Labour candidate and in his early 20s.
In posts on music forums a user known as ‘gingerjared’ referred to gay people as “fudge packers” and “poofters”, also alluding to anal sex as “driving up the Marmite motorway”.
Labour Party officials initially defended O’Mara, and sources close to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that it was likely no action would be taken against him.
The MP was eventually suspended two days later, after a history of racist comments and alleged harassment of women also came to light.
Speaking to PinkNews last month, Lib Dem leader Vince Cable accused Labour of being too slow to act over O’Mara.
He said: “They finished up in the right place. After everything that’s been said, he had to lose the whip. It took time to get there.
“Every party has a crisis from time to time, and we have to look at the individual leading figures who get these issues wrong, whether it’s about sexuality or gender issues or race or whatever, and the key lesson from the past is to deal with it quickly.
“Once the facts are clear, you have to deal with it quickly and decisively, otherwise the things runs on and the wider public are left in some doubt as to what the commitment of the party is.
“They have got to the right place, but it did take quite a while.”
