Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire for speaking at an event organized by the Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend).
He addressed the Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend) event on Wednesday – but last night, refused to attend a formal dinner with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mend was this week accused of being ‘Islamists masquerading as civil libertarians’ by right-wingers.
A report by the neo-conservative Henry Jackson Society think-tank labeled the organization as an ‘extremist-linked group’ that has hosted ‘illiberal, intolerant and extremist Islamist speakers’.
Jeremy Corbyn has been criticized by conservatives as well as some mainstream media outlets for supporting the Muslim organization and snubbing the Israeli Prime Minister.
Mend arranged the Commons event to mark the start of Islamophobia Awareness Month.
Mr. Corbyn stated while speaking at the event: ‘Our future lies in mutual respect between all communities.’
Referring to the terror attack which occurred in the summer outside Finsbury Park Mosque in his Islington constituency, the Labour leader added: ‘An attack on any one of us is an attack on all of us.’
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Jeremy Corbyn has been criticized by conservatives as well as some mainstream media outlets for supporting the Muslim organization and snubbing the Israeli Prime Minister.
Jennifer Gerber, of Labour Friends of Israel, said it was ‘utterly unacceptable’ for the Labour politician to attend an event organized by a group that has repeatedly peddled myths about the ‘Israeli lobby’.
The Labour Party has been accused of anti-Semitism in the past by detractors and political rivals.
Mend has rejected all allegations of anti-Semitism and homophobia. It stated that the think-tank report ‘equates political dissent with extremism’.
Mr. Corbyn, a supporter of the Palestinian cause, has faced repeated questions about his association with IRA figures.
Mend has rejected all allegations of anti-Semitism and homophobia. It stated that the think-tank report ‘equates political dissent with extremism’. A statement said it ‘operates in the mainstream of British society’ and that many of the claims in the report are ‘based on innuendo and false assertions’.
A spokesman for Mr. Corbyn said the Labour leader was ‘pleased to attend an event to mark the start of Islamophobia Awareness Month’.