Prospect of Corbyn government branded 'horrific' for Jews
The prospect of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party rising to power in Britain has been branded 'horrific' by a senior Israeli government minister.
Michael Oren, a deputy to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he has grave concerns over the prospect of a hard-left Labour government in the UK following the party's long-running anti-Semitism scandal.
He warned a Corbyn-led administration could have dire consequences for Israeli-British relations, and said British Jews had told him they were 'disturbed' about such a prospect.
Israeli officials are worried about the rise of anti-Semitism in Britain, with concerns heightened by what they perceive to be Labour's failure to deal with anti-Jewish views from party members under Mr Corbyn.
The country has seen a rise in hate crimes against Jews over the past 12 months, with children as young as 11 being physically attacked, racist graffiti daubed on homes and synagogues and MPs targeted with anti-Semitic abuse after speaking out on the issue.
Speaking to the Express & Star at Israel's parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem, Mr Oren described the UK Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn as 'horrific'.
"It's scandalous," he said. "I dread to think what will happen should he win and what that would do for Israel-British relations.
"We cherish our relationship with Great Britain in so many different ways, but we have lost the information war.
"The Jews of Great Britain are British citizens. They salute a flag that has not one but three crosses on it. They say God Save the Queen.
"They are not citizens of this country [Israel], they are not serving in our army. They should not in any way be held responsible for decisions made by me and my government, or the actions of our army.
"But the same people who are saying 'we're not anti-Semitic, we're just anti-Zionist' but hold British Jews to task for what the Israeli government do, are proving that they are just belying their own cause.
"They are, in fact, anti-Semitic."
Citing figures suggesting that 40 per cent of Britain's 270,000 Jews are considering leaving the UK if Mr Corbyn wins the next General Election, he added: "I talk to many friends who are very disturbed about the prospect of a Labour government under Corbyn."
The Labour party has been contacted for a comment.