Labour leader Corbyn slights Herzog after not responding to Israel invitation
Wes Streeting, a Labour MP, said "It should be a matter of common courtesy to reply to a letter from the leader of one of our sister parties, particularly on an issue as important as antisemitism."
By ROSIE PERPERUpdated: JUNE 23, 2016 20:12Britain's leader of the opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn(photo credit: REUTERS)
British Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn has once again found himself in the midst of controversy concerning Israel after not responding to an invitation by Israeli Labor leader Issac Herzog to visit Israel, the Guardian reported Sunday.Last month, Herzog invited Corbyn to assemble a delegation of British Labour members to visit Yad Vashem, saying he was “appalled and outraged by the recent instances of anti-Semitism by senior Labour party officials in the United Kingdom”.Herzog's letter to Corbyn came after former British Labour MP Ken Livingstone was suspended from the party in April for his remarks about Hitler and Zionism. Since then, several other senior members of the party have been suspended for contentious comments about Jews and Israel.According to members of the Israeli Labor party, a response from Corbyn was never issued or received in London or Israel.British Labour MPs expressed disappointment in the party leader's handling of the affair, particularly after the party has been fraught with allegations of anti-Semitism. Labour MPs added that Corbyn's lack of response is further evidence of the party leadership’s slow and inadequate response to crises.Wes Streeting, one of several MPs who held a private meeting with Corbyn last week to discuss rising anti-Semitism within the party, said: “It should be a matter of common courtesy to reply to a letter from the leader of one of our sister parties, particularly on an issue as important as tackling antisemitism. But this is fairly typical of the flat-footed and lackadaisical attitude that we’ve seen from the outset. It is simply unacceptable.”