Board of Deputies of British Jews – 2020 Statement on Rebecca Long-Bailey

Below is the text of the statement issued by the Board of Deputies of British Jews following the dismissal of Rebecca Long-Bailey on 25 June 2020 for sharing an anti-semitic post.

I would like to thank Keir Starmer for backing his words with actions on antisemitism. After Rebecca Long-Bailey shared a conspiracy theory, we and others gave her the opportunity to retract and apologise. To our surprise and dismay, her response was pathetic. Her position as Shadow Education Secretary was therefore untenable. There can be no space for this sort of action in any party and it is right that after so many challenging years Labour is now making this clear under its new leader.