Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public attack on Jeremy Corbyn, senior Labour MPs have rushed to Corbyn’s aid, voicing their support on Twitter.
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor and a close ally of the Labour leader, John McDonnell, accused the Israeli prime minister of joining a "media feeding frenzy" and declared: "Enough is enough."
Jeremy Corbyn has devoted his life to promoting justice & peace &,yes,at times that means meeting people who haven’t shared those ideals because only dialogue can lead to peace.Having a politician like Netanyahu join the media feeding frenzy is a line in the sand.Enough is enough
— John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) August 13, 2018
Corbyn has been targeted by Netanyahu in a tweet following allegations that the British politician laid a wreath at the funeral for a Palestinian man involved in the 1972 Munich kidnapping.
The Labour leader has denied the accusation saying that Mr. Netanyahu's claims about his "actions... are false" and that he was instead attending a memorial for victims of the bombing of Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters by Israel in 1985.
Another senior Labour MP and former Shadow Cabinet figure, Chris Williamson, went on the offensive, tweeting that Netanyahu’s Israeli is a “rightwing apartheid regime”.
Benjamin Netanyahu leads a brutal rightwing apartheid regime. He has no moral authority whatsoever to criticise anyone, let alone a man of peace.
— Chris Williamson MP #JC9, yes 9 (@DerbyChrisW) August 13, 2018
Remember Nelson Mandela gave his unequivocal support to the Palestinians' struggle as this video clearly showshttps://t.co/1OmR9tnZVr
Netanyahu, who’s currently facing charges of corruption in Israel, crossed a “line in the sand” according to McDonnell by interfering in the affairs of British Labour party leading to the heavy only reaction.
Labour has been embroiled in an ongoing debate on the definition of anti-Semitism. Some argue that a new draft definition being proposed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) hampers people’s ability to criticize Israel.
Throughout the dispute, pro-Israeli media has consistently targeted Corbyn, labeling the Labour leader as an “existential threat to Jewish life”.
But Netanyahu’s attempt to apply further pressure on the Labour leader appears to have backfired with social media quick to highlight several discrepancies in Netanyahu’s comments.
One person on Twitter highlighted Netanyahu’s history of defending Israeli terrorists:
On July 22nd, 1946 the Zionist terrorist organisation Irgun bombed the King David Hotel, the British HQ in Jerusalem. It killed over 90 people, many British. @netanyahu gave a speech in celebration of this terrorist attack at an event marking the 60th anniversary of it.
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) August 14, 2018
Another questioned the entire anti-Semitism debate as a “narrative” to silence criticism of Israel:
Benjamin @netanyahu is now openly intervening in British politics, joining the attempt to topple @jeremycorbyn. Can anyone now doubt the whole "antisemitism" narrative is part of an orchestrated campaign to silence criticism of Israel?
— Kit Newton 🎗️ 🇵🇸 (@kitnewtonium) August 13, 2018