Former leader of the UK’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, courted controversy on Tuesday (14th November) after refusing to call Hamas a terror organisation during an interview with Piers Morgan.
Despite being asked by the journalist several times, the ex-Labour Party politician repeatedly dodged the question. It must be mentioned that Jeremy Corbyn was ousted from the party in 2020 over a row on antisemitism.
However, his tryst with anti-semitism and endorsement of radical terrorist organisations is not a new phenomenon. In 2009, Jeremy Corbyn invited terrorists belonging to the radical Islamic outfits, Hezbollah and Hamas, to the UK Parliament.
קורביין תמיד היה מסוכן. לצערי אני חולק איתו את אותה קבוצה ותמיד ידעתי מה הוא חושב על יהודים, ואפילו צעקתי לו את זה פעם אחת כשהגורל הפגיש ביננו לכמה שניות כשהוא בא א לה בן גביר למשחק. אז אני לא שוכח. פה הוא קורא לחמאס וחיזבאללה "חברים" וכל פעם שהוא מתלכלך עלינו הוא יקבל אותו… https://t.co/tynKpivWD7 pic.twitter.com/lcGEEiBK1A
— Guy Uoliel (@jewuner) October 29, 2023
During his speech on that occasion in London, he was heard saying, “Tomorrow evening it will be my pleasure and my honour to host an event in Parliament where our friends from Hezbollah will be speaking. I’ve also invited friends from Hamas to come and speak as well…”
“The idea that an organisation that is dedicated towards the good of the Palestinian people and bringing about long-term peace and social justice and political justice in the whole region should be labelled as a terrorist organisation by the British government is really a big, big historical mistake,” he had emphasised.
Jeremy Corbyn was aware of the terror antecedents of Hamas and Hezbollah
The former UK Labour Party leader did not have any qualms before calling the terrorists ‘friends’ and even invited them to the Parliament. Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Islamic terror outfit, had carried out a deadly attack on Israel just 3 years ago in 2006, which resulted in a 34-day war.
As such, Jeremy Corbyn was well aware of the terror antecedents of Hezbollah when he claimed that it was dedicated to the cause of the Palestinian people. Similarly, Hamas has been designated as a terror organisation by the United States since 1997.
It has been governing the Gaza Strip since 2006 and has carried out several rocket and suicide bombing attacks on Israel. Jeremy Corbyn chose to ignore all of it and hail the terrorists as ‘friends.’
Jeremy Corbyn defended ‘friends’ remark, cited token apology under pressure
In a TV interview with British media ‘Channel 4’ in July 2015, Jeremy Corbyn attempted to contextualise and rationalise his choice to label Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists as ‘friends.’
“I’m saying that people I talk to, I use it in a collective way, saying our friends are prepared to talk…I welcomed our friends from Hezbollah to have a discussion and a debate, and I said I wanted Hamas to be part of that debate. I have met Hamas in Lebanon and I’ve met Hezbollah in this country and Lebanon,” he was heard defending his 2009 remarks shamelessly.
He later tried to do ‘damage control’ and claimed that he did not agree with Hamas and Hezbollah. “What it means is that I think to bring about a peace process, you have to talk to people with whom you may profoundly disagree,” he had claimed then.
The former Labour Party leader had a sudden change of heart in 2016. During his testimony before the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee on rising anti-Semitism in the UK, he issued a token apology for his remarks made 7 years earlier.
“No. It was inclusive language I used which with hindsight I would rather not have used. I regret using those words, of course,” he claimed after coming under fire from all corners over the mainstreaming of anti-semitism within the Labour Party.
When Hamas returned the favour
Jeremy Corbyn happens to be one of the few leaders in Europe who have been endorsed by the likes of Islamic terrorists. 10 years after the former Labour Party leader called Hamas ‘friends’, they returned the favour in May 2019.
“We have received with great respect and appreciation the solidarity message sent by the British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to the participants in the mass rally,” Hamas issued a statement.
“We also salute Mr Jeremy Corbyn for his principled position in rejecting the so-called Trump plan for the Middle East,” the Gaza-based terrorists added.
As such, it makes perfect sense why the former Labour Party leader refused to dub Hamas as terror organisation during his interview with Piers Morgan.
