Labour anti-Semitism Inquiry chair Shami Chakrabarti speaks on Labour's anti-Semitism inquiry findings, London, June 2016. Jonathan Brady/Press Association. All rights reserved.At the end of last week Jackie Walker, who was Vice Chair of Momentum’s Steering Committee, was suspended from the Labour Party. Although no reasons were given there is little doubt that it was as a result of allegations of anti-Semitism made by the Jewish Labour Movement [JLM].
The Jackie Walker affair began in May of this year when a private Facebook discussion between Jackie and a friend of hers was broken into by the Israeli Advocacy Movement. The IAM, which describes its purpose as to ‘counter the increasing hostility Israel suffers at the hands of the British public’, has no visible means of support. It is likely that its operations, including two staff, are funded as part of the campaign against Boycott Divestment and Sanctions run by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs [MOSA]. MoSA’s remit includes co-ordinating and organising anti-BDS activities globally. It has a $50m budget.
Jackie was suspended in May and after an outcry was quickly reinstated about three weeks later. This was a decision that the Zionist movement and the JLM have never accepted.
