Investigate the Forde and Al Jazeera findings, reinstate Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi!

• Labour must investigate the Al Jazeera and Forde Report findings

• Reinstate Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi and all members suspended or expelled under the flawed system!

The suspension of JVL’s media officer Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi days before the start of the party conference, where she was due to take her seat as a newly elected member of the National Executive Committee, is one more example of multiple factional abuses highlighted by the Forde Report and Al Jazeera’s three part documentary series The Labour Files.

Her suspension, charged with an alleged rule breach in September 2021, is opposed by a range of organisations who backed her candidacy for the NEC on the #Grassroots5 slate, and by prominent individuals including former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein, former Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short and John McDonnell MP, former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. See Statements of Support below this text.

At a JVL press briefing outside party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, McDonnell said the Al Jazeera allegations were shocking and needed to be examined by the party. “We can’t move on until we can be transparent about what really went on,” he said. McDonnell is on record, in an open letter to Keir Starmer and David Evans, calling out the “brutality” of the way in which the disciplinary process has been implemented, causing immense distress to many JVL members. One of those he mentions is Diana Neslen, an 82 year old orthodox Jewish woman investigated on three separate occasions because of her anti-Zionist views.

We support calls from McDonnell, at the briefing on Tuesday and in his earlier letter, that:

* Allegations of racist and factional abuses in Forde and the Labour Files films must be investigated and appropriate disciplinary or legal action taken

* Members who believe they have been disciplined unjustly must have the right to have sanctions against them lifted and their cases reviewed under a reformed, non-factional process.

Hierarchy of racism and discrimination

The Al Jazeera films, based on a huge cache of leaked material, show senior Labour officials using party procedures to attack Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and silence debate about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians; to exclude and expel members on the left; to present a tough image on antisemitism while ignoring other forms of discrimination; and to create a hierarchy of racism that discriminates against Black, Asian and Muslim members.

Andrew Feinstein, a Jewish anti-racist activist from South Africa who appears in one of the films, is himself under investigation by the party. He said he was in effect being asked whether “to choose anti-racism as defined by my constituency MP Keir Starmer or (to) continue to live my principles and values as taught to me by Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.”

Feinstein said it was “frankly repulsive” that life-long anti-racist Jewish members of the party have been accused of antisemitism as a means to attack the left.

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi and JVL co-chair Jenny Manson also appear in the films, explaining the abuse they and other left-wing Jews critical of Israel have suffered.

STATEMENTS of support for Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi

From Rt Hon Clare Short

I appeal to all concerned with Naomi’s suspension to stop and think again.  An organisation that suspends from membership those who win elections because the leadership does not like them, is not a democratic organisation.

I spent 10 years as a member of the NEC helping to put in place the reforms that contributed to the 1997 victory.  We would not have dreamt of acting in this way.  If no dissent is allowed, there will be no consideration of alternative ideas and no creativity.  And if those who are concerned for the continuing breaches of international law by Israel, and the infliction of great cruelty on the Palestinian people, have no place in the Labour Party, then it cannot claim to be a supporter of a rules based international order or for respect for human rights for all people.

Clare Short was Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 -2010. She was a member of the National Executive Committee from 1987-97. She held various front bench roles in Opposition and was Secretary of State for International Development and a member of the Cabinet from 1997 until she resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war.

From supporting organisations

Campaign for Labour Party Democracy opposes the suspension of Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi.

Campaign for Socialism calls for the immediate re-instatement of Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. We stand with the broad coalition of Labour Party campaigning organisations who supported Naomi in the CLP section for the NEC election. Naomi represents an important voice for left wing Jews and those ready to fight for internal democracy and socialist ideas in the Labour Party.

As the Forde report states, there are concerns about the disciplinary system being used as a factional weapon. This needs to end and Naomi needs to be allowed to take the position members elected her to on the NEC.

Labour Black Socialists note with consternation that Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Media Officer and Executive Committee member of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), and the only Jewish person directly elected to the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in its recent elections for Constituency Labour Party (CLP) representatives – has been suspended from the Labour Party with immediate effect (as of 22nd September 2022).

Read the full LBS press release here.

Labour Briefing Co-op deplores the suspension of newly elected NEC member Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. This is clearly intended to frustrate the democratic decision of members and draw attention away from the shocking contents of Al Jazeera’s The Labour Files which contains a wealth of information on the outrageous persecution of Jewish socialists within the party.

The Labour Representation Committee deplores the administrative suspension of recently elected NEC member Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. This is an attack on the democratic rights of all Labour Party members.

Labour Women Leading was very pleased to support Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi in the NEC elections, and she won through the Party’s democratic processes.  It is deeply concerning that she has been unable to take up her role and that she had her conference pass revoked. The Forde Report has highlighted the way in which factional behaviours have prevented the Party from demonstrating the very values our members hold dear, including shocking examples of sexism as well as racism.  We call for Naomi to be able to take up her place on the NEC, in line with the democratic decision of Party members.

North England Labour Left stands in solidarity with democratically elected NEC member, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi in her rightful appeal against her erroneous administrative suspension. The Labour party continues, as demonstrated through the qualitative data published within the Forde Report, its strategic attacks on Left-wing, Jewish members much to the detriment of its credibility and good standing with the public.

Red Labour calls for the immediate reinstatement of Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi. We were proud to support Naomi, the only Jewish candidate for the CLP NEC section and we were ecstatic when she won.

Naomi’s victory, we felt was a clear message that the members in the party wanted a strong socialist to represent them on the NEC. The suspension of Naomi was therefore a calculated move by the leadership to attack the left of the party and more proof if any was needed of the leadership’s bias against left wing Jewish comrades.

The Labour Party cannot call itself an anti racist party or even a party of equality if Left Wing, Jewish comrades like Naomi are 6.3x more likely to be investigated by the Labour Party.

The Labour Party wants to be the party of government and will need a wide array of communities to support it in order to get elected. Suspending comrades like Naomi sends a message to minoritized voters that the Labour Party is not a safe space for these voters.

Welsh Labour Grassroots is disturbed to learn of the suspension of Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi the only Jewish person recently elected to Labour’s NEC by constituency party members. Surprisingly the suspension relates to a meeting she attended over a year ago. We would urge that this matter be processed at the earliest opportunity so that Naomi can fulfil her democratic mandate.