Joshua Leifer: The Tragedy of Jeremy Corbyn

"Five years ago, Jeremy Corbyn brought Palestine solidarity politics into the heart of the largest left-wing party in Europe. And [his leadership has] ended with criticisms of the occupation being untenable in British politics." How did this happen?

The unlikely election of Jeremy Corbyn to lead the Labour Party in 2015 appeared to signal the renewed political viability of both socialism and Palestine solidarity. But under Corbyn's leadership, Labour was consumed by a series of anti-semitism scandals, with disastrous results. Was the charge of anti-semitism simply a weapon in Labour's long-running factional conflict, or is the British left irredeemably anti-semitic? What can Americans learn from Corbyn's mistakes?

Producer Max Freedman talks to Joshua Leifer, assistant editor at Jewish Currents and author of "The Tragedy of Jeremy Corbyn."

CREDITS

Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Asaf Calderon, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson. Original music by Nat Rosenzweig. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Joshua Leifer is an editor, writer, and translator. He is currently an assistant editor at Jewish Currents. He was previously an associate editor at Dissent, and before that, at +972 Magazine. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Nation, n+1, Jacobin, Haaretz, and elsewhere. 

REFERENCES

• Joshua Leifer, “The Tragedy of Jeremy Corbyn” (Jewish Currents, November 27, 2020)
• Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire, Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour Under Corbyn (2020)
• J.J. Goldberg, Jewish Power: Inside the American Jewish Establishment (1996)
• Nathan Thrall, “How the Battle Over Israel and Anti-Semitism Is Fracturing American Politics” (The New York Times Magazine, March 28, 2019)
• Mari Cohen, “Jewish Federations Urge Biden to Promote Controversial Definition of Antisemitism” (Jewish Currents, December 10, 2020)