On 16 November, FRFI supporters attended a Your Party assembly in Newcastle where Corbyn spoke. We asked him:
‘In 1991, President George Bush forced a debate in the United Nations General Assembly over its 1975 declaration that Zionism is racism. He said ‘To equate Zionism with racism is to reject Israel itself, a member of good standing of the United Nations. This body cannot claim to seek peace and at the same time challenge Israel’s right to exist.’ Would Jeremy please say whether he, like the UN once did, equates Zionism with racism and therefore opposes Israel’s right to exist given its establishment as a racist, terrorist and genocidal entity?’
Helped by the chair who denounced the RCG and read out a pre-prepared statement, Corbyn tried to avoid an answer, only after audience pressure finally saying:
‘I support the Palestinian people, I recognise the Zionist project of the Greater Israel and the danger that is to the Palestinian people. We’re in solidarity with the Palestinian people, as the chair explained, that means solidarity with the people to decide their own future.’
His absolute refusal to give a direct answer to a direct question gives the lie to any suggestion that he supports national liberation for the Palestinian people.
