THE Edinburgh Labour activist at the centre of a row over anti-Semitism is now to face disciplinary action from both the party and his trade union the GMB.
The National revealed that Pete Gregson was facing Labour Party discipline for alleged anti-Semitism because he started a petition against the party’s adoption the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
READ MORE: Labour Party members at centre of police anti-Semitism investigation
In the latest instalment of the row over anti-Semitism which has bedevilled Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party for several months, it is clear that the GMB union leadership is taking action because Gregson has been an outspoken critic of Israel and the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.
Gregson cannot speak directly to the press about the GMB action against him for fear of being accused of bringing the union into disrepute, but friends and colleagues showed us the union correspondence.
They also said that Gregson is in no way anti-Semitic: “He has many Jewish friends,” said one.
Another said: “Pete feels very strongly that the Palestinian people are being oppressed and persecuted on a daily basis and that Israel is racist in its persecution.
“He wants to be free to challenge Israeli racism, and does not believe that the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is right for Labour or the Union.”
Scottish secretary of the GMB Gary Smith wrote to Gregson saying he would face disciplinary action for an alleged breach of the union’s rules in that Gregson had promoted anti-Semitic views, and his words and actions were contrary to GMB policy adopting the IHRA definition of anti-semitism.
Gregson replied: “I note under Rule 5 it says membership may be cancelled ... if the member encourages or takes part in the activities of any organisation or group whose policies or aims are racist or promote racist beliefs …”
“It is my view that the GMB leadership itself, by its unquestioning support for the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism at Labour’s NEC, who is the agency that is allowing racism to flourish – in this case the ongoing discrimination against and persecution of – the Palestinian people.”
In his earlier blog that attracted the ire of Labour leaders, Gregson wrote: “Many Israeli laws explicitly or implicitly discriminate on the basis or creed or race, in effect privileging Jewish citizens and disadvantaging non-Jewish, and particularly Arab, citizens of the state.
“These include the Law of Return, laws making military conscription mandatory for certain religions only, the Ban on Family Unification, and many laws regarding security, land and planning, citizenship, political representation in the Knesset, education and culture.
“The Adalah database of 50 discriminatory laws in Israel details them all. And in July the Jewish nation law defined Israel as the national home of Jewish people and downgraded Arabic from an official language, leaving Hebrew as the sole national language.
“If the Jewish right to self-determination means riding roughshod over the rights of others, then for the Labour Party to ignore this social injustice would be for it to go against one of its founding planks. If Arabs are second-class citizens, and not equal with Jews before the law, then clearly Israel is a racist state.”
The National understands that Gregson is the only Scottish GMB member facing disciplinary action for alleged anti-Semitism.
A spokesperson for the GMB said: “We take any allegations about anti-Semitism very seriously.
“The issues of anti-Semitism can affect political parties, trade unions and any other organisation. We in the GMB have a zero tolerance approach to it.
“All we can say about individual cases is that we have one which is subject to a disciplinary investigation under the rules of the union.”
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