Jeremy Corbyn
Old videos of controversial Corbyn comments emerge
Video from 2010 shows the Labour leader, then a backbench MP, comparing destruction in Gaza to Nazi bombardment of Stalingrad and Leningrad during World War WII; in 2012 video from Iranian TV, he says Hamas terrorists are his 'brothers.'
Videos from six and eight years ago, which only came to light this week, show Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn
calling Hamas terrorists his "brothers" and comparing between the destruction in Gaza to that in Stalingrad and Leningrad during World War WII—essentially comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.
During the battles for the two Russian cities in World War II, the Nazis intentionally bombarded innocent civilians, killing more than a million people and wounding a further 2 million people in Leningrad and killing or wounding 2 million in Stalingrad.
The videos, revealed by the British Times and other UK media over the past two days, have led to calls to oust Corbyn from the Labour leadership due to his extreme anti-Israeli positions, with Jewish Labour MPs calling on him to resign amid accusations of anti-Semitism in the party.
Corbyn, a serious contender for the British premiership, is seen in one of the videos that recently emerged speaking at a rally outside the Israeli Embassy in London in 2010.
Corbyn in anti-Israel rally in 2010
"I was in Gaza three months ago. I saw the mortar shell that had gone through the school buildings, the destroyed UN establishments, the burned out schools, the ruined homes, the destroyed lives, the imprisoned people, the psychological damage to a whole generation, who've been imprisoned for as long as the siege of Leningrad and Stalingrad took place," Corbyn, at the time a backbench MP, told the crowd.
"This is a war crime that has been undertaken, but this time on live television," he added.
The same year, Corbyn hosted an event at the British Parliament for Gaza on International Holocaust Remembrance Day under the headline "Never Again for Anyone – Auschwitz to Gaza."
Some of the speakers at the event accused Israel of using the Holocaust for its own political need, while leaflets were handed out claiming Israel is carrying out genocide.
Furthermore, according to British media, Corbyn also signed a petition calling to change the name of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day to "Genocide Memorial Day – Never Again For Anyone," a general name that ignores the Jewish people.
Another video from 2012 is of an interview Corbyn gave to Iran's Press TV in a program titled "Remember Palestine," where he described over 1,000 Hamas terrorists released by Israel in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap in 2011 as "brothers."
On the same show, Corbyn also questioned if there was a "serious case" against the released terrorists, who have been convicted of the murder of almost 600 Israelis.
Corbyn's spokesman said the Labour leader had already apologized for some of his past comments, noting that one of the speakers at the 2010 event was a Jewish Auschwitz survivor.
Corbyn himself apologized earlier this week for the "concerns and anxiety caused" by the 2010 event, but many in his party refuse to accept his apology.
Three British Jewish newspapers published a joint article recently warning there would be an "existential threat to Jewish life" in the UK if the opposition Labour Party, led by Corbyn, won power from the ruling Conservative Party. British Jewish activists also warned a "stampede" of British Jews would immigrate to Israel if Corbyn was elected prime minister.
