(JTA) — London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a European capital city, said he will not support Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party leadership election.
Corbyn, who has called Hezbollah and Hamas “friends,” has been accused of fostering an atmosphere of anti-Semitism in the party.
Khan, a Labour member, did not mention the anti-Semitism in an op-ed published Saturday in The Guardian newspaper. But he did say in the London-based daily that if Corbyn remained party leader, Labour would be unlikely to win the next general election. He also said Corbyn “has already proved that he is unable to organize an effective team, and has failed to win the trust and respect of the British people.”
In a June op-ed in The Jerusalem Post, Kahn pledged to root out anti-Semitism in his city and in Labour.
Khan threw his support behind Owen Smith, who has been a Parliament member since 2010, and prior to that worked as a radio and television producer for the BBC. He is Corbyn’s only challenger for the party leadership.
Some 500,000 ballots for the leadership race will be sent out to party members on Monday; the results will be announced next month. Corbyn reportedly remains the favorite with rank-and-file members and is likely to retain the leadership post, according to reports.
The Jewish Labour Movement nominated Smith to lead the party with 92 percent of its members supporting him and 4 percent backing Corbyn.
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