Launch Jewish Voice for Labour was inaugurated in July 2017, and
Jenny Manson, an activist in
Jews for Justice for Palestinians and former Labour councillor, was elected chair. The organisation was officially launched on 24 September 2017, on the second day of the
Labour Party Conference in
Brighton, with over 300 people in attendance according to JVL. JVL described itself as a "network for Jewish members of the Labour Party" that "stand for rights and justice for Jewish people everywhere and against wrongs and injustice to Palestinians and other oppressed people anywhere". The organisation's founding statement advocated "making the Labour Party an open, democratic and inclusive party, encouraging all ethnic groups and cultures to join and participate freely", and to support a commitment "to strengthen the party in its opposition to all forms of racism, including antisemitism". and "to oppose attempts to widen the definition of antisemitism beyond its meaning of hostility towards, or discrimination against, Jews as Jews". Manson said the organisation is not anti-Zionist, and stated that it was "an alternative voice for Jewish members of Labour" who do not support what she described as the "profoundly
Zionist orientation" of the
Jewish Labour Movement (JLM). JVL's information officer
Jonathan Rosenhead said he shared the latter opinion. JVL's media officer Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi wrote that one of JVL's roles is "to clarify the distinction between Jew, Israeli and Zionist so that people are less likely to fall into antisemitic generalisation when talking about Israel's role in Palestine", to offer "an alternative to the JLM's pro-Israel agenda", and that the JLM does not have "the right to speak as the Jewish Labour Movement on behalf of all Jews in the Labour party". The organisation's motto is "Always with the oppressed; never with the oppressor", which paraphrases a quote by
Marek Edelman, the last surviving commander of the
Warsaw Uprising. whom they described as being a victim of a "vituperative campaign... based on this sliver of quasi-fact", deemed accusations of antisemitism against
Moshé Machover as "ill founded", opposed and condemned the expulsion of
Marc Wadsworth, who they said was being "punished in advance of investigation and hearing of the case", welcomed the lifting of
Derby North MP
Chris Williamson's suspension, and called the
National Executive Committee's ruling not to endorse him as a Labour candidate for the
2019 United Kingdom general election a "dangerous development for everyone who stands for justice for Palestinians and for democracy and freedom of expression in Britain, including within Labour".
2017 At the
2017 Labour Party Conference, JVL supported
Hastings and Rye constituency Labour Party's proposal to change the Labour Party Rule Book to add a clause that makes it clear that antisemitism will not be tolerated, The organisation opposed the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's
working definition of antisemitism being formally adopted by the Labour Party for disciplinary purposes at the party conference held in September, which it sees as "attempts to widen the definition of antisemitism beyond its meaning of hostility towards, or discrimination against, Jews as Jews". In March, JVL organised a smaller counter-demonstration, attended by around 30 people according to
The Independent, at a protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party, held in
Parliament Square, London. In a statement, JVL said it was appalled by an open letter, issued jointly by the
Board of Deputies of British Jews and the
Jewish Leadership Council, which said to Labour MPs that there was a "repeated institutional failure" to properly address antisemitism. The organisation responded: "They do not represent us or the great majority of Jews in the party who share Jeremy Corbyn's vision for social justice and fairness. Jeremy's consistent commitment to
anti-racism is all the more needed now." JVL added: "There is massively more antisemitism on the right of politics than on the left. Any organisation claiming to represent Jews in the Labour Party should be holding up for criticism, the senior ex adviser to the Prime Minister who recently used a national newspaper to dredge up antisemitic conspiracy theories, and the local Conservative party which issued a dogwhistle leaflet aiming to mobilise racism in their local election campaign. The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council have been silent on both. They have nothing to say either on the global rise of the far right and the toxic anti-immigrant rhetoric of the tabloid press. Jewish history surely gives us an imperative to speak out against both racism and fascism." JVL chair Jenny Manson defended Corbyn on
BBC's
Daily Politics, saying Corbyn had taken "enormously strong action" to deal with the issue of antisemitism in the Labour Party. In April, Manson appeared on
BBC Radio 4's
Today programme. Referring to a survey conducted by the
Campaign Against Antisemitism, she said: "Evidence, including very recent evidence, commissioned by a Jewish body suggests the very worst antisemitism is still on the right, on the far right and always has been." In the same month, JVL issued a statement saying they "strongly condemn the
Israeli army's violent response to the
Land Day demonstration in Gaza, killing 15 Palestinian civilians and wounding hundreds more", and called "for an unconditional end to Israel's inhuman
siege of Gaza and its brutal
occupation of the West Bank which has destroyed the lives of generations of Palestinians." In May, JVL with members of Free Speech on Israel produced the following definition of antisemitism: "Antisemitism is a form of racism: hatred, hostility, discrimination or prejudice against Jews because they are Jews. It may be manifested in violence; denial of rights; direct, indirect or institutional discrimination; prejudice-based behaviour; or verbal or written statements. Such manifestations draw on stereotypes – characteristics which all Jews are presumed to share." The Labour Party's code of conduct definition of antisemitism was adopted by the
National Executive Committee (NEC) for the purposes of disciplinary cases brought before the National Constitutional Committee. In July, JVL said that Labour's code of conduct "offers a constructive framework for moving forward in this difficult area" and encouraged "free speech on issues to do with Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians, and with Zionism." They added that "much will depend on how this code of conduct is applied in practice, particularly in disciplinary cases. We are cautiously optimistic." In the same month, JVL was one of 41 Jewish organisations in 15 countries, including six in the United Kingdom, to criticise the IHRA definition of antisemitism. In August, the organisation called for support of Labour's existing code of conduct, as well as for the NEC to resist adopting the IHRA examples of antisemitism as it fell short of providing "a clear and unambiguous statement based on attitudes to Jews as Jews, not attitudes to a country, Israel". JVL asked its members for help in delivering an "expanded programme" of antisemitism training to party members in response to what it called a "growing number of requests". In the same month, JVL complained to BBC director-general
Tony Hall and the BBC's news and current affairs director
Francesca Unsworth about what they described as the broadcaster's "lack of impartiality and inaccuracies" and biased coverage of Labour MP
Margaret Hodge's allegations of antisemitism against Corbyn. In September, JVL and Free Speech on Israel published a joint declaration on antisemitic misconduct. The JVL's guidelines on antisemitism included the view that "Jews, Israelis and Zionists are separate categories that are too frequently conflated by both supporters and critics of Israel. This conflation can be anti-Semitic. Holding all Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government is anti-Semitic. Many Jews are not Zionist." The organisation also suggested that "discussion and education, rather than a formal disciplinary approach" could be more appropriate in some cases of antisemitism. JVL also organised and hosted the premiere of the documentary film
The Political Lynching of Jackie Walker, from which 200 people were evacuated after a bomb threat. In a statement, the organisation said the film "is an incisive and chilling exposé of attempts to silence critics of Israel, in particular those who support the socialist project of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. It connects the global struggle against racism and the far right with the
Palestinian cause."
2019 In February, over 200 Jewish members and supporters of Labour signed a JVL open letter calling the party under Corbyn an "a crucial ally in the fight against bigotry and reaction", and pointed to Corbyn's consistent campaigning in support of "initiatives against antisemitism". They also welcomed Labour's support for "freedom of expression on Israel and on the rights of Palestinians". They felt that there was a "disproportionate focus on antisemitism on the left, which is abhorrent but relatively rare". The signatories included
David B. A. Epstein,
Mike Leigh,
Michael Rosen,
Avi Shlaim,
Gillian Slovo,
Annabelle Sreberny,
Walter Wolfgang,
Peter Buckman,
Erica Burman,
Keith Burstein,
Miriam David,
Michael Ellman, Nick Foster,
Susan Himmelweit,
Selma James,
Ann Jungman,
Frank Land,
Gillian McCall,
Helen Pearson, and
Ian Saville. In July, JVL criticised BBC
Panorama documentary
Is Labour Anti-Semitic?, about which the organisation said: "It is shameful that the BBC has joined in an orchestrated campaign whose principal aim is quite clearly to prevent Jeremy Corbyn becoming
prime minister of a Labour government committed to socialism." In August, JVL welcomed the investigation by the
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into the handling of antisemitism by the Labour Party. The organisation submitted a dossier in response to the EHRC's request for evidence. JVL held that, by failing to make public the initial complaints they received justifying the investigation and Labour's initial response to the EHRC, the EHRC violated the
Equality Act 2006, which requires that they specify who is being investigated and "the nature of the unlawful act" they are suspected of committing, both required by its own terms of reference. Signatories to JVL's letter included Oxford University professor
Avi Shlaim and human rights lawyer
Geoffrey Bindman. In the same month, JVL stated that "pressure was put on organisers" of the
Greenbelt Festival, which withdrew an invitation to one of its co-chairs, Leah Levane, to sit on a panel. The Festival said that it "must make it clear that Leah was not coming as a representative or spokesperson for the Jewish community in the UK". Similar venue denying campaigns were mounted against
Momentum activist
Jackie Walker,
Chris Williamson, who was suspended as MP, and
Labour Against the Witchhunt. At the
2019 Labour Party Conference, JVL organised a "Let's Talk About Palestine" event attended by 200 people at the Mercure Hotel featuring JVL's political officer Graham Bash, Israeli historian
Ilan Pappé, and former Palestinian
Knesset member
Haneen Zoabi. In October, JVL commended the definition of antisemitism issued by the
Board of Deputies of British Jews and the
Community Security Trust, which is that "an antisemitic incident is any malicious act aimed at Jewish people, organisations or property, where there is evidence that the incident has antisemitic motivation or content, or that the victim was targeted because they are (or are believed to be) Jewish." In a December letter to the BBC's director-general
Tony Hall and director of news and current affairs
Francesca Unsworth, JVL said: "In the closing stages of an acrimonious election campaign, the BBC's coverage of anti-semitism charges against the Labour Party has been both unbalanced and uncritical."
2020 In a January public letter to the candidates ahead of the
2020 Labour Party leadership election, JVL expressed concerns over the impact of the
Board of Deputies of British Jews' 10-point pledge "to tackle the anti-semitism crisis" on Labour's independence and ability to show solidarity with Palestine. JVL expressed fears that the pledges would silence any
criticism of Israel and reverse steps made under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership towards a progressive foreign policy. In February, the Board of Deputies of British Jews was accused of defending the occupation of Palestine after it condemned the
United Nations for listing companies linked to
illegal Israeli settlements. JVL also argued that the Board of Deputies of British Jews "will do anything it possibly can to divert attention from the reality of the occupation." In February, JVL accused
Campaign Against Antisemitism of disproportionately targeting Labour over other political parties. In April, JVL said in a joint statement with the
Labour Representation Committee and Red Labour that
Keir Starmer being elected Labour leader is "a worrying outcome" for those inspired by Corbyn's vision as there are indications that Starmer's intention is "to marginalise, if not drive out, the left". Two days later, JVL said it hopes Starmer would "extend the same courtesy to Jews like us: active party members who take a different political view". The following week, JVL released a joint statement with Red Labour and the Labour Representation Committee based on the message of a unified grassroots coalition called "Don't Leave, Organise". and that "any genuine coalition of the left should include both traditional established organisations and emerging new groupings". In July, JVL supported protests against further expansion of the
Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including Israel's plans to illegally annexe land in the
West Bank. In the same month, the Labour Party promised to pay around £500,000 in damages from subscription payments of party members to former senior staffers who claimed defamation following a BBC
Panorama investigation into allegations of antisemitism within Labour. JVL said the Labour Party's decision to make the payments despite receiving legal advice that it would win the case was "deeply disappointing". In August, in response to
David Evans, the
general secretary of the Labour Party, ordering Labour branches and the
Constituency Labour Party not to discuss investigations into antisemitism, a related libel settlement and the adoption of the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's
working definition of antisemitism, JVL said "there is nothing illegitimate" in members seeking to debate the differing views that are widespread at all levels of the party, and called Evans "to withdraw this draconian attempt to silence the membership by forbidding legitimate and necessary debate on important matters of concern to us all".
2025: Jewish Voice for Liberation In late 2025, the organisation changed its name to Jewish Voice for Liberation. , the revised website describes the organisation as "a Jewish-led organisation for members of the labour, trade union, socialist and progressive movements. We are internationalist, anti-Zionist and anti-racist". ==See also==