Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Jewish Voice for Labour ponders a name change
Many are no longer in the party, others excoriate the new Labour government’s capitalist and discriminatory policies, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
JVL members and supporters protest outside the BBC's offices in London [Steve Eason / Creative Commons]

AT A RECENT pro-Palestine demonstration in Manchester — where a rally and march has been a weekly event since October 7 — the two Jewish Voice for Labour banners fluttering in the breeze had the words “for Labour” crossed out in thick black marker.

The affiliation with a party its members were once proud of, after former leader Jeremy Corbyn rebuilt its membership and mandate to reflect a genuine socialist manifesto, is now a source of embarrassment and even anger.

Intense discussions have been ongoing as to whether to change the name altogether, while somehow retaining the acronym. Jewish Voice for Liberation was one suggestion. Another was to use a lower case L, representing the labour movement instead of the party. For now, the name remains. But it’s an uncomfortable alliance.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Pro-Palestinian protesters demanding the release of Columbia
Features / 3 April 2025
3 April 2025
Such betrayals to the authorities are strikingly at odds with the history of Jewish persecution, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
UNIVERSAL CONDEMNATION: (L to R) Student negotiator Mahmoud
Features / 22 March 2025
22 March 2025
The arrest of Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is just the beginning as the Trump administration moves to silence students and union members who support Palestine, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
EXPANSION BY HOOK AND CROOK: The Israeli settlement of Neve
Opinion / 25 February 2025
25 February 2025
Linda Pentz Gunter talks to Anglo-Palestinian author GHADA KARMI Ghada Karmi about why she still believes a one-state solution remains the only acceptable outcome if Palestinians and Israelis are to live in peace
People take part in a national march for Palestine on Whiteh
Features / 22 January 2025
22 January 2025
The claims of the police and anti-Palestine lobby that the weekend’s march was somehow a threat to a synagogue are painfully transparent, and there is evidence that the police were itching for a confrontation, explains LINDA PENTZ GUNTER