Pro-Palestinian Jewish event abandoned after bomb scare

An event organised by a pro-Palestinian Jewish Labour group was abandoned because of a bomb threat yesterday evening, organisers have said.

Around 200 people were evacuated from a Liverpool city centre building hosting the screening of a film called “The Political Lynching of Jackie Walker” who is a black Jewish critic of Israel, currently among those suspended from the Labour Party over accusations of anti-Semitism. The documentary follows the Jewish activist’s battle against the false allegations which led to her dismissal from the Labour party.

The screening was organised by Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), a pro-Palestinian Jewish organisation. During summer JVL came under criticism from pro-Israeli groups over its strong backing of the party leader Jeremy Corbyn during the anti-Semitism row.

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It’s reported that a man phoned up to claim “there are two bombs that will kill many people,” at the Grade II listed site.

Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, media officer for JVL who helped organise the event, told the local Liverpool newspaper ECHO that within 15 minutes after the starting of the film, the young receptionist picked up the phone.

A man is reported to have said to the receptionist: “Is this Blackburne House? Is there a Jewish event going on?” The receptionist replied by saying that she knew it was a Labour event but she didn’t know if it was Jewish.

The caller put the phone down after warning the receptionist that there were “two bombs that will kill many people”.

The lack of coverage in the mainstream British press of the hoax bomb threat against a pro-Palestinian Jewish organisation has raised accusations of double standards. Corbyn supporters have said that if a pro-Israeli group had received similar threat the mainstream press would have attracted extensive coverage.

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The Guardian newspaper ran the story under the headline “Jewish event at Labour conference abandoned after bomb scare”, however, critics pointed out that it had failed to note that JVL is a pro-Corbyn organisation and the film, “The Political Lynching of Jackie Walker”, exposes the evil machinations of the organised witch-hunt against Palestinian activists orchestrated by Labour Friends of Israel and the Israeli Embassy.

The attempt to spin this as the precise opposite of what it was and play down the fact the bomb threat was against a pro-Palestinian group that had come under sharp criticism for its opposition to Israel, was condemned.