Image by Getty Images

(JTA) — John Bercow, the British House of Commons speaker who resigned in late October, said he experienced anti-Semitism in his own Conservative Party.

In 22 years in the House of Commons, he never faced anti-Semitism from the beleaguered Labour Party, Bercow said in an interview with the Sunday Times magazine.

“Unspeakable,” a memoir by Bercow, is due to be published this week.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“I did experience anti-Semitism from members of the Conservative Party,” Bercow told the Sunday Times. “It’s very difficult to put a figure on it. A lot was subtle. I remember a member saying, ‘If I had my way, Berkoff, people like you wouldn’t be allowed in this place.’”

When Bercow asked if that was because he was Jewish or working class, the lawmaker responded “both.”

Anti-Semitic rhetoric proliferated through Labour’s ranks following the 2015 election of Jeremy Corbyn as party leader. Corbyn, who an ex-chief rabbi of Britain called an “anti-Semite,” was beaten in last month’s elections for prime minister by Boris Johnson of the Conservative Party.

Former House of Commons speakers usually are promoted to membership in the House of Lords when they resign, but this was not the case for Bercow. He may have been denied peerage over his supposed lack of impartiality and the difficulties he was seen to have caused the government over Brexit, the Daily Mail reported.

Bercow also was accused of bullying employees in the House of Commons.

The post Former British House of Commons speaker says he experienced anti-Semitism by Conservatives, not Labour appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount