JEREMY Corbyn is to meet the leaders of Britain's Jewish community to discuss the ongoing row over anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
In a letter, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council[JLC] thanked the Labour leader for his commitment to addressing the "anguish" caused by anti-Semitic incidents.
But they said events of the past few weeks had not been "reassuring" for Jewish people in Britain and told him he needed to use his "personal authority" to root out anti-Semitism from his party.
The letter came amid controversy over Mr Corbyn's attendance at a Passover celebration hosted on Monday by the radical left-wing Jewdas organisation, which has accused the Board and JLC of "cynical manipulation" of the anti-Semitism row.
Mr Corbyn has played down the significance of his presence at the Seder event in north London, saying he "learned a lot" from speaking with Jewish people from his constituency.
Speaking during a local election campaign visit to Watford on Wednesday, he said he was "happy to meet" the two largest Jewish communal bodies "without any preconditions", pledging to hear their concerns about tackling anti-Semitism in his party.
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But Jonathan Arkush, President of the Board of Deputies, asked how his commitment to be "an ally against anti-Semitism" could be taken seriously after his attendance at the Jewdas event.
In their letter, Mr Arkush and JLC chairman Jonathan Goldstein thanked Mr Corbyn for "the commitment you have made to addressing the anguish amongst many people in the Jewish community" but stressed how recent events had not been "reassuring" for Jewish people in Britain.
And they pointed out it was "crucial that you use your own personal authority as Leader of the Labour Party to drive the changes required".
They added: "Ultimately, the most important thing going forward will be action and not words."
Mr Corbyn's offer of a meeting came after he was attacked by some in his own party for a supportive comment he made to the painter of an anti-Semitic mural. He later apologised and admitted he had not looked closely enough at the picture before commenting.
In a letter to the Board of Deputies and the JLC, the party leader said he accepted his "responsibility to give a strong and continuing personal lead".
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Speaking during his visit to Watford, he said: "I wrote to the Jewish Board of Deputies last night to thank them for their previous correspondence and say I'm very happy to meet them anytime and my door is open to them and to any other Jewish organisation.
"We're determined to deal with the issue of anti-Semitism in our society and in any political party, including our own,” he added.
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