Jeremy Corbyn 'copied and pasted' Labour anti-Semitism apology from previous article

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Labour leader

• The Labour leader finally responded to multiple accusations of anti-Semitism in a newspaper article, but was criticised for appearing to lift two key passages from a previous article he published in April.
• Two passages from the Guardian piece published on Friday are almost identical to ones published in an Evening Standard article.
• Critics also pointed out that Corbyn timed the article to be published online on Friday evening for a Saturday newspaper, meaning that observant Jews - who are bound to observe Sabbath - would not be able to engage with the article until Sunday.

LONDON - Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appears to have copied-and-pasted two passages from a previous article he published in his latest apology for anti-Semitism within the Labour party.

After a week of allegations of anti-Semitism, the Labour leader finally broke his silence on Friday afternoon and published a piece in the Guardian newspaper in which he pledged to "driv[e] antisemitism out of the party for good" and rebuild trust with the Jewish community.

Parts of the article bore striking similarities to a previous article on anti-Semitism which he penned for the Evening Standard in April, however.

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Critics also pointed out that Corbyn timed the article to be published online on Friday evening for a Saturday newspaper, meaning that observant Jews - who are bound to observe Sabbath - would not be able to engage with the article until Sunday.

"So keen is Corbyn to engage with Jews that he publishes this (awful) piece on a Friday night, for a Saturday paper," wrote Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle. "So not a single observant Jew can engage with it."

The Labour party was contacted for comment.