Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has faced strong criticism after repeating allegations that Israeli forces removed organs from Palestinian bodies in Gaza — claims that Jewish organisations and Israeli officials have condemned as a modern form of blood libel, reports The Jerusalem Post.
In videos circulating on social media, Corbyn read what he described as a message from the director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza. He alleged that boxes delivered to the hospital by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) contained skulls of Palestinians and that some returned bodies showed signs of organs having been removed.
“He said there had been a delivery of boxes to the hospital by the IDF, a large number of boxes, 60 or 70 boxes,” Corbyn said in the video. “After the IDF had gone off, they opened the boxes, and each one contained the skull of a Palestinian who’d been killed.”
He further claimed that the bodies of women had been returned “opened and some of the organs removed,” describing the allegations as raising “credible indications of organ theft.”
The remarks prompted immediate backlash from Jewish organisations and Israeli representatives, who described the claims as unverified and inflammatory.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) issued a statement warning that organ-harvesting accusations echo historic blood libel myths.
“The blood libel began as the false accusation that Jews killed Christians to use their blood for ritual purposes,” the AJC said. “Today, it has been repackaged in a modern form as organ-harvesting conspiracies. This hateful myth has fueled centuries of persecution, violence, and expulsion.”
Israeli officials strongly rejected the allegations. An IDF spokesperson described the claims as “a wild blood libel,” stating that Israeli forces had not been near Al-Shifa Hospital for months and accusing Corbyn of spreading “baseless stories.”
The Israeli Embassy in London also dismissed the remarks as recycled smears, saying serious public discourse was being replaced with insinuation. The embassy stressed that the handling and return of Palestinian bodies had taken place only under internationally supervised arrangements coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Corbyn has previously faced controversy over antisemitism during his tenure as leader of the UK Labour Party. He was suspended from the parliamentary party in 2020 following disputes over his response to an official report into antisemitism within Labour.
Jewish groups have warned that reviving organ-harvesting narratives not only undermines legitimate debate about the humanitarian situation in Gaza but also risks reinforcing longstanding antisemitic conspiracy theories.
At the time of publication, Corbyn had not issued a clarification or retraction regarding the allegations.
Photo credit: ISABEL INFANTES/REUTERS
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