Amnesty International has rejected a motion to campaign against rising anti-Semitism in Britain, lobby the UK government to tackle the rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the country and "monitor anti-Semitism closely, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
The motion was tabled at the annual conference of the organisation by Amnesty member Andrew Thorpe-Apps in March who said it was defeated at the annual general meeting last Sunday by a vote of 468 to 461.
According to the motion, "neither Amnesty International UK nor the Amnesty International Secretariat have undertaken research or campaigning work specifically on anti-Semitism in the UK."
“It was the only resolution to be defeated during the whole conference,” said Thorpe-Apps, a non-Jew who said he was “appalled” by what he has “seen in the press facing the Jewish community.”
He added :“I was aware that the organisation has been outwardly pro-Palestine in the past but it hasn’t stood up for the Jewish population and I think it would be good if they did that.
Amnesty International UK press officer Neil Durkin said: "After a really interesting debate where everyone condemned discrimination against all ethnic and religious groups, our membership decided not to pass this resolution calling for a campaign with a single focus.
"Amnesty International fights against discrimination in all its forms, and will continue to do so."
Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor called the vote to reject a campaign against anti-Semitism ‘’the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of what was once a leader in human rights advocacy.’’ “At a time of murderous anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, Amnesty’s moral blindness is a core indictment of the organization,” said NGO Monitor president Gerald Steinberg.