The Labour Party has received an official complaint over a social media post by one of its MPs which campaigners argue blames Jews for the outbreak of riots across the UK.
Campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS) has accused Clive Lewis, the Labour for Norwich South, of breaching the official definition of antisemitism with a post he wrote on X following Israel’s attack on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City that killed 80 people, according to Palestinian health officials.
In the post, Mr Lewis linked to an article in The Guardian which reported the number of dead and wrote: “The link between the daily inhumanity being meted out to Palestinians and rising Islamophobia in the UK, are not unconnected.
“The inhumanity being shown to one is giving ‘permission’ for the other.
“These actions diminish us all.”
Alex Hearn, LAAS co-director, told Sky News that he believed Mr Lewis’s post was “highly irresponsible” and should result in his “immediate suspension”.
“It is very concerning that people across the political spectrum, from “anti-racists” to the far right, have fantasised that ‘Zionists’ and Israel are to blame for unrest across Britain,” he said.
“A recent report by the Community Security Trust showed antisemitism in the last six months has gone up 105%, and that the pretext for these 1,978 incidents are often Palestine. This includes synagogues targeted 76 times and 121 assaults.
“For a Labour MP to blame a conflict thousands of miles away for the recent racism in far-right riots in Britain is highly irresponsible.
“When attacks against British Jews exploded following the Hamas 7 October massacre, no such link was made by Mr Lewis.”
Mr Hearn added: “Labour Against Antisemitism call for his immediate suspension and for the whip to be removed while he is investigated.
“We believe that his comments in the context of sectarian violence and record attacks against British Jews warrant expulsion.”
An estimated 6,000 displaced people were sheltering in Tabeen school when it was struck by three missiles on Saturday, according to a spokesperson for the Civil Defence agency, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
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The Israeli army said it had struck a “Hamas control centre” but did not provide evidence and Hamas denied having a base at the school.
Palestinian health authorities said 80 people have been killed, while the Hamas-run Gaza government put the number at more than 100.
About 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants were operating from the targeted Gaza school, an Israeli military spokesperson said.
The Labour Party has been contacted for comment.
