Pro-Israel groups attack UK Labour MP over pro-Palestine stance on Gaza genocide
Labour MP Diane Abbott in Trafalgar Square
The New Arab reports on 2 July 2025:
UK Labour MP Diane Abbott is once again facing coordinated calls for disciplinary action, this time over her outspoken condemnation of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, in a move critics say is part of a wider campaign to silence pro-Palestinian voices in British politics.
In a post shared on Tuesday, the veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington denounced the killing of Palestinians seeking aid, using the hashtag #GazaGenocide.
Reacting to a quote from American journalist Chris Hedges, Abbott wrote that Israeli forces “continue to slaughter unarmed Palestinians in cold blood”.
The post, now deleted, drew immediate fire from pro-Israel groups. The Board of Deputies called for her to be stripped of the Labour whip, accusing her of a “long line of anti-Jewish offences”, a claim critics see as part of an increasingly familiar tactic of conflating criticism of Israel’s actions with “antisemitism”.
Russell Langer of the Jewish Leadership Council echoed the attack, describing Abbott’s comments as “grossly offensive” and demanding party sanctions. These calls come despite Abbott’s long history of standing against racism and advocating for human rights.