Baroness Warsi:  ‘Jewish friends spurned me after Gaza resignation’ 

By Jack Mendel, Reporting LIVE from Limmud Conference 2014

Former Tory minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has hit back at claims made at Limmud by the Board of Deputies’ senior vice president that her summer resignation from the cabinet fuelled mistrust between Jews and Muslims.

The Board’s Laura Marks made the comments during a talk on Monday, in reference to Warsi’s August resignation. Warsi quit her government role over opposition to its support for Israel during Operation Protective Edge.

In response to Marks’ comments, Warsi, tweeted to the Board of Deputies:  “People whom I considered friends from the British Jewish community stopped all communication with me after my resignation “.

Speaking to Jewish News, Marks said: “When Baroness Warsi resigned, we contacted her by phone and by email but she didn’t respond. She chose to leave the Government despite being the strongest possible advocate of interfaith action, particularly between Jewish and Muslim communities. It is a terrible shame – the outcome of the resignation was a greater sense of distrust. Warsi helped to fuel divisions that she helped to break down.”

Pleased to learn today that @Laura_E_Marks @BoardofDeputies tried to reach out to me post my resignation. Tea in the new year?

— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) December 29, 2014