Labour Friends announces new parliamentary chair

The newly-elected MP for High Peak, in Derbyshire, Jon Pearce, has been named as the new parliamentary chair of Labour Friends of Israel.

Pearce succeeds Steve McCabe, who stood down from parliament at July’s general election.

In his first official event as LFI chair, Pearce has met the leadership of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) to discuss the pressing issues of antisemitism and the safety of Jewish students on UK campuses.

Pearce said: “After 14 long years in opposition, this is a moment of great hope for LFI. It is a chance to work with a Labour government to help make Britain and the world safer, less divided, more prosperous.

“But it’s also a moment of great challenge. As we approach the anniversary of the October 7 pogrom, the hostages remain in Hamas’s hands, the torment of their families is ongoing, and the terrible suffering of Israelis and Palestinians continues.

“I believe there’s rarely been a more important time for the shared ambitions of LFI and our new Labour government: to work towards two states for two peoples, promote peace-building between Israelis and Palestinians, strengthen regional security and prosperity, enhance the relationship between Britain and Israel, and fight anti-Zionist antisemitism.

“I’ve been appalled and sickened by the surge in antisemitism we’ve seen on the streets of Britain since 7 October.

“It is utterly intolerable. We mustn’t accept that Britain is a country where Jewish places of worship are protected by security guards; Jewish pupils can’t wear their uniforms on the way to school; and antisemites feel free to intimidate Jews by chanting for Jihad, glorifying Hamas’ crimes, and comparing the state of Israel to those who sought to annihilate European Jewry less than a century ago.

“Keir Starmer defeated antisemitism in the Labour Party. Now we must work with our new Labour government to defeat the scourge of antisemitism in the country”.

Pearce, who joined an LFI mission to Israel in July 2023, is a former Labour Party organiser and policy adviser who was an employment lawyer before entering Parliament.