Anti-Israel activists hold ‘genocide’ demo outside Labour conference
Labour MP Kim Johnson is greeted with cries of 'resign' by pro-Palestine activists after addressing them at a demo, led by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, ahead of the party conference in Liverpool
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
A left-wing Labour MP has been loudly booed after delivering a speech to pro-Palestine activists during a demo ahead of the party conference in Liverpool.
Kim Johnson, the MP for Liverpool Riverside, who succeeded Jewish Labour veteran Louise Ellman in the seat, was greeted with cries of “resign” as she attempted to express support for a Palestine Solidarity Campaign demo demanding the government ban arms sales to Israel.
The march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, along with groups like Friends of Al Aqsa, was timed as delegates arrived for the conference, the first since Keir Starmer was elected Prime Minister.
Johnson currently still has the Labour whip, despite being warned about comments relating to Israel in the past.
Also speaking at Saturday’s demo was Ian Bryne MP, who lost the Labour whip earlier this autumn.
His decison to speak at the march will be noted by Labour whips, who decided on seven MPs futures in January.
One Labour source said it was “deeply ironic” that Johnson’s decision to address the protestors led to her being booed.
With chants of “Palestine is Arab” and a call to end the “genocide” in Gaza, the demo orgainder’s demands were far more hardline than those introduced by the party under Starmer’s leadership.
Many of the activists at the demo, which begun outside Liverpool Lime Street station before marched towards the conference venue were linked to Trotskyist outfits such as the Socialist Workers Party, and had been expelled or had left Labour of their own accord after Jeremy Corbyn’s downfall.
The PSC have mounted an intensive lobbying campaign to try to attract the support of more mainstream Labour MP, but have had to rely on familar faces from the Socialist Campaign Group.
PSC leader Ben Jamal has accused Starmer of “still seeking to shield Israel from accountability” after criticising the scope of the partial arms suspension announced earlier this month.
Other organsers of Saturday’s demo included the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Muslim Association of Britain,and Palestinian Forum in Britain, but turn-out fell short of what they had hoped for on Saturday.
As the Labour conference kicks off, Israel-Palestine is not likely to dominate the agenda in the way it once did.
While individual speakers are likely to take to the stage during Monday’s international debate and express views on the Middle East, only a late emergency motion on the situation in Lebanon is likely to secure a lengthy debate on the region.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, will also deliver a keynote speech to the party faithful, with leader Starmer speaking on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, the PSC and other organisations with concerns around the Middle East will stage fringe events. But the PSC complained it had not been allowed to use the words “genocide” or “apartheid” in its description of their events in the official guide.
The PSC also reportedly said it was concerned “factions linked to the party leadership will seek to push the motions off the agenda to avoid embarrassment to the government, and avoid any discussions that are critical of Israel’s actions or call for its government to be held to account”.
Labour Friends of Israel will stage their annual conference reception, with several big party names likely to attend.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has also confirmed her attendance at an event put on by the Holocaust Educational Trust.
The Board of Deputies will also be present at conference from Sunday, and the Jewish Labour Movement is also staging events for supporters.
Elsewhere, the Stand Up To Racism organisation has received criticism for advertising a fringe event discussing combating hate, without have a Jewish speaker on the line-up.
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