Diane Abbott brands IDF ‘Jewish Defence Force’ as Keir Starmer under pressure to remove whip from Labour veteran

Labour veteran Diane Abbott has come under fire after claiming the “Jewish Defence Force” is murdering Palestinians in Gaza.

The ex-Shadow Home Secretary, who was suspended from Labour in April 2023 after writing that Jews could not be subject to racism ‘all their lives’, sparked yet another antisemitism row which has led to calls for Sir Keir Starmer to suspend her yet again.

In a now-deleted social media post, the ex-Shadow Home Secretary said: “Beyond horrific that the Jewish Defence Force is gunning down Palestinians as they queue for food #Gaza Genocide.”

Abbott, 71, who is Mother of the House of Commons, had been responding on Tuesday to a quote from journalist Chris Hedges from 2001.

Hedges had alleged that soldiers from the Israel Defence Forces “had enticed children like mice into a trap and murdered them for sport”.

However, Abbott seemingly opted to replace the word Israel with Jewish.

It is also not known if Abbott was aware that Hedges’s report referred to an event from more than two decades ago.

A number of campaign groups have condemned Abbott for her comments, putting pressure on the Prime Minister to take decisive action.

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Diane Abbott speaking at the People’s Assembly Against Austerity protest

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Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, told The Telegraph: “Where is the zero tolerance we were promised when she has previously had the whip removed for a similar offence?

“It is sad to see a groundbreaking MP who was the first black woman to be elected, reduced to not knowing the difference between the Israel Defense Forces and Jewish defence forces.”

A Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesman also asked: “How many strikes is this for Ms Abbott? Will the Labour Party finally expel her?”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews added: “Coming so soon after the appalling scenes at Glastonbury at the weekend, there can be no excuse, and she should now lose the whip as a Labour MP.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism shared a screenshot of Abbott’s now-deleted post

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Calls for Labour to take decisive action over Abbott’s comments come just two years after the 71-year-old was suspended for her controversial letter to The Observer.

Abbott, who is a close ally of now-disgraced ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, claimed “many types of white people with points of difference” could experience prejudice, but they were not subject to racism “all their lives”.

Following Abbott’s comments, Starmer condemned his former Shadow Cabinet colleague, having already suspended Corbyn over his claims about the prevalence of antisemitism in the Labour Party under his watch being overstated.

Abbott, who apologised and withdrew the remarks, was later required to take a two-hour online antisemitism course.

She was only reinstated as Labour’s candidate for the 2024 General Election days before polls opened, later winning her London seat with mega-majority of 15,080 votes.

Despite being barred from standing as a Labour candidate, Corbyn managed to retain his Islington North seat as an independent candidate.

Abbott returned to the headlines this week after joining a 49-strong Labour rebellion against the Prime Minister’s proposed cuts to Britain’s ballooning benefits bill.

Another revolt could soon follow over the situation in Gaza, with dozens of Labour MPs demanding Starmer allows a flood of Palestinian refugees into the UK.

Almost 70 MPs and peers have called on the Prime Minister and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to help “reunite [Palestinians] with their loved ones in the UK until it is safe to return”.

The letter added: “Just as the UK opened its doors to those fleeing persecution in Ukraine and Hong Kong, we believe that the same generosity should be extended to Palestinian families”.

The cross-party letter was also signed by 35 Labour MPs and peers, including Marsha de Cordova, Clive Lewis, Stella Creasy, Richard Burgon, Kim Johnson, Afzal Khan, Rachael Maskell, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Andy Slaughter and Alex Sobel.

Responding to Abbott’s “Jewish Defence Force” social media post, a Labour Party spokesman said: “All complaints are taken seriously and assessed in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures.”

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