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A Labour MP has responded to claims of antisemitism after he compared far-right violence in the UK with Israel’s war against Hamas.
Earlier this month, Clive Lewis, who represents Norwich South, claimed a link between attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and what he called “rising Islamophobia” in the UK.
In response to Mr Lewis’s comment, which he made in a post on X, the campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS) called for him to be suspended from the party.
Now Mr Lewis has said attempts to “shut down and silence” politicians is a “dangerous path” and “fundamentally wrong”.
In a new post on X, he said: “Combatting antisemitism and advocating for Palestinian human rights and addressing broader Islamophobia, are not mutually exclusive goals.
“We have a responsibility as politicians to ensure all minorities feel safe here in the UK and to advocate for the upholding of human rights abroad.
“Differences of opinion as how best to do this should, of course, always be encouraged. But attempting to shut down and silence those seeking to highlight these issues is a dangerous path and one that is fundamentally, wrong.”
LAAS made an official complaint to UK Labour over Mr Lewis’s original post, claiming it was “highly irresponsible” and breached the official definition of antisemitism.
However, it is understood no further action would be taken by the party, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
A Labour spokesperson previously said all complaints were treated seriously and “thoroughly assessed in line with its rules and procedures”.
In his original post, Mr Lewis had written: “The link between the daily inhumanity being metted [sic] out to Palestinians and rising Islamophobia in the UK, are not unconnected.
“The inhumanity being shown to one is giving ‘permission’ for the other. These actions diminish us all.”
He also linked to a Guardian newspaper article about how dozens of people were reported dead after an Israeli attack on a school in Gaza.
Mr Lewis’s comment came after the arrests of hundreds of people in connection with riots and anti-immigration protests across the UK.
Alex Hearn, LAAS co-director, described the comments as “extremely irresponsible” and a “conspiracy fantasy”.
“I put in the complaint because we have been seeing a pattern from the far right and across elements of the left that have been blaming Zionists and Israelis for the unrest that has been going on across the country,” he said.
“The conflict going on thousands of miles away has no connection to the domestic cases that we have.”
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