Labour Friends of Israel reveal new parliamentary chair

New Labour Friends of Israel chair Jon Pearce MP. Credit: UK Parliament[Missing Credit]

The Derbyshire MP said he was “sickened by the surge in antisemitism we’ve seen on the streets of Britain since October 7.”

He continued: “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.”

He succeeds Steve McCabe the former MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, who stood down from Parliament before the last general election.

As a parliamentary candidate, he visited Israel on a LFI-organised trip in July last year. One of LFI’s key functions is to take delegations of British MPs, peers, parliamentary candidates and ordinary party activists on visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

LFI’s director, Michael Rubin, told the JC: "I am delighted to welcome Jon as the new chair of LFI. I look forward to working with him, the wider Labour parliamentary party and ministers to deliver Keir Starmer's commitment to a government which is pro-Israel, pro-Palestine and pro-peace.”

He paid tribute to Steve McCabe for “his outstanding leadership of LFI in the last parliament. Steve's support for our work was principled, unwavering, and hugely respected and appreciated."