The Labour Party’s public position is that it has no truck with Hamas, or with those who seek the destruction of the State of Israel. As Ed Miliband put it:
No place in politics for those who question existence of the state of Israel. Nick Clegg must condemn Jenny Tonge’s remark & demand apology
The reality is somewhat different. Prominent Labour MPs continue to support high profile Hamas activists in the United Kingdom, and are happy to speak at the same rallies as Jenny Tonge.
This weekend, you could have attended a demonstration in support of Gaza which was addressed by Jenny Tonge and Labour’s shadow Justice Minister, Andy Slaughter MP.
Andy Slaughter MP is standing by a Palestinian Forum in Britain placard. The Palestinian Forum in Britain is notorious for inviting vicious extremists to address its meetings in the UK. Two have been excluded from the country – Egyptian hate preacher Wagdi Ghoneim, Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood figure Ahmad Nofal.
As you might expect, the rally was also attended by British Hamas contingent, including Mohammed Kozbar of the Hamas-aligned Finsbury Park Mosque, Zaher Al-Birawi of the Hamas funding network, Viva Palestina, and the fugitive Hamas commander, Mohammed Sawalha.
Mohammed Kozbar joined Andy Slaughter and Jenny Tonge in speaking at the demonstration.
Meanwhile, back in Parliament, Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi is hosting the prominent British Hamas activist, Ismail Patel of Friends of Al Aqsa in Parliament.
At a meeting a few years ago Ismail Patel notoriously recommended to his audience that they read the works Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy, whose work was also cited in a Friends of al Aqsa report. Patel is very fond of Hamas.
Over the weekend, UKIP was embroiled in yet another scandal, when one of their mad councillors blamed flooding on gay marriage. He has since been suspended.
When is Labour going to take action in relation to its own extremism problem?
