A British-Nigerian Minister, MP Kate Osamor has been suspended after accusing Israel of genocide on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Edmonton MP has since apologised for “any offence caused” over the message distributed to local party members on Friday.
The British-Nigerian-born MP (Member of Parliament) for Edmonton sparked outrage after claiming in her weekly newsletter that Gaza should be added to the list of ‘recent genocides.’
Posting a photo of herself on X signing the Holocaust Education Trust’s commemoration book in Westminster, Osamor wrote: ‘Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day, an international day to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, the millions of other people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and now Gaza.’
She later tweeted an apology “for any offence caused by my reference to the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza as part of that period of remembrance.”
The Board of Deputies, the Jewish Labour Movement, and the Holocaust Educational Trust reacted to her controversial remarks.
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said it was not acceptable to equate the Holocaust to the situation in Gaza.
“What is happening in Gaza is clearly a humanitarian catastrophe that is recognised. But there are specific reasons why the Holocaust is considered as it is,” he told Sky News.
Momentum, the pressure group on the left of Labour, called the suspension an “outrageous decision” following a ruling by the UN’s top court.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but stopped short of telling it to halt the war.
A verdict on the central allegation of genocide is expected to take much longer, possibly years.
The 7 October attacks killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel. More than 100 of the 240 hostages who were snatched and taken to Gaza remain in captivity.
Meanwhile, Israel’s air and ground assaults in the Palestinian territory have killed more than 26,600 people, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says.
Labour has urged Israel to comply with the ICJ’s ruling on the war, but leader Sir Keir Starmer’s position on Israel – supporting its right to defend itself, and later calling for a sustainable ceasefire over the “intolerable” situation – has caused tensions within the party.
Ms Osamor, who served as Shadow International Development Secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, is the second Labour MP to apologise for remarks about the war in Gaza in a week.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Tahir Ali accused Rishi Sunak of having “the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands” due to his response to the conflict.
The Birmingham Hall Green MP later tweeted an apology “for the way in which I described the prime minister in my question”.
A Labour spokesman called his remark “clearly inappropriate.”
