It has emerged that the Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq signed a pledge to support Israel just before the general election.
The “We Believe in Israel” and the “Israel Britain Alliance” organisations published a list of 216 election candidates who signed a Pledge for Israel. Siddiq’s name was on it.
The Pledge stated: “If elected to the United Kingdom Parliament I pledge…
- To oppose the extremists who challenge Israel ’s right to exist.
- To support the right of people in the United Kingdom to enjoy Israeli culture and promote business, educational, religious and other connections with the Jewish State without fear of discrimination, boycotts, harassment and/or intimidation.
- To support those who genuinely seek to promote and establish a permanent, just and comprehensive peace between Israel and its neighbours.
- To celebrate the fact that Israel is a free society and parliamentary democracy that extends to all its citizens the right to practice their religion and have access to religious sites in Jerusalem.
- To support the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
- To encourage HM Government to promote trade with Israel that will increase investment and jobs for people in both countries.”
Luke Akehurst, Director of We Believe in Israel, said: “It is great to see cross-party support from a range of parliamentary candidates for these important pledges about Israel, which include commitments to opposing boycotts and supporting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which defines which forms of extreme anti-Israel discourse cross the line into antisemitism.”
On June 8 Siddiq was returned as the MP for Hampstead and Kilburn with a 15,560 majority – the largest margin of victory since the constituency was created in 2010. Her 34,464 votes dwarfed the second-placed Tories, who came in with 18,904. She is thought to have massively benefited from the pro Jeremy Corbyn vote.
In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle in May Siddiq said the fight against antisemitism is strengthened by the help of non-Jewish campaigners. Ms Siddiq was also open in her criticism of Mr Corbyn.
“The Tories are trying to make a big thing out the fact that I voted for Jeremy is the first leadership ballot,” she said. “They conveniently forget that I resigned from his front bench, and that I supported Owen Smith the second time around. The truth is Jeremy himself told me, and others, that he didn’t want to be leader when he stood, and that he was only doing so to broaden the debate.
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“We were in a Westminster tea room, I think when Jeremy himself told me: ‘I don’t want to be leader – I just want to broaden the debate.’ Remember Labour had just lost badly under Ed Miliband and lots us felt there was a need to broaden the debate in the party. Of course we wouldn’t have done it if we had known the consequences.”
