Update 28 April: Shah has now been suspended from the Labour Party, but remains an MP and part of the Home Affairs Committee
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Naz Shah, the Labour MP, has issued a half-apology after a social media post surfaced of her calling for Jews to be deported en masse from Israel to America.
The jocular post, unearthed by the Guido Fawkes blog, proclaims “problem solved” next to a graphic suggesting dumping 3 million Israelis in the US Central Plains and turning Israel over to the PLO.
I am truly sorry and I will be putting out a more detailed explanation later. pic.twitter.com/x74FDKNCJE
— Naz Shah MP (@NazShahBfd) April 26, 2016
In a statement issued hours after the posts surfaced, Shah apologized for “hurt caused” and “offence given” – without actually saying sorry for the original post, which she finished with a smiley-face emoji.
She also made a symbolic gesture of resigning as parliamentary private secretary to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
But Shah appears to be keeping the job for which critics have said her views make her manifestly unfit – a seat on the Home Affairs Committee.
Wait – Naz Shah is sitting on a home office committee looking into the rise of antisemitism? Perhaps she'll summon herself to appear.
— Marina Hyde (@MarinaHyde) April 26, 2016
The role means she is part of a parliamentary inquiry into the rise of anti-Semitism – despite being widely accused of it herself.
The row – on the day when Labour would prefer to be scoring points off of the Junior Doctors Strike – only deepens the apparent Jew-hatred taking root in the Labour party.
Rank-and-file members have been suspended repeatedly in recent months, with prominent Jewish figures – and even members of his own party – calling for urgent action.
This can hardly help.
