Labour frontbench split over Israeli goods boycott
A boycott of Israeli goods has been backed by a senior Labour frontbencher – despite the campaign being condemned by deputy leader Tom Watson.
Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor tweeted her support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which says it 'works to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians'.
The close ally of Jeremy Corbyn also added a link to the Middle East Institute for Understanding and an explanation of the BDS campaign's objectives.
West Bromwich East MP Mr Watson recently branded the boycott 'morally wrong', and said it was an attempt 'to demonise and de-legitimise the world’s only Jewish state'.
Mr Watson made his comments in a speech to Labour Friends of Israel last year, in which he also admitted the party had been too slow to act on the anti-Semitism allegations which have dogged it in recent times.
Mr Watson said: "Those in this country who campaign for boycotts, divestment and sanctions seek to demonise and de-legitimise the world’s only Jewish state.
"Let me be clear. The BDS movement is morally wrong. It is failing. And it does nothing to advance the cause of peace or advance a two-state solution."
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry recently condemned the campaign.
Speaking at a Labour Friends of Israel lunch on November 28, she said of the local Israeli Labour party: "Theirs is a positive vision of how a Labour-led government can build a more peaceful, more prosperous and more progressive future both for Israel and its neighbours.
"A constant reminder to all those who somehow believe that opposition to the policies of an individual Israeli government can ever justify a hatred of the nation and its people, or a boycott of its products, its culture or its academics, or a denial of its right to defend itself from military assault and terror attacks.
"That sort of bigotry against the Israeli nation has never been justified and it never will be."
The BDS campaign has previously been backed by Jeremy Corbyn.
Speaking in Belfast in August 2015, the Labour leader said: "I think the boycott campaign, divestment campaign, is part and parcel of a legal process that has to be adopted."
He added: "I believe that sanctions against Israel, because of its breach of the trade agreement, are the appropriate way of promoting the peace process."
Labour Friends of Israel chair Joan Ryan has written to Ms Osamor asking her to clarify her position.
The Enfield North MP said: "The BDS movement is morally wrong. It seeks to demonise and delegitimise the world’s only Jewish state and thus call into question its right to exist.
"BDS also does nothing to advance the cause of peace, reconciliation and coexistence. The BDS campaign undermines the work of those Israelis – including our sister party, the Israeli Labor party – who are seeking to advance a two-state solution."
She added: "As a member of the Shadow Cabinet, I would ask you to clarify that you support the party’s long-standing position, as outlined by the Shadow Foreign Secretary."
