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MP faces deportation calls after saying Jews face similar prejudice to redheads Diane Abbott suspended by Labor after suggesting Jews don't face racism Labor's whip has been suspended from Diane Abbott pending an investigation into a letter the MP wrote suggesting that Jews are not subject to the same racism as other minorities.
Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn's former home secretary, apologized for the comments, saying the letter published in The Observer was an "early draft" sent in error.
He said the Jewish, Irish and Traveler communities suffered "prejudice" but added: "It sounds like racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable."
Ms Abbott added: “It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this bias. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.
Despite Ms Abbott's apologies, amid widespread outrage on Sunday morning, Labor leader Alan Campbell decided to stand down pending investigations.
A Labor spokesman said: “The Labor Party fully condemns these comments, which are deeply offensive and misguided. The main whip has suspended Diane Abbott's Labor whip pending an investigation.
Among those who expressed their outrage, Tory cabinet minister Grant Shapps said: “Once again, the Jewish people must wake up to a Labor MP who casually spews hateful anti-Semitism. Keir Starmer, are you really going to do something?
Ms Abbott's short letter, which is still online, sparked a furious reaction on social media on Sunday morning before the Labor MP issued an apology, disassociating herself from her own letter and saying she was retracting her comments.
"I wish to completely and unreservedly withdraw my comments and disassociate myself from them," the Labor MP said. “The errors occurred when submitting an initial draft. But there is no excuse, and I apologize for any distress caused.
Diane Abbott and Keir Starmer, then Shadow Brexit secretary, at the 2019 rally
Ms Abbot added: “Racism takes many forms, and there is no denying that the Jewish people have suffered from its monstrous effects, as have the Irish, the Travelers and many others. Again, I would like to publicly apologize for the comments and any distress caused by them.
The Labor leftist had responded to a Guardian column by Tomiwa Owolade that claimed the Irish, Jews and Travelers suffered from racism.
Ms. Abbott wrote: “In pre-civil rights America...the Irish, Jews and Nomads were not required to sit in the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote.
The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP added: “And in the heyday of slavery there were no white-looking people handcuffed on slave ships.
The Board of Deputies for British Jews said Ms Abbott's letter "was disgraceful and her apology utterly unconvincing", while the Jewish Labor Movement said it supported the decision to suspend the whip "reluctantly".
Diane Abbott served as Shadow Home Secretary under Jeremy Corbyn
Leftist Jon Lansman, founder of Momentum, also condemned the comments. “A disgraceful comment by Diane Abbott for which she was rightfully suspended from the Labor Party. Racism is not a competition! tweeted.
Labor Against Antisemitism said Ms Abbott's comments were "simply unacceptable" as the group also called on Sir Keir to remove the whip. “To reduce the racism Jews face to mere prejudice when, in living memory, six million Jews have been systematically murdered in Europe because of their race is extremely offensive,” spokeswoman Fiona Sharpe said.
He added: “In the UK today, one in five Jews have experienced a racist attack, and more than one in three Gypsies, Roma and travelers report the same. Ms. Abbott is either terribly misinformed or willfully bigoted. Nor should it be tolerated.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said his suspension "must be the first step towards his expulsion from the party." A spokesperson for the campaign said Ms Abbott and her allies on the "far left" of the party "could never accept how bad anti-Semitism has become because they don't even recognize that it is a form of racism."
Diane Abbott had her job whip suspended after comments
Jake Wallis Simons, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, also called for Ms. Abbott to be permanently deported. "I really don't see what to investigate," he told Sky News. “All the evidence is there. She has already given her defense. She must be expelled.
He added: "It seems to me that you don't say things like that by mistake. You say them because you mean them, then you seek to tone them down when you realize how offensive they are, belatedly, because of the outrage you're facing.
Despite the causes for her permanent expulsion, Labor MPs who favor Abbott's return fear she could be suspended indefinitely in a bid to undermine her selection as a candidate at the upcoming general election.
A close ally of Corbyn, Abbott said it was "extraordinary" that Sir Keir formally barred her from standing as a Labor candidate in the upcoming election.
Corbyn was suspended for his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission report on anti-Semitism within the party, arguing that his political opponents had "exaggerated" the issue.
Corbyn called the move a "shameful attack on party democracy". He also said that Sir Keir's claims that the pair were never friends are "grammar school stuff" and criticized the anti-Rishi Sunak advertisements as "bad news".
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Labor MP Diane Abbott
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