Labour Friends of Israel appoint Jon Pearce as parliamentary head

High Peak MP Jon Pearce is the new parliamentary chair of the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI).

He takes over from Steve McCabe, who stood down from his Birmingham Selly Oak seat ahead of July’s general election after 27 years as an MP. 

As well as campaigning against anti-Zionist antisemitism, the LFI promotes itself as a group that wants to see a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. 

Mr Pearce’s first official outing as LFI chair will be with the leadership of the Union of Jewish Students, with a focus on discussing antisemitism and the safety of Jewish students on campuses. 

Some pro-Palestinian protests at universities across the UK contained the ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ chant, which LFI director Michael Rubin said in an article for Jewish News earlier this year, “appear[s] to call for the elimination of the State of Israel”. 

“After 14 long years in opposition, this is a moment of great hope for LFI,” said Mr Pearce on his appointment. “A chance to work with a Labour Government to help make Britain and the world safer, less divided, more prosperous. 

“But it’s also a moment of great challenge. As we approach the anniversary of the 7 October pogrom, the hostages remain in Hamas’ hands, the torment of their families is ongoing, and the terrible suffering of Israelis and Palestinians continues. 

“I believe there’s rarely been a more important time for the shared ambitions of LFI and our new Labour government: to work towards two states for two peoples, promote peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians, strengthen regional security and prosperity, enhance the relationship between Britain and Israel, and fight anti-Zionist antisemitism. 

“I’ve been appalled and sickened by the surge in antisemitism we’ve seen on the streets of Britain since 7 October. It is utterly intolerable.  

“We mustn’t accept that Britain is a country where Jewish places of worship are protected by security guards; Jewish pupils can’t wear their uniforms on the way to school; and antisemites feel free to intimidate Jews by chanting for Jihad, glorifying Hamas’ crimes, and comparing the State of Israel to those who sought to annihilate European Jewry less than a century ago. 

“Keir Starmer defeated antisemitism in the Labour party. Now we must work with our new Labour government to defeat the scourge of antisemitism in the country. That will always be at the heart of my work as LFI’s chair – as it was for my predecessors, Steve McCabe, Louise Ellman and Joan Ryan.” 

More than 1,000 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attacks last year, while Hamas's health ministry figures claim at least 40,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's response.