Bradford MP now 'sincere friend' of the Jewish community says British Board of Deputies

Bradford West MP Naz Shah met with the British Board of Deputies earlier this week, and pledged to do more to tackle antisemitism in the coming year.

Last year the MP became embroiled in the Labour antisemitism row when a Facebook post she made in 2014, before she was an MP, was made public.

Ms Shah had shared a graphic which showed an image of Israel’s outline superimposed onto a map of the US under the headline “Solution for Israel-Palestine Conflict - Relocate Israel into United States”, with the comment “problem solved.”

She publicly apologised, and admitted her words were antisemitic.

The MP was among the people the Board of Deputies met with on their two day visit, and said they now regarded Ms Shah as a “sincere friend” of the Jewish community.

After her meeting she said: “2016 was a learning curve for me. It was great to have this meeting and I look forward to working with the Jewish community in 2017, I will continue in my efforts to tackle issues that matter to the community, particularly antisemitism.”

President Jonathan Arkush said: “Naz Shah is one of the only people involved in Labour’s antisemitism crisis who has sought to make amends for her actions, and for this we commend her and now regard Naz as a sincere friend of our community.”

Mr Arkush, who was accompanied by Vice President Marie van der Zyl on the visit, also met Bradford East MP Imran Hussain, the Bishop of Bradford and community organisations including the Bradford Council of Mosques and the Bradford Women’s Council.

He added: “With the Muslim Women’s council we spoke about ensuring that women in both communities are at the front and centre of interfaith engagement. Nisa Nashim, the Muslim-Jewish women’s network founded by the Board of Deputies, is an inspiring example of what can be achieved by Jewish and Muslim women working together.”

They also visited Eternal Light Secondary School, an independent Muslim school.