Labour Suspends Parliamentary Candidate For Expletive-Filled Anti-Israel Rant

Jones was recorded in a meeting with fellow Labour activists. (Screengrab via YouTube)

Labour Party parliamentary candidate Graham Jones was suspended Tuesday night after right-leaning political blog Guido Fawkes published secretly recorded audio of him delivering an expletive-filled anti-Israel rant.

In the recording, Jones appears to repeatedly refer to “fucking Israel” during a meeting and suggested that UK citizens volunteering for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) “should be locked up.”

The candidate, who was eyeing a political comeback in Hyndburn after losing his seat in 2019, was suspended pending investigation after widespread condemnation that prompted the party to take immediate action.

This incident comes the same day that Labour distanced itself from from its Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali over “antisemitic” comments.

The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) and the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region called for decisive action against Jones, who was present at the same meeting where Ali aired controversial views.

“Over the past two days, the importance of a zero tolerance approach to antisemitism in Labour has become clearer than ever,” a JLM spokesperson said.

The Jewish Labour Movement labelled Jones’s comments as “appalling and unacceptable,” emphasising the need for a zero-tolerance stance on antisemitism within the party.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell highlighted the legitimacy of British nationals serving in the IDF, counteracting the allegations made against British-Israeli Jews by Jones that serving was “illegal.”

Mitchell said: “The Israel Defence Force is a recognised armed force and British nationals are both able to volunteer into the Israel Defence Force and eligible for national service.”