A British Liberal Democrat MP facing axe from the party over criticisms about the Israeli regime’s violent treatment of Palestinians has apologized under pressure from the country’s Zionist lobby.
In an item posted on his website last week, David Ward, the Bradford East MP, accused “the Jews” in Israel of having failed to learn lessons from their persecution by the Nazis in World War II by continuing to “inflict atrocities” on Palestinian people “on a daily basis.”
Ward’s comments, which were released ahead of Sunday’s Holocaust Memorial Day, were condemned by his party, but the MP said he would not retract his remarks and would defend them in the event of disciplinary action.
However, in a blog posting on Saturday, he made a public apology for the “unintended offence,” saying that he had not intended to insult Jewish people.
The British MP also said that he had been “trying to make clear that everybody needs to learn the lessons of the Holocaust.”
This comes as analysts believe the pro-Israeli lobby inside the UK is the most powerful, untouchable lobby in the country, which enjoys the capacity to bankroll politicians and shape the agenda about future policy and work.
For example, the Liberal Democrat Friend of Israel (LFI) is a UK parliament-based lobby group promoting support within the British Liberal Democrat Party for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and the Israeli regime.
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