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UK leader fires health minister for antisemitic remarks

Other inappropriate comments included a Whatsapp comment in which Andrew Gwynne hoped for a retiree’s death because she hadn’t supported the Labour party.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired his public health minister and suspended him from the party on Saturday over recent antisemitic comments and other inappropriate posts he made on social media.

The Daily Mail reported last Sunday that Andrew Gwynne had several unsuitable exchanges online in a Whatsapp group he belonged to that includes among its members several fellow Labour officials.

In one instance, the paper said, a question arose about whether American Jewish psychologist Marshall Rosenberg would be attending a Labour party meeting in the MP’s constituency, in possible reference to the late man’s conflict management techniques that might be beneficial to use to calm down angry debates.

Gwynne replied, “No. He sounds too militaristic and too Jewish. Is he in the Mossad?”

In an earlier comment, the paper noted, Gwynne had “made light of anti-Semitism” in a quip, saying, “Geoffrey the Giraffe says don’t be nasty to the Jews.”

Alex Hearn, the co-director of Labour Against Anti-Semitism, condemned the remarks.

“This so-called ‘banter’ about Jews was unnecessary and unpleasant,” he said. “Themes of disloyal infiltrators cross the line into classic anti-Jewish racism and should not be acceptable discourse among Labour officials, activists, or anywhere in our society.”

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The minister’s inapt flippancy also extended to making disrespectful and racist jokes against black MPs in his party, writing sexist comments, and suggesting a mock reply to an elderly constituent who didn’t vote Labour but was asking for improved garbage collection, adding that he hoped she would die soon.

As soon as he was made are of the remarks, Starmer sacked Gwynne, a government spokesperson said.

“The prime minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office,” the spokesman stated. “He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.”

Gwynne’s administrative reinstatement in the party will depend on the results of an internal Labour investigation into the minister’s Whatsapps, to see if they are “in line” with the party’s “rules and procedures,” the spokesperson added.

Gwynne expressed contrition in a post on X.

“I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offense I’ve caused,” he wrote. “I entirely understand the decisions the PM (prime minister) and the party have taken and, while very sad to have been suspended, will support them in any way I can.”

This was not the first time Gwynne has spewed antisemitism. In 2018, it was discovered that he was a member of a Facebook group in which many anti-Jewish comments were being  made.

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At the time, he claimed, “I was added to this Facebook group without my knowledge or permission. I DO NOT support the posts and I ABHOR anti-Semitism.”

Starmer took over the Labour Party in 2020 from notorious antisemite Jeremy Corbyn, vowing to rid the party of all vestiges of Jew-hatred.