The Labour MP Clive Lewis has shared claims made by a notorious anti-Zionist on social media that Keir Starmer is under the control of Israel’s “money and orders.”
But the post shared by the Norwich South MP by Dr Louise Raw had mistakenly used a photograph of a Turkish boy suffering from a severe genetic disorder when the poster believed it was a picture of an injured Palestinian child.
A community note on Instagram states:”The post in the screenshot is unrelated to Israel’s war on Hamas.”
Lewis, a former shadow frontbencher under Jeremy Corbyn, has previously faced complaints about alleged antisemitism, last year sharing a post that claimed there was a link between far-right violence in the UK with Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
His decision to share claims that the Prime Minister is influenced by money and power from the state of Israel will once again raise concerns about the MP in relation to antisemitism claims.
In her post Louise Raw wrote:”Very sorry about the photo but I want to understand how everyone isn’t screaming inside.
“A precious baby still trying to smile and show love.
“How aren’t you in tears every day Keir Starmer? You have kids. How are you still taking Israel’s money and orders? How?”
After a community note clarified that the photo of the boy was not related to the Gaza conflict, it added “Yousef, a young Turkish child, suffers from Harlequin ichthyosis.”
One senior Labour source told Jewish News:”Is it really appropriate for a Labour MP to be sharing antisemitic conspiracy theories about his boss?
“It’s not the first time Clive Lewis has been down this route either.”
Clive Lewis MP shares post by Dr Louise Raw
Louise Raw has herself repeatedly hit out at what she says are “false” allegations of antisemitism against her, and was temporarily suspended from X after a series of complaints were made against her posts.
In her bio, Raw describes herself an “Activist, Antifascist, historian” and she has been a staunch supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and a regular on pro-Palestine demos.
Lewis has previously been involved in a series of controversies during his parliamentary career. At the 2017 Labour Conference, video footage taken at a fringe event emerged in which the MP told the male actor Sam Swann to “get on your knees, bitch”.
Lewis subsequently tweeted an apology, in which he described his behaviour as “offensive and unacceptable”.
Louise Raw
He had previously supported the left-wing activist Marc Wadsworth, who was expelled from Labour in April 2018 for bringing it into disrepute.
Wadsworth had accused Jewish Labour MP Ruth Smeeth of working “hand in hand” with the media at the launch of the Chakrabarti report into antisemitism in the party.
Lewis, who had provided a character reference for Wadsworth opposed the decision to expel him.
In December 2019, he announced that he would run in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election following Corbyn’s resignation.
Community note on post by Louise Raw identifying Turkish, not Palestinian child
Despite a petition by members and supporters to get him on the ballot due to his democratisation and electoral reform policies, he received only five of the necessary 22 nominations from Labour MPs.
In September 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Lewis wrote an article criticising the monarchy and the “flawed reality of the very limited democracy we inhabit”.
Jewish News has contacted Labour for comment over the MP’s latest post on the PM and Israel.
