A day after reinstating her, the British Labour Party re-suspended party activist and parliamentary candidate Vicki Kirby on Tuesday for a series of anti-Semitic comments on Twitter dating back to 2011.
Kirby was first suspended in 2014 after tweeting that Hitler may be a “Zionist God” and asking why the Islamic State group wasn’t attacking “the real oppressors,” Israel.
She is also reported to have commented: “We invented Israel when saving them from Hitler, who now seems to be their teacher.”
The Labour Party had initially announced it would not revisit the matter of her reinstatement further, but reversed that decision Tuesday after a barrage of criticism from fellow party members and Jewish groups.
At the faction meeting during which it was decided to re-suspend Kirby, Labour MP Louise Ellman said that the party’s relationship with the country’s Jewish community had reached a low point.
In 2011, Kirby reportedly posted on Twitter that Jews “have big noses.” She was forced to resign at the time but later returned to activity within the Labour Party.
Labour MP Wes Streeting, who had questioned Kirby’s reinstatement, welcomed her suspension, saying on Twitter: “Better late than never. Well done to everyone who spoke out.”
