British MP with Jewish constituency steps down, cites threats due to Israel support

Conservatives MP Mike Freer, whose constituency in the north of London is primarily Jewish, has announced that he is stepping down due to the threats and violence his family has experienced since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7. 

Mike Freer has faced a series of death threats and was targeted by Ali Harbi Ali, the same man who stabbed Southend West MP Sir David Amess to death in 2021. As recently as December, MP Freer’s constituency office was torched. Two people have been charged for the arson attack.

He and his staff have started wearing stab vests at scheduled public events, Freer revealed, after learning that Ali had watched his Finchley office before killing MP Sir David at a one-on-one meeting with a constituent. 

Freer said that he was supposed to be in Finchley that day but changed his plans and went to Whitehall instead. Ali said he had come to Finchley to attack Freer.

Freer said that although MPs try to “make light” of threats, it remains at the back of his mind that he could have been killed. 

Freer said that he has also received threats from the group Muslims Against Crusades. They have threatened to stab him, and Freer said that he has found “mock Molotov cocktails on the office steps.”

Motivation of intimidation likely antisemitism

When asked whether he was being targeted because he represented a constituency with a large Jewish population, Freer said, “I can’t draw any other conclusion…The level of abuse I get standing up for my constituents on antisemitism and on Israel has to be a factor,” the Guardian reported. He has represented the community since 2010 and has held it in the face of challenges from Liberal Democrats and Labor. 

Several other MPs have said they would step down at the next election, scheduled for later this year, and Freer received widespread support and sympathy from colleagues. Labor’s candidate, Sarah Sackman, said that she was shocked by the news and that “We should have been able to face each other in the polls based on our ideas and merit,” as reported by Sky News. 

Tory's former minister, Sir Conor Burns, tweeted that it was a “totally understandable decision.” He added, “The drip-drip of hate (not exclusively from people on the other side) and remorselessness cynicism will drive more people out of office.” 

Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle told ITV’s Good Morning Britan he was “really saddened” that Freer is not seeking reelection, reported the Guardian. “We all get death threats, but Mike really has been targeted,” Hoyle said. “The fact that MPs have these threats is totally unacceptable.”