A Labour MP tweets false video of IDF 'abuses,' asks God to 'forgive' Israel on Easter

Grahame Morris also asked God to “forgive” Israel on Easter.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
MEMBERS OF the Labour party in the House of Commons (photo credit: REUTERS)
MEMBERS OF the Labour party in the House of Commons
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Labour MP Grahame Morris apologized on Tuesday for tweeting a video the day before of what he claimed was the Israeli army “caught on camera beating up Palestinian children for the fun of it.” The IDF responded that the video was not of IDF soldiers, but a 2015 report from Vice News about Guatemalan soldiers beating civilians.
The IDF added, “Apologies are in order.”
The Labour MP eventually did just that, tweeting his apologies “for sharing a post which purports to show the IDF hurting children but it was in fact the Guatemalan Army. My error demonstrates the dangers of fake news online, and I will be more diligent in future in checking my sources.”
The incorrectly labeled video was initially tweeted by Rachael Swindon and MP Morris retweeted it with his own comments on April 22. “Marvelous, absolutely marvelous the Israeli Army, the best financed, best trained, best equipped army in the world caught on camera beating up Palestinian children for the fund of it. May God forgive them,” he wrote. He then referenced “Easter Monday.”Swindon later deleted the video, but Morris’s comments were still on Twitter until April 23.

Swindon later deleted the video, but Morris's comments were still on Twitter until April 23. 
 
Replies pointed out that the reference “may God forgive them,” may have anti-Jewish overtones. “Will Mr. Morris now address his next tweet to the Guatemalan army, seeing as the errors of his ways have been exposed? Or does he only address his conscientious tweets to Jews,” one man responded.
The same MP retweeted another video from Swindon the same day, that claimed to show “Gaza” but was actually a video from Hebron.

The same MP retweeted another video from Swindon the same day that claimed to show “Gaza” but was actually a video from Hebron. “May God forgive them” may be a paraphrase of Jesus’ last words as he is crucified on Easter Friday, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).
Morris rarely tweets about God. A search of his tweet history shows he only used word 12 times since 2010, which points to it being employed particularly against Israel on Easter. The Labour party in the UK has been accused of ignoring antisemitism in the last several years.