Joan Ryan

Overview:

Joan Ryan was an enthusiastic pro-Israel influence agent within the Labour party who was very upset with then-Labour Chief Jeremy Corbyn’s rise as a non-Israel friendly politician. She claimed that if Corbyn doesn’t cease his critique of Israel he could not be the Prime Minister of the UK.¹

She ultimately left the Labour Party and joined Change UK.

Zion over Labour

Throughout Labour election campaigns, Ryan would always push for the election of pro-Israel candidates.

In 2015, she became the Chair of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), a pro-Israeli lobby group within the Labour Party. In 2019, Ryan became the honorary President of LFI.

A Voice for Zion in the UK Parliament

Ryan has been a UK Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2010 and 2015 till 2019.

It is worth noting that Ryan has also been Vice-President of the All-Party Britain-Israel Parliamentary Group which is an informal pro-Israel lobby in the UK parliament.

Joan Ryan alongside Israeli president **Isaac Herzog** in Israel

Controversy Over Comments

In 2019, she ultimately left Labour after claiming that the party is filled with “anti-Semitism^”.²

In an Al Jazeera undercover investigation recorded in a documentary titled “The Lobby”, Ryan smeared various Labour members as being “anti-Semites”. The controversial comments endangered her political career. However, Ryan was able to evade a vote of no confidence.³