Shadow Mental Health Minister Luciana Berger spoke movingly at a reception for Israel poverty charity Manna Meir Panim, which was held in Parliament on Monday evening.
Ms Berger, the MP for Liverpool Wavertree, who is Jewish, initially called on government officials to do all they could to restore peace in the wake of rising tensions in Israel, saying: “Political leaders must do all they can to restore calm”.
She went onto call for an end to dependence on food banks across the globe – highlighting the importance of charity as a Jewish value and the need to support the “sick, poor and weak”.
Ms Berger – who recalled visits to food banks in the UK, Israel and Africa – told more than 100 guests that 36 per cent of Israeli children live below the poverty line.