LAAS write to Sir Keir Starmer

LAAS wrote a letter to Keir Starmer about how he needs to repair divisions and confront extremism in Britain. We expressed disappointment that he not acknowledged what British Jews have experienced since October 7th, and has instead adopted a foreign policy towards Israel that appeases bullies who target his own MPs.

It was covered by the Sunday Telegraph:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/04/israel-antisemitism-palestine-starmer-labour-hamas/

The letter is reproduced below

The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP The Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 0AA

31 July 2024

Dear Sir Keir Starmer,

After the Labour Party was taken out of special measures by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, most British Jews were delighted at the prospect of being able to vote as voters and not as Jewish voters. Like the majority of the electorate, a significant part of the community found the prospect of another five years of Conservative-led government unappealing, so it was a relief not to face Hobsons choice at the ballot box.

Disappointingly, during the recent campaign election candidates from several parties – including yours – sought to exploit existing racial and religious divisions and ran campaigns centred on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a foreign conflict thousands of miles away.

Indeed, some candidates implored voters to “vote for Gaza”, a state ruled by a totalitarian terrorist regime offering no free elections. The irony was not lost on many within the Jewish community, given Jews are frequently accused of dual loyalty.

The emergence of the populist Reform UK party, with its anti-immigration rhetoric and paranoid conspiracies about the WEF, global elites, and shady cabals also shows how the political right has mirrored this dangerous shift towards exploiting hatred.

As you are now our prime minister we ask: what are you planning to tackle this divisive sectarianism now blighting Britain?

As Jews we face pressure to hide our identity, and many Jewish parents now have to accept that their children will face racist hostility at the places they should feel safest — schools and universities. Yet you have failed to acknowledge that antisemitism has become normalised across the UK or described how it affects thousands of families.

Instead of public outreach to show you understand and empathise with our experiences since Oct 7th, your actions have exacerbated the situation.

Knowing that Israel serves as a cipher for a loud and increasingly confident section of people to attack Jews, you have chosen to appease instead of confronting bullies.

Objections to the ICC case were dropped, funding to UNRWA was resumed (effectively aiding Hamas atrocities), and now you propose an arms embargo while Hezbollah is deliberately killing Israeli children. You have also said that the British government will formally recognise a Palestinian State, seemingly without putting any conditions in place to ensure its democracy or to safeguard its neighbour.

This sends a message internationally that the brutal terrorism of Hamas should be rewarded, and domestically that the nasty bullying of MPs (including those in your party) by hate groups such as the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign is effective.

Perhaps you calculate that the benefits outweigh the domestic fallout Jews would face and the damage this does to the UK’s relationships with close allies? You recently met with Israeli President Herzog and reportedly reiterated the British government’s support for Israel’s right to self-defence, but your actions do not match these promises and come across as empty rhetoric.

In 2021 you wrote in the Jewish Chronicle that your Labour Party “will always stand up for Israel” and that you would “tear the poison of antisemitism out by its roots”. Many British Jews took you at your word and awarded the Labour Party their votes in the recent general election. However the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and Chief Rabbi have already expressed their deep concerns at the direction your government is taking. We echo those concerns and urge you to reconsider the decisions you are currently taking.

You are no longer simply the leader of the Labour Party but are the leader of our country, and antisemitism across the United Kingdom is now your responsibility. It cannot be treated as an exercise in electoral calculation and must be addressed, head on, with actions, before severe and long-lasting societal damage is inflicted on the fabric of our nation.

Yours sincerely,

Labour Against Antisemitism