Labour’s growing isolation over Gaza
JVL Introduction
This editorial highlights Labour’s truly appalling record in the face of war crimes and genocide. While Starmer finally agrees that the situtation for Palestinians in Gaza is “intolerable”, he continues to tolerate it and expects us to do so as well. He continues to restrict marches, the latest being a huge exclusion zone for any demonstrations organised by IJAN, a Jewish organisation in solidarity with Palestinians, whose weekly demonstrations focus on calling out the Israeli Ambassador for her vocal support for the war even as it becomes more barbaric.
Arms continue to flow and even the restrictions on c 30% of arms licences are “open to question” as shown here and by Dropsite News in our earlier post . Tory MPs are admitting they got it wrong in supporting Israel for so long or begging the government to recognise Palestine and give the Palestinian people some hope but from Starmer – few words and even less action.
Most people are furious with the government and are on the side of the Palestinian people – as this article exhorts us all – join the demonstration in London on 17th if you possibly can and continue with local actions.
LL
This article was originally published by Morning Star on Thu 8 May 2025. Read the original here.
Palestine solidarity is now breaking the political consensus and isolating Labour
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It is very weird for Starmer always to be defending the Israeli fascists. It seems completely pointless, damages his credibility and loses votes.
What is it that gives the Israelis so much control over the Labour party?
I genuinely cannot believe that this government would get it so wrong on the Palestinians and the too many to mention the atrocities committed by the far right in Israel. It is a choice though, this government has decided to turn away from Palestine . What is happening between Russia and Ukraine is awful and Starmer did comment and related it to Hitler and incredibly, ignored the situation in Palestine. At least this time, nobody who ever they are , can say they didn’t know.
I so agree. Starmer is behaving disgracefully and bringing shame on this country. History will condemn him.
The problem in putting your eggs in the “recognizing the state of Palestine” basket is that you are proclaiming an entity that doesn’t exist and laying the foundations for either permanent apartheid or the mass expulsion of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, let alone giving the Ramallah cabal an authority it hasn’t earned or shown, unelected as it is.
For UK politicians it is a gesture that seems to amount to something that it isn’t and doesn’t cost anything. Will it remove any of the 900 checkpoints operated by the Occupation Forces in the West Bank? Will it prevent Israeli troops lifting Palestinians and dragging them off to administrative detention? Will it stop the removal of children from their homes in the night to face military courts?
End the supply of arms; begin sanctions; end military and “security” cooperation. Demand Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the West Bank – all very difficult, but worth fighting for.
Starmer (and Sunak before him) are also making the UK criminally complicit in facilitating Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. After Israel and many Israelis are put on trial for their own crimes, Starmer, Sunak and other UK “facilitators” may well join them in the dock.
I can’t see that happening immediately but am hopeful there will be suitable legal retribution for all the perpetrators and facilitators within the next 5 years. If it doesn’t then “international law” means nothing. Neither does “human decency”.
It’s come to something when the likes of Leigh and Malthouse now occupy the higher moral ground!
As Jacob Butler says I cannot fathom why Starmer & Co. are still defending the State of Israel so vehemently. His wife is Jewish and their children are being brought up in the Jewish faith, but then so are many fine and honourable people who are speaking out against the Israeli state. However, I do have a recollection of Starmer saying sometime ago he was an “confirmed Zionist” (I may be paraphrasing with ‘confirmed’ but it was certainly a word with the same meaning)….
In the meantime, perhaps the reader posting the ‘thumbs down’ would like to tell us why they disagree with the comments?
And as an aside, I do wonder if the introduction of the ‘likes’ or otherwise, has resulted in far fewer comments, which I always found very interesting?