UK sanctions: a crack, (but) that’s how the light gets in
JVL Introduction
The UK Labour government finally announced some sanctions on Israel , albeit focused on settler violence. As many have said, including JVL, the plans do not go far enough. Many have criticised the failure to name the onslaught in Gaza as genocide and that there was no [official] recognition that the settlers are totally backed by the Israeli State or that official settlement expansion is rife or that in almost all cases, even those settlements considered as illegal even under Israeli law are usually made official or that Israel killed off the two state “solution”.
The criticisms are justified but we need also to recognise it for what Francesca Albanese calls a “seismic shift” represents and what it offers; above all the chance to build the movement. As one of our readers commented:
“It’s a small step but let’s not forget that an avalanche can begin with a single stone. Or, to repeat Leonard Cohen, who was paraphrasing Rumi, “there’s a crack in everything,; that’s how the light gets in”.
Kevin Ovendon’s piece below reflects that and notes that the hysterical response and even personal targeting of Ed Miliband
“are in reality …a defence of pogromist fanatics burning Palestinians out of their homes. That is true even when some of those driving the backlash say they disapprove of settler violence. They think it is bad for publicity, but they don’t want action to end it…It was modest and the bare minimum a Labour government should do. Still that was far too much for the Israeli state and those who advocate for it.” (my emph. LL)
This article was originally published by Counterfire on Wed 9 Sep 2026. Read the original here.
Palestine: Seize the opportunity – keep pushing!
Ed Miliband’s minimal sanctions on ‘illegal’ settlers has caused a stir. Kevin Ovenden argues that these measures provide an opportunity to boost the pro-Palestine movement
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I have just finished reading the biography by Bill Cash of my fellow Rochdalian John Bright. Bright was a Quaker and like his co-religionists had a strong sense of social justice. He came to be regarded as one of the three great politicians of the 19th century, along with Gladstone and Disraeli. He worked for the repeal of the Corn Laws, which kept the price of bread high, he worked to extend the franchise which resulted in the 1867 Reform Act and the secret ballot which meant voters could not be intimidated. All these were opposed by the aristocracy which effectively controlled Parliament.
Bright’s method was to campaign for the things he believed were achievable at the time and build a countrywide movement so that eventually even his opponents came to realise that change was inevitable. Some of them came to respect him because he attacked their ideas not their person.
Those of us who want to see the Palestinian people free to make their own choices about where they live and who governs them, whether it be as co-equals with the Jewish people in a single state or in a separate state called Palestine could, and in my view should, welcome the changed stance of the UK government even though it is only a first step towards this goal. Eight weeks ago did this seem possible?