There are moments when I think that we are just about, at best, clinging on by our fingertips to the concept of civilisation.
There are other occasions when I very much doubt there are any real signs at all that we do retain, at least within our political leadership, any indication of that capacity for human care that is an essential quality if we want to live successfully, one with another.
Events in Gaza fall, very firmly, into this second category.
There can be no doubt now that Israel is trying to eliminate the Palestinian population of Gaza.
They have not, to date, succeeded in doing so by force.
They are now, instead, attempting to starve the Palestinian people in that territory out of existence, either by denying them the food that they need to live, or by forcing them to move outside it, and to some other location, so that they might survive the starvation that Israel is deliberately imposing upon them.
Israel is undertaking ethnic cleansing of an entire population by threatening to kill everyone within Gaza in one of the most cruel and inhumane ways possible.
This action has no relationship with whatever might, or might not, have happened on October 7, 2023.
The holding of hostages and prisoners by both sides is a matter unrelated to this deliberate act of destruction.
There is no possible military, ethical or other justification for what Israel is doing.
Nor can its actions be described as an act of war. International law makes it clear that they are not.
This is a deliberate, planned act intended to result in mass murder aimed at a population as a whole with the intention of eliminating it so that Israel might claim Gaza as its own without a Palestinian population remaining.
We know that the leaders of Israel will not listen to appeals for humanity: it would appear they have none.
The appropriate question to ask, in that case, is where are the leaders of the UK, the USA and other Western democracies on this issue?
I noticed a report yesterday that suggested that a junior ministry in the UK's Foreign Office, which is responsible for Middle Eastern affairs, had made some mild observations on what is going on.
Keir Starmer did not do so.
David Lammy, as Foreign Secretary, did not do so.
Donald Trump, who would like the world to know that he is Benjamin Netanyahu's best friend, is probably encouraging this action.
Throughout Europe, there appears to be no outrage amongst political leaders at what is going on.
No wonder that the soft power of Western democracy now appears to have so little reach around the world. If these so-called democracies cannot take a stand to condemn the worst act of deliberate violence undertaken by a state for maybe 80 years (and I am aware of some of the atrocities in China, of course), then it is apparent that the West has totally failed, and its leadership has gone.
What baffles me is this. Why do these leaders want power if, when they appear to have it, they are unwilling to use it to speak out for justice, condemning those who commit atrocities? Why did they ever bother to make the sacrifices that acquiring power required if they are not going to use it for a greater good?
And who is it who is advising them to say nothing of consequence in the face of atrocity?
How have we reached the point where people, supposedly in power, think that to acquiesce to genocide is acceptable?
And what are the implications for us all of these people's silence?
Could it be that they are so determined to vilify the refugee to suit their own warped, domestic political agenda that they cannot even see the plight of the human beings who flee in this world, driven by the terror implicit in the option of not doing so?
I can only speculate as to their motives. But their lack of words speaks very loudly, and they will be recalled for their inaction, because by it we know them, and what they are about. They are willingly walking on the other side at a time of humanitarian crisis, and for that, they should be condemned.
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I have always understood that claiming that jews rule the world was an antisemitic trope. However, it does appear that zionist jews have enormous influence over western governments. Non zionist jews seem to have none. Why is a question I would dearly love answered. What is happening in complete silence from our Governments is unconscionable. Western Governments are all complicit in the complete trashing of international law and the loss of any “rules” / limitations about what can be done in conflicts. I fear for all our futures. We have certainly lost any ability to claim any western moral highground.
This is just my opinion, but I think too many are heavily financially invested in the State of Israel as is. The West has also long regarded Israel as its “policeman” (read colonial enforcer) in the turned to socialism and then to Islam as a form of resistance. Then we have to consider those oil and gas reserves …..
Thank you, Jennifer.
My friend Aurelien is a former British diplomat. He has read the archives, going back to the mid-19th century, that detail Britain’s need for a guard dog for the passage to India and a local attack dog to harass the Ottoman and Russian empires in case of war. A “Jewish national home”, but not country, * was a(nother) cover decades later.
*Many of the promoters of the idea felt that this achieved two objectives. It established a British dependency in the eastern Mediterranean and got rid of Jews** from the UK.
**Some, but not all, Jews welcomed the idea. Edwin Montagu opposed. Many of the prominent supporters had business interests in the colonies, which caused some scandals in the 19th century. Some storied firms were founded or co-founded by these business families. Some firms, including a former employer and all with colonial links, still have the founding families, Jew and Gentile, as shareholders.
I should have added, with regard to invested, that this is emotional and financial.
Fun fact for readers: Morgan McSweeney spent time in a kibbutz and really believes that zionist stuff. Not long after, he was introduced to Mandelson. McSweeney and Wes Streeting became proteges of Mandelson in the noughties.
Many politicians see zionism as good for their careers. Many of them really do believe in that supremacist and imperialist stuff. What’s interesting is that they see neoliberalism and zionism as a natural combination. It reminds me of the likes of Alfred Sherman, Keith Joseph and Nigel Lawson and other neoliberal Jews who surrounded Thatcher.
There are also westerners, including a former cabinet minister, who have investments in Israel and Palestine. There’s money to be made there, but being part of these investor circles is good for their careers and social climbing.
“it does appear that zionist jews have enormous influence over western governments. Non zionist jews seem to have none.”
This is blatantly an anti-semitic statement, and attempting to qualify it by saying non-zionist jews aren’t influential does not change that.
It clearly is not anti-Semitic. It cannot be. It is a statement that divides by politcal belief. You are the anti-Semite by suggesting otherwise.
You write complete tosh Clive.
This whole argument is not as black and white as you wish it to be, there are many shades of grey to black and all Richard is doing is acknowledging the Jews in Israel that are so often pushed to the periphery in this issue at the moment.
You disgust me.
@ Clive Haworth,
Its an extremely complex topic, with much abuse of terminology; which you amply demonstrate.
How can criticism of the following: the state of Israel, a country; the IDF, its security forces; the Knesset, its parliament; or Zionism, a political idea from 19th century Europe, be “anti-semitic”? None of them, even the IDF, are exclusively Jewish. Antisemitism only applies when someone is attacking, individually or collectively, Jewish people because of their faith and/or race.
Using Occam’s razor, its reasonable to conclude, and to narrow down the reasons for your misuse of the term to the following:
a) you don’t know what you’re talking about;
b) you do know, but are aware that throwing accusations of antisemitism, into a discussion, is a very effective way of cynically closing it down.
Now explain WHY you say that, preferably without using phrases like “antisemitic trope” or referring to IHRA. Use reasoned argument because “trope” arguments simply won’t wash any more.
Zionists DO have undue influence – look at the influence that the Chief Rabbi, the CST, the CAA , the BoD, exercise over the main political parties. They influenced Justin Welby, till he had the guts to talk to a Palestinian Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem. Presumably you have seen all the episodes of The Lobby, including the USA episodes, also all episodes of The Labour Files?
The UK PM is a self-declared “Zionist, 100%, unqualified”, and his Zionism is clearly motivating him in his leadership of both the Labour Party and the country.
Incidentally, with Starmer at the helm, why do non-Zionist Jews suffer unprecedented political ostracism, and expulsion from the Labour Party?
I read the Jewish Chronicle every week, and I see this pressure being applied and it is very effective. But even 10% of Zionist British Deputies have publicly had enough of Israel’s behaviour. I suppose they are “antisemitic” too?
The irony is, Israel is making the world less safe for both its own citizens and for diaspora Jews.
Perhaps remove the word ‘jews’ from each side of the comment? Does that mean it is anti-semitic? If not, perhaps your interpretation of ‘anti semitic’ needs work?
Thank you, Ali.
Ali: “We have certainly lost any ability to claim any western moral high ground.”
The global south / zone b may quibble that the west had any in the first place. What did Gandhi say?
Western leaders and, frankly, many officials are so arrogant and ignorant even that they can’t see the long term damage this is doing to western interests. The question is why?
🙂
Thanks Colonel.
The Balfour Declaration was indeed more than Christian Zionism. Austin Chamberlain, Churchill, and Lloyd George saw a “European” state near to the Suez canal as an asset. They realised Egypt would become independent at some point.
It was indeed useful when Nasser nationalised the canal and Eden together with the French and Israel attacked Egypt.
We know that it was imbecilic. Eisenhower objected as he wanted ‘Third World’ support against the Russian invasion of Hungary. He actually ordered American warships to block the British task force but they sailed between the American ships. Then they put pressure of the pound and the Uk and France had to withdraw. Canada which had not backed the invasion, supplied some of the UN troops deployed.
Both the European states realised that time was up on the Empires although France continued to fight in Algeria for two more years. But the year after Suez France signed the EEC Treaty of Rome.
Edwin Monatgue’s objection to Balfour was that Judaism is not a nationality and a Jewish state might become an excuse for some countries to deport Jewish citizens.
I read Richard’s piece and all the comments, then returned here. You ask a good question AliB. I recall that soon after the violence began, an open letter was written to Biden by Jewish artists and writers, condemning the response by the state of Israel. There was a petition to share it further.
Simon Kelner wrote about the recent letter from the ‘rebel’ members of the Board of Deputies, alluding to the tradition of argument and analysis in study of the Talmud, where two students would study together so they could discuss how they interpreted the text. It appears that the big Z movement has turned its back on this tradition of discussion and interpretation, with terrible consequences for Palestinians, exclusion for Jews who disagree and consequences for many more people as the world becomes more authoritarian.
This is indeed complicated and tricky ground, and thanks to all who have added to my fairly basic knowledge of the history before Balfour and after.
I’d just say Zionists. There are many very influential Christian Zionists around – particularly in the USA. And as we know Starmer counts himself a Zionist while the “Friends of Israel” in Parliament presumably have the same affiliation. On the other hand, as you note, there are very many non Zionist Jews who oppose these atrocities, and are even pursued by the law as terrorist supporters for doing so. Morality turned inside out.
Spot on Richard, as always. Also, where are the Palestinians’ allies and friends – the Gulf petrostates et al? Too busy pumping oil and burning the planet, or too afraid of Trump ?
Thank you, Paul.
I can help answer that. Why? From late 1992 to 2015, my ex RAF father was a doctor, professor of medicine and public health adviser in Saudi Arabia and worked around the Middle East and North Africa. His patients included the late King Abdullah, code name T Rex in our messages.
These states are somewhat artificial, the usual trick of imposing and / or using the most powerful thug to suppress a population. Their armed forces are for internal repression. It won’t surprise you where their wealth is domiciled and managed by whom. These monarchies are in no position to and not inclined to help Palestine. Dad’s Palestinian friends told him the Palestinians would have to liberate themselves alone. Sinn Fein, anyone?
Colonel
The Arab League made an offer in 2002 to recognise Israel -in its 1967 borders- if they would agree to a Palestinian state. They also wanted a right of return but pulled back a bit on that.
It would have given Isreal some security which it won’t get by bombing everyone. The Arab states would keep a check on the non-state resistance groups and the US would also have guaranteed to borders.
The appeal of the resistance groups would-as in South Africa and Northern Ireland been much diminished.
If people are treated as Pariahs we can’t be surprised if they retaliate. The offer would have required the USA to lean on them to accept it. But they were not willing saying the two sides must come to an agreement (despite the disparity in power ) so a chance was lost.
But at some point the US will realise their country gets nothing from supporting Israel and loses from doing so. Obama refers to it in his book The Promised Land.’
One day America will pull back they will have lost their protector and enabler.
This genocide will haunt Jews for a very long time.
Why is there so little comment from the Jewish diaspora?
There is condemnation from the Jewish diaspora – check out Katie Halper and Sam Seder, to name but two in the US, and our very own Louis Theroux here in the UK. Those three of course have reasonably large platforms, but there are others, for example Jews who have participated in anti-Zionism demonstrations both here and in thje US and elsewhere. Your argument that Jews don’t speak up is akin to the trope that Muslims don’t speak up against terror attacks. They do.
OK, but niot many are
Look at the reaction to the 36 who recently signed a letter on this issue
We have a considerable “Jewish Block” who regularly march with us in London; I fully expect them to join us again on the 17th of May to set out from Downing Street. Some Jewish participants carry a sign indicating that they are the descendants of holocaust survivors; I can only imagine the anguish they must feel over the ongoing genocide! Representatives of the Jewish community in the UK are always among those chosen to speak at the culmination of our marches.
On every London march I have participated in so far, at some point along the route, there will be a very noticeable, and easily recognisable, group of Hesidic Jews who remain on station throughout the march. This is so that all of the marchers will pass them and their banners of support for the besieged people of Gaza.
There are coaches leaving from all over the UK to come down to this very important ‘Nakba’ anniversary march: I hope some of your readers will consider joining us. I would strongly encourage those of you who are able to join us to make a concerted effort to come to London for the next National March on May 17th as we are hoping for an especially large turnout. It isn’t easy for me to make it to all of these demos, and one might consider this effort totally futile, but I plan to lead the march in my electric wheelchair, as I have done so many times before. Palestinians see our protests as a lifeline of support, so please try to join us in London on May 17th.
Why so little comment? most of ’em support what is happening.
Obvs, one sees jews demostrating against Israel’s genocide – but this is the exception. Starmer is married to a jew & a zionist. His children are being brought up jewish and he has contact with mostly conservative jews & has absorbed their PoV on anti-semitism. Bolt on to this the well publicised contact between the UK police/security services & the Israeli security services, the arrest of all sorts of Uk journalists who have dared to criticised the murder of palestinians/on going genocide and you have a combo of initially deafening silence & now hand wringing (oh its all so terrible etc) to the point where even the pro-Israel Guardian is ringing the far too late alarm bells.
Israel is the last gasp of European colonialism dressed up as “give the jews a homeland” – whilst passing over the bleedin obvious – it was never terra nullis (oh & include the on-going guilt with respect to events in WW2).
This is absolutely horrific, I can’t understand why our political leaders say and do nothing while a whole population is being starved and bombed by the Israeli state. I believe it is corruption at state level that drives their inaction and I sincerely hope that one day they are punished for their complicity in a Genocide.
I have become boring on social media about this. Not speaking out is antithetical to our own interests.
We are celebrating victory over a power that demanded lebensraum ( living room ) and replacement of the untermensch ( less than human) Politicians are speechifying while they ignore the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. We are seeing a similar situation. They are devaluing the celebration.
The only argument the pro-Zionists seem to use today is to de-humanise the Palestinians. Pappe the Israeli historian working at Exeter University makes the case that colonial settler states do that to justify their annexations.
We should not lose sight of the many Jews and Israelis who are equally appalled and it is harder for them to speak out.
I’ve often thought of those two words – lebensraum and untermensch. How they were applied to Jews under the Nazis and how accurately they describe Israel’s policies and attitudes towards Palestinians and Arabs more generally, over many decades. In the fantastic Jewish museum in Berlin there is a gallery which illustrates how legislation was used over the years to exclude Jews from German society and any form of normal life. We commented on the time on the close parallel with Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Anyone who has studied conflict and terrorism, be it Sri Lanka, South Africa, Northern Ireland or Israel will know that endless persecution of one group by another that has overwhelming power, will inevitably lead to ‘terrorism’ as the only available response left. Mandela was of course described as a terrorist.
For those of us of an age to have had parents who fought in the war, the Holocaust is perhaps more vivid than to younger folk. My Dad’s regiment were at the liberation of concentration camps and he was subsequently in Palestine in 1948. The memories of the Holocaust and anti-semitism are perhaps fresher in our minds. However, for younger generations that is less powerful and they are only too aware of the genocide being carried out in Gaza and the West Bank and for some, how this has gone on for decades. When to point it out is to be greeted with cries of ‘anti-semitism’, then anti-semitism loses all meaning. Jews from Israel and elsewhere should be aware that continually crying wolf like this will destroy the support of otherwise liberal people, who just see another and particularly brutal form of racism.
I shall be meeting an old Jewish friend later this week. Married to a black South African and has spent much of his life working on EDI issues. Those Jews who do speak out against Israel and Zionism need strong support – their voices tend to be drowned out by louder, better connected pro Israel voices.
Thanks, Robin
I think in this – as in so many other questions – the US is a big part of the problem. European etc politicians probably feel they have to consider not only right and wrong, but how forthright condemnation, let alone any action such as the international boycott of Israel that is really needed, will be received by the immoral and unpredictable Trump administration.
And the US itself is compromised – not only by its current government, but by the long term alignment of its geopolitical interests in the middle-east with Israel, and the consequent movement of most other countries in the region, and beyond, towards Russia and China.
Many EU governments have a similar deposition to Israel a s Biden and Trump. Europe has never wanted to lead western foreign policy. The EU does not have institutional framework to coordinate foreign policy. The EU does not have the capabilities to challenge Israel even if it wanted to. EU foreign policy has always been weak and vague. Change has to come from the member states and until now they look scared to walk out from under the shadow of the united states.
Seems to me the stance of the western governments is that of a “dog in a manger”. They take power, not in order to use it but to deny it to others.
War crimes are being perpetrated by Israel, including genocide, with our own government actively enabling the perpetrators, selling them military hardware, advocating for them in diplomatic circles, abstaining from or vetoing international, diplomatic and legal attempts to intervene, as well as silencing and smearing those who protest about it.
The population of Gaza is over 2 million. The entire population are captive and subject to Israeli atrocities. Gaza is no longer an open air prison, it is an open air torture chamber.
War crimes are also committed on a daily basis in the West Bank and E. Jerusalem, at an escalating level.
The “excuse” used by the international community for sitting on our hands is the difficulty of proving intent. Yet you only have to study the public utterances, on the record, of Israeli government ministers, to know what their stated intent is. They INTEND to commit war crimes, they are stating it clearly and have been saying so for a long time, on the record. You can read about it in the Israeli (but not the British) press.
Our media are also complicit in covering up the reality of what is happening. They know but they censor their journalists, they control the bulletins, they distort the truth, they do not challenge lies. Especially the BBC.
Starmer and his government are actively, knowingly, deliberately, culpably and disgracefully complicit in these war crimes. They have no excuse. Every Cabinet minister, every Junior Minister, every PPS – complicit in war crimes as part of an immoral UK government unless they actively, publicly resist Starmer’s wicked leadership with their resignations and condemnation.
If I tried to say this in a Labour CLP meeting, I would be silenced (thank God I’m no longer a member). The Labour Party bureaucracy is being used to enable war crimes. The Parliamentary Labour Party and the Government whips’ Office are used to silence dissent, and are complicit in war crimes.
Yesterday I read that even some senior Tory MPs and peers have had enough and are demanding action.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/06/senior-tory-mps-break-ranks-to-call-for-recognition-of-palestinian-state
Since the horrors of the Holocaust under Hitler, and the changes in international law post Nuremberg, the world has recognised war crimes and genocide. Israel has always acted as if it had a special post-Holocaust exemption from observing the same rules as other countries. Some other Western nations also take the same hypocritical approach, not even recognising the jurisdiction of international courts. Any suggestion that Israel might in any way be comparable to Nazi Germany is condemned as antisemitism. Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, has no excuse for his hypocrisy and complicity on this matter.
But Israel, a nation created with international consent, supposedly to provide a homeland for victims of war crimes and their descendants, is committing war crimes on a horrendous scale, on a daily basis. They can no longer rely on their status as Nazi victims. Indeed, many Jewish Holocaust survivors are themselves horrified at what Israel is doing, but Israel or groups such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews call them traitors, and vilify them, even when some of the critics are Deputies themselves.
The UK has a special responsibility in this matter, because of the Balfour Declaration, because of the British Mandate in Palestine. Our experiences at the hands of the Irgun, during the Mandate years, should have taught us that a Jew is as capable of brutality as any other human being, but we continue to pretend otherwise, and accuse anyone calling for a level legal playing field, of antisemitism.
I have no hope that Starmer will change his mind. He seems happy striking deals with fascists (Trump, Modi, Netanyahu) even managing to strike his latest deal with India as war erupted again in Kashmir. But it’s time his colleagues did something, or they will go down in history as moral cowards, more interested in money and status than morality.
What do they say to their children?
If you haven’t yet written to challenge your MP on this issue of complicity please do so. Be harsh (but not abusive) and personal with them. Please make them feel uncomfortable. They deserve it.
Thank you Richard for your consistency on this.
I didn’t know that the population of Gaza was over 2 million now. That’s a sign of getting older.
2.3 million in Sept 2023.
< 2 million in May 2025.
You ask : “Why do these leaders want power if, when they appear to have it, they are unwilling to use it to speak out for justice, condemning those who commit atrocities?”.
It seems western leaders do not have the empathy, vision or capacity to do so.
We note that the concerted effort to shut down any criticism of Israel has been extremely effective. Our feeble rulers either support this Zionist behaviour or are too feart to challenge.
Instead, they keep their beaks down and focus on feathering their nest, whilst not ruffling feathers. Perhaps it is wrong to assume they entered politics to affect change other than personal aggrandisement?
(Yes, I was getting annoyed writing this, so I deliberately upped the bird references just to entertain myself. No intent to diminish this issue at all.)
Israel poses the greatest threat to humanity.
https://dearscotland.substack.com/p/why-israel-poses-such-a-grave-threat
A poem by Refaat Alareer from Gaza spoken by Brian Cox
https://ifimustdie.net/
Thanks Ian.
Powerful.
Thank you and well said, Richard.
Richard: “What baffles me is this. Why do these leaders want power if, when they appear to have it, they are unwilling to use it to speak out for justice, condemning those who commit atrocities? Why did they ever bother to make the sacrifices that acquiring power required if they are not going to use it for a greater good?” CS: Many, if not most, modern politicians, not just here, go into politics at a relatively young age. Politics is a stepping stone to affluence.
Richard: “And who is it who is advising them to say nothing of consequence in the face of atrocity? CS: Youngsters not long out of university, on the make, but not yet on the take. Few seasoned diplomats are involved. If they are, they may be neo cons. The incentives dictate against career diplomats speaking out. Career officials minded to leak are aware that they may be betrayed by the MSM outlets and / or the likes of Craig Murray are under surveillance.
I am too much of an idealist to ever understoopd those solely on the make.
It’s the diference between the neurotypical and neurodiverse mind, I expect.
I’m certain plenty of neurotypical people are baffled by the greedy and conscienceless. I think maybe (broad generalisation) the neurodiverse fail to grow a thicker skin. I’ve been an ostrich at times, but the sickness of the world makes us all unwell in some measure. No amount of bread and circus will insulate us. Excellent posts today as per usual. I have shared Rafaat Alareer’s moving poem, thank you Ian Stevenson for the link. Now off to tend my garden and listen to the joyful playtime noises carried on the breeze from the primary school.
🙂
I should have added that this has nowt to do with Trump. This goes back to when the al Saud family allied with the US nearly a century ago.
Jeremy Bowen on BBC does issue coded comments, such as this morning saying that it will be more difficult for the big powers to urge India and Pakistan not to escalate because they have already broken the international ‘rules based’ order.
Michael Rosen has been very good in his innocent questioning of the massacres
Agreed
Most of us are terrified of being called antisemitic , including myself a non practicing secular Jew . A few years ago i went with a mixed group to assist Palestinian families on the West Bank to harvest their olives and to discourage any interference from hostile settlers . Everything went fine and when I returned I visited a surviving relative ( I’m in my 80s ) and told them about the trip , I accused of antisemitism and encouraged to leave . So I’ve lost touch with one of my few surviving relatives , and I fear this behaviour towards ordinary Palestinians will turn against liberal Jews and isolate the Israelis from the majority of ordinary people in democracies.
Thanks for relating this.
Watch Crispin Flintoff Show on Sunday morning, 10.30 am to 12.30 if you want to see British Jews against Netanyahu, and how they are not allowed to speak out, or are taken to court for doing so.
Also watch The Big Lie 3, Censoring Palestine, filmed by Norman Thomas, norm6344@gmail.com to arrange a viewing in your area.
It may be more to do with being scared of being called anti-Semitic.
Any criticism of the State of Israel has always been met with cries of ‘remember what happened to us in the Holocaust’ and that the critic is a full on committed anti-Semite.
It is impossible to forget what happened in the Holocaust, especially since it is being re-enacted in front of our eyes by the descendants of very people who swore “never again” after it ended. How ashamed they would be of the world today.
I was wondering how long it would take you to comment on this and I’m glad you did, and thanks too to the others who have bravely put their head above the parapet.
A Muslim colleague said openly in the office the other day that he was really disappointed with the lack of condemnation and support for Gaza he had seen in the town/city he worked in. All I could do was put a consoling hand on his shoulder – words seemed inadequate and also dangerous (there were other white faces obviously listening – these are strange times).
All I see in Israel is religion conflated with real-estate development. Some might say it is revenge on the world by a persecuted group, but it was mostly Christians dealing out death to Jews in the Holocaust, not Muslims.
All this has done is made life more dangerous for us all in the long run.
My heart bleeds……………………….
Thank you, PSR.
Mum has a young colleague of Pakistani origin. He reports that mosques are raising, but dare not say its for Palestine as the community says it’s under surveillance.
A colleague, a Hindu mum of two, could not get approval for an outside interest, trustee of a charity to provide aid to Palestine. Our employer dare not allow that.
Further to RobertJ’s comments (at 9.00am): in addition to writing to your MP, I recommend speaking to your MP personally in their constituency surgery, particularly if they are Labour and have not been speaking out about the genocide by Israel in Gaza. Look them in the eye.
I have looked my MP in the eye and told him what I think of him.
He wears tee-shirts calling himself a Zionist shit-lord. It’s Luke Akehurst, who would never go against Starmer.
Thank you.
During the election campaign, mine hastily made up a story about being an aid worker in Gaza. My MP has since returned to type. Reform is likely to win in 2029.
Thank you Richard and thank you RobertJ for your strong condemnation of Israel and Starmer’s government. I was minded to write more fully, but you have covered it all better than I could. I stand by everything you say. I am ashamed to be British, though I am a Scottish resident and take (very small) comfort in our Government’s condemnation of the genocide, and the stance of The National, the only newspaper in UK that has unreservedly condemned it and reported it, when more mainstream outlets have largely lost interest.
I am proud to write for The National. That is one reason for being so.
Thank you, Phillip Butler, for reminding people that the SNP-led Scottish government has always been supportive of Palestine, and appalled by the human rights violations taking place there now. Our former First Minister, Humza Yousaf, is married to a Palestinian who has family trapped over there, and he has been very eloquent about the issue. That’s not to say there aren’t Zionists here in Scotland—as in other parts of the UK—but it’s heartening to be represented by political leaders who are not Zionists.
At the risk of poor Richard saying, ‘Oh God, not him again!’
I was looking up something on Youtube and I saw this link. Despite having things to do I watched this link. It is over 50 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9dws0yuaPY
I was a bit surprised that so many MPs spoke out including the Conservatives (indeed a couple of the strongest questions) and with passion.
The Labour minister was probably having the worst time of his Parliamentary career. Priti Patel on the Troy front bench said nothing. I get the impression the front benches are out of touch with their parliamentary parties.
For those interested in reading more ( I used to be a teacher ) the website is quite comprehensive with links to sources like Sykes-Picot and the King Crane Report.
https://britainpalestineproject.org/
Good to see
No governmment reaction.
I have listened to Hamish Falconer, making excuse after excuse after excuse for the British government’s hypocritical lack of action on Israel’s war crimes, and Israel’s chronic genocidal behaviour. I have also just listened to him refuse, time after time, to use words like war crime or genocide, insisting that the government leaves such matters to the international courts.
HYPOCRISY!
What is so hypocritical is to compare the reluctance of the UK to condemn and sanction Israel. with it’s willingness to RIGHTLY condemn and sanction other regimes who break international law.
Starmer has previously commented willingly on Russia’s breaches of international law, and the UK government has always been ready to sanction the governments of countries we do not regard as allies, such as Iran or Myanmar.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/putin-war-crimes-keir-starmer-russia-b2030249.html
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/kremlin-ramps-up-ww3-fears-34873318
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-putin-starmer-missile-strikes-power-grid-b2669921.html
https://www.itv.com/news/2023-02-16/ukraine-keir-starmer-calls-for-investigation-of-war-crimes-during-kyiv-visit
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/breaking-keir-starmer-issues-fierce-34833078
As the links demonstrate, the refusal of Starmer’s government to pronounce on the illegal nature of Israel’s behaviour, on the grounds that it is a matter for the international courts, is pure hypocrisy.
It is hypocrisy of him and his ministers to refuse to comment on Israeli war crimes and genocide on the basis of that being a matter for the international courts.
They say publicly that international law must be upheld but refuse to comment when Israel flouts it.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-05-06/debates/c820cfd5-fa7a-4b4e-b922-581b89e2a380/CommonsChamber#
“As the House knows, I will not make a determination from this Dispatch Box on questions of law.”
He then referred to the UK submission to the International Court of Justice on “Friday” – I think he probably meant “Thursday”, and the submission is here, made by Sally Langrish and Sir Michael Wood:
(will automatically download a pdf file)
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/196/196-20250501-ora-02-00-bi.pdf (page 55 onwards)
Sir Michael did make some important points about the immunity of UN organisations from interference by nation states (presumably he was referring to Israel and the USA) although I doubt that will get reported in MSM.
Ms Langrish covers a number of “obligations” laid upon Israel – and does so clearly, but the issue is not whether Israel is “obliged” to obey international law, but what our government does when Israel does NOT obey international law.
Answer – we do far less than the bare minimum anyone would reasonably expect of us, and that makes us complicit as we are failing in OUR duty to uphold international law ourselves and the obligations laid upon US.
On Tuesday, Hamish Falconer found himself listening to MPs from ALL sides of the house, who profoundly disagree with him. One Tory MP, Mark Pritchard, even went so far as to say the following:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-05-06/debates/c820cfd5-fa7a-4b4e-b922-581b89e2a380/CommonsChamber#
“Israel is an important security, trade and democratic partner, but that does not give it a blank cheque. The fact is that 13,000 children have been killed and 25,000 have been injured, maimed or wounded—some of them have been orphaned. I have been in this House for 20 years, and for many years I have supported Israel—pretty much at all costs, quite frankly—but today I say that I got it wrong. I condemn Israel for what it is doing to the Palestinian people in Gaza and the west bank. I withdraw my support right now for the actions of Israel and what it is doing right now in Gaza. Of course the hostages should be released, of course Israel has a right to exist, and of course Israeli and Jewish people should have the right to live in peace, but so do the Palestinian people. I have said it before, and I will say it again: the life of a Palestinian child is as precious as the life of a Jewish child.”
Yet when the Israeli government clearly and publicly states its intention to break international law, the UK government apparently develops selective deafness. On Thursday, our legal representative at the ICJ used the word “condemn” only once – against Hamas. She did not use it in respect of Israel. I find that inexplicable and inexcusable.
I repeat – any Labour MP who is NOT making their objections clear and who FAILS to take urgent action against the government by rebelling and saying publicly why they are rebelling, then they are themselves complicit. Members of the government are partners in crime with Starmer.
Very much to agree with
we can see Pritchard here at about 35min 25 sec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9dws0yuaPY
https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/starvation-in-gaza-is-so-bad-even
Thanks for this Richard I agree with everything you and other contributors say. At least my Labour MP is condemning the ongoing genocide and this governments complicity in it. He is, I fear, almost a lone voice within the PLP.
Who is it?
This afternoon in Parliament Starmer laments the lack of aid being allowed into Gaza and then reiterates the need for a two-state solution. That solution is long since dead and buried, killed by the Zionists determined to create a greater Israel. Leaving aside who will pay to restore Gaza, how will the fanatical murdering settlers be ousted from the West Bank and East Jerusalem? The whole world considers these settlements illegal but does nothing, all the while they are growing, and the Palestinians there are harassed, killed, their olive trees, other crops and livestock destroyed.
There are now only 2 possible outcomes:
1 Total ethnic cleansing and genocide to empty the whole of former Palestine of Palestinians, either as eternal refugees or corpses.
2 A return to a secular state where Jews, Muslims, Christians and any other religious are able to live side by side with equal rights, worship in peace and properties stolen or otherwise illegally acquired since 1948 are returned to the rightful owners or their descendents (as happened e.g. with Jewish assets in post war Germany). And how the area was for hundreds of years before the advent of Zionism. If the Zionists are unhappy about this, they have only themselves to blame for their outrageous actions since and including 1948.
Starmer continuing with the fairy tale of a two-state solution is merely kicking the can down the road as more and more Palestinians die. He is not stupid, he must know this to be the case. More a case of his unrepentent Zionism grinning through the hastily whitewashed veneer or western colonialism.
Totally agree and thank you for using your platform to speak out. The implications of all this are indeed very dark and utterly terrifying: https://gezwinstanley.wordpress.com/2023/12/17/are-we-all-bound-for-gaza/
Good article Richard (amongst many). As i mentioned in a previous article, i’m sure once you rise high enough up the political ladder you are told who your real masters are and it is certainly not the electorate.
What’s most disturbing for me is that a nation that has endured a holocaust now seems content to repeat history, albeit on a lesser scale.
And today 8 th May VE Day many people will sing loudly Land of Hope and Glory. I sing in a choir and I’m not sure I can sing this . What hope? What Glory? Land of the Free?
Historian Ilan Pappé has some insights in this recent piece “On “Moral Panic” and the Courage to Speak”
https://savageminds.substack.com/p/on-moral-panic-and-the-courage-to
David Lammy to face challenge that he misled parliament about arms licences for Israel. (Move by 43 MPs led by Zara Sultana MP, one of the suspended Labour MPs (guilty of being young, female, not white, Muslim, and thinking for herself – the last being the most serious offence).
Will the Speaker allow the Urgent Question?
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25152740.david-lammy-must-answer-claim-misled-mps-israel-arms-exports/
Lammy could lose his job if he did lie to parliament, but more seriously, the government would be in breach of international law.
No chance the Speaker – a Zionist – will take that question.