Even on the anniversary of October 7, some MPs can’t let Jews grieve

You’d think that “honourable” Members of Parliament would, on anniversary of that infamous date, let us grieve in peace. But you’d be wrong.

Despite being urged “to reflect for a moment on the fact that this is a solemn day” by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, some backbenchers could barely contain themselves at the opportunity to have, yet another, pop at Israel.

Suspended Labour MP Zarah Sultana, without mentioning Hamas – who, let us not forget, started the conflict by murdering, raping and taking hostage innocent civilians from southern Israel into Gaza – called Israel’s actions “genocidal” and urged the prime minister to “end the government's complicity in war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel”.

To his credit, Starmer said “no” and said her suggestion “on the anniversary of October 7 and days after a huge attack by Iran into Israel would be the wrong position for this government.”

But Sultana’s sentiment wasn’t unique.

Even though over 1,000 innocent Israelis were killed in Hamas’s barbaric rampage for no reason other than that they were Israeli. Hamas didn’t distinguish between Jews and Muslims when they unloaded bullets and grenades at anyone they saw.

If adjusted for population size, Hamas’s atrocities on October 7 were the equivalent of 15 9/11 attacks.

Labour MP Andy Slaughter appeared to gloss over all that: “The Prime Minister rightly says we need a ceasefire now, but after a year and over 45,000 deaths, what more can he do to achieve that ceasefire?”

Now, every death of a civilian in Gaza is a tragedy. But the casualty figures provided by the Hamas-run health ministry do not distinguish between terrorists and civilians.

Moreover, there is a very big moral difference between deaths in conflict and deliberately killing civilians, setting their homes alight and live-streaming yourself doing so with great joy – which is what the Hamas barbarians did on October 7.

Indeed, the devastation in Gaza is exacerbated because in a straight fight with the IDF Hamas would be vanquished, so they have embedded their terrorist infrastructure in tunnels underneath the population of Gaza.

You’d think a British MP would acknowledge this.

Poplar and Limehouse MP Apsana Begum quite literally tried to “all lives matter” a parliamentary discussion commemorating the biggest slaughter of Jewish people since the Holocaust: “Does the Prime Minister agree with me that all lives should be cherished—Israeli, Palestinian and Lebanese—and that nothing can ever justify the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure?”

For all the talk of extra sensitivity in politics these days and the need to “be kind” to one another, that kindness and sensitivity doesn’t seem to extent to letting Jews grieve.

Not wanting to be outdone by MPs, some local authorities decided to embarrass themselves as well.

Waltham Forest’s statement on October 7 failed to mention Hamas or the hostages but contained all the usual self-congratulatory trite that you’d expect from a local council: working with “community leaders”, “we are stronger together” and this beauty “we extend the hand of love and friendship to all” (except, apparently, the invisible hostages or their families). Someone pass me the sick bag!

Hackney’s (which, graciously, did mention both) also said “Tens of thousands of people were killed in Gaza in the attacks that followed”.

This wasn’t just some random “attack”. This was Israel’s military response to one of the biggest tragedies in its history, aimed at securing the release of hostages snatched by Hamas which you claim to care about.

Although to be fair to Mayor Caroline Woodley she did urge Israel and Hamas to “stop the violence now” and I’m sure Bibi is ordering the Merkava Tanks out of Khan Younis and Sinwar is emerging from the ground now she has shown them the error of their ways.

Seriously, why councils can’t stick to doing what taxpayers pay them for – collect bins, ideally more than once a fortnight? But perhaps that is a matter for another column.

One of the big surprises shortly after October 7 was to have Israelis – who lived through it and whose “normal” everyday reality involved regularly running in and out of bomb shelters – message to enquire what on earth was going on with British politics and whether the country was still safe for Jews.

Thankfully it is. The leaders of all three mainstream political parties rose to the occasion and called for the release of hostages. A commemoration ceremony in Parliament had to be moved to a bigger venue because of the number of parliamentarians wanting to pay their respect.

But, despite this, there is a sizeable minority of people who, like the mobs on streets, should know better and just shut up and let us grieve in peace.