Become a Member
Opinion

Don’t bow to pressure on Labour's Israel policy, Sir Keir

It would be inexcusable for anyone in Labour to use the threat of 'losing Muslim votes' to pressure him to change his position

October 26, 2023 12:12
GettyImages-1746105580
MARSTON MORETAINE, BEDFORDSHIRE - OCTOBER 20: Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks to media after congratulating newly elected Labour MP for Mid Bedfordshire Alistair Strathern on October 20, 2023 in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire. Labour candidate Alistair Strathern overturns Tory majority to win the seat vacated by former Conservative culture secretary Nadine Dorries. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
2 min read

When I was chair of Labour Friends of Israel under Ed Miliband, someone very senior gave a disarmingly frank explanation in private of why the party was insisting on symbolically recognising Palestine as an independent state without waiting for a peace settlement.

“You just have to look at the numbers,” they said. They meant there were far more Muslim than Jewish voters, who were more likely to be alarmed at Labour moving away from the policy of successive UK governments that recognition for Palestine must be part of a durable settlement that delivered lasting security for Israel.

It was wrong to see peace in the Middle East through the narrow domestic prism of electoral advantage.

Now, when the issue is standing with Israel against the most grotesque antisemitic butchery imaginable, it would be inexcusable for anyone in Labour to use the threat of “losing Muslim votes” to pressure Sir Keir Starmer to change his position.