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When it comes to Israel, Labour is stuck in an awkward dance

The first question their policy raises is: what exactly would a Labour government be recognising?

May 25, 2023 17:05
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3 min read

The lobby groups Labour Friends of Israel and We Believe in Israel took a delegation of party activists and councillors to the Middle East last week. The fact it included Josh Williams, the deputy director of Labour Together, the think tank from which party leader Sir Keir Starmer is said to derive many of his policy ideas, is the latest sign of how far the party has moved away from the visceral anti-Zionism espoused by Starmer’s predecessor Jeremy Corbyn. And having met the Israeli Labour leader Meyrav Michaeli and visited sites such as the Kotel and Yad Vashem, Williams sounded impressed.

“We have seen the reality on the ground and how much there is for us in the UK to learn about, and from, the Jewish state,” he told the JC. “I will never forget the experience of meeting with ordinary Israelis and Palestinians and hearing their stories. I thank LFI and We Believe in Israel for organising this eye-opening and inspiring delegation.”

Needless to say, that’s not the kind of sentiment one might have heard during the Corbyn era from his hard left adviser Seumas Milne,who would rather cut off one of his limbs than join a delegation organised by LFI. But welcome as such signals are, they do raise an awkward problem, which for the moment, is far from resolved - Labour’s official policy on the Israel – Palestinian conflict.

For many years, this has stated that a future Labour government would immediately “recognise” a Palestinian state after taking office. Reaffirmed several times by the party’s annual conference, it was stated again in January by Bambos Charalambous, the shadow Middle East minister, who claimed it would prove to be a great way to “kick start” negotiations aimed at a “final status” two-state solution.