OPINION: Marches claiming to be about Gaza have turned British Jews into targets
Years of so-called solidarity marches have revealed themselves as something far darker, writes former MP for Hendon, Matthew Offord
While I was Member of Parliament for Hendon, I refrained from calling anyone an antisemite. In Parliament I heard dubious comments and while I made challenges, I gave some people the benefit of the doubt. For me, it was actions that were important rather than glib commentary on contemporary events far removed from historical context.
But after two years of vile protests, including on the actual day that two members of the Jewish community were murdered on the streets of Britain, I will now call such behaviour for what it is.
Racist.
For many on the left, there is a distinction between antisemitism and racism. That’s not true. It’s the same hatred. The mask slipped after the attack in Manchester. Protestors within the city itself never spared a thought for the victims or their families as they came together within hours of Britain’s first fatal attack on a synagogue and symbolically promoted every Jewish person in the United Kingdom as being part of the military action in Gaza.
It is clear that in their warped minds, Jewish people in the UK are responsible for conflict in a sovereign nation thousands of miles away. Conversely, those spewing hatred and condemnation in the media, politics and on the streets of the UK claim they have no influence upon the actions of a lone individual who engaged in a terror attack on Jewish people.
This was confirmed by a senior Labour politician who stated that the only person responsible for this atrocity is the attacker himself. Such comments only serve to deflect responsibility from their own actions. This included actively promoting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on Israeli goods and services.
I was proud to support the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill that outlawed local authorities engaging in such actions, but this was opposed by the Labour Party. Their opposition was justified by the claim that it should be local councillors that make geo-political decisions for their town halls. But the same justification was not permitted for retail consumers after BDS supporters closed a supermarket branch to prevent the sale of foods from Israel. The language was to encourage political freedom, but the actions were to prevent consumers from making a choice.
These events likely inspired the notorious ’Convoy for Palestine’ that visited north London in the summer of 2022. Loudspeakers mounted on cars broadcast such abuse as ‘F**k the Jews. Rape their daughters. Free Palestine.’ In the eyes of many this behaviour was clearly criminal. The head of the CPS’ special crime and counter-terrorism division described the convoy as “ …a shocking incident.”
However, four months later the Crown Prosecution Service decided no charges would be brought against individuals in the vehicles. The CPS acknowledged the alarm this incident caused but their actions failed to address the cause.
One prominent Labour politician said that Israel allowed the 7 October attack to take place in order to provide a ‘green light for the invasion of Gaza’. But the same voices are remarkably silent when we discover massacres happening elsewhere in the Middle East.
Do these people believe that the sectarian attacks on the Druze community in Sweida were a ploy by Israel so that it would be the only nation state to provide humanitarian protection? While there is continuous condemnation of military action in Gaza, the same critics ignore the conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, Mali , Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and of course Ukraine.
Their voices say one thing about Israel but their actions ignore other atrocities that don’t involve Jewish people.
I believe the Prime Minister wants to rid the country of the dangers we now face. But he will not be able to do that while the hate marches continue. So-called ‘free speech’ blurs the line between commentary and hate, and the vilification of Jewish people continues. It was not just so-called Palestinian supporters who welcomed the recognition of Palestine by the UK Government – but also Hamas. For them, 7 October and Israel’s subsequent military action was a great success. While the Hamas Ministry of Health talks of peace, it continues to engage in war.
Slowly, it will dawn on Sir Kier that recognition of Palestine is more likely to embolden those who engage in terror acts. In fact, such recognition will not bring peace to the Middle East but more likely further violence to the UK.
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