Rishi Sunak says anyone unable to condemn ‘evil’ Hamas has ‘no conscience or morality’
The prime minister used his keynote speech at the CFI annual business lunch to condemn those who 'attempt to draw an equivalence between Israel’s actions and those of the terrorists who videotape their appalling crimes'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned that any person or organisation that “cannot unequivocally condemn the evil that Hamas did” on October 7th has “no conscience, no morality, no decency and deserves no respect. ”
In a speech delivered to the Conservative Friends of Israel’s annual business lunch, Sunak added:”I also reject any attempt to draw an equivalence between Israel’s actions and those of the terrorists who videotape their appalling crimes, who rape and murder with gratuitous zealotry.”
He told the audience at Monday’s lunch event in a central London hotel: “That is why this government has condemned the completely unjustified case that South Africa’s has brought to the international court of justice. ”
Sunak also said the response by some pro-palestine activists to the Hamas October 7th terror atrocity have provided a “painful reminder” of how “anti-Zionism all too often morphs into antisemitism”.
He said those who ripped down posters in this country of those still taken hostage by Hamas terrorists “reveal themselves to have no humanity.”
Referencing the pro-Palestine protesters who use the “From The River To The Sea.. chant, the PM said they were “either useful idiots who do not understand what they are saying, or worse, people who wish to wipe the Jewish state off the map.”
The PM said:”Since October 7th, we have seen something else that echoes further afield an appalling rise in antisemitism, a painful reminder—if one were needed—that anti-Zionism all too often morphs into antisemitism.
“It is sadly the case, that when Israel responds to terrorism to some people it automatically becomes the aggressor.
“Those people who rip down posters of hostages reveal themselves to have no humanity.
“Those who chant “from the river to the sea” are either useful idiots who do not understand what they are saying…or, worse, people who wish to wipe the Jewish state from the map.
“We will have zero tolerance for those who promote or glorify terrorism or peddle anti-Semitism on our streets.”
In a well-received speech, at a central London hotel, in front of 700 guests including home secretary James Cleverly, foreign secretary Lord Cameron, and former Israeli PM Ehud Barak, along with the families of hostages still kidnapped in Gaza, Sunak issued a strong warning about the danger posed by Iran to world peace and stability.
“We know that Hamas are just part of a broader group of malign actors who seek to destabilise the Middle East, Iran is at the heart of this nexus.”
He added:”We know that it supplies weapons and support to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
“In recent days, we have seen Iran expand its programme of destabilisation. It has attacked two of its neighbours.
“A country that attacks its neighbours is a country that should NEVER be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
“Iran does not want a new Middle East one infused with the spirit of the Abraham accords where Israel and its neighbours, including the Palestinians, live in peace in an increasingly prosperous neighbourhood.”
The PM added:”October 7th was not just an attack on Israel, but an attack on the very idea of Israel.
“It was an assault on the idea that there should be a homeland in which Jews are safe.”But Sunak also backed efforts for “an immediate pause, leading to a sustainable ceasefire” to the conflict in Gaza.
“We need more humanitarian aid going in and more crossings open to avert an even worse catastrophe,” he said.
“We need to begin planning for life after” before adding there “will be no meaningful peace with Hamas—with its genocidal intent—in charge of Gaza”.
Sunak said this was why “our conditions for a sustainable ceasefire, alongside the release of the hostages, is that Hamas cannot remain in charge of Gaza. ”
He also noted that for any two-state solution to succeed the government “is acutely aware that security is the pre-condition for us to reach that new political horizon.”
Sunak also reference the government’s bill, now being scrutinised by the Lords, which will outlaw local councils from introducing boycotts of Israel.
He said:”We have passed it through the House of Commons – in the face of opposition from our political opponents – and it will commence its passage through the Lords imminently.
“In this party, we won’t let tin pot, town hall Jeremy Corbyns run their own anti-Israel, foreign policy. ”
Lord Eric Pickles also told the CFI event there is “one good reason” parallels should not be drawn between the Nazi Holocaust and the October 7th Hamas terror attack – the existence of the Jewish state.
In a hard-hitting speech Pickles, the United Kingdom Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues and CFI’s parliamentary chair, said he had consulted with survivors and other experts on the Shoah, who had told him not to draw these comparisons “because of Israel.”
He added:”Because this time the Jews have an air force, an army and a navy and this time they will come to their own justice and ensure within the confines of international justice that they will defend their rights to exist.”
Pickles said of the Hamas terrorists:”These dreadful men came as they’ve been coming for centuries. Their mindsets on murder, on looting, on kidnapping, on paedophilia and… Hamas’ own speciality, necrophilia.”
Lord Stuart Polak, CFI’s honorary president, later praised the government for proscribing the Hitzb ut-Tahrir organsiation, but urged them to go further and now ban Iran’s IRGC terror force.
Also speaking at Monday’s lunch was Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, while Israeli president Isaac Herzog addressed the audience via a video address.
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