Starmer hails Jewish-Muslim solidarity after condemning Golders Greeen attack at PMQs
PM tells MPs,'Can I be absolutely clear that an attack on British Jews is an attack on all of us'
Keir Starmer has said he was “struck” by the way Muslim communal figures “stood in solidarity with our Jewish community” at an Eid event held at Downing Street following the Golders Green arson attacks – and equally how Jews “came out against” comments made by a Tory MP condemning outdoor Ramadan prayer.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer twice told MPs that “an attack on British Jews is an attack on all of us” as he referenced the attack on four Hatzolah ambulances, and his subsequent meeting with Jewish communal leaders at No.10 on Monday.
In his statement ahead of PMQs he pointedly referenced the Golders Golders arson attack, which has seen two people now arrested, as an attack on the country’s Jewish community and “an attack on all of us”.
He also told MPs the government is accelerating its social cohesion plan to strengthen “British values of tolerance, decency and respect”.
Later the PM responded to a question posed by Southend West Labour MP David Burton-Sampson about both the impact of the Golders Green incident on his Jewish constituents and last week’s criticism of outdoor Ramadan prayers on Muslims in his constituency.
Starmer said: “Can I say again what a shocking antisemitic attack it was in Golders Green, and be absolutely clear that an attack on British Jews is an attack on all of us.”
The PM added: “On Monday morning, I met Jewish community leaders to talk through what we could do on the ambulances, on security and on social cohesion.”
He then referenced the remarks made last week by Timothy — the Conservative MP for West Suffolk who serves as shadow justice secretary — in relation to a Ramadan event held in Trafalgar Square, before adding: “I was really struck by the fact that the Jewish community came out last week against the comments of the shadow justice secretary, standing in solidarity with Muslims who wanted to pray in Trafalgar Square.
“But equally, on Monday, at an Eid event, we have Muslims standing in solidarity with our Jewish community. That is Britain.”
Last week, a Jewish News editorial and the Movement for Progressive Judaism had led communal criticism of Timothy’s comments.
Online footage of last Monday evening’s annual Eid event at No.10 had shown the PM speaking of his horror at the Golders Green attack early that same day to Muslim guests at the event.
Labour MP Dr Zubir Ahmed later praised the “inspiring speech” in a social media post as he left the Eid event, and confirmed those inside had stood in solidarity with the Jewish community.
Also at PMQs on Wednesday, Starmer faced further calls from former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith for his government to proscribe Iran’s IRGC organisation, which he said is “responsible here in the UK and worldwide for the rise of antisemitism, inciting extreme Islamic attacks.”
The PM continued to insist the government had imposed over 230 sanctions on IRGC-linked individuals and companies since coming into power, adding: “The existing proscription powers are not designed for a state organisation, but we keep this under review.”
Earlier in the session, Labour MP Debbie Abrahams raised goods sold in this country from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and the possible advancement of the so-called E1 project between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement.
The project had been frozen for decades amid fierce international opposition but was given the go-ahead by the Knesset last August.
Starmer responded, referencing only goods sold from West Bank settlements, saying they are labelled as such. This has been an EU requirement since 2019, and UK policy since 2009 to distinguish between goods produced in Israeli settlements and those from Palestinian producers.
Starmer also said settlement expansion continued to threaten any two-state solution.
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