The forked tonges of Starmer & Co.

One man is stabbed to death at a synagogue and another is shot by accident. Somehow the world was supposed to stop spinning and we should all have laid down our placards demanding an end to genocide – really?

I was very sorry indeed to learn of the deaths of these two innocent men in Manchester. They should have been safe from attack wherever they were and it’s all the more shocking because they died in a sacred space on the holiest day in their calendar. Nothing excuses it.

But the reaction of our leaders was weird. Suddenly there was talk again of “hate marches” and the old charge of antisemitism reappeared.

Why? What exactly is the connection between a young murderer and a movement trying to stop slaughter and starvation?

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was “disappointed” to see pro-Palestine marches go ahead hours after the atrocity. “I think that behaviour is fundamentally un-British,” she said. “I think it’s dishonourable. I would have wanted those individuals to just take a step back.” The community should have been given a time to process what had happened “to carry on with the grieving process”, she continued.

According to the Jerusalem Post of Sept 7th, Mahmood faces scrutiny over her past votes on Gaza and links to pro-Palestinian activism... Back in 2014, she supported boycott of Sainsbury's over Israeli products, she had been seen in a Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally, and in 2024 she voted NO on making BDS illegal.

So how did the demos interfere with the grieving process? The families of these men have been bereaved in particularly horrible circumstances – no question. But do any of us really expect the whole country to come to a halt when we are bereaved?

Mahmood added: “The issues that are driving those protests have been going on now for some time; they don’t look like they’re going to come to an end any day soon.”

She’s certainly right about that. They will not end soon. And the protests will carry on until there is a real ceasefire, an end to occupation, apartheid and genocide.

Our Prime Minister agreed with her, saying it was un-British not to cancel the major march due to take place shortly afterwards. He added that the pro-Palestine protests had been used by some as a despicable excuse to attack British Jews. He produced no evidence whatsoever for this claim. Call me old-fashioned, but I think it more likely that the Israeli genocide might be held responsible for any rise in antisemitism.

Keir Starmer speaking at Camden Palestine Solidarity Campaign public meeting at St Pancras Centre on 25 March 2015.

Marking the anniversary of 7 October 2023, Sir Keir Starmer stated that every child of Israel should be able to live alongside their Palestinian neighbours in safety and security. I couldn’t agree more, but what of the safety and security of Palestinian children?  

When Led by Donkeys came to Bournemouth last year a set of clothing was laid along the shoreline for each child killed since Hamas burst out of Gaza. Thirty-six sets represented each Israeli child killed on the fateful day but the clothing stretched for five kilometres representing the 11,000 Palestinian children killed since the previous October. Many thousands more Gazan children have been killed since then.

After the synagogue tragedy came the turmoil over the banning of fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a match with Aston Villa. Starmer and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called it antisemitic, painting Jews as victims yet again.

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam

The real reason was the track record of Maccabi fans who attacked Muslim-looking men in Amsterdam last year where they were also filmed chanting: F*ck the Arabs and School’s out in Gaza because there are

no children left.

The two politicians had dozens of eggs on their faces when the Israeli club announced no fans would be travelling to Birmingham because of – guess what? – their hooliganism at a recent local match.

Back in day both Mahmood and Starmer supported the Palestinian struggle - see pictures above. But things have changed.

Now instead of doing their duty under International Law by trying to stop a genocide, our government is actively supporting Israel’s war crimes.

Would it be anything to do with all the Zionist money which has found its way into the pockets of so many cabinet ministers? Or am I too cynical?