UK Labour leader ignores Palestinian letter amid iftar cancellation controversy
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer has failed to respond to a letter sent to him by more than 25 British-Palestinian Labour members in which they raised concerns about internal treatment.
The letter, obtained from Labour sources and seen exclusively by Middle East Eye (MEE), accuses the party of creating a “hostile environment” for Palestinians under Starmer.
“Some of us have been members of the party for decades under different leaders and never have we experienced a party environment so hostile and unwelcoming to us as it has been since you took over its leadership,” the statement reads.
“Not even during the dark days of the illegal war on Iraq.”
“Our community of traditional Labour voters is therefore deeply concerned and alarmed, and we fear that without your immediate action, their growing alienation from the Party will become a permanent rift.”
The letter, which was signed by over 25 Palestinian Labour members, including writer Nadia Hijab and academic Ghada Karmi, was sent in mid-March.
It has yet to receive a response.
The development comes with Starmer under fire for withdrawing from a virtual Ramadan interfaith event on Wednesday after a pro-Israel lobby group alerted him to the organiser’s support for the boycott of Israeli dates produced in territories occupied by the occupation state of ‘Israel’.
.@keirstarmer pulled out of an iftar because an organiser simply retweeted this video.
This is the level of political ostracisation faced for supporting Palestinian rights.
Please stand up against this demonisation by retweeting to show your support.#CheckTheLabel https://t.co/C2CnU5deiV
— Friends of Al Aqsa (@FriendsofAlAqsa) April 22, 2021
Starmer had been asked to attend the virtual fast-breaking meal, hosted by the Ramadan Tent Project.
Since its founding in 2013, the group has organised some of the UK’s largest annual community events during Ramadan and in one year hosted over 100,000 people from all backgrounds in over ten cities and four continents.
Despite agreeing to take part, Starmer pulled out after the Board of Deputies (BoD), a pro-Israel lobby group affiliated to the World Jewish Congress (WJC), alerted him to the organisers’ previous comments on Twitter including a tweet supporting the boycott of Israeli produced dates.
On Tuesday, the Board’s Tal Ofer tweeted he was “glad to see that after I raised this issue Keir Starmer withdrew his participation from the event.”
Glad to see that after I raised up this issue, Keir Starmer withdrew his participation at the event. That's the correct decision! https://t.co/Rdhv854VBE pic.twitter.com/hkB78Zarn4
— Tal Ofer טל עופר تل عوفر (@TalOfer) April 21, 2021
Jewish News reported that Labour sources confirmed the Leaders Office took on board concerns from the Board raised about the organisers.
In their letter to Starmer, the Palestinian supporters said that it was “extraordinary and inexplicable” that the leader had reportedly reprimanded Labour MP Stephen Kinnock for calling on the government to ban illegal settlement goods.
Kinnock used a Commons debate on Palestine and the West Bank last year to accuse Israel of behaviour “tantamount to profiting from the proceeds of crime”.
Among other concerns raised by the signatories was the revelation in January that a former member of Israeli military intelligence was recruited by Labour to conduct social media research.
Assaf Kaplan worked for a surveillance branch known as Unit 8200, known for its close surveillance of Palestinian civilians.
“How can we be expected to feel safe about our personal data when such a person has access to it?” the letter to Starmer asked.
“Can you not see how Kaplan’s presence in your team makes British Palestinians and Arabs, as well as many of their supporters among the British Muslim communities in which they are rooted, feel unsafe, their democratic freedoms threatened, and their voices censored?”
