David Herman is a freelance journalist whose articles often appear in The Article. He has written for the Guardian, the New Statesman, Prospect and Standpoint, among others.
I have often criticised BBC News programmes in these pages, especially the unprecedented anti-Israel bias on once-prestigious programmes like Newsnight, the Today programme and The World at One.
So it is only fair to say that there are still some very good news programmes on the BBC, at least on other subjects. One of my favourites is Newscast on the BBC News Channel with Laura Kuenssberg, Paddy O’Connell (best known as the presenter of Broadcasting House on Sundays on Radio 4) and Henry Zeffman, a rising star at BBC News.
Sunday’s programme (5 October) was particularly interesting, providing a thoughtful discussion about the killings at a Manchester synagogue on Friday and, in particular, the response of the new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, as she takes on the pro-Palestinian Hate Marches.
However, there was an interesting dog that didn’t bark during this half-hour discussion: Labour’s new dilemma.
Since last year’s election, Sir Keir Starmer’s government has abandoned Britain’s Jewish community — hence the angry response at the vigil in Manchester that greeted the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy when he tried to address a Jewish audience.
First, there has been the shameful failure by The Prime Minister and his previous Home Secretary to deal with the antisemitism exhibited at these marches in our major cities, or even to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem. Many, including the Chief Rabbi and thoughtful commentators like the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, have pointed out that these marches have helped create the atmosphere of lawlessness and anti-Jewish hatred that has escalated in Britain today.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis spoke out eloquently about these issues, saying that the deadly attack followed an “unrelenting wave of hatred against Jews” on Britain’s streets and campuses. He said many in the Jewish community and “and well beyond it” are wondering why protests such as those against the ban on Palestine Action are allowed to go ahead. Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: “Some of them contain outright antisemitism, outright support for Hamas. Not every single person, however there is so much of this, which certainly is dangerous to many within our society.”
Second, there was the recent decision by The Prime Minister to recognise an independent Palestinian Arab state, without attempting to impose any conditions, such as the release of all the hostages, alive and dead, or to insist that Hamas agree to play no future role in governing Gaza.
Third, the failure to properly safeguard synagogues, Jewish schools and other Jewish institutions or to even adequately police Jewish neighbourhoods in our cities. There has been some state funding of the CST (Community Security Trust), a charity which protects Jewish institutions in Britain. Unlike other European countries, however, there have not been high-profile armed police outside synagogues and schools, showing that the state is taking the protection of the Jewish community seriously, as has been the case in Germany for over thirty years.
Fourth, and perhaps most important of all, many backbench Labour MPs, trade unionists and activists on the Left have consistently (and falsely) accused Israel of “genocide”, “war crimes” and deliberately causing “famine”. Again, this has contributed to a vicious atmosphere, not just of Israelophobia but of Jew-hatred.
Labour has failed to acknowledge its role both in fostering this unprecedented Jew-hatred in present-day Britain, especially among the young and among British Muslims, and in failing to deal with the scale of the problem. Now that two Jews were killed in the attack on a synagogue in Manchester, the Prime Minister and leading members of his Cabinet, especially the Home Secretary, have started to address these issues.
Hence Labour’s dilemma. The reason Government ministers have not properly handled these issues before is not because they don’t believe the issues exist, but because they have skin in the game. Many Labour MPs have slim majorities in constituencies with larger numbers of Muslim voters and even a growing number of independent Muslim candidates. To put it bluntly, Labour doesn’t want to offend Muslim voters, whether about Muslim antisemitism, the appalling statements by numerous imams on a range of subjects, rising illegal immigrationfrom the Middle East and North Africa or rape gangs around the country.
On the one hand, Labour recognises the moral problem of antisemitism. On the other hand, they don’t want to offend Muslim voters at a moment when they are falling in the polls, with local elections approaching next May.
Then there is the problem of young voters, traditionally Labour supporters, which is why the Prime Minister is so keen to reduce the voting age. But they also happen to be disproportionately hostile to Israel and keen on demonstrating in our streets, using the most volatile language. Again, the Government, and especially the new Home Secretary, are painfully aware that something must be done to stop growing anti-Jewish hatred and violence, but without risking offending two key Labour constituencies.
Then there is a third issue. If Ms. Mahmood decides to try and get tough with the pro-Palestinian protests, even if that means only calling them by their rightful name (“hate marches”), she will create the mother of battles with many leading trade unionists and backbenchers. There is the as yet insignificant issue of Jeremy Corbyn’s attempt to start an independent party. But what if the Government decided to act on their concerns about growing antisemitism? How many backbenchers or voters might move away from Labour to independent groups or even split the Labour majority in the House of Commons at a time when we are approaching what is already sure to be a very divisive Budget?
This is Labour’s dilemma and it was curious that such a fine panel of political commentators didn’t call it out. We should watch this dilemma with interest. Not only is Labour riddled with a series of scandals, from Angela Rayner to Lord Mandelson, and not only have they alienated many voters with their economic policies and their hopeless handling of migration, but they are now forced to choose between British Jews and Left-wing Muslims. Watch this space.
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