Just in brief. (And needless to say, I find an attack on unarmed people horrible and my compassion lies with the families of the people who died and were injured).
- I just read Starmer’s text. I am not going to reprint it. It can be read here. I wonder who wrote it. The wording is rather unlike other texts from him. “Wrap our arms around you” – has a true populist touch. Historically, all the stuff about Britain having provided a safe refuge for people from Nazi Germany is historically illiterate. Britain took in relatively few and those that came faced difficulties, like having to pay a fee. [1] I’ve read what seem to be reliable historical accounts which say that the allies played down the existence of concentration camps during the war, because they thought it would weaken popular support for the war.
- As predicted, quick off the mark, Netanyahu ties this attack to the recognition of a Palestinian state – by the UK, amongst others: “As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it.”. That is one in the eye for Starmer; “wrap our arms around you”, and extra policing and you still get accused of being a terrorist sympathiser by the author of the mass war crimes in Gaza.
As always there is this incongruous media-political response. It is in no way saying that this event is not horrible to note that there is a huge disparity in the coverage and outpouring of support around this event, and what is tolerated in Gaza.
Notes