Sir Keir Starmer has apologised to the Jewish community for antisemitism within the Labour party and attacked “anti-Zionist antisemitism”.

Speaking to the annual Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) lunch, the Labour leader said on behalf of his party he was “sorry” for “the pain that has been caused to so many of you”.

“We will not stop until we have finished our work,” he added.

Sir Keir hailed his “personal” connection to the issue and revealed that as the family of his wife, Victoria Starmer, are Polish Jews he observes some Jewish traditions.

He also told the audience, which featured Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mervis, that Labour “does not and will not support BDS.”

He said: “Its principles are wrong, targeted alone at the world’s sole Jewish state.

“We will fully oppose and condemn illegal settlements, annexation and the eviction of Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territories.”

A boycott, divestment and sanctions policy would be “counterproductive,” added Sir Keir. 

“It would drive people apart when we should be bringing them together.”

He said it would not only hurt the people of Israel and Palestine, but cause “huge damage” to the relationship between Israel and the United Kingdom.

Sir Keir also condemned “anti-Zionist antisemitism” as “the antithesis of the Labour tradition.”

He said: “It denies the Jewish people alone a right of self-determination. 

“It equates Zionism with racism, focusses obsessively on the world’s sole Jewish state and holds it to standards no other country is subjected.”

In a reference to David Baddiel, he said that under his leadership “every Jew will count.”

Sir Keir said the comedian had come to the doorstep of his house during lockdown to give him a copy of his “brilliant” book ‘Jews Don’t Count’.

Mr Baddiel demonstrated, he said, that racism against Jews is held to a different standard than other kinds of racism.

“From our earliest days… Labour at its best has also been an ally and friend to the cause of Jewish self-determination,” said Sir Keir. 

“And Labour leaders - from Harold Wilson to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - have recognised Israel’s importance to the community here at home, celebrated its achievements and stood by it in moments of peril.”

Ms Hotovely praised the Labour leader and shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, in her speech for defending her in the wake of the protest she faced at LSE.