Rabbi whose family was murdered by Hamas urges Keir Starmer to reverse ‘suicidal’ recognition of Palestinian state

The rabbi said: “Neville Chamberlain said in 1938 ‘Peace in our time’ when he recognised the Nazi state in Czechoslovakia. And over the next six years over half a million British people were killed because of that reckless decision. And Keir Starmer is standing here in 2025 making exactly the same decision to recognise another Nazi state many miles away from home, and he's putting millions of lives of British people at risk today.”

Urging the prime minister to reconsider the government’s decision, he continued: “You were director of public prosecutions. You prosecuted terrorists. You know what terrorists are capable of doing in this country, and even more so in Israel. We saw 1,200 people being massacred on October 7. They promised to do it again and again. And you'll recognise the state of exactly these people who are funding these terrorists who want to perpetrate October 7 and over again.”

Rabbi Dee went on to challenge the Labour leader to meet with him and to reconsider the unconditional recognition of a state of Palestine: “I'd love to explain to you [Starmer] as the person who most affected by your decision, your wrong decision … I challenge you to meet with me [so I can] explain to you why you've made a mistake, and I ask you to reconsider, because a good leader is someone who recognises when they make a mistake, and they can change their opinion.”

Turning to the timing of Starmer’s announcement, he said: “You announced this on the eve of Rosh Hashanah ... And you wished everybody a sweet new year. It's not a sweet new year for us in Israel, where Britain is recognising a Palestinian genocidal state on our borders.

“You basically condemned us to another October 7 and then you said, ‘have a nice year’. But let me tell you that between the Jewish new year and the day of atonement [Yom Kippur], which is coming up in three days’ time, we have the 10 days atonement, that's the time we went to reconsider our decisions. We can turn them around, and we can make the turn them into good.”

Dee added: “I challenge you, this is the time to change your mind, to look like a leader, not like a follower, to stop being an appeaser like Neville Chamberlain, to be a leader and to show the British people that you actually are working in their interests, and not for the mob who march with red, green and black flags through the streets of London”.

Rabbi Dee, who lives in the West Bank settlement of Efrat in Gush Etzion, has filed a legal case against the Palestinian Authority (PA) over their so-called Martyrs’ Fund, which provides financial support to prisoners and the families of those convicted of violent attacks against Israelis.

The policy has been “pay-for-slay” and it is believed to incentivise terrorist attacks against Israelis.

Last week, following the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, it was reported that the prime minister was to demand the PA commit to a reform agenda, including abandoning “pay-for-slay”.

His demands will also include a substantial overhaul of textbooks used in PA-run schools – some of which contain antisemitic content – as well as a commitment to democratic elections, according to the Telegraph.