Sir Keir Starmer has warned that all language about Israel needs to be “carefully thought through” and that “words have consequences,” days after his successor as prime minister, Andy Burnham, issued a thorough critique of the government’s approach to the Gaza War.
Speaking to the press at a reception for the Jewish community held at 10 Downing Street, the departing prime minister also said he would continue to fight antisemitism “as long as I have breath in my body”, defended his decision to recognise a Palestinian state and explained why he saw the heckles he received from members of the public during a recent visit to Golders Green as a sign of “a community in high levels of distress”.
Last week, Burnham apologised for the positions the Labour Party took on the conflict in Gaza under Starmer’s leadership in a video shared on his social media.
“Many people feel that at the start of Israel's military action in Gaza, my party didn't get it right, and I am sorry about that,” he said, before suggesting there was “increasing evidence” that Israel had committed “war crimes”.
Asked a direct question about the former mayor of Greater Manchester’s remarks, the prime minister said he didn’t want to “get into a too-and-fro with Andy Burnham”, but defended his own policies.
“I know exactly why it was important for our country to steer a careful path in the aftermath of a horrific attack [on October 7], but at the same time make the argument for more humanitarian aid to get into Gaza”, he said, and described the situation there as “terrible”.
“The big question”, the prime minister went on, was how to move the situation in the Middle East forward, which, he claimed, had to involve a two-state solution, adding he had “firmly believed that all my life”.
In that context, Starmer defended his decision, criticised at the time by Jewish communal organisations, to recognise a Palestinian state.
“I genuinely believe that a lasting end to the conflict will only come about that way, and I'm really proud that we're taking steps to that end”, he said.
Among the guests at the reception in the audience were Heaton Park Rabbi Daniel Walker and Alan Levy, the shul’s chair, who were both praised by Starmer in his speech to the assembled guests.
The JC asked the prime minister, given that Rabbi Walker has spoken about how the worldview of the terrorist who attacked his synagogue was shaped by a demonisation of Israel, how important it was to avoid straying into such rhetoric, including in comments from members of the government.
Starmer responded: “I think all language needs to be very carefully thought through, because words have consequences.
"Words carry meaning, and therefore, it is important. And I've tried to get this right in my time.”
“There is a very, very clear distinction between policy criticism of the Israeli government, or any government across the world, and antisemitism – they're two different things – but it is also important with antisemitism to recognise all the different forms it can take, and that's why I've tried to lead from the front on this issue, and I'm very proud to do so”.
The prime minister has previously told the JC that he considers the pro-Palestine chant “from the river to the sea” to be antisemitic.
Though he is departing Downing Street for the last time later this month, Starmer insisted his personal mission to combat anti-Jewish hate wouldn’t stop once he steps outside of the iconic black door: “One of my most important messages from here today to people here who are friends and who I've worked with for many, many years and who have supported me is that my work tackling antisemitism doesn't step stop when I step down as prime minister. It continues and will continue for as long as I have breath in my body.”
The reception was held on the day the government announced a record £250 million in funding for the Jewish community and measures to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Guests at the reception included Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg, Rabbi Charley Baginsky, the co-leader of the Movement for Progressive Judaism, Russell Langer from the Jewish Leadership Council, Jonny Newton from CST, Danny Stone MBE from the Antisemitism Policy Trust, Karen Pollock from the Holocaust Educational Trust, Marc Levy from the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region.
They were joined by Jewish parliamentarians and ministers, including the attorney general, Lord Hermer, Justice minister Sarah Sackman, Baroness Hodge, Peter Prinsley MP, and former MP Dame Louise Ellman.
Starmer was introduced to the reception by Ella Rose-Jacobs of the Jewish Labour Movement.
Speaking to the crowd, the prime minister, whose wife Lady Victoria is Jewish, said that when it came to the fight against antisemitism, “few things feel more personal or more important to me”.
"And it’s why I wanted to have this moment with all of you – to say thank you for everything you’ve done to help me.”
Asked by the JC about his legacy as far as the Jewish community was concerned, he replied: “I would like people to properly understand how strong I feel about this in terms of fighting antisemitism.
“That commitment I made to rooting it out in Labour Party and being able to thank people here today for what they gave me.
“I could only ask [the community] for time to prove that what I said I meant, and they gave me that space and that time, and that allowed us to do what I promised we'd do, which is root out antisemitism.
“It has to be a continuing fight”.
While the measures he unveiled were vital, the prime minister also said it was “sad” that they were necessary and added that “the joy of people being able to express their identity” shouldn’t be neglected.
He also praised the Holocaust Educational Trust’s work and spoke of his first visit to Auschwitz, where he and his wife attempted to find names of her family members, an experience he described as “utterly harrowing”.
And he hailed Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, the first survivor to address a cabinet meeting, as an “extraordinary woman”.
Starmer told those present how she recounted her story to ministers, who were stunned into silence, saying the experience served as a “really powerful reminder to all of us of just how much it is all of our duties to fight antisemitism”.
The outgoing Labour leader said it was a source of pride that under his watch, legislation to allow the construction of a Westminster Holocaust Memorial centre passed through Parliament.
However, during his time in office, there were some significant disagreements between Starmer and the Jewish community, including over his decision to recognise a Palestinian state while Hamas still held Israeli hostages.
According to one JC poll a year after Starmer took office, 56 per cent of British Jews thought Labour’s actions in government made the community less safe. The party was the third most popular party, behind the Conservatives and Reform UK.
When the prime minister visited Hatzola north west in April following a stabbing attack, members of the Jewish community demonstrated outside the building, with some shouting “Keir Starmer, Jew harmer”.
In contrast, Starmer has faced significant criticism from rival left-wing parties and from some of his own MPs for being, they claim, insufficiently pro-Palestinian.
But, he says, disagreements with his actions in office are part and parcel of the job and shouldn’t take away from the genuine feeling people have about the decisions he’s made.
“When we went to Golders Green, it was clear that this was a community in high levels of distress, and I think that's the really important thing to take away there”, he said.
He also understood why so many were distressed by the “terrible situation” in Gaza, explaining: “So many people killed, humanitarian disaster. I mean, still not enough resources getting in in terms of food, humanitarian aid.
“Politics is a rough trade, and there will always be criticism. But actually, I've tried as best I can to see that through the impact that it has on other people, rather than simply thinking about the impact on me.”
Starmer concluded his speech by thanking the audience “for all that you've done to help me on my mission six and a half years on the front line as leader of the opposition and as prime minister”.
“Your support has meant a huge amount to me. And I do personally want to thank you for that. And that's why I wanted to gather you here in the garden of Downing Street.
"And I want to make you a further promise, because I promise I will stand with you, continue to stand with you, and do everything I can to support you in all of the years to come.
“It is the end of my political journey. But it's not the end of me standing with you.
“I will do that whilst I have breath in my body. And I'll proudly be with you in lockstep for the many, many years to come.”
Though many of those present at the reception hadn’t shied away from criticism of Starmer while he was in office, there was a significant sense of trepidation among many about the prime minister’s impending departure from 10 Downing Street.
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