A Response To Sir Keir Starmer

You might have noticed that I have refrained from commenting directly on Sir Keir Starmer's declaration yesterday.

The reason was because, as a Jew and a proud Zionist whose love of Israel runs within the fibre of my entire being, I was frightened of criticizing the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

I was brought up to believe that this country, which prides itself as the 'Seat of Democracy' where Magna Carta was signed 810 years ago down the river from the Synagogue where I am a Senior Rabbi; which proved a safe haven for 10,000 Jewish kinder in the late 1930s; where we Jews could proudly boast that we were given freedom and equality that was the envy of the Western World; where I could walk in the streets wearing a kippah without fear of being attacked...

These were the foundations of my belief as a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Until I realised that they no longer existed.

Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer decided that it is no longer in this country's interests to support everything that I believed in.

Last week, I met Omer Shem Tov. Two weeks ago, I met Keith Siegel. Two Jews who spent literally hundreds and hundreds of days living in a hell that I thought could never exist in the 21st Century.

Mr Prime Minister, in your one-sided declaration, where was your condemnation of Hamas? Did I miss the part about conditioning this country's support of a 'Palestinian State' on Hamas' actions ?

On Hamas declaring an end to its genocidal mandate against the only true democracy in the Middle East?

Against the only Jewish state in the entire world?

Did I miss the part about the UK recognising a 'Palestinian State' if every single hostage is returned? If Hamas promises not to use its citizens as human shields in order to achieve its nihilistic objectives? If Hamas agrees to lay down its weapons and promises never to 'carry out another 7th October'?

Did I miss the part of your declaration about holding them to account for what has transpired before, during and since that day?

Did I miss the bit where you spoke about the hand of friendship that the kibbutz members extended to the people of Gaza before that day?

Ferrying Palestinians to hospitals, inviting them into their homes, trying to forge peace whilst they were being played and Hamas was using the goodwill and billions of dollars donated to it for two decades building the tunnels and machinery it would employ to lead to what we are seeing today?

Where was that in your declaration, Mr Prime Minister?

Perhaps, I didn't see or hear that. Perhaps, I missed that part.

No-one who has a single ounce of decency wants to see the images emanating from Gaza right now.

No-one can fail to be moved by what has happened and there are no innocent parties but had Hamas and yes, many, many, many non affiliated Palestinians not carried out the barbaric, savage, bloodthirsty and sadistic attacks on 7th October and continued to turn a blind eye to the fate of the hostages (many of whom were and are still imprisoned in non-members' homes), the Gaza that you see on your screens, would be a very different place.

Why did you choose not to mention this in your declaration, Mr Prime Minister? Why?

What you have said and demonstrated is the bitter fact that I and my people are not important to you.

That the country I was born in has no respect for the country that has been the home of my nation for over three millennia.

Whilst the ancient Britons lived in caves, we were the citizens of two monarchies. Open your Bible and read about my people and how they were different to the nations that surrounded them. Read about what Judaism has gifted to the world.

And then explain how you, who is married to a Jewish woman, whose children are Jewish, who claims to 'do Friday night' and the Passover Seder - how you could have the chutzpah to stand up there in front of the world and point the finger at Israel, whilst ignoring the real culprits behind what you find so 'disturbing'.

Whether or not you carry out your threat, you and those of your colleagues who are pushing for such an action have shamed this country and everything we were brought up to believe that it once stood for.

Now, I've said it.