Author Archives: Jonathan Gale

We are reeling from the terrible attack on Jews in Manchester on Yom Kippur. Shocking, but sadly not surprising. Perhaps now politicians should dial down the hyperbole around the Middle East. Words such as “apartheid” and “genocide” shed more heat than light, obscuring rather than clarifying a conflict that demands honesty. The attack brought home the real meaning of “Globalise the Intifada”.

Israel’s government is distinct from Zionism, which is distinct from Jews. Yet most of Britain’s 300,000 Jews feel connected to the world’s only Jewish state, home to half of global Jewry. That is why events in Israel reverberate deeply.

Criticism of Israel’s actions is legitimate, but the Centre-Left’s blanket condemnations weaken us, ceding ground to the Right. We should reflect before using rhetoric that delegitimises the only democracy in the region

Israelis remain traumatised by the October 7th massacre, the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and the continued plight of 48 hostages/families. Acknowledgement of that trauma here often fades next to Gazan suffering, portrayed without context. The imbalance encourages anger which is too easily channelled into demonisation of Israel itself.

At the LDFI stand at Party Conference, we faced a difficult environment. We oppose Netanyahu’s coalition and condemn the toll of war on both Gazans and Israelis. But we reject the charge of “genocide” as inaccurate, inflammatory, and often antisemitic in intent. Engaging with it feels like the Brexit “£350m a week” trap: a slogan which shuts down debate.

Israel faces an information war. The use of the word “genocide” long predates October 7th 2023, and it is chosen to delegitimise Israel, not foster peace. Recognition of a Palestinian state without defined borders or democratic institutions does not advance a two-state solution; it seemed intended to punish Israel. Gaza after 2005 was already a de facto Palestinian state but its administration chose endless war, culminating in October 7th, rather than coexistence.