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Starmer branded ‘racist’ for defending Israel’s ‘right to self-defence’

7 months ago

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, makes a speech during the Labour Party Conference that is held at the ACC Liverpool Convention Center in Liverpool, United Kingdom on September 24, 2024 [Raşid Necati Aslım - Anadolu Agency]

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been branded “racist” following yesterday’s address to the British public after the Iranian missile strike against Israel. Standing at Number 10, in what appears to be a carefully crafted address to the nation designed to evoke a sense of national emergency, Starmer expressed his full support for the apartheid state.

In his speech, Starmer — a self-confessed Zionist “without qualification” who supports the idea of Jewish supremacy in Palestine — condemned Iran’s actions, stating, “In the last few hours, the Iranian regime has launched over 200 ballistic missiles at civilian targets in Israel.” Despite acknowledging that “it’s too soon” to assess the impact fully, he said, “I utterly condemn this attempt by the Iranian regime to harm innocent Israelis, to escalate this incredibly dangerous situation and push the region ever closer to the brink.”

READ: Sorry, Keir Starmer, but only in a world of ‘alternative facts’ is Israel not guilty of apartheid

Iran claims that it targeted Israel’s military installations, including the building housing Mossad, nested within a civilian neighbourhood in Tel Aviv. Israeli officials have not reported any serious injuries as a result of yesterday’s missile strike, but two people are said to have been slightly wounded by shrapnel.

Starmer, who has received money from an Israeli lobbyist who profited from South African apartheid, declared that Britain will “stand with Israel and [we] recognise her right to self-defence in the face of this aggression.” Extending British support, he added: “Make no mistake, Britain stands full square against such violence. We support Israel’s reasonable demand for the security of its people.”

However, the Prime Minister’s speech has drawn sharp criticism from various quarters. Many have accused Starmer of perpetuating a hierarchy of racism which the Labour party under his leadership has become known for.

“He hasn’t showed even 1 per cent of the fury on display here for the tens of thousands of Palestinians butchered by Israel,” said commentator Owen Jones on X before calling Starmer a racist. “There is a word for this disparity. It is called racism.”


Others slammed Starmer for his apparent double-standards and selective outrage, pointing out that he had supported Israel’s “right” to cut-off water and fuel supplies to Palestinians in Gaza. Israel followed this up by committing what many believe to be a genocide. The apartheid state is under investigation by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the crime of genocide.

“Even as a politics lecturer in a Middle East department, I am lost” said Richard McNeil-Willson, an expert on counter extremism, in response to Starmer’s double-standards. “Israel has a right to self-defence, but Lebanon does not? Israelis have the right to be safe, but Palestinians do not? Iran can’t launch missiles into civilian areas, but Israel can? None of this is coherent.”


Leanne Mohamad, the independent candidate who gave Labour its biggest scare in the last general election by reducing its majority in a safe seat to only 500 votes, also slammed Starmer. “Palestinian lives are an inconvenient truth for this miserable government,” said Mohamad on X. “We don’t matter. Only Israeli security matters and only Israel has the right to self-defence — such is the inequality built into the current world order.”

READ: Al Jazeera investigation exposes Israeli ‘war crimes’ in Gaza

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