Parliament debates so-called “pro-Israel influence”, but MPs aren’t impressed
This week, after a petition on so-called ‘Pro-Israel influence on politics and democracy’ surpassed 100,000 signatures, Parliament held a debate.
We are grateful to those MPs from across parties who expressed their disgust at the topic.
It is one thing to discuss foreign influence in our politics: it is quite another when those discussions repeatedly centre on Israel, the Jewish state.
Here is Welsh Labour’s Alex Davies-Jones MP making that point.
This wasn’t a debate about influence from all foreign Governments – just the State of Israel.
The Conservatives’ Andrew Mitchell MP asked: “Why is Israel singled out in this way? Why not Gulf countries, Iran, eastern Europe or the USA?
“The petition is being discussed at a time when the Jewish community are clearly under threat and are suffering numerous hideous attacks. I am not sure I trust the motivation of the petition organisers.
“I fear the whole thing smacks of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.”
John Lamont MP, the Scottish Conservative, condemned the petition, saying: “For centuries, at the heart of antisemitism has been the claim that Jews exercise secret control over Governments, political systems, financial institutions, the media or public life. Those ideas have appeared in countless forms throughout history.
“They have been repackaged and modernised for different generations, but the core allegation remains remarkably consistent: that Jews acting collectively and covertly manipulate political events from behind the scenes.”
Indeed. Such conspiracies fall firmly within the International Definition of Antisemitism. That’s because they are classic tropes that we all recognise – or at least used to.
Finally, this exchange between Iqbal Mohamed MP (one of the so-called Gaza Independents) and Labour’s Gareth Snell MP, gets to the heart of the debate.
Mr Mohamed’s comment criticising “donations from pro-Israel donors” were widely condemned by MPs.
British Jews and supporters of the Jewish state are free to support politicians and donate to them, like any other British citizen is.
Parliamentarians should be spending their time debating serious real issues and promoting unifying policies, not indulging in conspiracism of the worst kind and obsessing over the world’s only Jewish state.
Another Prime Minister and another empty legacy on antisemitism
Elsewhere in Parliament, at Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour’s David Pinto-Duschinsky, the MP for Hendon, raised the issue of violent antisemitism and the impact that it is having on the everyday life of ordinary Jewish people in London.
We are grateful that he brought this to the attention of the House.
The fact that it needs raising once again – and the thinness of Sir Keir Starmer’s response – demonstrates how the legacy of now a second Prime Minister from a second political party is uncontrolled antisemitism.
That’s two Prime Ministers and two Governments that have utterly failed to rise to the challenge of unprecedented racism against Jewish people.
We can only hope that the next Prime Minister will do better – and we will be there, as ever, to assist and hold to account.
This flag desecration in Birmingham is revealing
This incident in Birmingham isn’t just a terrible desecration of the Union Flag and St George’s Cross, but deeply antisemitic too.
By using the Star of David to defile these national flags, the perpetrators are referencing classic tropes about Jewish power that have no place in our country.
They may also be trying to imply that Jews committed the vandalism, which would represent another layer of hate.
British Jews are proud of our national flags and values, and we reject the notion – whether expressed on our streets or in Parliament – that Jews or the Jewish state wield outsized power in this country.
Montreal: the latest venue for murder of Jews
Last Monday, a man reportedly opened fire from a hotel window in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, killing a Jewish civilian and a police officer. Police shot dead the perpetrator, who has been identified as Seth Scott Hatfield.
The victim, Michael Moshe Mizrahi, has been described as a “a beloved member of Montreal’s Jewish community”, and our thoughts are with his family.
We are also grateful to the police and salute the officer, Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, who was killed in the line of duty.
The attack took place at the start of the week but officials only provided more information some time later, which we had hoped would shed more light on the incident. But investigators have reportedly declined to comment on a possible motive behind the attack.
That is perplexing. Côte-des-Neiges is home to a large Jewish population. Following the attack, a manifesto allegedly authored by Mr Hatfield and reportedly inspired by incel-ideology, circulated online, expressing hostility towards “influential Zionists.” Mr Hatfield had also reportedly deleted a YouTube account created under his name that included favourited videos from a channel featuring a Holocaust denier and neo-Nazi imagery.
Is it really a coincidence that a man who appears to have harboured anti-Jewish views chose a visibly Jewish neighbourhood for his attack?
In today’s world, where Jews are being murdered from Washington DC to Manchester to Bondi, Jewish people cannot afford to assume that they are mere collateral and not the intended target.
Islamist convicted on terrorism charges
A man who viewed and shared Islamist extremist material has been convicted following a Counter Terrorism Police investigation.
Shuja Gibraeel Mohsin was arrested in March 2024 after he was found to have accessed extremist content and joined online groups linked to Islamist organisations including Hamas, ISIS and the Taliban. He was also found to be in possession of a bomb-making manual.
He is due to be sentenced on 14th August.
Islamist groups have been responsible for multiple acts of terrorism and antisemitic violence around the world. Their extremist ideology continues to contribute to the insecurity felt by many Jewish communities in the UK and beyond.
The sentence must reflect the severity of the crime.
BMA motion effectively seeks to protect hate speech
The British Medical Association (BMA) has passed a motion effectively legitimising antisemitic hate speech under the guise of freedom of expression.
During its annual conference last week, the BMA voted to commence lobbying efforts against the Government and NHS England to revoke the mandatory adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism across the NHS until “proper safeguards” are established to protect “legitimate political speech.”
This is outrageous. The Definition is internationally recognised, and has been adopted by the British Government and scores of other bodies.
The assertion that it undermines free speech under the law is bogus and we debunked it already years ago, as you can see on our website here and here.
Regarding Israel, the Definition itself explains that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic” and thus it does not ‘chill‘ legitimate debate – another bogus claim.
Amid a surging tide of antisemitism in the NHS, the rejection by practitioners of a vital tool in the fight against anti-Jewish racism underscores just how severe the problem is.
If antisemitism is a virus, too many practitioners in this country are not only failing to treat it, but are in fact incubating it.
We expect NHS England to flatly rebuff any lobbying effort against the Definition.
The NHS must be doing so much more – not less – to tackle antisemitism, and ensure that medical institutions are a safe place for Jewish people.
Misan Harriman to step down as Southbank Centre Chairman
Misan Harriman has attracted scrutiny over his record of inflammatory comments, leading to us and others questioning whether he was a suitable Chair for an august arts institution that enjoys public support.
You can read more about his record here.
The Prime Minister recently acknowledged the increasing and unwarranted intimidation faced by Jewish people in the arts and cultural spaces – which should be welcoming and inclusive to all. They should not be venues for exclusionary or even extremist political discourse which makes these spaces uncomfortable for Jewish attendees.
That starts with the people in charge of those spaces.
Mr Harriman’s decision to step down – supposedly always his intention – is welcome. This saga has exposed a rot in the arts world. We hope that his successor will be more worthy of the post.
He will leave his post in autumn later this year.
Tickets available for event on resilience in the arts
The intimidation and exclusion of Jewish people in the arts is real.
On Wednesday 8th July, renowned soprano Ilona Domnich will share her story as a Jewish performer whose refusal to stay silent in the face of hatred and lies following 7th October 2023 resulted in her increasingly being shunned by her colleagues, and excluded from the profession she loves.
CAA is proud to host Ilona in an evening of Jewish pride, resilience and beautiful music.
There are still tickets available for this special event in central London, “Ilona Domnich: in concert and in conversation.”
Get your tickets now, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Abuse at Waitrose, attempted boycott at Marks & Spencer and a Nazi listing at Rightmove
Last week, an Orthodox Jewish woman was reportedly subjected to a verbal antisemitic assault while queuing at a Waitrose in Harrow.
The perpetrator allegedly shouted that the “f***ing Jews” are responsible for the UK’s problems and called to “kill Zionist Jews.”
A witness reportedly informed two members of staff, including the store manager, but they allegedly refused to contact the police. The witness later allegedly reported the incident himself, and police have since opened an investigation. A Waitrose spokesperson has said that the branch reported the incident to police after an initial delay.
Has antisemitism become so normalised that supermarket staff hesitate or refuse to report it to police?
It beggars belief that Waitrose did not immediately treat this incident with the urgency that it deserved. The supermarket chain must ensure that this does not happen again going forward, with clear, consistent procedures being implemented across every branch to ensure an appropriate response to antisemitic hate crime.
Meanwhile, at the Edgware Road branch of Marks & Spencer, a sticker reading “The number one cause of child death on Earth this year is Israel” was discovered on a packet of Medjool dates.
The notion that Jews – or the Jewish state – target children or disproportionately cause child deaths is a classic trope.
The stickers were doubtless there to discourage shoppers from purchasing the dates. More than four-fifths (84%) of British Jews tell us in our polling that boycotts of businesses selling Israeli products constitute intimidation.
This is not the first time that we’ve seen such stickers, and it won’t be the last.
It is unacceptable that British Jews and ordinary members of the public are repeatedly confronted with targeted acts of intimidation while simply buying everyday products. Retailers must do more to prevent this vandalism.
Online, Rightmove has reportedly removed a listing from its website after it was found that images of its rooms appear to show that it is full of Nazi memorabilia.
The property, reportedly described as “a lovely semi–detached family home” by Purplebricks estate agency, was listed as a three–bedroom property located in a village in Lincolnshire, apparently available to view on several websites including Rightmove and Zoopla.
In the virtual tour of the property, the rooms appeared to be decorated with Nazi artefacts, including posters and banners bearing Nazi symbols, Wehrmacht helmets and weaponry.
It is completely irresponsible that this was not flagged earlier. The horrors of the regime that murdered six million Jewish men, women and children are not a novelty or a decorating theme. Displaying a property in this way demonstrates a startling lack of judgment.
They chose silence and denial. She didn’t.
“On October 7, and in captivity, Jewish women were raped, abused and humiliated. And you, Special Rapporteur, you chose silence and denial.”
For the last two and half years, Jews have discovered that a world that said women must be believed excluded Jewish women from that generosity.
Evidence of severe sexual assault as part of Hamas’s 2023 rampage and its abduction and holding of hostages has been clear, as have the testimonies of victims. But the United Nations and others have too often downplayed, ignored or dismissed this evidence – seemingly only because the victims were Jews.
That adds insult to injury and is despicable.
Talking about sexual assault is never easy. Doing it in an international forum to bigots intent on denying what you went through is as tough as it gets.
Former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky has strength and courage that inspires us all. A modern Jewish heroine.
We’re looking for our next Student Ambassadors!
Applications for our 2026-27 Student Ambassador programme are now open!
As a CAA Student Ambassador you will:
- Work with our team to monitor antisemitism on your campus and provide tangible support to your peers
- Take part in networking opportunities with like-minded activists
- Develop career-enhancing skills and experience
- And more!
Applications are considered on a rolling basis, so don’t delay to find out more and apply at antisemitism.org/student-ambassadors.
We spoke to some outgoing and prospective ambassadors, to see how they are feeling about antisemitism on campus. Watch what they told us here.
Pushback in our politics
It was encouraging to see cross-party pushback against the idea that the Jewish state or its supporters have too much influence in our democracy.
But the fact that the debate took place at all – triggered by a parliamentary petition garnering in excess of 100,000 signatures – demonstrates that this is not an outlying opinion.
Indeed our polling has shown that almost a third (29%) of the general population think that Israel and its supporters are a bad influence on our democracy.
54% – more than half – of 2024 Green Party voters believe this as well, as do 37% of Labour voters, 36% of Lib Dem voters, 17% of Conservative voters and 14% of Reform voters. Among 18-24-year-olds, the figure is a staggering 58% – well over half of British young people.
The battle against this odious idea – drawing on classic antisemitic tropes – is not an easy one. We are fighting it every single day.
