The two-state vision cannot succeed while Hamas’ violence and hostage-taking go unaddressed
The new leaders of the UK show signs of collective amnesia about recent history.
Oct. 7, 2023, marked the darkest day in Jewish history since the Nazi Holocaust, when Hamas terrorists and other savages from Gaza invaded Israeli sovereign territory, slaughtered more than 1,100 innocents, burned entire families alive, raped, tortured, and dismembered women, and kidnapped hostages, both living and dead, before taking them back to Gaza, where they were greeted as heroes.
Many of the atrocities were gleefully filmed by the perpetrators for all the world to see.
But Labour seems to remember little or nothing about the Oct. 7 pogrom. Perhaps a series of concussions would explain why, during the past three years, the British media, academia, cultural elite, and much of the political elite have treated Israel not as the victim of wanton medieval savagery, but as the perpetrator of apartheid, forced starvation, targeting of children, genocide, and crimes against humanity against the brave people of Gaza.
For daring to fight back against the barbaric thugs in Hamastan, Israel was cast as a cruel, relentless villain. Phony statistics provided by the terrorists are recycled by the British elite in the media, popular culture, and leading universities as facts.
All this is bolstered by social media campaigns resurrecting anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and lurid big lies.
Actually, Jeremy Corbyn and his circle had already launched the demonization of Israel and the normalization of Jew-hatred well before Oct. 7.
So, right after Oct. 7, British authorities had no problem looking the other way as Hamas supporters continually filled the streets of London screaming, “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free.”
Police sat on their hands when a caravan of vehicles drove through a Jewish neighborhood with bullhorns amplifying verbal threats to rape and kill Jewish girls and women in England.
There was no neurological disorder and no amnesia. The current leaders assure the world that punishing Israel is for its own good and fulfills England’s “values.”
Before becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham promised to put pressure on Israel.
Now, as Israelis prepare for the somber third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres, Prime Minister Burnham declares that the UK sees itself as promoting the two-state solution, described as “the North Star of this government’s policy on Israel and Palestine.”
Prime Minister Burnham insists it is all about values:
“In an increasingly volatile world, Britain must be willing to lead. The British people expect it, as do our international partners, and I am determined my government will continue to act in defence of our values.
“Today, we are bringing forward targeted measures aimed not at the Israeli people, but in support of the two-state solution – and the prospect of Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.
“The suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world. Innocent Palestinians, including children, continue to be killed in Gaza. And there is still a humanitarian crisis, with far too little aid getting in.
“That’s why we are acting, and why Britain will continue to act in support of our values.”
No such values have moved this government to hold the genocide-seeking Iranian regime accountable for murdering and maiming more than 100,000 of its own people.
No, Mr. Prime Minister, it’s not about values. It is about votes, cold domestic political calculus, and the need to outdo other political parties in assuaging Muslim constituents and others who celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 pogroms.
Many continue to demonize Israel, believe lurid blood libels condemning “Zionists,” and validate antisemitism.
Prime Minister Burnham, you declare that “the suffering of the Palestinian people is a scar on the conscience of the world.”
But at least acknowledge that if there had not been an Oct. 7, there never would have been an Oct. 8. You act as if Oct. 7 didn’t happen—or, worse, that the mass murder of Jews doesn’t count.
You know full well that if you acknowledged Jewish suffering in the same sentence as Palestinian suffering, you wouldn’t have the chutzpah to talk about your two-state solution “North Star.”
Prime Minister Burnham, the two-state solution is a dead star, killed by Palestinians murdering their peace-activist neighbors, burning Israeli families in their homes, and raping, dismembering, kidnapping, and taking hostages.
It was killed by the hubris of the United Nations, the silence of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the hubris of the International Court of Justice, and the hypocrisy of nongovernmental organizations and the media, led by the antisemitic BBC.
Prime Minister Burnham, you’ve been chosen to lead the UK. You’ve decided that targeting Israel, along with 10 other nations, is a safer bet than confronting the evil Iranian regime.
So be it. You’re leading an economic war against the lone Jewish state while it still fights for its survival. You have chosen to feed the beast of appeasement. That won’t end well.
But please spare the people of Israel the sanctimonious lectures. It’s 2026. The British Mandate in Palestine ended on May 14, 1948.
The era of knee-bending is long gone.
The Jewish New Year is about to begin. The fate of every nation is being weighed by God.
We pray for reconciliation. We pray for peace.
It will be achieved when the deeds of human leaders match their words. Until then, God help us all.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper is associate dean and director of global social action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center. He is former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
