Sir Keir Starmer has brutally slapped down Sadiq Khan after the London mayor claimed the anti-Israel chant “from the river to the sea” is not antisemitic. Speaking at an event today, the Prime Minister said that the chant is antisemitic in direct contradiction to the mayor he told Donald Trump is a “friend”.
Last Thursday Mr Khan was asked at Mayoral Question Time if he believed that pro-Palestine protesters “screaming ‘from the river to the sea’ is antisemitic” He replied: “I don’t think its antisemitic… I think it’s all about context.” Asked on Monday by Lee Anderson whether she agreed with the mayor, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood refused to give an answer.
Today Sir Keir replied with a straight forward “yes” when asked the same question.
He told the Jewish Chronicle: “The first task I had as leader of the Labour Party was to root out antisemitism in my party, I made that the first priority. I knew that we wouldn’t be able to put ourselves before the electorate before we’d dealt with that in our party.
“I think we need to take the same approach with the country, with the same determination in relation to antisemitism.
“It’s the cumulative effect of the marches, repeat, repeat, repeat and the impact that has on so many people. But also what is said, what is chanted by some – not all – on the marches.
“I think we need to absolutely address it. That’s why I’ve asked the Home Secretary to carry out a review and she’s already moving on the cumulative impact.”
Asked about Mr Khan’s comments directly, Sir Keir insisted he takes a “strong view on this”.
“We’ve dealt with cases in my own party where people have used that expression and we’ve taken action against them.
“So I’m not just saying to you here today, that is the record I have as leader of my party.”
Responding to Sadiq Khan’s defence of the phrase, Sir James Cleverly blasted: “‘From the River to the Sea’ is a chant that calls for wiping the world’s only Jewish state from the map. It is patently absurd to claim it is not antisemitic.
“Against a backdrop of regular hate marches on the streets of London, Sadiq Khan has once again let the capital’s Jewish community down.”
Reform UK’s London Assembly leader Alex Wilson condemned the mayor’s “appalling record at tackling antisemitism.”
“We all know what ‘from the river to the sea’ means; it means wiping out all Jews. We all know what ‘globalise the intifada’ means; it means murdering Jews on British streets,
“These are calling for death to Jews, but Sadiq is not prepared to admit this,” he added.
“This is a chant soaked in antisemitism, and it should be made completely unacceptable, not excused,” concurred Lord Walney (John Woodcock), the former government advisor on political violence.
“Anyone who thinks it is okay for people to chant that hateful phrase needs to consider what it is calling for Palestine to be free from. They mean free from Jews.”