Labour has sparked fresh outage by wishing millions of British Jews Happy Rosh Hashanah – hours after formally recognising Palestine.
A post on X from the party’s official account was accompanied by the message Shana Tova (a traditional Hebrew greeting used during the Jewish New Year) “from us all at the Labour”.
The extraordinary message came after Sir Keir Starmer sparked fury for officially recognising the State of Palestine in the hope of reviving the prospects of a peace and two-state solution.
But it comes as anti-Jewish hatred stands at the highest level on record with the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) claiming the number of people in Britain holding what it considers to be entrenched antisemitic views now covering more than one fifth of the population.
Some 45% – almost half of the population – believes Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews, almost half 18-24-year-olds are uncomfortable spending time with people who openly support Israel while only 18% are comfortable, and only 31% of young voters agree Israel has a right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people and 20% of them say that it does not.
Disturbingly 10% of young people have a favourable view of Hamas and 14% of them believe it is wrong to class the proscribed organisation as terrorists.
Almost one fifth of young people believe the Hamas murder spree in Israel on October 7, 2023 was justified.
A CAA spokesperson said: “This is Sir Keir Starmer’s Neville Chamberlain moment. Apparently the promises to do ‘everything possible’ to bring the hostages home meant nothing. The Government could make recognition conditional on the return of the hostages — at the absolute very least — but Sir Keir refuses even to do that, so urgent is the need to delight terrorists and their supporters, while betraying the families of the hostages whom he has looked in the eye and earnestly pledged to help.
“The message could not be clearer: murder, rape, kidnapping and indoctrination are legitimate paths to diplomatic gain — Hamas leaders have called this moment ‘the fruit of 7th October’. Additional sanctions against Hamas will have zero impact and do nothing to blunt the delight amongst Hamas’ leaders. This is not statesmanship or peacemaking; it is the deliberate betrayal of those taken hostage and slain on 7th October 2023 and a reward that has delighted Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and their supporters.
“This morally reprehensible decision will surely prolong war by encouraging those terrorists to continue to hold hostages and to perpetrate further terrorism because this act of recognition is a declaration that the UK rewards violence against Jews. Polling shows that all but a small minority of British people recognise that and do not support this shameful betrayal of this country’s values.
“We fear that our Government’s virtue signalling will have an impact here at home too, as Islamist terrorists around the world digest the lessons from this betrayal. History shows that appeasement eventually brings the aggressor to your door.”
The tone-deaf post sparked outrage with one saying: “You’ve got some nerve posting this after the (Palestine) fiasco where (the Government) rewarded Hamas for terrorism.”
Another added: “Antisemitic Labour wishing Jews a Happy New Year – you couldn’t make it up. How about stopping the rise of attacks on Jewish people?”
The sickening post comes after Sir Keir visited Auschwitz earlier this year to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp where Jews were systematically slaughtered during the Holocaust as countries around the world united to renew a promise of “never again”.
Meanwhile, seven in ten Labour members believe the Government was wrong to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group.
Another X user said: “Remember the time when Starmer forgot to wish British mothers Happy Mother’s Day…but they never forget this.”
