LONDON: A group of major artists and campaigners have called on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to recognize and condemn Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide.
In a video organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, creatives including Steve Coogan, Paul Weller, Maxine Peake, Khalid Abdalla, Paloma Faith, Brian Eno, Alex Lawther, Nadine Shah and Bilal Hasna, as well as Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos, demand that Starmer impose sanctions on Israel and end arms sales to the country.
The prime minister has so far refused to condemn Israel for committing genocide in Gaza, with members of the Labour government saying it is up to international courts to decide whether it is taking place.
That has caused controversy within the party, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan breaking ranks earlier this month to state that Israel is committing genocide.
In PSC’s video, it is pointed out that despite the UK government not recognizing the genocide, numerous organizations and individuals — including Amnesty International, Oxfam, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the UN Commission of Inquiry, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, 16 Palestinian human rights organizations and more than 800 lawyers and judges in the UK — state that it is happening.
“Keir Starmer — it’s a genocide,” the video’s numerous participants state against the backdrop of video footage of Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians. “Stop arming Israel. Sanctions now.”
Abdalla said in a press release: “Gaza is Keir Starmer’s Iraq. The refusal of his government to use the word ‘genocide’ is a craven way of evading Britain’s legal obligations under the Genocide Convention.
“It is both a moral and political failure that is eroding our democracy, and which will stain the Labour Party, and Britain for decades.
“We must do everything in our power to end British complicity in ‘the crime of crimes,’ and stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Our collective future depends on it.”
The video’s release comes ahead of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool this weekend, which is set to see trade unions and activists put forward several emergency motions about the war.
More than 30 proposed resolutions on Palestine have already been blocked by the Labour Conference Arrangements Committee — a record for any topic at the annual event.
Labour MP Clive Lewis called the CAC’s efforts to block conference emotions “silencing debate on Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the trade union for train drivers, said: “International solidarity has been and always will be a cornerstone of the trade union movement.
“The Labour leadership needs to put a stop to these underhand attempts to silence members, allow motions on Gaza to be heard and immediately recognize the genocide being carried out against the Palestinian people.
“At the absolute minimum this must be backed by concrete action, including an arms embargo on Israel and meaningful sanctions to end complicity in these crimes.”
In a press release, PSC said polling shows that 72 percent of Labour voters want a full arms embargo on Israel, and 64 percent back its expulsion from the UN.
PSC is set to hold a major demonstration outside the conference. Ben Jamal, its director, said: “Almost two years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, it is a mark of enduring shame that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party still refuses to call it what it is — a genocide — and take meaningful action to end Britain’s complicity.
“It is no surprise that an unprecedented influx of motions on Palestine have been sent to Labour’s annual conference, demanding the government stands up for the rights of the Palestinian people.
“The prime minister must listen to this growing public outrage and acknowledge the genocide, sanction Israel, and end all arms sales.”
