Miliband’s biographer, and Zeteo’s editor-in-chief, argues that allegations of antisemitism don’t work against the current foreign secretary, which is why pro-Israel critics are losing their minds.
The 'leaders' who have so hysterically attacked Ed Miliband have finally, irreparably exposed their big lie: they are not merely 'pro-Israel', they are unashamedly pro Genocide. "Siding with Hamas, effectively"? What petulant drivel. No Hamas was required in the West Bank for Israeli thugs to launch their latest pre-emptive Holocaust. How sad when its leaders let a community down. Starmer's stance was designed to tell the world that Britons cared not one fig for human rights, that Britain stood with racist Genocidaires, and every evil was okay so long as there was a shekel to be made. Ed Miliband has exposed that lie. Thank you, Mr. Miliband.
Just over eighteen months ago, a distinguished group of thirty-six British Jews wrote a letter to the FT. These members of the British Board of Deputies (‘BBoD’) stated that the policies and actions of the Netanyahu Government were contrary to Jewish values. Further, they wrote that “this most extremist of Israeli Governments” had recently broken the ceasefire with its ‘Itamar Offensive’ (which included the killing of 15 paramedics and their disposal in a mass grave) “in order to pass the budget and avoid an election” Not surprisingly, the group had found this offensive to their faith and beliefs and protested in a classic and peaceful British way.
Now, one of the ’36’ has written a book detailing the response to the letter ‘Two Naked Emperors: A Tale of British Jewry in 2025’ by Philip Goldenberg (AuthorHouse UK; available from Amazon and on Kindle).
Although, initially, given a cautious welcome (even from Phil Rosenberg, the President of the BBoD), it rapidly escalated to something more extreme:
‘the reactionary element in the Jewish community, who do not tolerate public criticism of the Israeli government by anybody, let alone Jews, went collectively apeshit.’
It seems that the ‘reactionary element’ working against the letter and its signatories included the Israeli government itself (even though we are discussing events here in Britain). Having got early wind of the letter’s contents, Gideon Saar, the Israeli Foreign Minister, had raced to London, courtesy of our very own Prime Minister (as he then was).
Saar had to work closely with Starmer on the details of this ‘private visit’ because there was a threat from the Global Legal Action Network to serve Saar with an arrest warrant for war crimes. Starmer had the BBC publish a false report that Saar met Rosenberg ‘in Jerusalem’ and otherwise to keep silent about the visit. The BBC only corrected its reporting of the visit on the Friday, after being hounded by The National newspaper.
Saar arrived in the UK on 15th April, the day before the letter was published. So he was on hand in London the day after publication to instruct Rosenberg in person as to what the Board must now do. For starters, Rosenberg was forced to tweet out a photo of the two of them shaking hands to confirm the new arrangement, adding the plaintive message that ‘Unity is Strength’. The rest of the Board’s activities to shut down the rebels are documented in Goldenberg's book.
Starmer had a clear choice when the letter was published; he could have supported its authors in their initiative to bring the war in Gaza to an end and thus to reduce the level of antisemitism in the UK. He chose, instead, to hand them over to Gideon Saar and the now Israeli-controlled Board for a psychological beating and to close down any further criticism over the situation in Gaza.
Although Starmer has stepped down, persecution is ongoing. The policies and the people remain. Can Labour be trusted to put it all into reverse? Can the CPS be rid of its Starmer-inspired addiction to calling any anti-Israeli activity 'terrorism'? Can the IHRA 'Working Document' be binned?
We are now in a position to understand that Starmer supports the activities of the far-right regime in Israel and did so consistently throughout his premiership and before, from asserting the ‘right’ of Israel to cut off water, etc, to Gaza through to working directly with Gideon Saar on suppressing criticism of Israeli actions.
Starmer persecutes British Jews who criticise the far-right regime in Israel.
Starmer persecutes anyone who criticises the far-right regime in Israel.
Labour's survival depends depends on Burnham and Miliband making this change to Gaza policy stick. And then unrolling the rest of Starmer's legacy. An end to terrorism charges. An end to the NHS IHRA Working Document farce.
I’m hopeful that’s so long as Ed Miliband stays in place he won’t allow there to be backsliding on foreign policy. To be fair I think that Andy Burnham has behaved better than I expected him to do. I haven’t realised quite how appalling Starmer had been until I read your post, although the only thing I would take issue with is his comment about cutting off water and electricity. I was listening to that interview and he answered the wrong question. He was actually referring to Israel’s right to self-defence. Everything else that he has done has been nauseating but that was the one issue where he was unfairly blamed. He clearly didn’t care enough to correct it straight away.
Let’s just hope that this ridiculous Palestine action proscription is reversed as well.
What a cathartic moment . Confess I screamed more than once. Good to hear Miliband put down those who spoke about ' what was good for Palestinians 'without ever having spoken to any of them, the Ambassador and his diplomatic staff. That alone was seismic . Humanising, giving agency and visibility to the dehumanised . Self-determination is predicated on that .
It cannot be emphasized enough, the significance of PM Burnham's decision to appoint Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary, knowing his personal history , and that this would result in mother of all pile-ons on him personally and politically.
So today lot rested on Milband's shoulders. Ed Miliband has broken the silence, and presented a coherent argument for UK not being by-standers as grave crimes and injustice were committed by State of Israel. Sanctioning trade beyond green line is very calibrated. Will Government sanctions work, we wait to see. I do not share Miliband's view that the BDS movement is threat to the State of Israel- it is a threat to apartheid as State policy. But no matter the dial has moved a little when once there was implied complicity through political , diplomatic inaction.
We can continue to both support Government action and support Palestine in other ways.
I hold view we witnessed a Genocide , ethnic cleansing in Gaza and West Bank and it continues to unfold. We now have permission to speak out more freely without being dismissed as antisemitic- because our Government has also spoken out.
Ed Miliband, his integrity and intelligence shines through. Respect.
I feel like a huge weight has been removed from me. I realise that this is only symbolic but the fact that France and Canada are acting at the same time is significant I hope. This Israeli government won’t care for now as long as they have Trump, but they won t have him forever. We have to hope that the elections in both Israel and the US bring at least a level of sanity if not of compassion to those two countries.
On a personal level it means I can vote labour at the next election which I was afraid I might not have been able to do. I’ve only ever not voted for them once, and that was the re-election of Blair. I’m pleasantly surprised that Andy Burnham has done what any decent labour Prime Minister should have done.
I admire Ed for his moral compass, his integrity & having the sheer guts to speak up and tell the truth to parliament & the public.
Let hope Labour under Burnham go further with a full arms embargo, ceasing intelligence sharing & trade with the Apartheid genocidal state of Isreal and other nations follow.
My MP sent me the transcript and this is my reply. I was disgusted by the statement.
"Sorry but I gave up reading this before it got to the part which I suppose is meant to show me that the British Government is at last offering some token effort towards acknowledging the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine - which started at the end of the second world war, not as many have been led to believe as retaliation for 7 October 2023.
Frankly it would have been better to have said nothing."
And besides, this isn't token. It includes sanctions on banks and construction companies, which is serious. If it were just a few dates and olives, as someone else dismissively said, it would be no big deal. Banks and construction companies are serious.
I was so excited to see someone finally show real leadership, and even more pleased that a few other countries got inspired by it. Goodness knows it will be a long time before my godforsaken hellhole of a country (USA) does anything good in the world, so it's good to see someone step up.
The 'leaders' who have so hysterically attacked Ed Miliband have finally, irreparably exposed their big lie: they are not merely 'pro-Israel', they are unashamedly pro Genocide. "Siding with Hamas, effectively"? What petulant drivel. No Hamas was required in the West Bank for Israeli thugs to launch their latest pre-emptive Holocaust. How sad when its leaders let a community down. Starmer's stance was designed to tell the world that Britons cared not one fig for human rights, that Britain stood with racist Genocidaires, and every evil was okay so long as there was a shekel to be made. Ed Miliband has exposed that lie. Thank you, Mr. Miliband.
This needs to be a starting point for a more humanitarian response to plight of the Palestinians.
Just over eighteen months ago, a distinguished group of thirty-six British Jews wrote a letter to the FT. These members of the British Board of Deputies (‘BBoD’) stated that the policies and actions of the Netanyahu Government were contrary to Jewish values. Further, they wrote that “this most extremist of Israeli Governments” had recently broken the ceasefire with its ‘Itamar Offensive’ (which included the killing of 15 paramedics and their disposal in a mass grave) “in order to pass the budget and avoid an election” Not surprisingly, the group had found this offensive to their faith and beliefs and protested in a classic and peaceful British way.
Now, one of the ’36’ has written a book detailing the response to the letter ‘Two Naked Emperors: A Tale of British Jewry in 2025’ by Philip Goldenberg (AuthorHouse UK; available from Amazon and on Kindle).
Although, initially, given a cautious welcome (even from Phil Rosenberg, the President of the BBoD), it rapidly escalated to something more extreme:
‘the reactionary element in the Jewish community, who do not tolerate public criticism of the Israeli government by anybody, let alone Jews, went collectively apeshit.’
It seems that the ‘reactionary element’ working against the letter and its signatories included the Israeli government itself (even though we are discussing events here in Britain). Having got early wind of the letter’s contents, Gideon Saar, the Israeli Foreign Minister, had raced to London, courtesy of our very own Prime Minister (as he then was).
Saar had to work closely with Starmer on the details of this ‘private visit’ because there was a threat from the Global Legal Action Network to serve Saar with an arrest warrant for war crimes. Starmer had the BBC publish a false report that Saar met Rosenberg ‘in Jerusalem’ and otherwise to keep silent about the visit. The BBC only corrected its reporting of the visit on the Friday, after being hounded by The National newspaper.
Saar arrived in the UK on 15th April, the day before the letter was published. So he was on hand in London the day after publication to instruct Rosenberg in person as to what the Board must now do. For starters, Rosenberg was forced to tweet out a photo of the two of them shaking hands to confirm the new arrangement, adding the plaintive message that ‘Unity is Strength’. The rest of the Board’s activities to shut down the rebels are documented in Goldenberg's book.
Starmer had a clear choice when the letter was published; he could have supported its authors in their initiative to bring the war in Gaza to an end and thus to reduce the level of antisemitism in the UK. He chose, instead, to hand them over to Gideon Saar and the now Israeli-controlled Board for a psychological beating and to close down any further criticism over the situation in Gaza.
Although Starmer has stepped down, persecution is ongoing. The policies and the people remain. Can Labour be trusted to put it all into reverse? Can the CPS be rid of its Starmer-inspired addiction to calling any anti-Israeli activity 'terrorism'? Can the IHRA 'Working Document' be binned?
We are now in a position to understand that Starmer supports the activities of the far-right regime in Israel and did so consistently throughout his premiership and before, from asserting the ‘right’ of Israel to cut off water, etc, to Gaza through to working directly with Gideon Saar on suppressing criticism of Israeli actions.
Starmer persecutes British Jews who criticise the far-right regime in Israel.
Starmer persecutes anyone who criticises the far-right regime in Israel.
Labour's survival depends depends on Burnham and Miliband making this change to Gaza policy stick. And then unrolling the rest of Starmer's legacy. An end to terrorism charges. An end to the NHS IHRA Working Document farce.
I’m hopeful that’s so long as Ed Miliband stays in place he won’t allow there to be backsliding on foreign policy. To be fair I think that Andy Burnham has behaved better than I expected him to do. I haven’t realised quite how appalling Starmer had been until I read your post, although the only thing I would take issue with is his comment about cutting off water and electricity. I was listening to that interview and he answered the wrong question. He was actually referring to Israel’s right to self-defence. Everything else that he has done has been nauseating but that was the one issue where he was unfairly blamed. He clearly didn’t care enough to correct it straight away.
Let’s just hope that this ridiculous Palestine action proscription is reversed as well.
What a cathartic moment . Confess I screamed more than once. Good to hear Miliband put down those who spoke about ' what was good for Palestinians 'without ever having spoken to any of them, the Ambassador and his diplomatic staff. That alone was seismic . Humanising, giving agency and visibility to the dehumanised . Self-determination is predicated on that .
It cannot be emphasized enough, the significance of PM Burnham's decision to appoint Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary, knowing his personal history , and that this would result in mother of all pile-ons on him personally and politically.
So today lot rested on Milband's shoulders. Ed Miliband has broken the silence, and presented a coherent argument for UK not being by-standers as grave crimes and injustice were committed by State of Israel. Sanctioning trade beyond green line is very calibrated. Will Government sanctions work, we wait to see. I do not share Miliband's view that the BDS movement is threat to the State of Israel- it is a threat to apartheid as State policy. But no matter the dial has moved a little when once there was implied complicity through political , diplomatic inaction.
We can continue to both support Government action and support Palestine in other ways.
I hold view we witnessed a Genocide , ethnic cleansing in Gaza and West Bank and it continues to unfold. We now have permission to speak out more freely without being dismissed as antisemitic- because our Government has also spoken out.
Ed Miliband, his integrity and intelligence shines through. Respect.
I feel like a huge weight has been removed from me. I realise that this is only symbolic but the fact that France and Canada are acting at the same time is significant I hope. This Israeli government won’t care for now as long as they have Trump, but they won t have him forever. We have to hope that the elections in both Israel and the US bring at least a level of sanity if not of compassion to those two countries.
On a personal level it means I can vote labour at the next election which I was afraid I might not have been able to do. I’ve only ever not voted for them once, and that was the re-election of Blair. I’m pleasantly surprised that Andy Burnham has done what any decent labour Prime Minister should have done.
I admire Ed for his moral compass, his integrity & having the sheer guts to speak up and tell the truth to parliament & the public.
Let hope Labour under Burnham go further with a full arms embargo, ceasing intelligence sharing & trade with the Apartheid genocidal state of Isreal and other nations follow.
It's just a shame the Jewish sympathise starmer didn't do it sooner
My MP sent me the transcript and this is my reply. I was disgusted by the statement.
"Sorry but I gave up reading this before it got to the part which I suppose is meant to show me that the British Government is at last offering some token effort towards acknowledging the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine - which started at the end of the second world war, not as many have been led to believe as retaliation for 7 October 2023.
Frankly it would have been better to have said nothing."
How arrogant and discourteous not to even read it but send an opinion anyway.
And besides, this isn't token. It includes sanctions on banks and construction companies, which is serious. If it were just a few dates and olives, as someone else dismissively said, it would be no big deal. Banks and construction companies are serious.
I was so excited to see someone finally show real leadership, and even more pleased that a few other countries got inspired by it. Goodness knows it will be a long time before my godforsaken hellhole of a country (USA) does anything good in the world, so it's good to see someone step up.