Starmer, UK politicians attack Palestine protesters on October 7 anniversary, amid fears of crackdown

On the second anniversary of the start of the Gaza war, UK media have lasered in on pro-Palestinian protests that have taken place on 7 October.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has even written an op-ed in The Times in which he claimed that regular pro-Palestinian protests were being used as a “despicable excuse to attack British Jews for something over which they have absolutely no responsibility", due to them coinciding with the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 incursions into Israel, which saw around 1,200 people killed and hundreds held captive.

Without evidence, Starmer accused people who attend pro-Palestine protests in the UK of “calling for the murder of Jewish people” and said that they were exhibiting a “total loss of humanity and empathy” while engaging in un-British behaviour.

In his op-ed, Starmer mentioned Hamas’s 7 October attacks in Israel and the recent attack on a synagogue in Manchester in which two Jewish worshippers were killed.

Despite his references to humanity and empathy, he did not mention Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on Gaza, which has killed well over 67,000 people since 7 October 2023, something that has caused worldwide outrage and seen huge solidarity protests across the world, not only in the UK.

Ben Jamal, the chairman of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, accused Starmer of trying to stop people exercising their legal and democratic right to protest.

"The government refuses to acknowledge Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, even though its own party conference did so last week, and ignores its legal duty to prevent genocide. Instead, it focuses its efforts on further restricting the rights of millions of people to protest against UK complicity. There is a moral vacuum in our politics that we cannot and should not accept," he told The New Arab.

In addition to Starmer’s op-ed, the protests were heavily – and negatively – covered in UK media on Tuesday with The Times and The Evening Standard carrying live blogs about them, despite their limited numbers and being mostly held on university campuses.

Starmer’s op-ed followed remarks by Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, in which she called the pro-Gaza demonstrations "carnivals of hate".

It also followed comments by Nigel Farage, the leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, which is currently leading opinion polls in the UK, in which he accused Starmer of rewarding pro-Palestine protesters by recognising a Palestinian state.

The Daily Mail also reported Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick as saying that the protests were a “f***ing disgrace”.

Are there actually any protests?

Despite this, there are no major Gaza protests planned in the UK on Tuesday and no major pro-Palestinian movement in the country is planning any event.

Students however held events on several campuses, but these were largely limited in scope and attendance. 

One student protester, who wished to remain anonymous, told The New Arab that students were protesting against Israel's latest offensive on Gaza City, which has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

"Starmer's comments reflect consistent efforts to distract from the ongoing genocide that began two years ago today, and the UK government's participation and complicity," she said.

Students protested mostly inside university campuses, with The Daily Mail reporting, for example, that 100 people had attended a rally on campus, and that a bake sale for Palestine had to be postponed at a university in Liverpool amid alleged "outrage".

In London, protests were due to take place at Queen Mary University, Goldsmiths University, and King’s College, with further protests due to take place at around nine universities across the United Kingdom.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Friends of Al-Aqsa, Stop the War, and the Palestinian Forum in Britain – among the main organisations which have organised pro-Palestine protests  attended by millions of people over the past two years – were not planning any events.

Their next event, scheduled long in advance, is not due to take place until 11 October.

However, Ismail Patel, the chairman of Friends of Al-Aqsa expressed some sympathy for the students, criticising Starmer's comments.

"On a day when Israel continues to kill people in Gaza, Starmer, if he was championing Britishness, would be saying to Israel enough - stop the genocide. Starmer is out of touch with the British public and humanity," he told The New Arab.

The amount of media coverage and the comments from leaders of major parties – an entire opinion piece in the case of the country’s prime minister stood in stark contrast to the nature and scale of the events.

‘Excessive’ media coverage

It is rare for senior politicians to comment on protests limited to university campuses, or for national media to report on demonstrations of such a small scale.

However, Starmer, in his opinion piece, suggested that "university lecturers who spout antisemitism" should be barred from university campuses, hinting at a possible crackdown on universities similar to the one seen in the US after pro-Palestine protests there.

Starmer and other politicians tried to portray the events as "antisemitic", "without empathy", and calling for "the murder of Jews", but many activists pointed out that this was gross misrepresentation.

People of all backgrounds – including many Jews – have taken part in pro-Palestine protests, and organisers usually act against anyone who engages in overt displays of antisemitism.

Activist group Defend Our Juries said calling for an end to pro-Palestinian protests were "wrongly conflating the actions of the Israeli state with all Jews".

"Jewish people around the world are not responsible for Israel's crimes and there are many Jewish people who do not support the actions of the Israeli state," DOJ's Zoe Cohen said on Saturday, as quoted by AFP.