{"id":282757,"date":"2024-03-02T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T06:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=282757"},"modified":"2024-03-03T08:32:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T08:32:28","slug":"dark-day-for-uk-jewish-community-as-labour-apologises-over-george-galloway-by-election-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=282757","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Dark day for UK Jewish community\u2019 as Labour apologises over George Galloway by-election win"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Archie Mitchell \u2013 The Independent March 1, 2024<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/George-Galloway-Rochdale-win.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wpa-warning wpa-image-missing-alt aligncenter wp-image-282733\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/George-Galloway-Rochdale-win.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"350\" data-warning=\"Missing alt text\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/George-Galloway-Rochdale-win.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/George-Galloway-Rochdale-win-480x271.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>The Board of Deputies of British Jews has condemned George Galloway\u2019s by-election win as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/politics-explained\/rochdale-by-election-tony-lloyd-george-galloway-b2502198.html\">\u201cdark day\u201d for the UK\u2019s Jewish community<\/a>, as Labour apologised for not campaigning against him in Rochdale.<\/p>\n<p>The Board of Deputies of British Jews has condemned George Galloway\u2019s by-election win as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/politics-explained\/rochdale-by-election-tony-lloyd-george-galloway-b2502198.html\">\u201cdark day\u201d for the UK\u2019s Jewish community<\/a>, as Labour apologised for not campaigning against him in Rochdale.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/labour\">Labour<\/a> lashed out at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/george-galloway\">Mr Galloway<\/a> as someone who is \u201conly interested in stoking fear and division\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/george-galloway-rochdale-byelection-workers-party-b2505223.html\">after he stormed to victory<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/rochdale\">Rochdale<\/a> contest.<\/p>\n<p>The party had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/rochdale-byelection-polls-george-galloway-candidates-latest-b2504516.html\">dropped its own candidate<\/a> for making antisemitic remarks, leaving the door open for Mr Galloway, an alleged antisemite notorious for stoking division and courting controversy.<\/p>\n<p>Sir Keir Starmer said following the result: \u201cGalloway only won because Labour didn\u2019t stand a candidate. I regret that we had to withdraw a candidate and apologise to voters in Rochdale. But I took that decision. It was the right decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd when I say I changed the Labour Party, I mean it. Obviously we will put a first-class candidate, a unifier, before the voters in Rochdale at the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A Labour spokesman added: \u201cRochdale <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/rochdale-george-galloway-by-election-win-b2505099.html\">deserved the chance<\/a> to vote for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/mp\">MP<\/a> that would bring communities together and deliver for working people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/george-galloway-labour-rochdale-parliament-celebrity-big-brother-b2505146.html\">George Galloway is only interested<\/a> in stoking fear and division. As an MP he will be a damaging force in our communities and public life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And the Board of Deputies of British Jews said Mr Galloway&#8217;s victory in the Rochdale by-election marks &#8220;a dark day&#8221; for the UK&#8217;s Jewish community.<\/p>\n<p>As the implications of Mr Galloway\u2019s return to parliament became clear:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was a \u201cdark day\u201d for the UK\u2019s Jewish community<\/li>\n<li>Rishi Sunak said the campaign for the Rochdale by-election was &#8220;one of the most divisive in recent times&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Senior Tory MPs called for politicians from all sides of the spectrum to stop inflaming public discourse<\/li>\n<li>Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said Labour had \u201clet the people of Rochdale down<\/li>\n<li>George Galloway said the \u201czionist apartheid state of Israel\u201d has no right to exist<\/li>\n<li>His deputy, former Labour MP Chris Williamson, refused to condemn the Hamas 7 October terror attacks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>His Workers Party of Great Britain won with just under 40 per cent of the vote, a majority of 5,697 over second placed David Tully, a local businessman and independent candidate.<\/p>\n<p>In his victory speech, Mr Galloway said: &#8220;Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza.\u201d It echoed the message Mr Galloway sent upon his 2005 win in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, when he said: \u201cMr Blair, this is for Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cYou have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Critics have warned of the pervasive influence Mr Galloway\u2019s return to parliament will have. And the Board of Deputies called for him to be \u201cshunned as a pariah by all Parliamentarians\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesman said: \u201cGeorge Galloway is a demagogue and conspiracy theorist who has brought the politics of division and hate to every place he has ever stood for Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;His election is a dark day for the Jewish community in this country and for British politics in general.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: &#8220;George Galloway is an inflammatory firebrand with an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis endurance in our public life serves to exploit extremist sentiment and divide communities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rishi Sunak has said the campaign for the Rochdale by-election was &#8220;one of the most divisive in recent times&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if Mr Galloway\u2019s election win would inflame tensions, the prime minister said: \u201cIt was very concerning to see the reports of intimidation through the by-election, and by all accounts one of the most divisive campaigns that we\u2019ve seen in recent times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And in a sign of the controversy to come after Mr Galloway\u2019s return, his deputy on Friday morning refused to condemn the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Former Labour MP Chris Williamson, who was suspended from the party for claiming it had \u201cgiven too much ground\u201d and been \u201ctoo apologetic\u201d in tackling antisemitism, is now the deputy leader of Mr Galloway\u2019s Workers Party of Britain.<\/p>\n<p>The Jeremy Corbyn ally told BBC Radio 4\u2019s <em>Today<\/em> programme: \u201cYou can\u2019t expect to live in a situation where people have been oppressed for 75 years and not expect a reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn international law, oppressed peoples have an absolute right to armed resistance,\u201d Mr Williamson said, before going on to claim that the majority of those innocent people killed on 7 October were killed by Israeli forces.<\/p>\n<p>Labour\u2019s deputy national campaign coordinator Ellie Reeves said she was \u201cutterly appalled by Chris Williamson&#8217;s failure to condemn Hamas attacks on the seventh of October, and likewise his failure to distance his party from the endorsement of [former president of the far-right British National Party] Nick Griffin\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And, in comments likely to further inflame tensions amid Israel\u2019s war on Gaza, Mr Galloway went on to tell Sky News that the \u201czionist apartheid state of Israel\u201d has no right to exist.<\/p>\n<p>Top Tories came together to warn tensions are already running high and stressed the importance of taking the heat out of political debate.<\/p>\n<p>Senior Conservative MP David Davis, who will introduce Mr Galloway alongside Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons on Monday, said \u201cthe temperature of politics has got very high\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And Mr Davis said Mr Galloway serves as \u201ca sharp reminder\u201d that \u201cif we want to make progress as a democracy you have to be able to debate in civilised terms and accept that other people have real differences from you\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The former cabinet minister told <em>The Independent<\/em>: \u201cThe general temperature of politics has got very high\u2026 even intra-party as well as between parties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor democracy to operate properly we have to be able to reach a decision and ideally build a consensus or very solid majority around that &#8211; and that has not been happening for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said Mr Galloway\u2019s election should was \u201call about divisiveness\u201d, adding that it should serve as \u201ca general call to arms\u201d to take the heat out of political debate.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking after visiting a sixth form college, Sir Robert told <em>The Independent<\/em> that \u201cwe owe an example to the next generation to do our politics better\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat does not mean no disagreement or argument, of course it means lively debate, but disagreeing agreeably as we have done in Britain for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cThe more we spread the language of divisiveness and otherness and hate, the more you\u2019ll see politicians like Jo Cox losing their lives or David Amess losing their lives, and the darker and sadder a place our political life will be\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that\u2019s why last night was a profoundly depressing result, frankly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Sir Robert described Mr Galloway as a \u201cdemagogue\u201d who \u201ccomes and goes and leaves damage in his wake\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And he said all sides of the political spectrum have been guilty of furthering public division and that politics should be about \u201csolutions\u201d, not trying to \u201cinflame\u201d debate.<\/p>\n<p>And Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said Labour had \u201clet the people of Rochdale down because it didn\u2019t give them a good enough choice\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And, in a warning to Mr Galloway, Mr Burnham warned that he will \u201cstand up to anybody who seeks to bring division or hate to our city region\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Left-wing pressure group Momentum described Labour\u2019s Rochdale by-election results as \u201cself-inflicted\u201d. A spokesperson for the group said: \u201cThis was a needless and self-inflicted loss for Labour.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst, (Labour leader Sir Keir) Starmer\u2019s utterly factional selection processes resulted in a candidate who was clearly unfit for office. Then the Labour leadership tried to defend him as one of their own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinally, Keir Starmer\u2019s failure to stand with Gaza in its hour of need left the door open for George Galloway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo avoid any more damaging repeats, Starmer should end the factional abuse of Labour\u2019s selection processes and stand up for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Rochdale campaign has been mired in controversy and claims of intimidation and divisive tactics.<\/p>\n<p>Labour withdrew support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, after a recording emerged in which he claimed Israel was complicit in the terrorist attacks of October 7, seeing Mr Galloway become the firm favourite for the seat.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Ali remained listed as the Labour candidate as the party\u2019s decision came too late for ballot papers to be changed.<\/p>\n<p>Labour said it \u201cwill quickly begin the process to select a new Labour candidate for the general election\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK also suffered a poor result in the seat, gaining just 6 per cent of the vote, much lower than its national poll rating of around 10 per cent. Leader Richard Tice claimed his candidate, former Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, had received a death threat during the campaign and said his party&#8217;s campaign team had been subject to &#8220;daily intimidation and slurs&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Pollster Luke Tryl, of More in Common, said the results were \u201cterrible\u201d for all the main parties. He pointed to the performance of second-place Mr Tully as almost more significant than Mr Galloway\u2019s win.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the circumstances mean it is far more likely the lesson here is one about candidate selection and due diligence than about public opinion more broadly,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Reeves said the party will not change its position on Gaza despite Mr Galloway warning after the by-election result it will pay \u201ca high price\u201d nationally.<\/p>\n<p>She told Sky News: \u201cWe\u2019ve set out our position on Gaza and that was adopted by the Commons just the other week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019ve said there should be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, that the loss of life has been intolerable, there must be no ground offensive in Rafah, aid has to be ramped up into the region, and, importantly, that we need to find a two-state solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/george-galloway-rochdale-labour-byelection-b2505228.html\">Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the wake of his decisive by-election win in Rochdale, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has denounced George Galloway as a \u201cdemagogue and conspiracy theorist\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-282757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Current_Affairs","category-Israel_Anti-Semitism_Zionism_and_US-UK_allies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=282757"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282759,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282757\/revisions\/282759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=282757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=282757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=282757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}