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Israel has accused Keir Starmer of failing to protect British Jews ahead of Thursday’s murderous terrorist attack.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said the Prime Minister had failed to tackle the ‘rampant anti-Semitic incitement in Britain’ and demanded an immediate ‘change of course’ from the Labour government.
Benjamin Netenyahu appeared to link the attack to Sir Keir’s controversial decision last month to recognise a Palestinian state.
The Israeli PM said his country ‘grieves with the Jewish community in the UK after the barbaric terror attack in Manchester’.
But he added: ‘As I warned at the United Nations, weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism. Only strength and unity can defeat it.’
The Prime Minister, who flew back from a summit in Copenhagen to oversee the emergency response, condemned the ‘vile’ attack and pledged increased protection for Jewish sites.
Sir Keir acknowledged that anti-Jewish hatred is ‘rising once again’ in this country, but said he would now do ‘everything in my power’ to protect Jewish communities.
On Thursday night, he made a visit to a London synagogue in a show of solidarity.
Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was caught on camera armed with a knife trying to get into the synagogue moments before he was shot by armed police
The Prime Minister addressed the nation after two people were killed in a senseless attack on a Jewish community celebrating Yom Kippur
In a televised statement from Downing Street earlier, the PM said it was shocking that people had been attacked ‘because they are Jews’.
Sir Keir, whose wife Victoria is from a Jewish background, added: ‘To every Jewish person in this country, I also want to say this: I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you. I really do.
‘And so, on behalf of our country, I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears. Nobody should have to do that. Nobody.
‘I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community. I promise you that over the coming days, you will see the other Britain, the Britain of compassion, of decency, of love.’
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said the Manchester attack ‘was sadly something we feared was coming’ at a time of rising anti-Semitism in the UK.
The attack prompted an outpouring of sympathy and grief from all sides of the political spectrum.
But it also triggered questions both at home and abroad about the cause of a steep rise in anti-Semitic attacks since the October 7 Hamas atrocities against Israel in 2023 – and the government’s failure to tackle it.
Mr Sa’ar said: ‘The truth must be told: blatant and rampant anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement, as well as calls of support for terror, have recently become a widespread phenomenon in the streets of London, in cities across Britain, and on its campuses.
‘The authorities in Britain have failed to take the necessary action to curb this toxic wave of anti-Semitism and have effectively allowed it to persist.’
And Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir suggested Britain was paying a price after choosing to ‘embrace terrorists, protect them and support them’.
Mr Ben-Gvir, who is sanctioned by the UK for inciting violence against Palestinians, added: ‘The time has come for the British leaders to wake up and understand what the citizens of Israel are going through every day – terrorism makes no difference, whether Israelis or Englishmen.
‘Today it is against the Jews, tomorrow it is against the whole Western world.’
In the UK, the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said the terror attack had been made ‘inevitable’ by the ‘appeasement of extremists, especially those of the far-Left and radical Islamists’.
Chief executive Gideon Falter said successive governments had failed to tackle ‘the mobs on our streets’ creating a climate of fear for British Jews.
He added: ‘Today, the blood of British Jews is on the hands of virtue-signalling politicians who have poured fuel on the fire of extremism with their posturing and appeasement, police forces and police chiefs who have failed to tackle the mobs on our streets, universities and schools that have tolerated incitement’.
Mr Falter also hit out at the BBC, saying the corporation’s ‘bias and moral collapse has essentially turned them into spokespeople for Hamas, whom they still refuse to call terrorists’.
Tory MP Louie French urged ministers to clamp down on the huge pro-Palestine marches which have taken place in cities across the UK in the wake of the October 7 attacks and which many Jews have described as intimidating.
He said: ‘If the Government really wants to support the Jewish community, it must announce today that the hate marches will be stopped straight away.
‘No more excuses. No more division. The UK must be free from anti-Semitism and all forms of religious hatred.’
But noisy, pre-planned demonstrations in support of Palestine went ahead in both Manchester and London yesterday despite the attacks.
Lord Walney, who was the government’s independent adviser on political violence until February this year, said political leaders and the media had ‘fallen into the trap’ of viewing Israel’s actions in Gaza as being ‘uniquely evil’ compared with other conflicts around the world.
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This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .