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New UK Prime Minister Brings a Résumé of Fighting Antisemitism
The UK’s new prime minister has prioritized fighting antisemitism within his own party and his country and committed to working with the Jewish community to eliminate anti-Jewish hate “from day one.”
When Keir Starmer took over the leadership of the Labour Party four years ago, the party was accused of delays and inconsistencies in its handling of thousands of allegations of antisemitism by its members. Starmer’s predecessor had referred to Hezbollah and Hamas as his “friends” and had supported a blanket boycott of Israel.
“Antisemitism has been a stain on our party.”
Antisemitism had become so pervasive within the Labour Party’s ranks that, in 2018, it became the first major UK party to be investigated for antisemitism by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the government’s equality watchdog. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said that, under Starmer’s predecessor, “anti-Jewish racism has been allowed to run amok.”
“Antisemitism has been a stain on our party,” said Starmer, who vowed to “tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us.”
Under Starmer’s leadership, the Labour Party blocked his predecessor from running again for party leadership and implemented the EHRC’s recommendations for rooting out antisemitism in its membership.
Starmer, whose wife comes from a Jewish family, observes the Sabbath and the family belongs to a synagogue. Out of respect, he avoids working on Friday nights, signing off work at 6 pm for dinner with his wife and two children, whom they are “bringing up to recognize the faith… and it’s very important,” he said. “Just carving out that tradition, that bit of faith on Friday is incredibly important.”
When critics attacked him on X for taking time off for the Sabbath, accusing him of being a part-time prime minister, Starmer responded, “I would have thought to anybody it’s blindingly obvious that a Friday night is quite important in some religions and faiths.”
