To think that Labour’s/Andy Burnham’s tariffs on Jewish Settlers and their statement on Palestine is a well timed publicity stunt to divert attention from their complete lack of inaction regarding illegal migrants arriving by boat.

[bluespotsandztarz]

I don’t meant to be cynical but I think Labour have done this to carry favour with those who want to ditch Labour for the Green Party. We all know Labour isn’t run by its leader, instead by their back benchers!

What the Settlers are doing on the West Bank is horrific, however Labour were not being so vocal a few weeks ago when the rest of the world was. It feels a ‘well-timed’ publicity stunt to take away attention from their complete inaction about the amount of illegal immigrants arriving in this country. I was appalled by the protests over the weekend. And as a woman with a daughter, these thugs do not protest in my name. However, the government MUST address the fact that we have thousands of undocumented male immigrants coming into the UK free to go wherever they want. Andy Burnham is happy to house them in their thousands wherever he sees fit and I have not heard him OR his government talk about women’s safety once. Burnham can make as many cosy ‘I’m just a man who goes to Greggs and likes a pint.’ Videos as he wants but until he acknowledges how undocumented men pose a great risk to women’s safety, I won’t be supporting him or his party.

Please do not come up with facts and stats about white British males, I am acutely aware of the violence they also inflict against women and equally appalled by the Government’s inaction over this. But I find it horrific that if you have no documents and the government have no idea who you are you’re free to roam. This should not be allowed.

I feel so ignored as a woman in the UK our safety and wellbeing is way down the governments’ long list of priorities. I’m sick of the back benchers and those swaying to the far left or far right being given so much air time, whilst those of us in the middle are ignored day in and day out I voted for Labour in the last election but never again!

Yes, I can think about more than one thing at once including what is happening in other countries.

Everything should be done to protect those kids too.

I want kids in your country to be safe.

I want kids in my country to be safe.

I want kids in every country to be safe.

I would have thought that was standard for everyone but if you are using whataboutery in relation to dead children, then maybe not.

As this was driven by Ed Miliband who is Jewish, do you think that is he an anti-semite or that other crass cliche, 'a self-hating Jew'?

Labour has track record in antisemitism. This is no different.

Do you think that makes a difference to those who are anti-Semitic? Do you really think they'd leave him alone because he doesn't practice his faith publicly?

We are paying the French Government £550 million to stop small boat crossings so I would hope they have gone down. In 2023 29,400 migrants crossed the channel, in 2024 that figure rose to 36,000 and in 2025 the figure rose yet again to 41,500.

There are less individual boat crossings but the boats have got larger with more people crammed onto the boats. In just 2 days this last week over 700 migrants crossed the channel. I'm not sure why Labour supporters think there is anything to celebrate.

Numbers on small boats are down significantly. Illegal settlements need to be sanctioned. Government can focus on more than one thing at a time.

Yup. I think he's marxist Labour royalty and absolutely a hypocrite to claim his Jewish ancestry is in anyway a mitigation for this, or other, anti Israel policies he's espoused.

Of course you are allowed to worry about the things that worry you and have an opinion about priorities.

That does not entitle you to freely spread misinformation without challenge.

You might worry less if you looked properly at figures rather than inflammatory social media.

This is absolutely different. Criticism of the actions of the Israeli government is not anti semitic. Plenty of British Jews - including Jewish community organisations like Yachad - were deeply critical of the way the Labour Party allowed anti semitism to fester under Jeremy Corbyn, but are supportive of Ed Miliband’s announcement because they see this kind of action as the last hope for salvaging a two state solution. The Chief Rabbi has expressed his legitimate fears concerns about deteriorating relations between the UK and Israel, and Ed Miliband- himself a British Jew with deep family connections to Israel - has responded thoughtfully and respectfully. This is an emotive, complex issue for the British Jewish community, and to use it as a political football to score points against the government is dangerous and divisive.

Yes Labour does have an appalling record on antisemitism under Corbyn. They have got better. The failures of the past don’t mean that taking action against illegal settlements is therefore wrong. You cannot absolve the current Israeli government of its actions because Labour had serious issues a few years ago.

I don't need to absolve them of anything. I'm interested in the actions of my own government and this one is pure BS.

This shows a deep and offensive misunderstanding of Jewish faith and culture. In all traditional and mainstream Jewish law, a non-practicing Jew is still considered completely Jewish.

British Jews hold complicated, differing opinions about Israel and in particular about the current Israeli government, and to suggest those views may in any way lessen their connection to their heritage and culture is at best deeply ignorant and disrespectful, and at worse anti semitic.

you said it here

Not listening to the Chief Rabbi isn’t great. Just that dismissal is hard to see.

You may personally choose to support illegal settlements, but many people do not. Its not antisemitism to criticise the actions of the current Israeli government. Our government is acting in line with many others. You cannot absolve the call it BS, that’s your choice, but please don’t try to conflate criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism.

It would be interesting to see how many of these foreign national criminals came over on boats.

In what way is it “pure BS”?

This is a hugely complex and emotive issue, especially for British Jews. The fears the Chief Rabbi has expressed that these sanctions could increase anti Israel sentiment in the UK and therefore lead to a rise in anti semitism here are real and legitimate. But I honestly don’t think Ed Miliband has dismissed those concerns, I think he’s responded respectfully and thoughtfully. Many British Jews are desperate to protect the possibility of a two state solution and many agree with Ed Miliband that at some point, we have to have the moral courage to back that belief with action.

It’s a hugely difficult, emotionally charged debate within the British Jewish community but I do think Ed Miliband understands that deeply.

Has he condemned what the settlers are doing in the West Bank? If not, he merits dismissal.

We don’t have an immigration problem - we have an anti-immigration problem. It makes no difference to the outrage however much it’s reduced. That’s not the issue. People conflate immigration with asylum and assume incorrectly that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes. At its core, it’s just racism, pure and simple, stirred up by the far right. And Labour is just playing up to it and keeping the issue salient.

The UK has barely done anything to oppose Israeli war crimes other than a bit of scolding and the Israeli government is openly pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing. The sanctions will have close to zero economic impact, but they are an important multinational signal. Conflating opposition to the far right Israeli government with antisemitism, or implying that a Jewish person isn’t a proper Jew because they eat bacon sandwiches is solidly antisemitic.

The solution to asylum seekers is to set up safe and legal routes which allow pre-clearance to entry, provide aid to the adjacent countries who are hosting millions of refugees and let claimants work while they wait for a decision.

The numbers have fallen to the lowest since 2021.

It’s the right direction. Boats getting bigger is a good thing, means one interception in France is more effective. And you can see it’s working as the traffickers are launching from Normandy instead of Pas de Calais, it’s getting harder and harder to do it there.

Absolutely worth celebrating, Reform are getting their one issue solved for them by Labour.

Nope, the settlers are terrorists, Israel's Dahiya doctrine is terrorism, should have been done decades ago.

You are not just being unreasonable, you are being ridiculous.
More than one thing happens in politics at a time you know (or maybe you don't).

OK, lets say the number of men crossing the channel has decreased. It is coming down from such a vastly high level, it isn't anything to celebrate. I'll celebrate when it comes down to levels of about 20 years ago.