Keir Starmer accused of betraying UK Jewish community after UN vote policy shift
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of betraying British Jews after dropping his opposition to anti-Israel motions on the world stage.
The UK will no longer automatically vote against resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that focus solely on Israel’s behavior in Gaza and the West Bank.
Jewish community leaders and senior politicians have reacted with fury, accusing the Prime Minister and Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, of encouraging anti-Semitism.
Sir Keir’s decision comes just days after an anti-Semitic firebomb attack in north London that saw four Jewish-owned ambulances torched outside a synagogue.
Britain has opposed all texts tabled under Item 7 of the UNHRC, a permanent fixture on the agenda that is devoted to discussing Israeli human rights abuses, since 2019.
At the time, Sir Jeremy Hunt, the then Conservative foreign secretary, warned that Item 7 resolutions showed the UN had a “disproportionate and discriminatory” focus on Israel.
Israel is the only country in the world to be scrutinized by its own permanent agenda item. All other human rights abuses, including by Russia, China, and Iran, are dealt with under Item 4, which does not single out any country.
In a joint statement, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council said: “We are appalled at the UK Government’s decision to renege on its previous principled position of voting against all Item 7 resolutions in the UN Human Rights Council.
“In the week that the UK’s Jewish community is still reeling from an anti-Semitic attack on ambulances in Golders Green, the Government’s abandonment of principle on anti-Semitism is inexcusable.”
They went on to accuse the UN of “institutional anti-Semitism” and questioned why the Government was not continuing to oppose all anti-Israeli resolutions out of principle.
“For the Jewish community to have any confidence in the Government’s resolve on this issue, the policy of voting against all Item 7 resolutions must be maintained,” the groups concluded.
The change of position does not necessarily mean that Britain will vote in favor of any Item 7 texts. But it opens the door to the Government endorsing explicitly anti-Israel motions, and has been viewed as acquiescence to critics of Israel.
Alex Hearn, a director of Labour Against Anti-Semitism, also condemned the timing following the Golders Green attack, which is feared to have been orchestrated by Iran.
Mr. Hearn said: “While British Jews are being attacked on their own streets, our Government is legitimizing the institution that singles out the Jewish state above every human rights abuser on earth.
“Instead of confronting anti-Jewish racism at home, it is validating demonization abroad.”
Jewish campaigners have argued that the Government has not done enough to combat a significant rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic hate crimes since the Oct 7 terror attacks in 2023 and the war in Gaza.
Earlier this week, the Cabinet minister Steve Reed was heckled on a visit to Golders Green over the Government’s ongoing refusal to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is considered the primary exporter of Iranian-linked terrorism abroad.
Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “It’s disgraceful that Labour is ditching the longstanding cross-party commitment to vote against Item 7 resolutions.
“By abandoning this principle, Labour is surrendering to those who wish to single Israel out for special punishment. Questions will rightly be asked about whether this is an attempt to pander to sectarianism here in Britain.
“Only the Conservatives will stand up for our national interest and back our allies.”
Lord Austin, the trade envoy to Israel and a former Labour MP, said: “No other nation, regardless of its human rights record, is treated in this way.
“This obsessive demonization of the world’s only Jewish state fuels anti-Semitism, which is why the UK must continue to oppose it. If the UK weakens its opposition, it risks encouraging the very anti-Semitism that is already rising at home.”
According to the most recent official police figures, Jewish people had the highest rate of religious hate crimes targeted at them of any faith group.
Two worshippers were killed in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester last October. This was the first fatal anti-Semitic attack in the UK since the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-Semitism, began recording incidents in 1984.
The CST’s 2025 report said it was the second-highest annual total ever recorded for anti-Jewish hate incidents, at 3,700, a rise of four percent on the previous year.
On becoming Labour leader in 2020, Sir Keir said rooting out anti-Semitism was one of his top priorities. He soon moved to suspend Jeremy Corbyn, his predecessor, after he claimed the scale of the party’s anti-Semitism crisis had been overblown.
However, the Prime Minister has been accused of failing to control anti-Semitism across Britain since taking power. Hate crimes and incidents continue to surge despite additional funding for security at synagogues and Jewish schools.
Technology & Business Editor
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