Keir Starmer yesterday addressed LFI’s Annual Lunch – its biggest in 15 years – and underlined his support for Israel and a two-state solution.
The prime minister also had strong words for Iran, restated the government’s opposition to BDS, and made a major announcement on Britain’s work to help establish an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace – a long-running LFI campaign.
Starmer spoke to an audience of nearly 550 people. Guests included over 100 parliamentarians and cabinet ministers David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Peter Kyle, Pat McFadden, Lucy Powell, Steve Reed, Ellie Reeves, and Jonathan Reynolds.
The prime minister reiterated Labour’s long-standing commitment to an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and announced the UK would be placing its full diplomatic weight behind the campaign. Starmer committed foreign secretary David Lammy to convening “an inaugural meeting in London to support civil society in the region, as part of … work to negotiate a two-state solution.” The UK’s allies, he said, will be all those who “seek to further the cause of reconciliation, peace, and progress” as he urged international support to raise “the next generation of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders.” Following the 7 October tragedy and ongoing violence, he said out of this crisis can “emerge a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
The prime minister called for “a two-state solution, expansion of the Abraham Accords and the process of normalisation to build new bridges across the region.” “There is no secure Israel without a viable Palestinian state and no security for Palestinians without a safe and secure Israel,” he argued.
Starmer called out officially sanctioned Palestinian incitement, saying Palestine’s security is only weakened through “incitement in Palestinian media, violence against Jews and glorifying terrorism in schools.” He condemned “expansion of settlements in the West Bank … illegal outposts [and] settler violence”. He also condemned the BDS movement as a “genuine threat to the two-state solution”.
Tough words for Tehran
The prime minister strongly backed Israel’s right to defend itself against Iranian aggression and pledged future UK support if Tehran attacks the Jewish state once again. “I will not turn a blind eye while Iran seeks to destabilise the Middle East,” Starmer said.
“We have imposed tough sanctions on the IRGC and we unreservedly condemn Iran’s attacks,” the prime minister stated. “A country which is repressing its own citizens, coordinating proxy armies and terrorist groups, intimidating the region with the veiled menace of its nuclear programme. And even seeking to incite violence and extremism here in the UK.”
Starmer labelled Iran “a state sponsor of terror”, arguing: “Whether that’s through their funding, training and support for Hamas – making the October 7 attack possible. Or the Houthis who have attacked Israel and caused chaos to international shipping or for Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Addressing hostage families attending the Annual Lunch, Starmer said his government is working “day and night” to secure a ceasefire in Gaza that “as item number one includes the return of all the hostages”.
Commenting on last year’s record rise in antisemitism in the UK, the prime minister said “violence, harassment and intimidation of British Jews on our streets and online” could never be called “pro-Palestinian” but is rather “antisemitism, through and through.” The prime minister also highlighted the government’s recent support for Holocaust education and funding to protect schools and synagogues.
Having worked tirelessly to rid the Labour party of antisemitism, Starmer said, “this movement has returned to our history and heritage which is inseparable from the state of Israel and our Jewish family.”
A plea for Emily
The most moving remarks of the lunch were delivered by Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari who has been held hostage by Hamas since 7 October last year – along with 100 other captives. Since that day, Mandy said “my days are one long nightmare that I may never wake up from.” Saying her daughter and other hostages are in hell, she said Emily is “fighting to stay alive, minute after minute, month after month. 423 days, with no end in sight.” After 14 months, she said it is not enough to continue calling for Hamas to release the hostages. We can and must do much more to help them. Not only in spirit. Not merely in words. But in actions.” She called on the government to lead efforts on the international stage to support the hostages, including through the provision of humanitarian aid and access to medical care.
New chair’s address
New LFI parliamentary chair, Jon Pearce spoke of the “heartbreaking loss and terrible suffering” for Israelis and Palestinians over the last year, especially for the hostages and their families who have suffered “unimaginable torment and distress.” Restating LFI’s longstanding position on the crisis, he said “it is time for this conflict to end, for desperately needed aid to flow freely throughout Gaza, and to bring the hostages home – where they belong with their families and loved ones.”
Pearce said this war was “inflicted on Israelis and Palestinians by Iran and its proxies,” and that “Israel is on the frontline of a wider battle: one between democracy and autocracy,” which is the UK’s fight, too. He said Israel’s self-defence is “intrinsic to Britain’s national interest.” The LFI’s chair also unequivocally tied Iran’s support for terror to its strategic alliance with Russia, saying “Iran supplies the drones and missiles which Hezbollah fires at Tel Aviv and those which Putin is raining down on Kyiv” and called for the proscription of the IRGC.
He said LFI will “defend the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and take on those who seek to demonise and delegitimise the Jewish state.”
UK-Israel ties have never been more important
Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, said “the relationship between Britain and Israel has never been more important” and that the “the ties between our two democracies are deep, wide-ranging and underpinned by our shared commitment to liberal democratic values.” She thanked Britain for supporting Israel when under attack from Iran, saying “the world’s oldest democracy [is] standing by the Middle East’s only democracy”. Condemning the continued captivity of Israeli hostages in Gaza, she said “we will never give up fighting for the return of all the hostages, until they are reunited with their loved ones.”
