THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
Britain’s Jewish community is living in fear. After a terrorist attack in Manchester killed two Jewish men outside a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, many are asking how we reached this point. This article looks at the failures of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour Party in protecting Jewish citizens.
On October 2nd, 2025, a British citizen of Syrian descent stabbed people out synagogue. Two Jewish men were killed and three others seriously injured. This was not a random attack. It was a deliberate act of terror against Jews.
It happened after months of rising antisemitism.
The Protest Problem
Since October 2023, Britain has seen regular pro-Palestinian protests. While peaceful protest is a democratic right, many of these demonstrations have included deeply troubling elements:
(1) Chants like “from the river to the sea” which many Jews interpret as calling for Israel’s destruction
(2)Signs and slogans that cross the line from criticizing Israel to demonizing Jews
(3) Intimidation in Jewish neighbourhoods
(4)Hateful rhetoric that goes unchallenged
The problem is not that people protested. The problem is that police often stood by while hatred was expressed. Jewish people watching these protests felt afraid, yet their concerns were dismissed or downplayed.
Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan allowed this to continue week after week. They spoke about the right to protest but said little about protecting Jews from the hatred being directed at them.
Two-Tier Policing
Many people now believe Britain has two-tier policing. This means the police treat some groups more harshly than others.
When anti-immigration protesters rioted in 2024, arrests were swift and sentences were harsh. People were jailed for social media posts. The response was immediate and forceful.
But when pro-Palestinian protests included anti-Semitic chants and signs, police action was minimal. Officers appeared afraid to enforce the law, perhaps worried about being called racist or causing community tensions.
This double standard sent a dangerous message, some forms of hatred matter more than others. Jewish people noticed. So did those who hate Jews.
The Grooming Gangs Scandal
Starmer’s credibility on protecting vulnerable communities was already damaged by the grooming gangs controversy. He initially refused to hold a new inquiry into grooming gangs, despite clear evidence that authorities had failed to act for years because they feared being called racist.
Critics argued that Starmer was protecting Muslim voters rather than victims. When he finally agreed to an inquiry after intense pressure, it looked like a political calculation rather than genuine concern.
This pattern repeated itself with Jewish safety. Political considerations seemed to matter more than protecting people from harm.
Dangerous Policy Signals
Starmer has sent several signals that worried the Jewish community:
(1)Palestinian Statehood
He has expressed willingness to recognize a Palestinian state, which some see as rewarding terrorism and undermining Israel’s security.
(2)Islamophobia Definition
His government is considering adopting definitions of Islamophobia that Jewish groups fear could silence legitimate concerns about extremism and antisemitism from some Muslim groups.
(3)Appeasement Politics
Many believe Starmer makes decisions based on winning Muslim votes rather than principle. Labour has many Muslim MPs and voters, creating pressure to take pro-Palestinian positions.
These policies may seem reasonable in isolation, but together they created a pattern: Jewish concerns come second.
Speaking Out Too Late
After the Manchester attack, Starmer condemned it strongly. He said the attacker “attacked Jews because they are Jews.” These were the right words.
But they came too late. For months before this attack, the Jewish community had been sounding the alarm. Antisemitic incidents reached near-record levels. Jews felt increasingly unsafe. Synagogues needed security guards. Jewish children were bullied in schools.
Where was Starmer’s strong condemnation then? Where was his action to stop the hatred before it turned deadly?
Leaders set the tone for society. When they stay silent about rising hatred, they give permission for it to grow. When they finally speak after people are killed, it sounds hollow.
The Labour Party’s History
This isn’t just about Starmer. The Labour Party has a recent history of antisemitism problems. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, antisemitism became so widespread that the party was investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission – the first political party ever investigated for racism.
Starmer promised to clean up the party. He expelled Corbyn and said Labour had changed. Many Jews gave him a chance.
But now those same patterns are emerging again. Not the open Corbyn-style antisemitism, but something perhaps more dangerous: the soft bigotry of treating Jewish concerns as less important than other political priorities.
One Law for All
Britain needs one principle above all others: one law for everyone.
This means:
(1)The same laws apply regardless of religion or ethnicity
(2)Police enforce laws equally
(3)No parallel legal systems like Sharia councils
(4)No community gets special treatment
(5)Everyone’s safety matters equally
Starmer has failed this test. By allowing different standards for different groups, he has undermined the principle of equality before the law. This isn’t just unfair – it’s dangerous.
Conclusion
Two Jewish men are dead. They were killed because they were Jews, in Britain, in 2025. This should shame us all.
Keir Starmer and the Labour government bear responsibility for the climate that allowed this hatred to flourish. Through weakness, political calculation, and two-tier treatment of communities, they failed in their most basic duty: to protect all citizens equally.
The Jewish community has been warning that this would happen. They were ignored until it was too late.
Britain must decide what kind of country it wants to be. Will it be a country where one law applies to all, where every community’s safety matters equally, where hatred is confronted rather than appeased? Or will it continue down the path of two-tier justice, where political convenience matters more than principle?
References
1.https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/02/uk/uk-synagogue-attack-manchester-intl
2.https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/uk-synagogue-incident-1.7648977
