The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership have issued the following statement.
“We have been in touch with Andy Burnham’s team to convey directly our significant concerns in relation to his remarks yesterday.
We welcome his zero tolerance approach to antisemitism, affirm his assertion that there is no contradiction between fighting antisemitism and disagreeing with actions of the Israeli government, and share concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
However, antisemitism cannot be confronted without addressing all its drivers. In today’s Britain, this includes Islamist, far left and far right extremists who go beyond criticism of the Israeli government to a place of hatred directed at Jews and Israelis. These voices build on distorted or one-sided portrayals of the situation in Gaza and its causes, and ceaseless attempts to single out the world’s only Jewish state.
The crimes of Hamas did not begin or end with the horrific attack of 7 October. The awful situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of innocent Palestinians cannot be understood without reference to the role of Hamas not only in launching the conflict but in perpetuating the war through the holding of hostages, war-fighting entirely from within the civilian population, and ongoing refusal to cede power and disarm, in line with the 20 point peace plan. Nor can the situation be understood without reference to the role of Hamas’s regional backers and allies, including Iran and Hezbollah.
As Mayor of Greater Manchester during the Heaton Park attack, Andy Burnham knows first hand the links between hatred of Israel, antisemitic extremism and deadly violence against British Jews. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss these concerns directly with Andy Burnham and his team in the near future.
In a country in which antisemitism has become more normalised, more extreme and more violent, we call on our leaders to show the utmost care in their rhetoric in relation to the conflict.”