Burnham's contrition on Gaza is hollow. Watch what he actually does in power
Here is a list of the things Britain's incoming prime minister is obligated to do to avoid collusion in Israel's genocide, according to an International Court of Justice ruling. Will he do any of it?
Actions speak louder than words, as the saying goes. So far, all we have from Andy Burnham – expected to become Britain’s new prime minister in little more than a week – are words.
His three-minute monologue to camera on Gaza, communicated via social media, was carefully, and cynically, calibrated.
The first minute was dedicated to condemnations of Hamas and concerns about antisemitism – designed to insure against the kind of pile-on endured by Jeremy Corbyn from the political and media class every time he spoke out against Israel.
The rest of Burnham’s piece to camera was no less judiciously weighed.
Vague contrition over the fact that Keir Starmer backed from the outset a supposed “right” by Israel to starve the people of Gaza of food and water – a crime against humanity, for which the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Worries about the resulting “humanitarian” suffering of the enclave’s Palestinian population – suffering entirely engineered by Israel.
The need for the return to a two-state solution – the very “solution” that has allowed Israel over the past three decades to devour the Palestinian territories under Israeli occupation with illegal Jewish settlements.
Oh, and criticism of Israel for “appearing” to have committed war crimes.
These words were directed at a very specific audience: the millions of progressive voters who would once have seen Labour as their natural home but have been appalled by the party, in both opposition and government, throwing its weight behind Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Burnham was keen to tell these people that they should return to the fold under his leadership.
Why? Because, without them, Labour has almost no chance of winning the next general election. Unless he persuades them he will be different, they will either stay home or vote Green.
His fear is a consolation, if a small one. Even in these increasingly authoritarian times, there is a residual power in the exercise of our vote. Politicians cannot ignore us entirely.
But all we have seen so far is that we can influence Burnham’s words. We can force Labour to do better image management. That will not save a single Palestinian, or Lebanese, life. Deeds are needed, not simply words.
So watch Burnham’s actions as prime minister.
Here are some of the minimum things he would do if he was actually serious about ending British complicity in Israel’s genocide. Remember, he is legally obligated to do all the things listed below, according to an International Court of Justice ruling that countries must honour the Geneva Convention and take whatever concrete steps they can to prevent a genocide.
He must de-proscribe Palestine Action, and the chilling impact it was intended to have on those protesting British complicity in what UN inquiries, legal experts, human rights groups and Holocaust scholars all believe to be a genocide in Gaza.
He must advise the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the impending charges against, and prosecutions of, thousands of ordinary people as “supporters of terrorism” for holding placards opposing genocide.
He must insist, more generally, that the UK police stop hounding anti-genocide activists, journalists and lawyers through an expanded and exaggerated interpretation of already-draconian counter-terrorism laws, and also scrap a new National Security Bill being hurried through parliament that will criminalise those trying to scrutinise British collusion in crimes like the Gaza genocide.
He must announce that any Briton who has served in the Israeli military – there are at least 2,000 of them – risks being prosecuted for war crimes on their return to the UK, including the son of Britain’s Orthodox chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis. Equally, he must remind the police of their duty to investigate prominent figures in Britain using their platforms to incite genocide.
He must commit to ending all arms sales to Israel, not just the measly suspension of 30 out of 350 export licences that was conceded by Starmer. He must also end the carve-out on Britain’s supply of components for the F-35 jets being used to bomb Gaza.
He must insist Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, stop production of its killer drones at its UK factories and their shipment to Israel for use in Gaza – drones that a recent United Nations inquiry found were being used to deliberately target Palestinian children.
He must refuse to meet Israeli government ministers and generals, as Starmer’s government has repeatedly done in flagrant violation of its legal obligations, and promise to enforce the arrest warrant against Netanyahu, and any other Israeli officials the ICC may have indicted in secret, should they set foot in the UK.
He must stop British RAF base Akrotiri, on Cyprus, from being used for spy flights over Gaza, gathering intelligence that is being handed over to Israel and almost certainly directing its attacks on Gaza.
He must also block Britain’s role in the weapons supply chain to Israel, with Akrotiri being used to transfer US and German arms that have killed many tens of thousands of Palestinians in the enclave.
And he must impose economic sanctions and asset freezes on Israel, equivalent to those on Russia.
Will Burnham do all of this? Will he do any of it? Will he even try to do any of it?
You know the answer as well as I do.
Talk is cheap. Judge Burnham by his actions.
[Many thanks to Matthew Alford for the audio reading of this article.]
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I have stopped expecting Labour to be resuscitated. They died when Corbyn was ejected. All other leaders of Labour have been appointed by the billionaire class and their actions monitored by the Zionists. The only hope of stopping the Gaza genocide is a decisive defeat of Israel. That is a tall order but never say never.
Burnham used to be my MP. He has one talent: self-marketing wrapped in bullshit.