Young Labour, old prejudice
THE LABOUR Party’s youth section has rejected a resolution which called for a two-state solution in the Middle East, on the grounds that it was not critical enough of Israel.
The proposal — entitled “Peace and Justice: for a Palestinian state alongside Israel” — was put forward at last weekend’s conference held by Young Labour, for party members aged 14-26.
It said that there can be “no meaningful peace in Israel-Palestine without justice for the Palestinians, an end to the Occupation, a just solution for the Palestinian refugees and their descendants, a truly independent Palestinian state with same rights as Israel”.
While it condemned Israel for its “military occupation” and “settlement activity”, it made no mention of Palestinian terror attacks.
It also quoted Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian terrorist, on the need for “peaceful coexistence”. Mr Barghouti was convicted of murder in 2004 and is serving multiple life sentences.
However, the motion was defeated by delegates, with an observer saying that “people were like ‘it’s not BDS and doesn’t stop Apartheid so vote against it’.”
Liron Velleman, youth and students officer of the Jewish Labour Movement, said he was “disappointed to see a motion that supported the mutual recognition of Israel and Palestine fall. The debate was not one of constructiveness and nuance but instead an attack on Israel’s legitimacy.”