A brief analysis of Tower Hamlets Labour’s unsympathetic position on Palestine. Consistent with its recent history on the issue of the Palestinian people and with an exploration of why?
NOTE: The article is in response to a public statement made by the Tower Hamlets Labour Group, which claims to be advocating Palestinian rights, but on the whole, adopts all the talking points pushed out by the Israeli military. Which in fact undermines the internationally recognised rights of the Palestinians under International Law. A reflection of the inverse reality projected both here in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Recommended reading the Twitter thread below before reading the article:
Introducing the Fateful Triangle in the East End
In 1983, the American philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky released one of his seminal works, titled “The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians.” This book experienced a reissue in the 1990s, featuring a foreword written by the Palestinian scholar and campaigner Edward Said.
At the core of this book was a central argument that the US and Israeli authorities had never truly sought peace, with the sole party genuinely interested in peace being the Palestinians and the broader Arab community. However, this reality remained consistently distorted by the US establishment and its allies, who engaged in a deliberate campaign of disinformation. This campaign was amplified by prominent public figures, institutions, and mainstream media outlets that uncritically embraced anti-Palestinian narratives.
My introduction to Chomsky came through my personal tutor at King’s College School of Law. During our initial encounter, my tutor shared a typewritten letter from Chomsky, sparking my curiosity. Eager to delve into Chomsky’s works, I immediately headed to the bookshop on Gower Street. There, I inquired with a friendly assistant about the whereabouts of Chomsky’s books. To my delight, he guided me upstairs, unveiling a dedicated section filled with Noam Chomsky’s literary treasures. This marked the beginning of my journey into student activism, culminating in a memorable encounter with Edward Said at SOAS, where I pursued studies in Arabic Language and Middle Eastern Literature.
Fast-forward almost three decades, nothing much has changed. Nationally, you have the two fateful triangles, the one involving the Conservative Government, and the other with the Opposition Labour Party. In both, we have the Palestinian people and the Israeli establishment. In all these triangles, there is a gross misrepresentation of the facts on the ground. For example, no mention of the civil society opposition to current Israeli policies within Israel, or the fascist makeup of parts of the current Israeli cabinet.
It seems that in Tower Hamlets, we are witnessing our own version of a ‘Fateful Triangle.’ This time, the key players are the everyday residents of the East End, the Palestinian people, and the local Tower Hamlets Labour Party. The core issue revolves around a stark contrast in their approach. Both the people of the East End and the Palestinian people seek genuine engagement with the critical matters at hand. In contrast, the Tower Hamlets Labour Party seems to have taken a different path. Consistently adopting an unquestioning embrace of anti-Palestinian framing and talking points, thus misrepresenting the sentiments of the East End’s populace and the struggles of the Palestinian people.
This trend is glaringly evident in a recent, seemingly ‘staged’ statement released by the Tower Hamlets Labour Group of councillors to Keir Starmer. However, this behaviour is not an isolated incident; it has been a persistent pattern for the past decade, including my four years as a councillor and eight years as a member. To understand how we arrived at this point, let’s embark on a trip down memory lane to document the Tower Hamlets Labour Group’s consistent display of anti-Palestinian sentiments.
A Brief History of the Anti-Palestianism of the Tower Hamlets Labour Group: With Stones in My Hands
Based on my experience as a former member and later as a councillor, it has been evident that the Tower Hamlets Labour Group consistently maintained an unfavourable stance towards Palestinians. Even more so than the national party leadership or local MPs like Rushanara Ali and Jim Fitzpatrick. One memorable incident occurred during my early days. In my first meeting as a Labour Councillor in 2018 when I raised a motion about the Palestinian issue during a meeting. To my dismay, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor pushed through a damaging amendment, effectively undermining the discussion. After the meeting, I distinctly recall witnessing the Mayor tearing up the motion in front of me in a fit of anger.
Unfortunately, matters did not improve from there. In 2018, during a preliminary meeting prior to the main council session, I once again brought up the subject of the Palestinians. However, following the council meeting, I was unjustly singled out as a Muslim in press briefings for leaving the meeting early, and this was falsely labelled as an act of antisemitism. I rebutted the false allegation, pointing out to the journalist that other councillors, Muslims & non-Muslims, left the council meeting early.
Then in the next year in 2019, Tower Hamlets Council initially prohibited the Big Ride for Palestine, but after concerns were raised by me within the Council chamber and a subsequent meeting with a Council officer, the ban was ultimately reversed. This ban contradicted Tower Hamlets Council’s commitment to support campaigns advocating for the rights of Palestinians as defined under the APPG Islamophobia definition.
During the Covid pandemic in 2020, I gave an interview to the media in which I encouraged people to engage positively and constructively with the Palestinian issue. Following that interview, It came to my attention that a Labour Councillor, whom I later discovered, had accessed my social media account. They screenshotted & edited a social media post from a decade ago and forwarded it to the Labour Party, alleging it was antisemitic. However, six months later, with the intervention and support of 25 faith leaders and institutions in East London, as well as the endorsement of Israeli historian Professor Shlomo Sands, the national Labour Party cleared me of any wrongdoing.
In 2021, we had the Israeli military assault on Gaza, responding to demands by residents, my fellow activists and I displayed a ‘We Stand With Palestine’ banner in Brick Lane. To our dismay, a friend of a current Labour Councillor, employed at a nearby restaurant, attempted to discredit the banner by vandalizing it with antisemitic graffiti. In response to these repeated acts of vandalism, we made the decision to relocate the banner adjacent to the East London mosque to safeguard it from further harm.
This series of events raises the question of how we arrived at a situation where a faction of Labour Councillors consistently opposes important issues, such as advocacy of the rights of, Palestinians. Even when it puts them at odds with their own constituents and voters.
How the Fu*k did we get here?
How the Fu*k did we get here? This is the question residents and activists in Tower Hamlets are perplexed by. The diametric opposition between the de facto leadership of the local Labour Group of Councillors and the prevailing national and local sentiment? The straightforward answer lies in the local Labour leadership’s recruitment strategy, which often brings in individuals who lack connections or a deep understanding of the majority of the population, particularly the under-40 demographic.
This situation is akin to the broader trend in the UK, where polling data consistently reveals that young people are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. This sympathetic stance contradicts the Islamophobic narrative perpetuated by certain figures within the current Labour leadership, who wrongly frame the internationally recognised rights of Palestinians as solely a Muslim concern.
“j. Accusing Muslims of being a “fifth column” or of lying or acting in ‘stealth’, and/or implying a Muslim, or Muslims in general, are inherently antisemitic, homophobic and/or misogynist.”
Labour Party Islamophobia Code of Conduct
Essentially, it seems that the Tower Hamlets Labour Group consists of uninformed councillors who are willing to echo an Islamophobic narrative they’ve been fed, mistakenly categorising, the Palestinian cause, as a Muslim-centric issue. In the case of the statement, sign up to a letter full of grammatical errors, did they even read it? This lack of interest and the propagation of Islamophobic tropes highlight their susceptibility to manipulation, rendering them pliable and compliant voting members in various committees and the main council chamber.
The deteriorating political culture has reduced politics, within the Tower Hamlets Labour Party, to a mere game of musical chairs for positions and allowances, neglecting the duty of representing constituents. This has culminated in a disconnected local Labour leadership, as evidenced by their resounding defeat in the 2022 local council elections to the Aspire Party. Instead of rectifying their self-defeating practices, the local Labour Party has doubled down on them. Speaking to insiders, illustrated by the ham fisted approach to Israel & Palestine, instead of proactively educating and building bridges, they resort to tropes. In this case, that the rights of the Palestinian people is some Muslim issue.
Consequently, we witness a scene reminiscent of Doctor Zhivago, with the local Labour Party being encouraged by a detached ‘de facto’ leadership, adopting approaches opposed by the majority of residents. As they march toward their impending defeat in the trench warfare of the 2026 elections.
That’s how the fu*k we got here.
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