Mark Pritchard MP

House of Commons

In reaction to your impassioned speech this week

Dear Mark Pritchard MP,

We are writing you to thank you for your courageous speech in the debate about Palestine, in which you had the grace to admit that your “support of Israel, at all costs” for many decades, was wrong. We agree with your judgement that Palestinians should have the same rights as the rest of us, and this is certainly not the case for many decades. Certainly not since 1948 and the creation of Israel; but we would like to point out that this was the case ever since 1917, as Britain took over Palestine from the Ottoman Empire, and spent 30 years enabling the Zionist dream, as the British government undertook in the Balfour Declaration. With the British Empire, Palestine would not now be a Zionist settler-colonial state in the midst of the worst genocide in our lifetime.

Of course, we do not hold you responsible for the British Empire terrifying history in Palestine and elsewhere, and we greatly admire your courage to act openly against the line taken by both Conservative and Labour governments since the start of the Gaza genocide. We support your sentiment and share your revulsion both of the Israeli crimes, and the collaboration of HMG by supporting, arming and partaking in military operations from the Acrotiri base in Cyprus.

We would like to point out one difference between us and yourself, if we may. You have clearly voiced support for the right of Israel to exist, calling its people “the Israeli people, the Jewish people…” which is wrong. You confuse Jews with Israeli Zionists, a common error, but one which rolls the crimes of Israel onto the Jews elsewhere. Many Jews across the globe, including the Israeli Jew who signed below who has drafted this letter, are totally opposed to what Israel is doing, exactly as you are!

We know you may already have been under pressure from across the political gallery in Britain, and wish to thank you for your courage, humanity, candour and decency – qualities not quite evident in the current or recent HMG administrations. You remind the public what politicians are elected to do. Thank you very much for doing that so eloquently.

Yours,

Prof. Haim Bresheeth-Žabner, UK and Israeli national, ex IDF officer

Mr. David Cannon, Jewish Network for Palestine

Mr. Massoud Shadjareh, Islamic Human Rights Commission

Revd. Dr. Stephen Sizer, Peacemakers