{"id":6553,"date":"2026-06-17T16:34:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jonathan-cook.net\/blog\/?p=6553"},"modified":"2026-06-17T16:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:34:40","slug":"labour-represent-israel-british-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jonathan-cook.net\/blog\/2026-06-17\/labour-represent-israel-british-people\/","title":{"rendered":"The Labour MPs determined to show they represent Israel, not the British people"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Labour wants the repression of Palestine Action to serve as a blueprint for politics. Why not lock up opposition party leaders and any constituents who protest government policy?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Mike Tapp, a minister in the Home Office, recently posted<\/a> on X a \u201cgotcha\u201d response to Green Party leader Zack Polanski\u2019s criticism of the Labour government\u2019s decision to proscribe Palestine Action.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the Court of Appeal ruling this week to uphold proscription, Polanski noted the government\u2019s authoritarian assault on civil liberties. Thousands of grandparents \u2013 retired lawyers, doctors, vicars, army veterans \u2013 he pointed out, had been arrested on terrorism charges simply for holding a placard saying: \u201cI oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Tapp asked<\/a> Polanski: \u201cDo you support the Palestine Action group?\u201d<\/p>\n

This was Tapp\u2019s attempt at entrapment. If Polanski answered in the affirmative, he could be jailed for up to 14 years \u2013 because of the unprecedented decision Tapp\u2019s own Home Office took to declare Palestine Action a terrorist organisation.<\/p>\n

No direct action group in the UK\u2019s history has ever before been designated a terrorist group, on a par with al-Qaeda and Islamic State.<\/p>\n

Tapp clearly thought he was being clever. But all he was really doing was further exposing the ugly, patently authoritarian nature of the government he serves in and its complicity in Israel\u2019s endless atrocities in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Tapp is not some disinterested party in all this. He is a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, the genocide-compatible wing of the Labour party that dominates the cabinet.<\/p>\n

Investigative journalist Paul Holden noted<\/a> on X:<\/p>\n

Tapp has taken money and benefits from Labour Together, Labour Friends of Israel and Stuart Roden, who founded the Israeli-based VC company Hetz Ventures with Judah Taub. Taub is a former IDF Special Forces operative who served as an IDF reservist in Gaza.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Labour government is stuffed<\/a> with compromised individuals like Mike Tapp, who serve as Israel\u2019s cheerleaders in the UK.<\/p>\n

In addition, or more likely as a consequence, many of these ministers, from Keir Starmer down, receive large donations from the Israel lobby.<\/p>\n

Polanski replied to Tapp: \u201cThe fact that your government has made it illegal for me to answer yes is a damning testament to your flagrant disregard for civil liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The fact that your government has made it illegal for me to answer yes is a damning testament to your flagrant disregard for civil liberties.<\/p>\n

This may be targeted at those taking action against the genocide, but it sets a very dangerous precedent that puts everyone at risk. https:\/\/t.co\/KoC3TX2pXL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) June 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n