Ahead of the general election, pro-Israel businessman Stuart Roden has handed Keir Starmer’s Labour Party over half a million pounds. It’s thanks to Declassified UK we know this.
Another pro-Israel tycoon, Gary Lubner, donated a further £900k to Labour during the election. Lubner had already given the party £4.5m. Luber himself is a longstanding donor to the United Jewish Israel Appeal, which the Electronic Intifada reports has “close ties to the state of Israel”. The Lubner family are also longstanding donors to Israel.
The pro-Israel lobby is bankrolling Labour, its election campaign and individual MPs. Pro-Israel individuals and groups have funded 20% of incumbent Labour MPs.
Labour: funding from a Zionist ‘education’ programme backer
Roden, meanwhile, is the chief funder of a Zionist ‘education’ project called I-gnite that works “with students and teachers in mainstream schools”. From its website descriptions and educational resources, I-gnite whitewashes both the history of the creation of Israel, where Zionists displaced 750,000 Palestinian natives with a series of massacres, and Israel’s ongoing illegal expansionism.
I-gnite provides content stating that “Israel is not a ‘colonial’ state as you cannot colonise the land your ancestors are from.” It claims that “those painting Israelis as colonisers are trying to dehumanise Jews”. Again the material erases the native Palestinians. And Israel’s accelerating colonial expansionism in the West Bank.
I-gnite also refers to the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, ongoing since 1967, as “self defence”. It alleges “schools, hospitals and mosques” in Gaza are a “legitimate military target” because “Hamas places weapons” there.
As well as funding I-gnite, Roden, with a net worth of £280m, runs Hetz Ventures, based in Tel Aviv. The venture capital firm has donated to Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
Left-wing Labour MP Diane Abbott has suggested that such “big corporate donors” will want a return on their investment in the form of favourable policy. For Starmer, the donations are also making up for lost income from an exodus and purge of Labour members. From a high of 550,000 under Jeremy Corbyn (the largest in Western Europe), the Labour membership has dropped by around 200,000 under Starmer.
Starmer’s partnership with Israel is concerning amid its ongoing genocide in Gaza and takeover of remaining Palestinian land in the West Bank. We must elect MPs who will challenge this.
Featured image via Times Radio – YouTube
