The mayor of London has responded to criticism of the tone of his recent Eid message, in which he quoted Hamas figures and appeared to accuse Israel of “betraying humanity”.
Sadiq Khan sparked concerns with a two-minute video posted on social media four days ago to mark the end of Ramadan, in which he said the usual joy of Eid would be “tempered” by the “appalling suffering and killing that continues in Sudan and Palestine”.
He went on: “More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s ongoing military campaign, including more than 15,000 children.” He then added that events in both Sudan and Gaza were “betrayals of humanity”.
His comments provoked upset from Jewish groups and commentators, including the Jewish Leadership Council, who said: “The mayor represents a city of great diversity. We are proud to live in a country where our political leaders wish communities well during religious celebrations of all faiths. However, the cohesion of our diverse communities is undermined by the importation of foreign conflicts into our city. We were therefore disappointed to see the mayor use his Eid message not to promote unity and fellowship between Londoners, but to speak in emotive terms about an international conflict which has resulted in an unprecedented rise in antisemitism across the United Kingdom.”
In response, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s office told Jewish News: “The mayor has repeatedly conveyed his outrage at attacks by Hamas on Israel and has strongly condemned these acts of terrorism.. He is deeply saddened by the loss of all lives and continues to support calls for a permanent ceasefire.”
The mayor’s office did not clarify his comment describing Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza as “betraying humanity”.
In an article titled ‘Sadiq Khan’s Eid message is a disgrace‘ for The Spectator, Jonathan Sacerdoti wrote: “Cloaked in the warm language of unity and peace, the mayor of London delivered a politicised monologue that whitewashes terrorism, stokes division and fundamentally misrepresents the moral landscape of the Israel–Palestinian conflict.”
