How Britain’s Political Class Enabled Genocide In Gaza
From Rishi Sunak to Keir Starmer, Britain’s political class has supported Israel’s atrocities in Gaza to the hilt while attempting to supress protests against genocide on the home front. They’ll never be able to wash away the shame of complicity.
Most British people wanted a ceasefire in Gaza from the very start of Israel’s onslaught. But the mainstream media worked with the political class to smear those protesting against genocide, labelling them as antisemites, Hamas supporters, or terrorists. (Alberto Pezzali – WPA Pool / Getty Images)
Peter Oborne is one of Britain’s leading journalists and the author of books such as The Rise of Political Lying, The Triumph of the Political Class, and The Assault on Truth. He has twice received the award for Columnist of the Year at the British Press Awards. But his scathingly critical views of British foreign policy in the Middle East have put him at odds with much of the mainstream media in Britain.
In his latest book, Complicit: Britain’s Role in the Destruction of Gaza, Oborne exposes the support of British governments under both Conservative and Labour prime ministers for Israel’s genocidal atrocities over the past two years. He also shows how support for the mass killing of Palestinian civilians is undermining democratic rights at home as the authorities try to clamp down on protest. Oliver Eagleton spoke to Oborne for Jacobin about Britain and Gaza.
Oliver Eagleton
Your new book documents Britain’s complicity in the Israeli war on Gaza. What does “complicity” mean in this context, and how has it evolved over the past two years?
Peter Oborne
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