The extreme leftist George Galloway, who for years severely attacked Israel and was accused of anti-Semitism, was re-elected as a member of the British Parliament, with an anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian campaign.
Galloway, accused for years by his critics of sowing tension and dividing the public, made the Gaza issue the focus of his campaign in Rochdale, while winking at the large Muslim minority that lives there. In his victory speech, he addressed the Labor leader Keir Strumer, who is racing to a historic victory in the elections to be held in the UK later this year, and attacked him for siding with Israel: “Kir Strumer, this is for Gaza. You have paid and will continue to pay a high price for the role you played in enabling, encouraging and covering up the catastrophe that is taking place Now in occupied Palestine and the Gaza Strip.”
The 69-year-old Galway, who was first elected to parliament in 1987, is returning to the House of Commons for the first time since 2015, after winning on Friday the seat assigned to him in Rochdale in northwest England, a constituency where 30% of its residents are Muslim. Galway, who belongs to the Socialist Party of Great Britain, won almost 40% of the vote, taking advantage of the fact that Labor withdrew its support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, after it promoted a conspiracy theory that Israel knowingly allowed Hamas to carry out the attack The terror of October 7.
Galway, born in Scotland, is a politician with a rich history of controversial statements. In 1994, for example, he caused a stir when he visited the ruler of Iraq at the time, the dictator Saddam Hussein, and told him: “Sir, I salute you for your courage, your strength, your perseverance.” In 2003 he was expelled from the Labor Party after he called on British soldiers to “refuse to obey illegal orders” in Iraq. Since then he has been a constant nuisance for the party. The harsh things he is saying now – and will likely say after he is sworn into parliament tomorrow – are expected to cause a political headache for Labor leader Strummer, who is trying to present himself as a moderate centrist, but without alienating voters from the deep left.
The question being asked now in Britain is whether Galway’s success in Friday’s election teaches anything about the undercurrents in British politics ahead of the general election expected later this year. The election in which Galway won was a special election for a seat in the House of Commons vacated by the death of a Labor lawmaker, and none of Britain’s three traditional major parties made it into the top two.
However, some emphasize that his achievement should not be overstated, and that it is important to remember that his victory was largely made possible thanks to Labor’s withdrawal from the race in Rochdale. “George Galloway only won because Labor did not run, and all he cares about is sowing fear and division,” said the Labor spokesman at the weekend, in a message in which he apologized to the residents of Rochdale for the fact that the party did not field a candidate there in the end. “As a Galway MP he will be a damaging factor in our communities and public life.”
Galway’s return to parliament at the weekend provoked reactions in the Jewish community as well. The “Campaign Against Anti-Semitism” organization emphasized that Galway has a “horrific past of incitement in the Jewish community” and that “considering his inciting words over the years and the current situation facing the Jewish community in this country, we are very concerned about how he might use the stage in the House of Representatives in the remaining months of the parliamentary term this”. The “Community Messengers Committee”, the largest Jewish organization in the kingdom, said that Galway’s victory is a black day for the Jewish community of Great Britain: “George Galway is a demagogue who believes in conspiracy theories and has brought politics of division and hatred wherever he has ever stood in Parliament.” .
Hours after the announcement of Galway’s victory on Friday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sonak, a member of the Conservative Party, came out to give a speech outside his residence in Downing 10, stressing that Britain was facing an attack by extremists. He mentioned the Galway victory as an example of this, and said that it is extremely worrying that the voters returned to parliament a candidate who “rejects the atrocities that took place on October 7 and glorifies Hezbollah.”
Sonak made his remarks against the background of a long series of violent incidents against lawmakers and public figures from the left and right in recent months against the background of the war in Gaza, events for which increased security has been assigned to members of parliament in recent days.
“Our democracy is under attack by extremists,” Sonak said, emphasizing that Islamist extremists and right-wing extremists feed and strengthen each other, and are “two sides of the same extremist coin.” The British Prime Minister specifically came out against some of the participants in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have been held in recent months in London and other cities, and where, among other things, expressions of support for Hamas were seen.
“What started as demonstrations in our streets degenerated into acts of intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence. Jewish children are afraid to wear their school uniforms and reveal their identity. Muslim women were attacked in the street due to the actions of a terrorist organization to which they have no connection.” Sonak called on the protesters against Israel’s actions in Gaza to do so in a dignified manner, emphasized that the government would back up the police, and also warned that people staying in Britain by virtue of a residence visa granted to them may suffer a visa denial “if they choose to spread hatred.”
