The professor also suggested that Miliband and his brother, David, are ashamed of their earlier silence on Gaza [THE NEW ARAB]
US political scientist Norman Finkelstein on Thursday urged British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to act on his speech announcing sanctions on Israel, and to “enforce” the law.
Miliband announced what has been touted as a major policy reset 8 September, stating that the UK independently considers Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories to be unlawful under international law.
Speaking at an event in London to discuss his new book on Gaza, Gaza’s Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places, Finkelstein gave his response to Miliband’s ‘landmark’ settlement sanctions.
“I don’t want to get into a quarrel with him…We have to get serious. At this point, I want to see him enforce the law. You said you’re going to hear from the law, let’s see you enforce it,” Finkelstein said when asked about Miliband’s speech.
“Are you willing to enforce the law if the law means full Israeli withdrawal, no more settlements?” he said.
The son of a holocaust survivor, Miliband said earlier this week that it was the memory of his mother that helped him shape his “strong” statement against illegal Israeli settlements.
Finklestein suggested that Miliband and his brother, David, are ashamed of their earlier “silence” on Israel’s latest war on Gaza, given their parents’ stance on Palestine
“If I were to guess, pure speculation, in their heart of hearts, they were completely ashamed of what they did to silence during the first two years of the Gaza Genocide,” Finklestein said.
Towards the end of his answer, the professor recalled the time Miliband “went a little bit off script” when talking about the killing of the World Central Kitchen aid workers in April 2024.
The foreign secretary described the incident as “a cold-blooded killing” and condemned Israel’s refusal to open a criminal investigation, which killed three British citizens.
Finkelstein suggested that the remarks were “a glimpse of the real Ed Miliband”, highlighting that officials are typically limited to calling for an investigation.
“It was sort of like these glimpses of candour. [Miliband] went a little bit off script,” the professor said.
However, the academic criticised the foreign secretary for trying to separate the Israeli government from Israeli society, and challenged Miliband’s stance that British Jews should not be held responsible for Israel’s crimes.
“Here we’re going to disagree with Ed Miliband again…[British Jews] are responsible, they tried to crush and repress any dissent when people were protesting what Israel was doing,” Finklestein said, referring to pro-Israeli organisations.