Speech by Gordon Brown during LFI Annual Reception at Labour Party Conference- 22 September 2008
"Can I first of all say on behalf of Sarah and myself, it is one of the great privileges I have to be able to address the Labour Friends of Israel, to be able to thank you for everything that you do to promote the cause of justice and to say that this reception seems to get bigger every year and it is thanks to all the work that is done by the people who are the officials of the Labour Friends of Israel. And I want to thank Luciana first of all, for everything that she does as Director of Labour Friends of Israel. I want to thank Andrew (Gwyne) for his introduction and also for his chairmanship. You have the great fortune that you have always had great chairs of Labour Friends of Israel, people who devote their energies to making this organisation one of great influences on the whole of the Labour movement and it is 50 years of Labour Friends of Israel and for everybody who contributes to the organisation of Labour Friends of Israel, let me thank you very much indeed. Let us thank them for what they do.
And I want to say also it is a pleasure to be here with the Ambassador and to thank him for everything he does, for the great relationships he establishes between Israel and the United Kingdom. Thank you for what you do, we are very grateful to you.
And let me welcome Collette (Avital) as the Deputy Speaker and a Labour member of the Knesset. I had the great privilege a few months ago of being in Israel, to be able to celebrate with the Israeli people, the 60th anniversary of Israel, to be able to speak to the Knesset and to be in a position where I was told I had done really well, because only one person had walked out after I had spoken. But the reception both of the people of Israel and of all the people I met does show us how warm the friendship is between our two countries and what we can do to support each other.
You know I have had a long standing interest through my father who used to visit Israel, in the fortunes of Israel and it has led me to continue to want to study the great triumphs of the State of Israel and the courage of pioneers who risked not just their fortunes but their lives and still do in so many incidents where terrorism is a threat to Israel. I can only marvel at the courage of the people of Israel and I am proud to be associated not only with Labour Friends of Israel but to count myself a real friend of the Israeli people and I am very proud of that indeed.
And one of the things I have done in recent years is to write for Sarah’s charity, books about the courage of people and one of the people I have written about over the last year – I have been very busy doing other things as well – just reminds me of the struggle and the courage, the sacrifices and the bravery of people who stood up for the people of Israel and the Jewish people
I read a story and I have written about it, of a nurse, Jane Haining, who went from Scotland to Hungary and she went to help young Jewish girls and she ran this home for and school for Jewish girls and then when the Nazis came in and tried to threaten people and intimidate people, she stood up and protected young Jewish girls who were now orphans as a result of what had happened to their families.
And then she was reported to the authorities and the crime that she was first of all reported for was that she had cried in public when she had to sew on the Jewish cross (sic.) onto the young girls dresses. And she was then arrested by the Nazis and ended up in Auschwitz and was executed by the Nazis. And there are stories of heroism of people who wanted to help the Jewish people and stories of heroism of those people who like Jane Haining, cried when the Star of David was put on the dress of young girls. All the girls died, Jane Haining died, and that is the stories that we must never forget.
And so when i went to Yad Vashem and saw with sarah all the struggles and all the difficulties and the horrors of what happen, let us remember that this must never, never happen again and any persecution,any discrimination, anything that thrreatens the Jewish people, we will stand up and fight for your rights and fight with people, with the Jewish people in everything that we do
I met someone in Israel who said that she had been in Eastern Europe in the war years and managed to get out, ended up in London and was now in Israel. And I said to her, ‘why did you come to Israel’? She had a good chance, she said of good jobs in London and she said, ‘we went to the only place that we really felt safe’. And I can understand that people at that time after the war feeling that way.
So we must never forget and that is why I have been determined to support the work of the Holocaust Education Trust to make sure that every school has someone that will go and see the horrors of what happened and at the same time, come back and report to their fellow pupils and in my own constituency of Kirkcaldy, when that happened, we organised a week to make people realise what they should never forget and what must always be remembered so we can prevent it ever happening again.
I also saw in Israel, the greatness of Israel, the technological achievements, the scientific achievements, the great universities, the culture, the great things that have happened over these 60 years and we should be very proud that even facing the greatest tribulations, always at risk, always in danger, the great things that have been achieved even under pressure of events.
So I count myself not only a friend of Israel but someone who wants to support the future of Israel.
I know there are two great issues we have got to deal with. The first is Iran. And Iran has a choice. They have a choice and we must make it clear to them. Either they must recognise that the way forward is by peaceful co-operation and renouncing nuclear weapons or they must recognise they will face the complete isolation from the rest of the world. And all of us are determined to make sure that that message goes to Iran and that the people of Iran understand what their government is trying to do.
And the second great issue is of course, peace in the Middle East. And while Ehud Olmert, who is a friend of mine, has gone, there are many people who want to put forward the proposals that can bring a lasting settlement that protects the security of Israel and resolves the problems of the Palestinian people. And I believe that it is our duty – with other governments – to find a way forward so that there is a lasting settlement that guarantees the security within its borders of the Israeli people.
So I assure you that we will do everything that we can to work with Israel. We will do everything we can to make sure that people understand that when persecution and discrimination and bigotry happen, it is an affront to the whole of mankind and not to one people of mankind. And I want to thank all of you for everything that you do to promote justice throughout the world. Thank you all very much."
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