‘Left’s unholy alliance with Islamists is plunging UK into huge danger’

Left-wingers are playing a dangerous game by throwing their lot in with Islamists, Tony Blair has claimed. The former Labour Prime Minister was commenting on the arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a north London-based charity last week and its aftermath. Sir Tony warned that some on the left were in effect legitimising antisemitism – and making Jews “fair game” – by endorsing a viewpoint antagonistic to Israel.

In an op ed penned for The Free Press, Sir Tony said the attack was not an isolated incident but part of a “pattern” of rising antisemitism across Britain and Europe. He pointed to more than 3,700 incidents recorded in the UK last year, alongside similar spikes in countries including France and Germany following the October 7 attacks on Israel.

Sir Tony said: “If the arson attack… were an isolated incident, it would be bad enough. It isn’t isolated, unfortunately. It is part of a pattern in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.”

Sir Tony suggested that Jewish communities are increasingly living in fear, with some already choosing to leave. He said: “Jewish people in the UK and in Europe are genuinely fearful,” adding that many believe authorities are “not dealing with the roots of modern antisemitism”.

He described a “bizarre situation” in which a small, successful and philanthropic community is being “targeted by bigotry” without a sufficiently robust ideological response. At the heart of the problem, Sir Tony argued, is what he called a “pernicious and novel development” — a growing alliance between sections of the political left and Islamist movements.

He continued: “In its opposition to Israel, it has found an animating cause,” arguing that the war in Gaza has given this alignment “full rein”.

The warnings come amid heightened scrutiny of figures like Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has faced persistent accusations of tolerating “antisemitic tropes” within his party’s anti-Zionist rhetoric. Sir Tony accused parts of the left of blurring the line between legitimate criticism of Israel and outright hostility toward Jews.

Sir Tony said: “Parts of the left cast the Jewish community as supporters of the government of Israel. And Jews become ‘fair game’.”

While acknowledging that criticism of Israeli policy is valid, Sir Tony insisted it must be grounded in a balanced understanding of the conflict, adding: “You cannot engage in such criticism legitimately if you do not also condemn the terrorism of October 7.”

Critics must also recognise the reality of the threats facing Israel, Sir Tony stressed. He said: “You cannot pretend that Israel does not face a substantial terrorist threat from Hamas… Hezbollah, the Iranian regime and other groups that do not recognise Israel’s right to exist.”

Sir Tony also took aim at rhetoric around the Gaza conflict. Warning against misuse of language he emphasised: “You should not diminish the charge of genocide… particularly aimed at Jewish memories of the Holocaust.”

He argued that calls for an immediate end to the war often ignore key conditions that could bring it to a close. Sir Tony said: “It was disingenuous to call for Israel to end the war without accepting… that the war would have ended… if Hamas had said they were releasing the hostages and withdrawing.”

Many progressive politicians privately reject antisemitism but are failing to challenge it publicly, the former PM pointed out. He said: “Under pressure from party activists and parts of the Muslim community… [they] are not making these arguments.”

This failure, he warned, is allowing a dangerous ideology to take hold. Sir Tony said: “Failure to do so creates the climate in which, even if antisemitism is not explicitly condoned, it flourishes.”

Sir Tony highlighted polling suggesting misinformation is widespread, noting that “only 24 % of the British Muslim community believed that October 7 happened in the way it did,” with some dismissing it as an Israeli fabrication, describing such an attitude as “frankly unacceptable”.

He concluded with a broader warning about the consequences of inaction, explaining: “There is more at stake than simply defending Israel. It’s about defending reason. Defending facts.”

Without confronting what he termed an “unholy alliance” between elements of the left and Islamist ideology, Sir Tony feared that incidents like the ambulance attack “will continue — to the shame of our society.”