An open letter to my MP Thangam Debbonaire, urging her to sign the Early Day Motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza

Dear Thangam Debbonaire MP,

My name is George Harold Millman. I'm an actor, scriptwriter and political activist.

I am writing to you in relation to Early Day Motion 1685, your Labour colleague Richard Burgon's call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, and to urge you to back this motion immediately.

The text of the motion states as follows: 'This House utterly condemns the massacre of Israeli civilians and taking of hostages by Hamas; agrees with the United Nations Secretary-General that these horrific acts do not justify responding with the collective punishment of the Palestinian people; expresses its deep alarm at the Israeli military bombardment and total siege of Gaza and the resulting deaths and suffering; believes that the urgent priority must be to stop the deaths and suffering of any more civilians in Gaza and Israel; welcomes the joint statement from 12 leading aid agencies, including Oxfam, Christian Aid, CAFOD, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Islamic Relief, calling for the Government to use its influence to help protect civilians, to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law and to guarantee civilians have access to critical life-saving humanitarian support; and to this end supports their call for the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to urgently press all parties to agree to an immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities, to ensure the immediate, unconditional release of the Israeli hostages, to end to the total siege of Gaza and allow for unfettered access of medical supplies, food, fuel electricity and water, to guarantee that international humanitarian law is upheld and that civilians are protected in accordance with those laws.'

This is a cross-party motion. The current list of signatures is available on the Parliament website - many wonderful Labour MPs have supported it, as well as various MPs representing the Conservatives, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the Alba Party, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and several independent MPs as well - but I was disappointed not to see your name on the list. As your constituent, can I count on it being added soon?

I've been an active campaigner for the freedom of Palestine since 2014; I've communicated with people who live on the Gaza Strip and am frightened by the tactics that Israel has gone to in order to suppress them. Cutting off food, water, medical supplies and humanitarian aid to civilians is a war crime, and there is NEVER any political justification for these actions. On October 12th, Human Rights Watch confirmed that Israel has employed the tactic of the use of white phosphorous in military operations, which can 'burn down houses and cause egregious harm to civilians.

I'll be upfront about the fact that I have been utterly appalled by Labour's position on this. I voted for Labour for the first time in 2019, in part because at that time the official Labour position on the Palestine situation very much reflected my own. I was dismayed and shocked to see both Sir Keir Starmer and Emily Thornberry refusing to say publicly that these actions are wrong, in spite of the fact that both of them have backgrounds as human rights lawyers. The closest they come is suggesting that Likud and Hamas have both done bad things - as indeed they have - but most of the time, the suggestion is that Hamas is the only one in the wrong and that it's fine for the Israeli military to do whatever it feels like to the people on the Gaza Strip. From what I've seen, I don't think people in either Palestine or Israel particularly approve of the actions of their respective governments, just as I as a UK citizen frequently disapprove of the actions of our Government. Neither should be held accountable. As human beings, our priority should be to support those in the most horrific situations, which at the moment is those on the Gaza Strip, and I would hope that Labour would hold this view as well. It is presumably what the Labour Party is meant to stand for.

It's important to stress that I do not extend my current negative opinion of the Labour Party to every single Labour MP. I was heartened to see that most of the signatories of the Early Day Motion are Labour MPs, and my heart goes out to every single one of them - in particular, to the primary sponsor Richard Burgon and the subsequent sponsors John McDonnell, Grahame Morris, Beth Winter, Zarah Sultana and Nadia Whittome. I really hope that I will soon see your own name added. I urge you to at your earliest possible convenience.

Yours sincerely,
George Harold Millman

This was an email I sent to my MP. You can write to your MP about this issue as well, and please do - although check the link to the Early Day Motion first, you may be fortunate enough to have an MP who has already signed! Some suggestions on what to say can be found here. If you are unsure who your MP is, you can check on https://www.writetothem.com - type in your postcode, and then it's very easy.

If and when I receive a response from Thangam Debbonaire MP, I will post it on the blog along with my own thoughts.