Former British prime minister Tony Blair rejected claims that Israel’s war in Gaza amounted to genocide and argued that Western leaders were failing to confront the political climate behind rising antisemitism, in an op-ed published Thursday by The Free Press and republished Friday by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
Blair anchored his article in the recent arson attack on four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, north London, writing that the incident was part of “a pattern in Britain and elsewhere in Europe.” He said political leaders routinely condemn such attacks, but added that “their words haven’t stopped the attacks.”
The ambulances were torched a week ago near a synagogue in what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.” Reuters reported that police treated the case as an antisemitic hate crime, while counterterrorism officers led the investigation. Two men, ages 45 and 47, were later arrested in connection with the attack, according to British police and The Jerusalem Post.
'The roots of modern antisemitism'
Blair used the incident to argue that Europe was not addressing the roots of modern antisemitism. He cited more than 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the UK last year. The Community Security Trust said in February that it recorded 3,700 anti-Jewish incidents in 2025, the second-highest annual total in its history and a 4% increase from 2024.
Much of Blair’s article focused on Gaza. He wrote that “the suffering of Gaza” and the destruction there were real, and said criticism of Israeli tactics was legitimate. But he argued that such criticism could not be made honestly without also condemning the October 7 massacre and acknowledging the threat Israel faces from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iran, and other groups that reject Israel’s right to exist.
He also pushed back directly against genocide rhetoric. Blair wrote that people should not cheapen the “charge of genocide” by applying it to Gaza, and linked that language to Jewish memory of the Holocaust. He said public criticism of Israeli restrictions on goods entering Gaza is often ignored, Israel’s stated fear that materials could be diverted to terrorist infrastructure, pointing to the vast tunnel network under the Strip.
Blair also argued that calls for Israel simply to end the war left out what he presented as the central condition for ending it: Hamas releasing the hostages, giving up control of Gaza, and accepting that a Palestinian state must come through negotiation rather than violence.
Antisemitism on both the right and the left
The former Labour leader said contemporary antisemitism appeared on both the right and the left, but devoted particular attention to what he called an “unholy alliance” between parts of the left and Islamists. He wrote that the war in Gaza had become the cause around which that alliance had rallied, and that some on the left now treated Jews as “fair game” because they were seen as supporters of Israel.
Blair added that many progressive politicians sincerely reject antisemitism, but said pressure from activists and from parts of the Muslim community had made them reluctant to confront anti-Jewish rhetoric directly. That hesitation, he wrote, had helped create a climate in which antisemitism continued to flourish.
His intervention comes as Jewish communities in Britain and elsewhere in Europe remain on edge after a sustained rise in anti-Jewish attacks since October 7. In its 2025 annual report, the Community Security Trust said antisemitic incidents in Britain remained far above pre-October 7 levels, with more than half of recorded cases referencing Israel, Palestine, Hamas, or the war.