Is this the real reason “Hope not Hate” are backing Burnham?

Hope not Hate have come under fire in recent days for their intervention in the hotly-contested Makerfield by-election, with some interpreting their leaflets in the area as a direct endorsement of Labour candidate Andy Burnham.

Burnham may be packaged as an anti-establishment “saviour” today, but he is also the man who voted to invade Iraq and lauded the Israeli state as a:

democracy that has a long history of protecting minorities and promoting civil rights.

Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that Nick Lowles’ operation is so keen to see him back in Parliament.

On the surface, Hope not Hate is a charitable organisation opposing far-right extremism, but they also have a political wing with direct connections to Labour Party grandees and pro-Israeli lobbyists.

The ‘Hope not Hate’ lobby

The Hope not Hate Charitable Trust’s total income in 2024 was £984,868. Of this, £787,858 was given to Hope not Hate Ltd., the vehicle used for political campaigning. Indeed, the two organisations were considered so similar, the Charity Commission had to get involved. In January, they concluded their investigation, and the Hope not Hate Charitable Trust changed their name to HOPE Unlimited.

Over at Hope not Hate Limited, the links to the Labour Party are numerous and undeniable. The board of directors includes Alison Philips, the current CEO of Labour Together (now re-branded as “Think Labour”), and Jon Cruddas, a former Labour MP and “Friend of Israel”.

Cruddas was part of the Morgan McSweeney-assisted 2008-10 campaign to get Margaret Hodge elected for Labour in Barking & Dagenham. That campaign was also backed by Hope not Hate.

Labour peer Ruth Anderson, formerly known as Ruth Smeeth, was a director of Hope not Hate from 2010-15. She has previously worked for a string of pro-Israeli organisations including Labour Friends of Israel, the Jewish Labour Movement, BICOM, CST, and the Board of Deputies. But from 2011-15, Smeet was also a director of the Hope not Hate Charitable Trust.

Hope with some Hate (and child abuse)

When it comes to pro-Israeli lobbying efforts in the UK, Hope not Hate has a major blind spot. In their 2019 annual report, Hope not Hate included the following tweet as an example of left-wing antisemitism:

We need to stand up against the Zionist lobby in the UK. They are not putting Britain first but Israel first. Why are we allowing them to dictate British politics when they put Israel’s interests above any other interests. Their agenda is making other nations’ sons die for Israel.

As Rusere Shoniwa, a former supporter of the charity, noted at the time:

This tweet, directed expressly at the Zionist lobby (and therefore possibly, by extension, Zionism) and the state of Israel, its main promoter, is political speech which cannot, prima facie, be imbued with hostility to Jews as Jews. Zionism is a political ideology whose proponents are not all Jewish. Indeed, some Jews are strongly opposed to it.

Another Labour peer who has been consistently praised by Hope not Hate is Margaret Hodge. Hodge calls herself “a committed Zionist” and is another long-time supporter of Labour Friends of Israel.

In 2019, with Margaret Hodge as vice-president and Ruth Smeeth as national parliamentary chair, the Jewish Labour Movement elected Liron Velleman as their Policy Officer. Velleman later served as a Political Organiser for Hope not Hate. In March, Velleman was sentenced for child sex offences after sending videos of his penis to what he thought was a 13 year old girl. The judge condemned his:

reckless, vile and frankly devious interest in children.

In 2017, Jewish News named Liron Velleman on their list of “30 under 30”:

His style of Israel advocacy is sensitive and effective. Professional but always able to put others at ease, Liron is best known for his ability to do everything he says he will, and more besides.

More friends of Israel and Labour Together

The same day Smeeth stepped down from Hope not Hate Ltd, Jemma Levene was appointed as a director. Levene, a blogger for the Times of Israel, is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the propaganda outfit set up by Morgan McSweeney and Imran Ahmed with Labour Together money.

In 2024, Imran Ahmed e-mailed Efrat Hochstetler, an official at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, thanking her for her “continued support”. Days earlier, he had met with Sawsan Hasson, the Israeli Embassy Minister of Public Diplomacy. Hasson promised to find funders for CCDH.

Hope not Hate Limited’s list of current and previous directors also includes Simon Tuttle, a funder of McSweeney’s Labour Together project, and Labour Party MP and chair Anna Turley, another supporter of Labour Friends of Israel and the Jewish Labour Movement.

Burnham “will never change”

In recent days, Andy Burnham has been vocal about his record on Ukraine, but quiet about his documented support for the genocidal settler state. Like Hope not Hate, the double-standard is telling.

In 2015, leadership favourite Burnham said:

I’ve always been a friend of Israel … that will never change.

There is no reason not to believe him.

Featured image via Chomoi Picho-Owiny

By Jody McIntyre

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