By Steve Winston, Managing Director of the National Jewish Assembly
In recent weeks, we have witnessed yet another disturbing spectacle of British politicians returning from tours of Israel and the territories organised by Yachad, regaling the public with glowing accounts of Palestinian victimhood – while scarcely managing a footnote for the thousands of Israelis terrorised by decades of unrelenting Palestinian violence underwritten by the corrupt and intransigent Palestinian leadership.
Yachad claims to be a “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace” organization. Yet in reality, their tours are carefully curated exercises in demonising Israel, whitewashing Palestinian extremism, and presenting a wholly one-sided narrative under the guise of “balance.” These are not fact-finding missions; they are propaganda junkets, designed to distort the truth and obfuscate the complexities of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
It is no accident that Yachad’s itineraries reliably sideline the issue of Palestinian terrorism. You will hear from villagers describing the discomfort of checkpoints but not a word about the suicide bombers and gunmen that made such security measures necessary. You will listen to heart-wrenching testimonies of demolished homes but be spared any analysis of the Hamas tunnels snaking under civilian neighbourhoods or the factories in Jenin producing explosives bound for Israeli streets.
And as these tours traipse Judea and Samaria, your guides will never pause to examine why Palestinian society continues to languish in failure: not because of Israeli policy but because of its own leaders’ addiction to corruption and terror. There is no reflection on the billions in international aid squandered by the Palestinian Authority or Hamas, no interest in the systematic glorification of terrorism in Palestinian schools, media, and mosques. There is certainly no appetite to confront the toxic reality that Palestinian political life is dominated either by jihadists or kleptocrats, leaving their people trapped in a self-inflicted quagmire of extremism and dysfunction.
This is not an oversight – it is the very purpose of Yachad’s work. By deliberately excising Palestinian responsibility from the conversation, they seemingly construct a false moral universe in which Israel is the perpetual oppressor and Palestinians are passive victims with no agency, no accountability, and no share in the tragedy they endure.
And the politicians who take part in these tours seem only too happy to parrot this simplistic narrative. In the recent Westminster debate on “Government support for Palestinian rights,” we heard Sir Edward Leigh, Paul Waugh, Pippa Heylings, Richard Burgon, Jeremy Corbyn, Uma Kumaran, Shockat Adam, Tracy Gilbert, Nadia Whittome, and others intone the same tedious mantras about “occupation,” “settler violence,” and “Palestinian dignity” – as though the rivers of Jewish blood spilled by Palestinian terror organisations since 1948 count for nothing.
Their statements oozed moral posturing but were devoid of credibility, like Sir Edward Leigh’s nebulous claim that Israel’s so-called “settlements” are the main obstacle to peace. How can any of these MPs credibly champion so-called “Palestinian rights” while ignoring the fundamental right of Israelis to live free from the genocidal ambitions of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and their ilk? The idea that these parliamentarians return from Yachad’s tours and proceed to regurgitate such lopsided talking points is deeply concerning.
Yachad’s malign influence does not end with their tours. They have worked tirelessly to erode support for Israel in the UK, peddling misinformation and half-truths into the heart of political and media discourse. By presenting themselves as part of the “mainstream Jewish community,” they offer convenient cover for those who would happily vilify Israel while hiding behind the fig leaf of Jewish approval.
This is precisely why the work of the National Jewish Assembly has never been more vital. As a proudly unapologetic Zionist voice for the Jewish community, the NJA exists to challenge this corrosive narrative, to defend Israel’s legitimacy, and to ensure that our elected representatives hear the truth. We are not afraid to push back against the relentless demonisation of Israel, and to stand up for the fundamental principles of security, sovereignty, and Jewish self-determination. For anyone seeking clarity amid the fog of misinformation, the NJA stands ready to lead that fight.
Until then, we should call Yachad’s tours what they are: theatre productions of victimhood, designed to deceive, and an insult to anyone genuinely committed to truth and peace.