Michael D. Higgins is an outlier among European Social Democrat leaders. As one of the first heads of state in Europe, he expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and harshly criticised the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for her remarks in support of "Israel's" war against the Palestinian people.

As early as October 17, Irish President Higgins said at the World Food Forum that he agreed with those who criticised the intervention of the European Commission President. At the meeting in Rome, he told the press: "I don't know where the source of those decisions was. I don't know where the legitimation for it was, and I don't know where the authority for it is, and I don't think it was helpful." Higgins concluded that von der Leyen was "not speaking for Ireland, and she wasn't speaking for the opinions that they hold."

He also appeared in front of the camera wearing a keffiyeh. Although his Labour Party polls between three and four per cent since the last elections, Higgins is a hugely popular President, and his opinion is shared by most in his country.

Contrary to Higgins and the Irish Labour Party, several other Labour and social democratic leaders express continued support for "Israel", which has thrown their parties into turmoil. Most notably, Keir Starmer's defence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza has unleashed a harsh rebellion against him within the Labour Party on the other side of the Irish Sea.

Rebellion against Keir Starmer in Great Britain

Last Wednesday, eight frontbenchers and two parliamentary private secretaries resigned to vote for a Commons amendment that backed a full ceasefire. The amendment was tabled by the Scottish National Party (SNP), whose leader Humza Yousaf is married to a Palestinian-Scottish psychotherapist. His in-laws had visited their relatives in Gaza before October 7 and were stuck there for weeks.

While support for a ceasefire and solidarity with Palestine is growing in Great Britain – the past weeks have seen the largest anti-war demonstrations in London since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 – Starmer remains unashamedly pro-Israeli. Labour MPs were whipped to abstain from the SNP amendment, but 56 rebelled. Labour had 198 MPs before the vote; over 25 per cent refused to follow Starmer's lead.

Sources close to The Guardian say Starmer is facing more resignations if he does not shift his policy on Gaza. The paper wrote that several of those who remained loyal and kept their jobs are nonetheless angry about how the issue has been managed and are willing to quit.

The rebellion in the House of Commons came after weeks of growing splits within the UK Labour Party. Several Councillors have resigned, and in total, 76 Labour MPs have in some way publicly called for an immediate ceasefire – this is almost 40 per cent of the party's MPs.

One of the first to speak out against Starmer was Lubaba Khalid, Labour MP and former leader of Young Labour's BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) group. She drew the line and initiated a wave of resignations. "As a Palestinian with family in Gaza, I am shocked by Starmer's statements", she emphasised in her resignation letter: "I've been afraid for my family for days and have received no support from Labour". The party is no longer a safe place for Palestinians and Muslims, said Khalid.

Nine leading members resigned in Glasgow, and six in Edinburgh. The Labour leader in Leicester, Peter Soulsby, emphasised to LabourList that there was great discontent within the party. The Labour man also told Left Foot Forward that he had never seen approval for Labour fall as rapidly as it is currently.

Dozens of Labour councillors have left the party since October 7, including almost a dozen members in Oxford, which meant the party lost the majority in the town hall there. Days later, 150 Labor Muslim Councillors Network members published an open letter calling on Starmer to call for a ceasefire. Hundreds of MPs and Councillors later signed it.

A Muslim Census poll released in late October shows the party under Starmer has lost 93 per cent of its Muslim voters. In 2019, 71 per cent of British Muslims planned to vote for Labor. In October 2023, only 5 per cent intend to do so. The survey also shows that British Muslims feel little represented by parties: only 38 per cent of respondents plan to vote for one of the parties currently represented in the House of Commons in the 2024 elections. Forty per cent no longer want to vote at all, and 20 per cent plan to support independent candidates. Another 17 per cent of the Muslim electorate would vote for the Greens, 10 per cent for the Liberals and only one per cent of those surveyed for the ruling Conservatives.

The latest census shows that over 4.2 million Muslims live in the UK, most in England. That is almost seven per cent of the population. They are among the most socially and culturally disadvantaged population groups: 39 per cent of the Muslim population lives in the poorest regions of England and Wales.

According to The Guardian, the issue could lose them so many votes among Muslims, young people, and urban progressives that it could cost them up to ten seats in marginal areas at the next year's elections.

Expulsions of Social Democrats in Austria

Similar debates emerged below the radar in Austria's social democratic SPO. While the mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig (SPO), had "Israel's" flag raised at the town hall and the entire party leadership, including leader Andreas Babler, expressed their solidarity with "Israel" at a rally in front of the Federal Chancellery, an opposite picture can be seen in party events.

The SPO-affiliated Bruno Kreisky Forum was invited to the former Chancellor's villa on October 23 for a book launch by Lebanese academic Munira Khayyat. The associate professor from New York University in Abu Dhabi talked about the "resistance in Northern Galilee" against "Israel" in "occupied Palestine". Instead of opposition from the audience, there was interest in what was said and agreement with the terminology.

Former President Heinz Fischer made similar statements at the federal congress of the SPO-affiliated Federation of Social Democratic Academics (BSA): "We must always listen to the Palestinians" and must not forget that "the founding of the state of Israel was a harrowing process for them". Here, too: Instead of opposition, he received applause.

To ensure that such voices do not gain the upper hand, the party leadership is taking aggressive action against left-wing, anti-imperialist voices within its ranks. An example has been made of the leftwing group "Der Funke" (The Spark), which has been working in social democracy and trade unions for three decades. The group has been visible at pro-Palestinian and anti-imperialist events in Austria since October 7.

As a consequence, in mid-October, almost all daily newspapers simultaneously published articles accusing the group of supporting Hamas. The party establishment was quickly on the scene. Sandra Breiteneder, SPO federal manager since June, issued a press release stressing the party was "fully on "Israel's" side".

The "Funke" is among the more influential left-wing forces in the country. According to the editor of a newspaper with the same name, Emanuel Tomaselli, there are "several hundred members throughout Austria". The organisation has the most substantial influence in the Western county, Vorarlberg, and Austria's capital, Vienna. In Vorarlberg, expulsion proceedings have been initiated against two members of the Socialist Youth (SJ) Vorarlberg, who are also on the executive council of the SPO. Financial support to the youth organisation was stopped.

The SPO Vienna went one step further: In the 9th district, the whole Funke-led Socialist Youth has been made to stand down and seven members expelled. The reason: Their members showed "anti-Israel attitudes" by attending and organising Palestinian solidarity rallies and demonstrations, the former chairman of the Socialist Youth in the 9th district, Martin Halder, told the author. It is an all-round attack on the entire "Funke" movement "because we are against the oppression of the Palestinians," he emphasises. Other regional associations are also facing divisions due to the anti-Palestinian stance of the party leadership, according to SPO sources.

Despite pressure from party leadership and media, the public is increasingly on the side of Palestine: Last weekend, well over 12.000 marched in solidarity with Palestine at one of the largest demonstrations in Austria's capital in years.

Germany: New Party Puts Pressure on SPF and LINKE

The two historical parties of the left, the social democratic SPD, and the former GDR state party LINKE (The Left), are also firmly in the pro-Israeli camp, as they have been in the pro-Ukraine camp since February 2022. Influential politicians of the LINKE – once a party of peace – such as the Prime Minister of Tubingen, Bodo Ramelow, are even calling for the German armament of Ukraine.

However, a new party puts pressure on both. In October, ten MPs around the popular Sahra Wagenknecht left the LINKE and are preparing to form a new party. In conversation with the author, their North Rhine-Westphalia MP Sevim Dagdelen explained the new group's foreign politics: "We advocate for a ceasefire and negotiated solution in the Ukraine war and the Middle East. Arms deliveries are not a solution but part of the problem. Demands for the delivery of German tanks like Bodo Ramelow's add fuel to the fire." Instead, she explains, "Our actions are guided by international law, not a morally-disguised foreign policy."

In the Middle East, the "only way to peace is through immediate ceasefire negotiations. Without implementing the two-state solution and recognising an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as capital, there will be no solution to the conflict. "The new party promises to put enormous pressure on other parties." In nationwide polls, it stands well beyond ten per cent, and in some Eastern German states, it polls beyond 20 per cent.

In contrast, the LINKE sticks to their support for "Israel", which could seal the fate of the party – polls suggest it will not be re-elected to parliament at the next elections.

Gaza: A Decisive Matter

How Social democratic and Labour parties throughout Europe react to the war could become a decisive matter for them – not only in Germany. With large Muslim populations, some centre-left parties are poised to lose significant support.

Recent elections in Slovakia have demonstrated that the electorate is unwilling to support and pay for the wars of NATO and the US. The new Prime Minister, Robert Fico, had been elected for his opposition to the war in Ukraine and fulfilled his promise of stopping financial and military aid for Ukraine after taking office.

In Great Britain, new organisations and parties like OCISA and Transform Politics emerged in recent months to challenge the pro-imperialist leadership of Keir Starmer. OCISA plans to unseat Starmer in his constituency and has recently started the contest for a suitable candidate against Starmer. Besides, Transform Politics will constitute a party at their inaugural conference this weekend. In the most recent Opinium Research poll, Labour dropped three points. The party is still ahead in the polls, but its support for the war crimes committed by "Israel" halted the forward march of Labour under Starmer.