Israel is a live issue in the United Kingdom and in the USA - it lost Kamala Harris the election

The  ruling British Labour Party and the anti-immigration Reform Party lost the Gorton and Denton by-election to the Greens (the genuinely left-wing party) who had courted the Muslim vote. 

Nick Robinson of the BBC said many will dismiss the result by pointing to a “large Muslim vote still motivated and angry about what happened in Gaza”.   

In fact it is not only what happened but what is still happening in Gaza and it is not just Muslim voters who care. 

Many, many Christians and some Jews do - and plenty of Conservatives. 

Anyway Muslim voters like everyone else have many reasons not to vote Labour even before you think of Mandelson, McSweeney and Epstein.

This short clip, which I posted before, shows the Reform candidate Matt Goodwin whom I like a lot in many ways, making a chump of himself by defending Israel. 

I wonder if it cost him the election.

Masha Gessen told a Ha'aretz interviewer on 8 May 2024 that Biden's support for the Palestinians would cost him the election.

"If he doesn't have the youth vote he has no hope of beating Trump. So that's another brick in the case for the incredible support for Israel. That Biden and his administration are willing to sacrifice the election to ongoing engagement with Israel is heartbreaking, shocking."

Yes it was. 

His senility led to his being pushed off the ticket, of course, but Gaza lost Kamala Harris the US presidency instead.

It will cost the right-wing populists votes in Europe as they all back Netanyahu.