Labour tells Dale Vince to apologise for vile Bondi Beach attack rant

Dale Vince has been urged to apologise by a minister after appearing to blame Israel for the Bondi Beach terror attack. The Labour donor and green energy tycoon sparked a backlash after suggesting anti-Semitism had been fuelled by “Israel committing genocide in Palestine” and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "wants antisemitism to be a thing" in a post on X.

Health minister Stephen Kinnock told Times Radio: "Dale Vince should apologise for that. It is completely wrong to somehow imply that the Jewish people should be blamed collectively for the actions of the Israeli government."

Asked if Labour would stop accepting donations from Mr Vince, Mr Kinnock added: "First of all, let's ensure that Dale Vince does come forward and apologise for those remarks, and we will then review the position and take it from there."

Mr Vince posted again yesterday to say his words "were not intended to excuse or legitimise terrorism, or any form of racism".

He added: "My words are aimed at the intervention of Netanyahu who in my opinion overlooks the impacts of his own terrorism.

"If antisemitism is rising in the world today then surely on any rational analysis, the biggest single cause of that will be the genocide in Palestine."

Mr Vince's comments on X in the wake of the massacre on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday prompted intense criticism.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: "Hours after the biggest massacre of Jews since Oct 7th, the Labour Party's largest donor tweeted 'Netanyahu wants antisemitism to be a thing'. A morally repugnant statement.

"Will Keir Starmer condemn his big financial backer? Staying silent implies he sees nothing wrong."

Terrorist gunmen killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a British-born rabbi, in the devastating attack.

Australian police said Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son Naveed were behind the attack, which also left 42 people injured.