By, Anshel Pfeffer
1 min read
ByAnshel Pfeffer, Anshel Pfeffer
Israeli officials watching the leadership contest in the Conservative Party were pleased at Theresa May's victory.
Along with veteran pro-Israel stalwart and former justice secretary Michael Gove, Ms May was a clear favourite to replace David Cameron. Her repeated expressions of support both for the Jewish community in Britain and for Israel have, of course, been noted.
At an address to the Conservative Friends of Israel two years ago, she said: “It is worth re-stating the threats faced by Israel because they are considerable”, listing Hamas, Hizbollah, ISIS and Iran. She said that “no democratic government could, in the face of such danger, do anything but maintain a strong defence and security capability and be prepared to deploy it if necessary” but added that “we must remember that there will be no lasting peace or justice in the region until the Palestinian people are able to enjoy full civil rights themselves”.
The new prime minister's one visit to Israel so far, in July 2014, coincided with the kidnap of the three teenagers in Gush Etzyon. The security crisis caused a scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be cancelled, but she met other ministers and professionals in fields close to her heart, such as combatting human trafficking and cyber crime.
Much of the engagement Israeli officials and diplomats have had over the years with Ms May as home secretary was of a secret nature, as part of her responsibility for the police's counter-terrorism units and the MI5 security service.
In off-the-record briefings, Israeli security officials have spoken of a period of unprecedented intelligence-sharing between the two countries, chiefly on the threat of Islamist terrorism. "We gave the British our crown jewels of intelligence," said one Israeli officer.
Israel's former ambassador to Britain, Daniel Taub, said: "As Home Secretary, Theresa May was exposed to what the countries are doing together on homeland security. Throughout her time in office we worked closely on issues of homeland security and extremist violence and we greatly deepened our cooperation."
Mr Taub said that in their meetings he found the new prime minister "extremely professional, much warmer than she comes across in her public persona and very interested and engaged with Israel".
