V The Israeli election result will make no difference to Britain’s “important partnership” with the Jewish state even if its new government includes controversial hard-right ministers, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said this week.
His promise to back Israel was promptly echoed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich and his extreme-right ally Itamar Ben Gvir, who have a record of homophobic and anti-Arab statements, could soon find themselves in Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s new cabinet after their party emerged from Tuesday’s elections as the third-largest bloc with 14-15 Knesset seats.
Mr Sunak’s spokesman said it was too early to offer any concrete comment because votes in Israel were still being counted, and the details of the likely Israeli coalition to be headed by Mr Netanyahu have yet to be determined.
But he added that “Israel will remain a very important partner” for Britain in the fields of both trade and security.
Sir Keir’s spokesman commented: “We’ll obviously have to wait and see who ends up in government. But the UK’s relationship with Israel is distinct from that with its government, or any part of it. There will always be disagreements over rhetoric and policy with any country’s government, but we continue to believe in a strong relationship with Israel that transcends party politics.”
Britain is currently negotiating an enhanced trade deal with Israel, and UK-Israeli cooperation over security and intelligence is at an all-time high, in part the result of shared alarm over Iran’s regional and nuclear ambitions.
Mr Sunak has promised to “do what it takes” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
However, others in Westminster voiced alarm at the election results. One senior Labour figure, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the JC: “If Smotrich and Ben Gvir do end up as ministers, that is going to make life for those of us who count ourselves as Israel’s friends more difficult. It will strengthen the hand of those who claim that Israel is not upholding the inclusive values we support.”
A senior Tory said: “I’m a little uneasy, but let’s see how things pan out.”
Jewish Labour MP Margaret Hodge said: “The return of Benjamin Netanyahu to front-line politics in Israel is concerning for Israeli democracy. He is still under investigation for allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
“He has promised to bring into government far-right ideologues from the Religious Zionism party, whose extremism poses significant concerns for pluralism in Israel and working towards a two-state solution. In my view this could well exacerbate tensions rather than ensure the security and peace that Israeli citizens want.”
And Jewish Labour Movement national chair Mike Katz said: “Netanyahu’s coalition with extremists, in his bid to avoid justice, is damaging the foundations of Israel’s democracy. #”The values of Ben Gvir, Smotrich and their ilk are an utter betrayal of the principles upon which Israel was founded.”
Mr Ben Gvir, a lawyer and leader of the Kahanist Otzma Yehudit party, was raised in a secular household but became more politically and religiously conservative throughout the First Intifada, being exempted from IDF conscription due to his far-right links.
The Kach party, of which he was youth coordinator, was outlawed in 1994 when a supporter, Baruch Goldstein, shot dead 29 Muslim worshippers in a Hebron mosque.
It also supports total annexation of the West Bank, opposes Palestinian statehood, and urges the end of the Oslo accords.
Mr Smotrich, a lawyer like Mr Ben Gvir, co-founded the Israeli NGO Regavim, which oversees legal action against Arab constructions without legal permits in the West Bank and the rest of Israel.
The same year he helped organise a protest against a Jerusalem gay pride march, and referred to himself as a “proud homophobe”.In 2016, future Prime Minister Naftali Bennett slammed Mr Smotrich after he advocated the segregation of Arab and Jewish women in maternity facilities.
