v Theresa May has pledged to take Britains economic relationship with Israel to the next level following Brexit.
December 16, 2016 12:16ByMarcus Dysch, Marcus Dysch Political Editor
The Prime Minister said trade and investment between the countries was a key focus for the government that she would not allow boycotts to undermine.
She told the Conservative Friends of Israel’s annual lunch in Westminster: “We meet at a moment of great change for our country. In the wake of the referendum, Britain is forging a new role for itself on the world stage — open, outward-looking, optimistic.
“Israel will be crucial to us as we do that. Because I believe our two countries have a great deal in common.
“We work together, on health, counter-terrorism, cyber security and technology, and we can help each other achieve our aims.”
Mrs May said ministers would visit Israel in early 2017 to discuss new deals.
She told the audience of more than 800 people — CFI’s biggest ever such event — that Britain would celebrate next year’s centenary of the Balfour Declaration “with pride”.
The document, signed in 1917 by the then Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, had been “one of the most important letters in history”, she said.
“It demonstrates Britain’s vital role in creating a homeland for the Jewish people.”
The Prime Minister made the government’s opposition to Israeli settlement building clear, saying it was “wrong”. She added: “It is not conducive to peace, and it must stop.”
But she also pledged to ensure British taxpayers’ money would not be used to make payments to Palestinian terrorists or their families.
Mrs May attacked Labour’s approach to tackling Jew-hatred.
She cited Tom Watson, the party’s deputy leader, singing Am Yisrael Chai at Labour Friends of Israel’s lunch a fortnight ago, and said: “No amount of karaoke can make up for turning a blind eye to antisemitism.
“No matter what Labour say — or sing — they cannot ignore what has been happening in their party.”
CFI’s Andrew Heller warned that many MPs faced “intimidation” from anti-Israel activists in their constituencies.
He urged supporters of the organisation to help bear the £2,500 per person cost of taking politicians on delegations to Israel.