Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg has warned the Government against taking “irreversible steps” over Israeli settlement activity that could further damage UK–Israel relations, encourage a wider boycott of Israel, and have harmful consequences for British Jews.
His intervention follows reports that the Government is considering a ban on trade in goods and services connected to Israeli settlements, alongside further sanctions.
Phil Rosenberg stressed that the Board condemns violence by extremist settlers and opposes actions by any party that undermine the prospects for peace. However, he warned that an approach focused narrowly on the Israeli Government, without sufficient consideration of the responsibilities of Palestinian leaders and malign regional actors, risks fuelling hostility not only towards Israel but towards British Jews.
Phil Rosenberg said:
“We have engaged with the government in recent days, alongside community partners, regarding potential steps by government in relation to settlement activity.
“We have urged the UK government to avoid irreversible steps that could further damage the UK-Israel relationship and have a harmful impact on the UK Jewish community, especially in the run up to an Israeli election that has the potential to bring significant political change.
“Our community overwhelmingly condemns violence by extremist settlers and opposes actions by any party that undermine the prospects for future peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
“Nonetheless, we have significant concerns about the unintended consequences for our community of polices the government is understood to be considering in relation to settlements. These include the risk of harming the legitimate connection between British Jews and places of great religious and cultural significance. It also includes the risk of encouraging a wider boycott movement that rejects Israel’s very existence, and which marginalises and stigmatises British Jews for our close cultural, emotional, and personal ties to the world’s only Jewish state.
“We have also stressed to government that any approach to the conflict which focuses narrowly on the actions of the Israeli government, and does not sufficiently address the actions and responsibility of Palestinian leaders and malign actors in the region, fuels a climate of hatred not only towards Israel but towards British Jews.”