Following the Iranian regime’s attack on Israel over the weekend, Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, thanking him for the UK’s role in countering the drones and missiles and urging the Government to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
14th April 2024
The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Prime Minister
Dear Prime Minister,
On behalf of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, I want to thank you for your unambiguous statement condemning the Iranian regime’s attack against Israel. I also understand that RAF jets were involved in the operation to shoot down the Iranian drones; our community is encouraged by the fact that our nation’s air force was part of this response. I would also note that the wisdom of the Government resisting the pressure to suspend arms sales to Israel should now be apparent to all. Had the UK taken such a step, it would have sent a terrible message to one of our key allies, days before it was directly attacked by the world’s primary sponsor of international terrorism. We are grateful to the Government as a whole and to you personally for your determination to stay the course.
I am also writing, on behalf of the British Jewish community, to reiterate our request that the Iranian regime’s IRGC – Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – be proscribed as a terrorist organisation in its entirety. The IRGC’s role in funding, arming and training a host of terror proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, is clear. Their direct threat, both to Iranian dissidents in this country – one of whom was stabbed outside his own home last month – and to the Jewish community, is also apparent. We sincerely hope that given this latest escalation by the Iranian regime, our Government will see fit to take this important and highly meaningful step.
I hope to hear back from you as soon as you are able to respond.
Yours sincerely,
Marie van der Zyl
President