The Gaza conflict has led to a majority of Britons having “very high levels of distrust” in Israel’s ability to act responsibly in the world, a survey has found.
More than half believe that the UK should also increase its aid to Palestine and almost the same number wanted an arms exports ban on Israel, the British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG) annual survey said.
While the Labour government has moved away from the Conservatives' largely unquestioning support for Israel, the survey showed that almost a third of Britons believed the country’s stance had had a negative impact on its international reputation.
However, the poll was done just before the new government announced a partial arms export ban on Israel suggesting that the decision to suspend arms sales “therefore brings government policy closer in line with public opinion”.
The poll came out on Thursday the day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the British government for sending “mixed messages” over its support for Israel and undermining the country’s right to self-defence.
“After the October 7 Hamas massacre, the previous British government was clear in its support,” Mr Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, the current government is sending mixed messages."
Israeli distrust
With the conflict in the Middle East at the centre of global politics, the BFPG poll found that 62 per cent of Britons had a very high distrust of Israel acting responsibly in global affairs, while Russia was regarded as the most distrustful by 82 per cent. Just 16 per cent said they trusted Israel.
Almost three quarters of Britons want an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and more than half of Britons support the UK increasing aid to Gaza, with just 19 per cent of Britons opposed to this.
The conflict has also led to a plurality (43 per cent) who support recognising a Palestinian state and there was significant opposition to increasing military aid to Israel, with half of Britons opposed, while just one in five supported it.
Britain reconnected
The conflict in the Middle East has led to significant domestic debate, with widespread protests and four pro-Gaza independent MPs winning seats in the general election.
The war, along with the US presidential race, has led to a “spike” in foreign policy interest. The election of a new Labour government also brought the “opportunity for the UK to redefine its position in the world”, the London-based think tank said.
Labour’s broad ambitions for UK foreign policy was found in the slogan “Britain Reconnected”. Under the mantra of ‘progressive realism’, Prime Minister Keir Starmer planned to strengthen Britain’s credibility “as a trustworthy, generous and reliable international partner”.
The poll found that nearly half (49 per cent) felt that the change in government had had a “positive effect on the UK’s reputation overseas”.
However, concerns about geopolitical conflict did not translate into significant support for increased spending on defence or international development over the National Health Service or education.
Instead, security would depend on its alliances with the US and Europe and people “now overwhelmingly support co-operation with the EU” across a wide range of areas.
There is therefore “some trepidation” over the possibility of a second Donald Trump presidential term with 54 per cent believing it would have “a negative effect on global security”.
Brexit reset
Mr Starmer’s ambition to “reset” UK-EU relations and deepen ties across a broad range of issues, including trade, climate and security, “would have been deeply divisive just a few years ago” during the Brexit debate.
But with Ukraine being the first major war in Europe since 1945 and the economic challenges that have emerged from Brexit, “there is a very strong basis of support” for resetting the UK-EU relationship.
Three quarters felt the UK should co-operate with Europe to reduce irregular migration, barriers to trade in goods and services and joint scientific research.
Given the direction of world events, when asked on a scale of one to 10 of how safe they feel in the world the average score was 5.77, meaning that Britons were “slightly more towards feeling safe than unsafe”.
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
ODI FIXTURE SCHEDULE
First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
