Israel has become embroiled in the UK's national politics, by courting far-right agitator Tommy Robinson and attacking a range of the Labour government's policies on Palestinian statehood, protest and migration.
Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel accused the UK’s governing Labour Party of being “complicit” in the “abuse” of British Jews, after two people were killed in a terrorist attack against a synagogue in Manchester.
The minister blamed the UK’s recent recognition of Palestine, protest and “out of control immigration” for anti-Semitism.
Ms Haskel flew into the UK for the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Friday, a day after the attack in the English city.
Speaking at the Conservative Friends of Israel event as the party's conference opened, Ms Haskel condemned the UK government. “They have lost any moral purpose whatsoever. Labour is complicit in the appalling abuse we see across our streets and across Britain's Jewish community,” she said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recognition of Palestine in September was a “grotesque betrayal of truth, of justice and of Britain's Jewish community”, she added, according to Sky News.
The Department of Communities told The National that the representation of the UK failing to contest anti-Semitism was wrong.
“Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we're taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms and continue to stand up against hatred and intolerance,” a government representative said. “It is entirely unacceptable that the safety of British Jews should ever be called into question.”
Ms Haskel said it was no surprise that Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was booed when he spoke to the grieving crowd at a weekend vigil to honour the victims of the Manchester attacks.
Palestine protests
Ms Haskel also took on the government's approach to the Palestine protests, which have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to London every two weeks since October 2023.
She questioned what the government was doing about the “tsunami of Jew hatred and violence on Britain's streets that has exploded since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust”.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced on Sunday that the UK government would introduce laws to allow police to restrict repeated protests, such as the Palestine solidarity marches.
Ms Haskel's comments echoed Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who urged the UK government to “fight the pro-Palestine marches and protests, which bear anti-Semitic traits and at times include explicit support for terror”, in the attack's aftermath on Friday.
Ms Haskel blamed Labour for allowing “out of control immigration, particularly from Islamist communities hostile to your values”.
“It is fuelling anti-Semitism on your street. It is straining your social cohesion. It is importing the demonisation of Jews and the hatred of the Middle East into British cities,” she said.
Ms Haskel also spoke at a vigil in Manchester marking two years since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. She said that she had been forced to wear a bulletproof vest before speaking, a sign of the real dangers she faced as a Jew in the UK.
Strained relations
The UK's relations with Israel have been strained after the UK government placed sanctions on Israeli far-right ministers earlier this year and recognised the Palestinian state in September.
While Israeli officials including President Isaac Herzog and former ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely insisted the UK lacked the global influence to shape the conflict, Israel has reacted with fury at the UK recognising Palestinian sovereignty.
Ms Haskel's comments came days after convicted criminal Robinson was invited to Israel by Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli – drawing criticism from the British Jewish community.
Conservatives Party MPs who have criticised the Labour government's recognition and immigration policies are wary of Israel's approach to the far-right figure − whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
James Cleverly, who served as both home secretary and foreign secretary in the previous Tory government, said the decision was a “foolish move”, warning that Robinson was “no friend of the Jewish community … whether in the UK or anywhere else in the world”.
Rather, Robinson’s professed support for Israel was an “opportunity” for him to put out statements against Muslims in Britain, Mr Cleverly said.
“Tommy Robinson and others of his ilk are now wrapping themselves up in a pro-Jewish, pro-Israeli posture, because basically, it’s an opportunity to do what they really want to do − which is to be anti-Muslim,” Mr Cleverly said at a conference event.
He remained hopeful that many members of Israel's parliament were “uncomfortable” with Mr Chikli's invitation to Robinson. “I think it’s an error,” Mr Cleverly added.
Mr Cleverly's Former colleague Alistair Burt echoed those sentiments in comments to The National, calling for the invitation to be withdrawn. “I hope the invitation to Tommy Robinson was in the heat of the moment, and a reaction to last week's outrage in Manchester rather than a considered response,” he said. “The deep upset and anger from all friends of Israel in different political quarters, not least the Jewish community and its highest forum, the Board of Deputies, suggest this is an unwise invitation which should be withdrawn quickly.”
At a September march organised by Mr Robinson, hardline pro-Israeli campaigners were on the stage but a faction of the British crowd objected to their presence.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the largest representative body in the UK, condemned the invitation, describing Robinson as a “thug who represents the very worst of Britain” and accusing the minister of ignoring “the vast majority of British Jews”.
Asked whether she would also condemn the move, on Channel 4 on Saturday, Ms Haskell said: “No. People are entitled and allowed to speak out.”
