Britain Cabinet Minister: We Oppose BDS
Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood Image by Getty Images
Britain’s cabinet minister for the Middle East sought to reassure Israeli politicians of his government’s opposition to boycotts against Israel.
“Many people have been concerned by recent media coverage about the United Kingdom links to the BDS movement,” Minister Tobias Ellwood said last week at a conference on Israeli-British ties, speaking of the campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. “But I hope I can reassure you all that this government’s position is very clear indeed. We oppose boycotts. We oppose attempts to delegitimize Israel – they do not further progress towards peace.”
The conference, titled “UK Israel Shared Strategic Challenges Conference,” took place at the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British government and parliament, and was organized by BICOM, a pro-Israel lobby, and the London-based Jewish News weekly.
Other speakers included Israel’s vice prime minister, Silvan Shalom; Israeli Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog; Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid; former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, and Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
