British Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis wrote to Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, expressing deep concern over the government’s apparent new tougher stance in relation to Israel, which the UK Jewish News is reporting.
In a surprise intervention, Mirvis is understood to have requested a meeting with the prime minister following the announcement that the government has dropped its challenge to pursuit of an international arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The announcement followed confirmation by Foreign Secretary David Lammy that the government was ending the suspension of funding for the main Palestinian relief agency, UNWRA.
There is also speculation that the Labour government is ready to announce a partial ban on arms sales to Israel as early as this week.
The Chief Rabbi’s letter to the Starmer, in which he made clear the extent of his concern about the government's change of direction over Israel, follows a joint statement from the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council which said: “This regretful and regressive step not only appears to be a reversal of long-term UK foreign policy, but also puts us at odds with international allies such as the USA and Germany, who have challenged the court’s treatment of Israel.
“We are concerned that the cumulative effect of these announcements, in quick succession, signal a significant shift in policy, away from Israel being a key UK ally. This would not only be a strategic error but a moral one.”
The communal organizations added that “many in the Jewish community are still assessing how this government will in practice stand by its words in opposition to support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
The Labour Friends of Israel group also branded the decision about the ICC as being “deeply disappointing."
Mirvis continues to have good relations with the Labour leadership, having met deputy leader Angela Rayner as recently as Thursday, and having what has been described as a constructive meeting.
In a sign of his approval of the way the meeting went, Mirvis posted on the X platform how he “particularly appreciated the Deputy Prime Minister’s deep conviction on the necessity of placing social cohesion at the very heart of the Government’s priorities."
He said they had discussed “Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, the urgent need to bring the hostages home and the importance of continued uncompromising action against antisemitism.”
Rayner later posted on X: “Looking forward to working with him and the wider Jewish community to build strong community relations, promote British values, and on our shared commitment to tackling antisemitism.”
Mirvis famously intervened ahead of the 2019 general election when he condemned the antisemitism crisis in Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.
His subsequent relations with Starmer have been excellent, unlike the troubled relations between the chief rabbi and Corbyn.
In relation to a possible UK arms sale ban, Lammy told the House of Commons, the lower house of the British parliament, last week: “It would not be right to have a blanket ban between our countries and Israel. What is right is for me to consider in the normal way the issues in relation to offensive weapons in Gaza, following the quasi-judicial process that I have outlined.”
But the Jewish News is reporting that there is evidence that some weapons used in Gaza have been at least partly funded by the UK, although this country’s overall contribution to Israel’s military supplies is tiny.