One day after becoming the head of the UK’s opposition Conservative Party, newly elected leader Kemi Badenoch appointed a steadfast backer of the Israeli government, Priti Patel, as the party’s foreign affairs chief.
Chris Newton, a former advisor on defense policy to the Conservative Party, stated that Badenoch appointed Patel a “staunch supporter of Israel,” which was in line with the Conservative leader’s track record of strongly backing the country.
Patel was forced to resign from her post as the international development secretary in 2017 for holding unofficial meetings with Israeli officials without the approval of the UK government.
Newton believed Badenoch would “amplify the party’s support for Israel” and expected her to criticize the Labour government for dropping the previous Conservative government’s plans to oppose the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Newton, however, cautioned that there would be some internal disputes over the UK’s positions on the war in Gaza.
“There’s a minority in the parliamentary party who are highly critical of Israel’s conduct of the war, and they will no doubt air their disagreements with Badenoch. But I don’t think this will affect the party’s overall position,” Newton warned in a message to The Media Line.
The Israeli government has praised Badenoch, who has accused the Labour government of weak leadership over the war in Gaza and emboldening Iran.
On platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu congratulated Badenoch on Sunday, writing, “I am sure she will continue the great tradition of Israeli-British partnership and friendship.” Foreign Minister Israel Katz also stated on X that Badenoch was a “true friend of Israel.”
After the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in October, Badenoch wrote on X that the world is a better place without him, calling Sinwar a terrorist.
“Israel defended the peace-loving world in ridding humanity of this evil. Let us now work for the release of the remaining hostages and an end to the cycle of violence that has plagued the region. Sinwar’s death aids that noble pursuit,” her account stated.
In September, she accused the Labour government of “weak leadership” on Israel after the party suspended 30 arms export licenses, writing on X that “it will have emboldened Iran” and undermined British national interests.
She wrote in an op-ed for the British tabloid newspaper The Sun that the UK benefits from its security relationship with Israel, such as Israeli weapons protecting British personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that intelligence from Israel has stopped and fought against Iranian-sponsored attacks and threats in the UK and Europe.
“When I was Business and Trade Secretary, I made a decision to maintain all existing licenses for arms exports to Israel. We had numerous protests outside my department. On one occasion, the building was stormed,” she wrote.
Badenoch came under the spotlight in September when she stated that “not all cultures are equally valid” when considering who can immigrate to the UK.
In an article that month for the Sunday installment of The Daily Telegraph, she wrote that she was “struck, for example, by the number of recent immigrants to the UK who hate Israel. That sentiment has no place here.”
When questioned by journalists about who she was referring to, she insisted she did not mean all Muslims and said she had met many Muslims who love Israel.
Following Badenoch’s Conservative Party leadership victory, the Conservative Friends of Israel stated on X: “Thank you for your staunch support for Israel and the UK’s Jewish community during your time in Government and throughout the leadership contest. We look forward to continuing to work together to promote.”
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