First six months in Israel, and there's much still to do
Op-ed: UK envoy to Israel ranked up a few successes, including major Rolls-Royce export deal, the return of Monarch Airlines to the Holy Land and a successful visit by London Mayor Boris Johnson. But he has many plans for the future.
My first six months in Israel have flown by. They have been busy, challenging and fun. I find a warm welcome wherever we go. Often that welcome is accompanied by a heartfelt “good luck” (unspoken: “you are going to need it”).
I visited Israel more than 20 times before I moved here last July. But it’s different living here. One of my job’s great pleasures is getting to know the whole country. The Galilee is stunning, and it was a rare moment of serenity looking down from Mount Arbel to Lake Kinneret. I have only begun to explore the Negev, but I can see how people fall in love with the desert. For me, it was special to wake up on Christmas Day in Jerusalem.
We had significant successes in the last few months. Rolls-Royce won the biggest ever UK export deal to Israel, to supply engines to El Al’s new Dreamliner fleet. Monarch Airlines returned to Israel after a ten year gap, so we now have four airlines flying between Israel and the UK. Mayor of London Boris Johnson had a fantastic visit, highlighting record levels of trade and investment between our two countries – as well as cycling the streets of Tel Aviv with Mayor Ron Huldai and getting friendly with a big fish in Mahne Yehuda Market in Jerusalem. Since that visit, two more Israeli companies decided to make the UK their European headquarters.
We also announced a raft of new programs to deepen our scientific cooperation, including schemes to allow more young Israeli researchers to spend time at British universities. We are expanding out tech collaborations to new sectors, including a successful visit recently by some of Britain’s biggest healthcare providers who want to source innovation from Israel.
But it has not all been good news. The wave of violence in Israel continues; innocent lives have been lost, and families and friends have been devastated. The UK condemns terrorism wherever and whenever it happens, and Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a major new strategy to counter extremism in the UK and internationally. But we also have to live our lives – otherwise the terrorists win. I love Israel’s energy, creativity and diversity. Terrorism can’t defeat that. We decided to spend New Year in Paris, mainly because we love the city but also because we wanted to celebrate the resilience of a great city. I admire that resilience in Israel too.
I am proud of the work we have done to strengthen the bilateral relationship between our two countries. But my biggest frustration so far? That I don’t spend enough time talking about how much good stuff is happening between the UK and Israel. I know that people in Israel are concerned about boycotts. I don’t mean to downplay that concern. Events last week at Kings College London were shocking. But what I see every day is the opposite of boycotts – new business partnerships being created, new scientific collaborations helping us tackle the world’s biggest health and environmental challenges, close cooperation between our governments in fighting terrorism and extremism.
Looking forward I hope that by the end of 2016 we will celebrate another year of record-breaking trade and investment between the UK and Israel, and that we will have worked closely together to keep our peoples safe. I hope that, despite the current mood of hopelessness, we will have seen progress toward peace. Without such progress, I fear the two-state solution will slip away from us. All the alternatives are worse. And unhelpful steps like settlement announcements play into the hands of those calling for boycotts.
I hope too that we will have had a great celebration in Israel of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. I am delighted that London’s Globe Theatre will bring Hamlet to the Habima at the end of February. Finally, I hope that after 12 long years, Arsenal will return to their rightful place as Premier League champions – that would be real progress.
David Quarrey is Britain's new ambassador to Israel.
