UK election: Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn ‘a threat’ to Israel-Britain ties, minister says

Deputy Israeli foreign minister says British Jewry are ‘very worried’ about the possible rise of the party under Corbyn

Corbyn, who called for recognising a Palestinian state, has been buffeted by allegations of anti-Semitism in Labour

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Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:30pm, 12 Dec 2019Updated: 9:21pm, 12 Dec 2019

Israel voiced worry about Britain’s election on Thursday, describing the possible rise of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn as a threat to bilateral ties and alarming for British Jews.

Corbyn, a veteran pro-Palestinian activist, has been buffeted by allegations of anti-Semitism in Labour, with British media quoting some of the country’s Jews as saying they would consider emigrating should he be elected.

“This (election) very much troubles us,” Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Ynet TV. “It is true that we as a country cannot say we support this-or-that candidate, but Corbyn is a real danger to Israel-Britain relations, and I know British Jewry are very worried about this possibility.”

Corbyn and Labour, Britain’s biggest opposition party, say they oppose anti-Semitism. They say the party is not institutionally anti-Semitic, that complaints relate to a small minority of members, and that the processes to deal with such allegations have now improved.

Corbyn has called for recognising a Palestinian state and reviewing British arms exports to Israel, riling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightist government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Reuters

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said last week that he hoped Corbyn would lose the election to Boris Johnson, the Conservative prime minister. Netanyahu has not commented on the ballot.