Israel’s supporters must do more to convince Labour, says ambassador
Israel’s Ambassador has spoken of the need for the country’s supporters to increase dialogue with the Labour Party in the wake of its leaders’ repeated criticism of the military operation in Gaza.
Ed Miliband expressed strong opposition to the IDF’s ground incursion, launched after air strikes failed to halt the barrage of hundreds of rockets fired towards Israel’s citizens.
While he defended the country’s right to defend itself, he later claimed David Cameron’s “silence” on the killing of Palestinian civilians was “inexplicable” to many.
Daniel Taub said: “We have continuing relationships with all the leaders. In this case, the cause of concern is the impression that statements are being made in support of Israel’s right to self-defence but in practise it’s not being allowed to defend itself in a way which would prevent terror attacks. To my mind that means we need to increase the level of dialogue and explain the dilemmas we face.”
Speaking to the Jewish News during last week’s visit to Bradford, ahead of the announcement of a long-term ceasefire, the envoy reflected on how the Embassy had worked round-the-clock both in public and behind the scenes to put the state’s case forward during the seven-week conflict.
He said there were two “trends at work” in British society; the first that had seen bilateral trade double and cooperation advanced in multiple arenas while the second saw “a window of opportunity to advance political agendas, often agenda that have nothing to do with the Middle East”.
He said: “Our challenge is to make sure we do everything we can to empower that first trend and ensure the second is marginalised is defeated.”
As to whether the current climate against Israel is a lasting one or will calm down, he added: “To some degree the answer lies in our hands.
“The more we are forthright and affective in stating our case with integrity, the more we will make sure we are strengthening Israel’s allies.
“Israel has a huge advantage – anyone who looks at the Middle East map and tries to find out where their own values are reflected in practise will find Israel high on that list, if not top. We need to carry on building bridges on that basis.”
Turning to the Tricycle Theatre controversy, he said its decision to back down over its boycott of the Jewish Film Festival “was significant because it shows that when we rally together to make our case we can regain space that might be lost to intimidation”.
He also took the opportunity to hail the numbers of young people that travelled to Israel with youth movements this summer, with a tiny drop-out rate despite the crisis.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
