Sir Mick Davis: Annexation would ‘catapult’ calls for sanctions
British Jewish leader warned Calcalist Conference against a 'self-inflicted tragedy' amid mounting criticism of Israel's proposals at home and across the diaspora
British Jewish leader Sir Mick Davis has told an Israeli conference that annexation would “catapult” calls for sanctions into the mainstream of British politics.
Speaking to the Calcalist Conference on the Economic Cost of Annexation on Wednesday, the former chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council and major benefactor to Israeli causes warned against a “self-inflicted tragedy”.
A recent study by Commanders for Israel’s Security put the cost of full annexation at close to £12 billion, or 13 percent of the Israeli government’s 2018 budget, and those projections assume that the Palestinian Authority does not collapse, and that there is no violent uprising akin to another intifada.
More costly than that, however, was the “shot in the arm for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement and the delegitimisation of Israel,” said Davis, speaking about the effect of annexation in the UK.
“It will take calls for sanctions against Israel away from the fringes of the far-left and catapult them into the mainstream of political discourse.
“It would allow the attempt to isolate Israel and assign it pariah status within the community of nations to be grounded in international law and give its thrust a legitimacy that hitherto it has lacked.”
Davis said governments friendly towards Israel “will come under increasing pressure over the labelling of settlement goods” and will be asked to reconsider Israel’s preferential access to UK and European markets.
“Annexation would increase that pressure, disturbing a trading relationship worth nearly £7 billion a year with the UK alone,” he said.
“I fear that when the most educated, economically mobile and globally aware sections of Israel’s society see the impact of their government’s actions on their country’s society, economy and international standing, many will leave.
“Israel’s unique selling point – its intellectual and innovative competitive edge – could over time be fatally compromised.”
He was one of several high-profile speakers at the conference, alongside Economy Minister Amir Peretz, opposition leader Yair Lapid, the head of Israel’s internal intelligence service, Jordan’s deputy prime minister, and a raft of business leaders, diplomats and military chiefs.
Davis, who was until recently the chief executive of the ruling Conservative Party, said he was “appalled” that they were discussing annexation when Israel faced “long-term structural challenges that have been neglected for far too long”.
He listed “dangerous social mobility constraints,” citing an “extraordinary” gap between rich and poor, as well as productivity constraints due to the lack of infrastructure investment.
Davis added that the threat of annexation had united Jews around the world “to stand up for the Israel we believe in, the Israel we love, against a reckless and potentially destructive policy”.
He added: “This is not about who has a right to the land, it is about ensuring Israel’s ongoing resilience… This contested space, this one third of the West Bank that some seek to annex, will not secure our Jewish State. It will imperil it.”
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