British Jews and the 'Israel divide'

In the Western world, "pro-Israel politics" now loses elections. The shift in public opinion against Israel is also forcing governments to some extent to keep their distance from Israel. Because of the genocide in Gaza, Israel has begun to be treated as a "pariah," like the Republic of South Africa, where the "White Racist" regime once held sway. This is an irreversible process.

In the US, bipartisan support for Israel has become limited to the centrist wings alone. Young voters in both parties are cornering the centrist wings. The Democratic Party feels this pressure in particular. On the other hand, young Republican voters are also panicking the party's pro-Israel hawks. That is why the Israel Lobby is forced to spend even more money.

A similar situation applies to the UK. The governing Labour Party government was compelled to announce that it would impose trade restrictions and sanctions on Zionist occupiers in the West Bank. The Zionists describe this change as a return to the era of Jeremy Corbyn, who was previously pushed away from the Labour leadership and the party with the accusation of being "anti-Semitic." Let us recall at once that, along with Corbyn, a large number of anti-Zionist Jews were also expelled from the party.

Despite this stance of the Labour Party, the main opposition Conservative Party maintains its staunchly pro-Israel position. The party's leader, Kemi Badenoch, in her article in The Jewish Chronicle, accused the Labour Party of having an anti-Israel obsession. Kemi Badenoch, a Black British leader of Nigerian origin who describes herself as a "cultural Christian," said that this obsession had not changed since the time Corbyn was leader.

Badenoch argued that the trade ban on the occupiers in the West Bank was a de facto boycott of the Jewish state and was incompatible with the Labour Party's claim to fight antisemitism. According to Badenoch, British Jews face "a chilling reality" because of the Labour Party's stance on illegal settlements. Badenoch also argued that with this stance, the Labour Party was damaging Britain's standing in the eyes of the US.

Kemi Badenoch is trying to take advantage of the situation to say that only the Conservative Party deserves the support of both the US and the Israel Lobby. Indeed, at an event held by "Conservative Friends of Israel" in May 2025, Badenoch had said that the Conservative Party was the "last line of defense" for Israel in the British parliament.

Meanwhile, the Chief Rabbi of the Orthodox Jews in the UK, Ephraim Mirvis, describes the Labour Party's stance as "a black day" for British Jews. Mirvis says that the measures against illegal settlements are based on 'anti-Israel rhetoric full of lies' and amount to nothing more than giving political support to those who harbor a dangerous obsession against the Jewish State. Mirvis even argues that the measures, which he describes as "symbolic policies," will fuel hostile rhetoric against Israel and encourage those who wield the weapon of hatred against Jews.

The statements of Chief Rabbi Mirvis, who was born and raised in South Africa, have caused polemics among British Jews. Many Jewish groups state that Mirvis represents not all British Jews but only his own community, and accuse Mirvis of exceeding his authority against the British government. There are also those who accuse Mirvis of representing Israel. These circles oppose the identification of Judaism with Zionism and of Israel with British Jews. Some rabbis, meanwhile, criticize Mirvis for portraying every criticism as an "attack on Jews."

Of course, at the center of these debates is the Jewish-origin British Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, and Chief Rabbi Mirvis's statements are mostly aimed at Miliband. That is why British Jews are divided between Mirvis and Miliband. Miliband, responding to Mirvis's statements, stated that he was proud to be Jewish, that he respected Rabbi Mirvis, but that he did not agree with him. It is known that many members of Miliband's family, who has been almost declared an anti-Semite by the Zionists, were killed by the Nazis.

In his statements in 2024, Chief Rabbi Mirvis, on the other hand, had heaped praise on Israeli soldiers carrying out genocide in Gaza and slaughtering tens of thousands of Palestinian children and women. In his speech, Mirvis said that his son, of whom he was proud, was among the Israeli soldiers fighting in Gaza.

As is understood from these debates, the "Israel divide" is deepening among Jews as well.