“These sanctions do nothing to advance the cause of peace, nor do they make anyone safer – quite the contrary,” Rabbi Mirvis said.
By United with Israel Staff
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis issued a blistering condemnation of the government’s new measures targeting Israel, warning that they would fuel hostility toward the Jewish state and further endanger British Jews.
“This is truly a dark day for British Jews,” Mirvis said Tuesday, accusing the government of ignoring the concerns raised by the Jewish community.
“The measures announced amount to little more than political flag bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish State,” he said.
His comments came after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on goods from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, sanctions against individuals and companies involved in settlement activity, and additional restrictions related to Israel.
Miliband also accused Israel of turning a blind eye to what he called the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians by “settler terrorists,” drawing a furious response from Jerusalem.
Mirvis warned that the measures were particularly dangerous amid heightened antisemitism in Britain.
“On the eve of Rosh Hashanah and at a time when our community is more vulnerable than ever to the wave of extremism that has been building over recent years, these sanctions do nothing to advance the cause of peace,” he said. “Nor do they make anyone safer – quite the contrary.”
He warned that the government’s approach would ultimately strengthen extremists.
“Gesture politics of this kind feeds into an increasingly hostile discourse about Israel,” Mirvis said, warning that punitive policies could “further embolden those, at home and abroad, who use hatred as a weapon against Jews.”
Israel responded to the British sanctions by ordering the closure of the British Consulate in Jerusalem and removing British representatives from a U.S.-led Gaza coordination center. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also announced an end to British training of Palestinian Authority forces and entry bans against 12 British lawmakers and other nationals.
Miliband rejected Mirvis’ criticism Wednesday, telling the BBC, “I don’t agree with the Chief Rabbi,” and insisting that Britain was right to act.
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