New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has triggered a backlash after referring to the United Kingdom as the “Islamic Republic of Britain”.
Netanyahu made the comment during an interview while contrasting the British media’s present-day coverage of Israel with its reporting during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The Israeli Prime Minister praised British journalist and politician Randolph Churchill for what he described as favourable coverage of Israel during the conflict. “Go find that in Britain today, which you could call the Islamic Republic of Britain,” Netanyahu said, according to translated remarks published by Israeli media.
Later in the interview, Netanyahu echoed a controversial comment made by US Vice President JD Vance in 2024. “Someone said the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic Republic of Britain,” Netanyahu said.
“We are making sure there won’t be another one here, in Iran,” he added.
In July 2024, Vance suggested that the UK under a Labour government could become the first “truly Islamist country” to acquire nuclear weapons. He made the remark at the National Conservatism Conference before becoming US Vice President. Reuters
Strong backlash in UK
Netanyahu’s comments were condemned by British political and Jewish community figures. Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, leaders of the Movement for Progressive Judaism, warned that such rhetoric could deepen divisions in British society.
“At a time when antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and social division are causing real fear across our country, language of this kind is dangerous and irresponsible,” they said.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu does not speak for British Jews. His words do not represent us,” they added.
Gavin Barwell, former chief of staff to British Prime Minister Theresa May, described the remarks as “blatant Islamophobia”. “Let’s hope everyone will now shed the pretence some still cling to that this man is any friend of Britain,” Barwell wrote on X.
UK-Israel ties strained
Although the UK and Israel have historically maintained close relations, ties have deteriorated since the Labour Party came to power in 2024. Under former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the UK suspended negotiations on a new trade agreement with Israel, halted some arms export licences and joined countries including France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state.
More recently, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham apologised for Labour’s delay in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. “That is why we need to do more, which includes looking at further sanctions on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trading goods with illegal settlements,” Burnham said.
“We’ve got to do more to put pressure on the Israeli government,” he added.
Why Netanyahu made the remark
The remarks underline the deterioration in diplomatic relations between Israel and the UK. However, M. Rodwan Abouharb, professor of international relations at University College London, said the rhetoric obscured the two countries’ shared policy objectives concerning Iran. “Netanyahu’s comments may be more for domestic purposes, to shore up his fractured governing coalition,” Abouharb told Al Jazeera.
Curated by Ramansh Dhadwal
