Communal leaders urge Cooper not to lose sight of Hezbollah threat
The Board and JLC meet with the Foreign Secretary
Communal leaders have urged Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper not to lose sight of the threat posed by the terror group Hezbollah to families of British Jews who live in Israel.
At a meeting with the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council, Cooper outlined the UK’s position on the conflict in Lebanon, including calls by her and Prime Minister Keir Starmer for Hezbollah to disarm and for Israeli air strikes on Lebanon to cease.
In a statement, the JLC and Board said: “Communal representatives called on the Foreign Secretary to engage constructively on the conflict in Lebanon and to not lose sight of the considerable threat Hezbollah continues to pose to our friends and family in Israel.
“We were pleased to hear the Foreign Secretary has been giving encouragement to the US-led Israel and Lebanon talks.”
The meeting, attended by Board president Phil Rosenberg and JLC chief executive Keith Black, amongst others, also saw discussion of the recent decision to alter the UK’s position on the controversial Item 7 at the UN.
Communal leaders said they were “dismayed” by the move, which means the UK will abstain rather than automatically vote “no” to some Item 7 motions.
The existence of Item 7 – which makes Israel the only country in the world to have its own standing at the United Nations Human Rights Council – has long provoked fury amongst communal leaders.
Jewish News understands that the Foreign Secretary said the UK continues to oppose the use of Item 7, but has made a pragmatic decision to move from not engaging at all on some items to having more leverage when issues arise.
The meeting also saw continued calls for the government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The Foreign Secretary also agreed to review the UK’s role in Iran’s nomination to the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination.
There was also discussion on recognition of a Palestinian state and communal leaders’ “remaining concerns regarding the role of the Palestinian Authority in incitement within the school curriculum and payments to the families of terrorists. ”
“With the ceasefire holding in Gaza, we shared our desire to see the disarmament of Hamas and an improvement in relations between the UK and Israel, which we believe will benefit the citizens of both countries,” added the JLC-Board statement.
Interim JLC CEO Debbie Fox, and the Board’s Michael Weiger and Adrian Cohen were also among those to attend the talks.
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