Community leaders hold meeting with Dominic Raab

Jewish community leaders in the UK have held their first meeting with the new Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to press the case for Britain’s defence of Israel.

Raab, a Brexiteer who backed Boris Johnson after he was knocked out of the Conservative leadership race, was asked to use British diplomatic support to challenge states seeking to delegitimise Israel in international forums.

Raab said: “It was a pleasure to host members of the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council at the Foreign Office. Now, more than ever, we must do more to fight the scourge of antisemitism and all racism. I look forward to continuing to work closely together in the future.”

Board of Deputies’ president Marie van der Zyl and Jewish Leadership Council vice-chair Debra Fox said they congratulated Raab on his appointment.

“We very much look forward to working with him on our shared objectives of tackling antisemitism, promoting peace and security for Israel and her neighbours, and ensuring that Israel gets a fair hearing in international institutions,” they said.