Lord Levy, former Middle East envoy, backs Government’s hardened stance on Israel
Community grandee says countries have to take a stand to make Israel change its policy in Gaza
One of the grandees of the Anglo-Jewish community, Lord Levy, says he “endorses” what Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in the Commons on Tuesday about the situation in Gaza; and he added: “I do absolutely support the stand – perhaps it’s even a little late.”
Lord Levy, who spent 10 years as the Middle East envoy and adviser to former prime minister Tony Blair, was speaking to Sarah Montague on the BBC’s flagship Radio 4 programme, The World At One. He made no secret of his anguish over talking about the position of the Israeli government, describing himself as “a very proud Jew, deeply involved in our community and someone who passionately cares for Israel.”
But, he said, he absolutely supported the stand the UK government had taken. “There has to be a stand, not just from us in this country, but internationally, against what is going on in Gaza. It is so difficult to watch the news and see what’s going on in Gaza, to the civilian population, to innocent children and the total destruction —and then to listen to the words of some of the far-right ministers, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, and what they are saying. That, to me, is not the way I was brought up as a Jew.”
He described the two far-right ministers as “really, they were terrorists”.
Lord Levy said he believed that Britain would not take actions against Israel in isolation, but in conjunction with France and Canada and perhaps other governments. “I do believe that unless what is going on in Gaza stops, unless the Israeli government changes its position, I do think there is a strong possibility that what has been said will come to fruition and that the [UK] government will take a much stronger position and actually take action.”
He said that trade talks had already broken down and there were sanctions against Israeli government ministers. “But it could go deeper than that, in terms of stopping any form of arms sales and sanctions against Israel [as a whole}. I don’t want that to happen, but it may have to happen, with other countries involved, because what is going on is absolutely intolerable”.
Acknowledging that David Lammy had used “very strong vocabulary” in his comments in parliament on Tuesday, Lord Levy said that remarks made by Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan, Golan’s comments had been “much stronger” — and they were from a politician who stood to gain 15-18 seats in the next election. Golan, said Lord Levy, had used such strong language that it had almost made him “want to sit down and cry.”
Asked by Sarah Montague whether he thought what was happening in Gaza should be classified as a war crime, Lord Levy replied: “That’s for the courts to decide.”
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