More than 200 candidates sign Israel pledge to oppose BDS

More than 200 parliamentary candidates from a range of political parties have signed a pledge created by two pro-Israel grassroots groups.

We Believe in Israel and the Israel Britain Alliance, a project of the Zionist Federation, said activists had persuaded 210 candidates to sign the General Election Pledge for Israel.

There are 3,300 candidates from all parties standing in this year’s election, meaning six percent of all candidates have signed the pledge.

IBA director Michael McCann said activists’ work represented an “unprecedented grassroots mobilisation,” adding: “It means candidates across the UK understand there is public support for Israel and we hope they will reflect this in their contributions and voting in Parliament.”

The pledge includes commitments to oppose boycotts and to support the new working definition of anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which has been criticised by leading lawyers and academics as conflating anti-Israel sentiment with Jew hatred.

We Believe director Luke Akehurst said: “It is great to see cross-party support.”