Poll suggests nearly half of British public oppose Israel boycotts

A new poll gauging the British public’s attitude to boycotts of Israel has shown that just under half of all respondents opposed it as a measure.

The Populus poll, carried out on behalf of the UK-Israel think tank BICOM, showed 46 percent disagreed with campaigns to withhold their custom to force a change in Israeli policy, roughly similar to last year.

The survey also measured “warmth” towards Israel at 19 percent, or one in five, while 21 percent expressed similar affection towards Palestinians, and Britons felt Israel was Britain’s most important Middle East ally in the fight against terrorism.

“In a highly volatile political environment, the most striking feature of these results is their stability,” said BICOM chief executive James Sorene.

“Warmth towards Israel and the Palestinians has largely stayed the same for five years, though we have seen small decreases in both this year. Support for boycotts of Israel is unchanged and low.”

He added: “The importance of close defence and intelligence ties between Britain and Israel is acknowledged in the survey with 44 percent of people saying Israel is an important partner for Britain in the fight against terrorism.”