South Welsh Jewish community ‘deeply disturbed’ as Plaid Cymru calls for arms ban

The South Wales Jewish community has accused Plaid Cymru of “aligning itself with voices that refuse to condemn terrorism” after the party called for an Israel arms ban.

All four of its MPs also called for a sporting and economic boycott over the war in Gaza in a vote at the party’s conference on Saturday.

Ben Lake, MP for Ceredigion Preseli, who proposed the motion, said: “We should offer no assistance to states that are in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions and ICJ rulings. We urgently need a political settlement to this war – that should include official recognition of Palestinian statehood.”

Israel was described as an “apartheid state” and accused of “ethnic cleansing and war crimes”.

The motion was supported unanimously.

Ahead of the motion, the conference hosted Husam Zomlot, the Palestinians’ top envoy to the UK, who repeated calls for a ceasefire and said Israel must be “compelled” to meet its international obligations.

In a social media post re-tweeted by Zomlot, the Palestinian Mission to the UK said: “H.E. Dr @hzomlot gave a speech today at the annual conference of @Plaid_Cymru in Cardiff, Wales. He spoke about the carnage in the #Gaza Strip one year after the onset of #Israel’s genocidal aggression and demanded the intensification of efforts to reach a ceasefire and heal this gaping wound of humanity.”

Laurence Kahn, chair of the South Wales Jewish Representative Council, wrote: “This move comes in the shadow of the anniversary of the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7— the worst atrocities committed against Jews since the Holocaust. Plaid Cymru’s stance not only fails to acknowledge Israel’s obligation to defend its citizens, but in its initial ‘condemnation’ of the attacks, it lent justification to these heinous acts of terror.”

The statement adds that “despite Plaid Cymru’s accusations of genocide, it was Hamas—not Israel—that deliberately targeted civilians on and after October 7. This false equivalency is not only unjust but dangerously misleading.”

The council also criticises the conference hosting and platforming Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian’s top envoy to the UK, commenting that he “shockingly claimed” that ‘Israel knew that this was coming their way’ in his response to the October 7 attacks.

It added: “Plaid Cymru has aligned itself with voices that refuse to unequivocally condemn terrorism. By doing so, Plaid fails to uphold the basic moral principle that deliberately targeting innocent civilians is always indefensible, regardless of the political context.”

In a statement to Jewish News, Plaid Cymru said it has been “resolute and unequivocal in condemning the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7. We have also been clear that the response of the Israeli state has been disproportionate and unjustified, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza. We have consistently argued that international law must be upheld without fear or favour.

“We note the statement’s assertion that number of civilian deaths has been “low” relative to the number of combatants. 42,000 people have been killed, the majority of whom are women and children. We ask the author of the statement to reflect on the dismissive nature of such a comment.

“Plaid Cymru, as it always has done, will continue to make the case for an immediate ceasefire, a release of all hostages without delay, for halting arms sales, an end to hostilities by all parties, and for the intensification of diplomatic efforts to seek a stable and lasting peace for all the people of Israel and Palestine and the wider region.”