Sanctions against Israel. Of the 200 territorial disputes worldwide, London is only taking action against Jerusalem

“This is truly a sombre day for British Jews,” wrote the Chief Rabbi of England, Shlomo Mirvis. The respected religious leader of the British Jewish community had met with Ed Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, to try to prevent what has happened today. London has approved a ban on the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and sanctions against companies and individuals who finance or facilitate them. Similar measures have been adopted by France, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway, but not by Italy. In response, Israel has announced the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem and a travel ban on twelve British MPs, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke out against the sanctions, describing them as “interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation” just a few weeks before the Israeli election. Herzog went on to point out that the sanctions would affect the Palestinians, “depriving them of economic activity and jobs”. Then there is the issue of double standards. The American legal scholar Eugene Kontorovich wrote: “Under UK sanctions, a British Jew cannot own a flat in a Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The UK has no restrictions on the purchase of property in occupied Northern Cyprus, a hotspot for British buyers”. The British Foreign Office’s website states that “Morocco’s presence in Western Sahara is legal”, despite the International Court of Justice having affirmed the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. Five years ago, London signed an agreement with Morocco under which goods from Western Sahara are subject to the same trade rules as others. Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974; London maintains bases on the island, has never imposed sanctions on Turkey or any Turkish minister, and signed a free trade agreement with Ankara in 2020. The boycott of Israel is not an extension of diplomacy or international law. It fails Natan Sharansky’s ‘three Ds’ test, used to determine when criticism becomes hatred: double standards (only Israel is targeted amongst two hundred territorial disputes worldwide); demonisation; and delegitimisation. Moral asymmetry masquerading as diplomatic virtue.