Israelis Urged To Boycott UK

by Jonny Lipczer - Thursday 14th August 2008


Settlers get an escort to shul on Tisha B'Av

Israelis are being urged to boycott Britain amid heightening tensions between the settler movement and diplomats from the UK.

Last week, the Foreign Office said it had been “a mistake” for the embassy in Israel to invite members of the Yesha Council to a birthday reception in honour of the Queen earlier this year – deeming the settlements “illegal”.

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It was subsequently reported that a car carrying a number of British diplomats was attacked during a visit to Hebron last week. One settler is said to have kicked the vehicle while others blocked its path.

A statement from the consulate said: "I can confirm that a delegation of visiting British diplomats were attacked in their car by a small group of Israeli settlers while visiting in Hebron. There were no injuries.

“The Israeli police intervened and we are assisting then with their investigation of the incident."

The diplomats were visiting the city with a member of Breaking The Silence, a group of veteran IDF officers who are critical of Israeli actions in the West Bank.

The call for a boycott of Britain appeared in the Jerusalem Post last Friday in a full page advert sponsored by a group called the Victims of Arab Terror International Organisation.

Urging members of the public to ‘Don’t Buy, Don’t Fly’ British, the ad also condemned the Israeli foreign office for its “shameful response” after it “reportedly assured Britain that no representatives of ‘the settlements’ in Judea and Samaria will attend their official functions in the futures”

The correct response the advert proclaimed would have been to tell the British “We don’t want or need your recognistion… no one has the right to tell us where we can settle or live”.

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