British Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, invoked his family’s Holocaust history and his childhood memories of Israel on Tuesday as he delivered one of the UK government’s harshest speeches on Israeli policy and announced a ban on imports from West Bank settlements.
Opening his statement to the House of Commons, Miliband described himself as a “proud British Jew” and said he felt deep gratitude toward Israel for providing a home to his grandmother after the Nazis murdered her husband, Miliband’s grandfather, and 60 other members of their family.
Miliband recalled visiting his grandmother in Tel Aviv during the 1970s and spending time on the kibbutz where his cousins lived.
He said his family’s experience was one reason he rejected attempts to challenge Israel’s existence as the homeland of the Jewish people, describing such efforts as an “erasure of Israel.”
The foreign secretary then addressed the October 7 Hamas massacre, saying the attack demonstrated the grave threats facing Israel and affirming its right to defend itself.
He also identified Iran as a threat to Israel and Jews around the world and said Britain would continue security cooperation with Israel on shared national-security interests.
Miliband announced sanctions against Hezbollah’s financial arm, Al-Qard Al-Hassan, and said Britain was reimposing major economic sanctions on Iran and would join allies in referring Tehran’s nuclear violations to the UN Security Council.
Miliband also devoted a significant part of the speech to antisemitism in Britain.
He contrasted his own experience attending school without fear in the 1980s with that of Jewish children today who require security guards outside their schools.
He cited recent antisemitic attacks and announced that Britain was investing an additional £250 million in security for Jewish communities.
He called antisemitism a “scourge and an evil” and said Britain would host representatives of the J7, a grouping of countries with large Jewish populations, in October to discuss combating antisemitism, including online hate.
Miliband also drew a sharp distinction between criticism of Israel and attacks on British Jews, saying that holding British Jews responsible for decisions made by the Israeli government constituted antisemitism.
He said he remained unwavering in his support for Israel while also supporting Palestinian statehood, presenting the two-state solution as the central principle of Britain’s policy.
The tone of the speech shifted sharply as Miliband turned to Gaza and the West Bank.
He said he felt “a deep sense of shame” over Palestinian suffering during the past three years and described events in Gaza as a stain on the conscience of the international community.
In the West Bank, Miliband accused violent settlers of carrying out ethnic cleansing in some Palestinian communities and said the British government believed Israeli authorities had too often failed to prevent forced displacement.
He formally declared that Britain considered Israel’s occupation of the West Bank unlawful.
Miliband announced that Britain would ban imports from Israeli settlements, prohibit advertising for settlement property in the UK and impose sanctions on companies and individuals involved in financing, construction, infrastructure and other activity supporting settlement expansion.
The legislation is expected to take effect within six to nine months.
He stressed that the measures targeted settlements rather than Israel within the Green Line and said Britain would continue what he described as important trade with Israel. He also said he opposed the broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Turning to Gaza, Miliband said there was growing evidence that war crimes may have been committed and backed international legal proceedings examining Israeli conduct.
He stopped short of determining that genocide had occurred, saying Britain would await the conclusions of competent courts.
The Jerusalem Post