CFI would like to warmly congratulate Kemi Badenoch on becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party.
Kemi has demonstrated her staunch support for Israel and the UK’s Jewish community during her time in Government and throughout the leadership contest.
She addressed attendees at CFI’s packed Conservative Party Conference reception, took part in a memorable CFI hustings event, and penned a letter to CFI supporters detailing her commitment to supporting Israel and tackling antisemitism.
CFI looks forward to working with Kemi to further promote UK-Israel ties and to continue to oppose the Labour Government’s harmful policies on Israel.
We would like to once again thank Rishi Sunak for his unequivocal support for Israel and the UK’s Jewish community. Under his leadership, the UK-Israel relationship went from strength to strength and as Prime Minister he stood firmly with Israel at its greatest time of need.
In an exclusive letter sent to CFI supporters last month, Rt. Hon. Kemi Badenoch MP said that as leader of the Conservative Party, she will “continue to strengthen our ties with Israel and root out the tragic resurgence of antisemitism in the UK”, describing the direction she proposed as “true to our values”.
Ms Badenoch wrote that “we stand on the edge” of Labour “reversing” the UK’s strong relationship with Israel built by the Conservative Government, as well as “turning the UK against our free, democratic ally: making ourselves, Israel, and Jewish people around the world less safe”.
In CFI’s exclusive Leadership Hustings and Q&A on 14th October, Kemi told CFI supporters that Labour “will always bow to the mob”: “You look at the decision that they made not just on arms licenses. You look at the decision that they made with the UNRWA. You look at the decision they made with the ICC. This is a very ideological Labour Government. This is not Tony Blair’s Labour Government. This is Old Labour with remnants of Corbynism that are very, very bad for this country”.
She added that Labour’s decision to suspend arms exports to Israel was a “gimmick”. “I saw that legal advice”, she said, “and I knew that it did not meet the threshold for the action that they took”.
In her CFI letter, Kemi called rising levels of antisemitism in the UK since 7th October “deeply worrying”, highlighting that “we have seen people in this country use their views on Israel as an excuse to display antisemitism. We have seen this at protests on our streets and we see this in our universities”. She added that, “those who glorify terrorism and celebrate the massacre of Jews have no place on our streets”.
“I am proud to be a Conservative Friend of Israel and I am proud to have helped the Conservative Government build the closest ties to Israel that the UK has ever had”, stated the new Conservative Leader in her letter, highlighting that, “our relationship is built on decades of cooperation and steeped in historical ties”. Kemi told CFI that the Conservative Party’s support for Israel “isn’t dependent on the atrocities of its enemies but on the values it shares with the UK”, describing her plans to work towards a UK-Israel free trade deal and to continue rejecting calls for an arms embargo.
“I see in Israel a moral clarity that is lacking in many other parts of the world”, she explained during the CFI Hustings Q&A. “I see a moral courage that many of us should emulate. I look at the achievements of so many brilliant Jewish people in many countries around the world, and they are an inspiration to people in other parts of the world. However, much of the media and certain wings of the commentariat want to disagree. I think Israel is special, and that is why I have always been a supporter of Israel for at least 20 years, right back from my 20s”.
“Israel is the only real democracy in the Middle East”, she said, “and it is under attack from all sides”.
“Our defence of Israel has never mattered more”, wrote Ms Badenoch in her letter, underlining that “as Israel fights terrorism on multiple fronts, facing Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, the UK must stand strong with its ally”. Ms Badenoch said during CFI’s Leadership Hustings event that the Hamas atrocities of 7th October against Israel were “a stain on the world”. She emphasised: “It is not just Israel’s fight. It is the world’s fight. It is a fight of good versus evil. It is not just politics”.
